Veteran actress Jeanette Nolan (1911-1998) had a long and distinguished career, starting with the role of Lady Macbeth in Orson Welles supreme adaptation of Macbeth in 1948. Of most interest to horror fans, perhaps, is her role as the voice of Norman Bates' Mother in Psycho (why, I wouldn't even hurt a fly). But the woman seemed to have a knack for playing witches and it's just a pity she didn't do it more often. Here she is as (l to r) the vindictive villain Granny Herrod in a great episode of Boris Karloff's Thriller called Parasite Mansion, as the titular character of La Strega (also Thriller) and as Aunt Ada in the Night Gallery episode titled Since Aunt Ada Came to Stay. Props to a fabulous, unsung screen witch!
She also play a witch in a Twilight Zone episode. "Jessebelle" I think was the title (?).
ReplyDeleteYeah, that's my favorite season 4 episode, I think. Haven't seen it in so long I didn't make the connection. I remember Anne Francis, though.
ReplyDeleteMiss Nolan's name in JesseBelle was (I believe) Granny Hart. I guess she was a witch, though she came across aa more human than most, as I recall.
ReplyDeleteShe was her creepiest in Thriller episode La Strega. What made it worse was that she reminded me of my Sicilian Grandmother.
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