Sara Seegar

Sara Seegar (July 1, 1914 – August 12, 1990) was an American actress. A performer on stage, film, radio, and television, she may best be remembered for her role as Mrs. Wilson in the 1962–63 season of Dennis the Menace.

Sara Seegar
Born(1914-07-01)July 1, 1914
Greentown, Indiana, U.S.
DiedAugust 12, 1990(1990-08-12) (aged 76)
Langhorne, Pennsylvania, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1937-1979
Spouse(s)
Ezra Stone
(m. 1942; her death 1990)
Children2
RelativesMiriam Seegar (sister)

Early life

Seegar was born to Frank and Carrie (née Wall) Seegar in Greentown, Indiana, the youngest of five daughters. She was schooled in London and Paris but ultimately graduated from Hollywood High School, where she participated in dramatic and musical productions.[1] She received a degree in drama from Los Angeles Junior College, where she participated in stage productions.[2]

Her older sisters were Dr. Helen Seegar Stone (1895–1976), an educator; Dorothy Seegar (1897–1999), actress and singer; Mildred (1905–1913), and Miriam Seegar (1907–2011), also an actress. Following school, Seegar performed on stage in London, starting her career with Three Men on a Horse. She continued performing in London until the start of World War II, at which point she returned to the United States.[3]

Career

Starting in 1940, Seegar performed in Broadway plays, in film, on radio and on television. She played Elsie on Room for One More,[4]:908-909 was a regular on The Red Buttons Show[4]:881 and appeared as a character actor on television throughout the 1950s and 1960s, with roles on Suspense, Perry Mason, and The Donna Reed Show. She played ten different small roles on Bewitched over the course of that same series.[5]

In the 1962–63 season of Dennis the Menace, Seegar played Eloise Wilson,[4] the wife of John Wilson. She effectively replaced Sylvia Field, who portrayed Martha Wilson—the original "Mrs. Wilson"—from 1959 to 1962. Field left the series after the death of Joseph Kearns (George Wilson), due to George and Martha Wilson being written out of the series. Gale Gordon began playing John Wilson, George's brother, after Kearns' death. She also had a part in the movie version of "The Music Man" with Robert Preston and Shirley Jones.

Personal life

Sara Seegar met Ezra Stone while the two were performing in Horse Fever on Broadway in 1940. They were married on October 5, 1942.[6] They had two children: a son, Josef Seegar Stone (1944–2010)[7][8] and a daughter, Francine Lida Stone.[9]

Death

Sara Seegar Stone died on August 12, 1990, of a cerebral hemorrhage at St. Mary's Hospital in Langhorne, Pennsylvania;[10] her ashes were interred at Washington Crossing National Cemetery, along with those of her husband, in a ceremony in 2013.[11]

Performances

Broadway
  • Horse Fever (1940) - Milly Flynn
  • Vickie (1942) - Mrs. Corliss/Assistant Stage Manager
  • At War with the Army (1949) - Mrs. Caldwell

Off-Broadway

Radio

Film

Television
  • The Andy Griffith Show (1960–1962) - Mrs. Katherine Palmer / Gossip on Telephone / Mrs. Buntley
  • Dennis the Menace (1962–1963) - Eloise Wilson
  • Bewitched (1964–1972) - Cora Mae Franklin / Mrs. Prescott / Mrs. Meiklejohn / Mrs. Nickerson / Mrs. Wehmeyer / Edna Durfee / Emily Hascomb / Agnes Baker / Mrs. Springer / Mrs. Grange
  • The Brady Bunch (1972) - Miss Bailey
  • The Jeffersons (1978) - Mrs. Pomeroy

References
  1. "Local School Plans to Give Annual Opera". The Los Angeles Times. California, Los Angeles. April 19, 1931. p. 43. Retrieved March 23, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. "Portrays Idol Come to Life". The Los Angeles Times. California, Los Angeles. April 25, 1934. p. 27. Retrieved March 23, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. Hollman, Laurie (August 13, 1990). "Sara Seegar Stone, Bucks Actress Featured On 'Dennis The Menace'". Philadelphia Inquirer.
  4. Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p. 252. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7.
  5. "Cast Bios: Sara Seegar". Dennis! - A Tribute to the 1959-1963 CBS-TV Series.
  6. "Actors Ezra Stone, Sara Seegar Wed". The Bismarck Tribune. North Dakota, Bismarck. Associated Press. January 20, 1943. p. 7. Retrieved March 23, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Milestones". Time. April 10, 1944.
  8. "Josef Seegar Stone, of Middletown". Bucks Local News. September 28, 2010.
  9. https://www.mcall.com/news/mc-xpm-1990-08-13-2757806-story.html
  10. Fowler, Glenn (August 13, 1990). "Sara Seegar, Actress, Dies at 76; Worked in Theater, Films and TV". The New York Times.
  11. "Estate of Ezra Stone and Sara Seegar goes up for auction, show business couple brought celebrity to Bucks County". Bucks Local News. 3 October 2013. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
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