{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Person",
  "@id": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/person/34268/esther-dale",
  "name": "Esther Dale",
  "url": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/person/34268/esther-dale",
  "knownForDepartment": "Acting",
  "description": "From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia\n\nEsther Dale (November 10, 1885 – July 23, 1961) was an American actress, best known perhaps for her role as Aunt Genevieve in the 1935 Shirley Temple vehicle, Curly Top.\n\nOn the stage, Dale starred in Carrie Nation on Broadway in 1933. Her other Broadway credits include Harvest of Years (1947), And Be My Love (1944), and Another Language (1932).\n\nDale's first film was Crime Without Passion (1934) in an uncredited role. She was a familiar face in films of the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, frequently playing stern, authoritarian characters such as prison matrons and head nurses, although she was equally adept at playing grande dames and ladies of the aristocracy.\n\nDale played many roles in television over the years. In the 1958-1959 season of The Donna Reed Show, Dale played a job-seeking housekeeper who is frightened from the Stone home by Jeff Stone's pet mouse, and she appeared in the 1957 Maverick episode \"According to Hoyle\" opposite James Garner.",
  "birthDate": "1885-11-10",
  "deathDate": "1961-07-23",
  "birthPlace": "Beaufort, South Carolina, USA",
  "alternateName": [
    "Ester Dale"
  ],
  "image": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/veZ5vHbHOcslYXOUZFrYRn9O6mT.jpg",
  "sameAs": [
    "https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0197689"
  ],
  "lastVerified": "6 May 2026",
  "filmography": [
    {
      "mediaType": "tv",
      "tmdbId": 953,
      "title": "Maverick",
      "year": "1957",
      "role": "as Ma Braus",
      "roleKind": "cast",
      "voteAverage": 6.94,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/psVbZjMHt9f9X7EIks9IQdCMZke.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/tv/953/maverick-1957"
    },
    {
      "mediaType": "tv",
      "tmdbId": 1737,
      "title": "Four Star Playhouse",
      "year": "1952",
      "role": "as Mrs. Weston",
      "roleKind": "cast",
      "voteAverage": 6.818,
      "posterUrl": null,
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/tv/1737/four-star-playhouse-1952"
    },
    {
      "mediaType": "tv",
      "tmdbId": 12272,
      "title": "Thriller",
      "year": "1960",
      "role": "as Ellen the Maid",
      "roleKind": "cast",
      "voteAverage": 6.675,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/lLrNBo5Krzu1oNlxEqKprk8UW5b.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/tv/12272/thriller-1960"
    },
    {
      "mediaType": "tv",
      "tmdbId": 10649,
      "title": "The Donna Reed Show",
      "year": "1958",
      "role": "Cast",
      "roleKind": "cast",
      "voteAverage": 6.474,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/emKpcFHWRosNoQQGyOU0lSn8yAM.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/tv/10649/the-donna-reed-show-1958"
    },
    {
      "mediaType": "tv",
      "tmdbId": 12512,
      "title": "M Squad",
      "year": "1957",
      "role": "as Julia Sheldon",
      "roleKind": "cast",
      "voteAverage": 5.429,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/8mDoUftlI60WeGmlp35NJ6XRfrk.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/tv/12512/m-squad-1957"
    },
    {
      "mediaType": "tv",
      "tmdbId": 13824,
      "title": "Lock-Up",
      "year": "1959",
      "role": "Cast",
      "roleKind": "cast",
      "voteAverage": 6.429,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/1u424sUx20HbiQJjHn4ZYfuGG4z.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/tv/13824/lock-up-1959"
    },
    {
      "mediaType": "tv",
      "tmdbId": 221,
      "title": "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis",
      "year": "1959",
      "role": "Cast",
      "roleKind": "cast",
      "voteAverage": 6.412,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/LusZEGxE4LxIOAiBCuOvUQcLV1.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/tv/221/the-many-loves-of-dobie-gillis-1959"
    },
    {
      "mediaType": "tv",
      "tmdbId": 1020,
      "title": "December Bride",
      "year": "1954",
      "role": "Cast",
      "roleKind": "cast",
      "voteAverage": 6.25,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/cGI8Kx2ldEIohFKItZK8Qnj88d8.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/tv/1020/december-bride-1954"
    },
    {
      "mediaType": "tv",
      "tmdbId": 18696,
      "title": "Cavalcade of America",
      "year": "1952",
      "role": "as Aunt Tabitha",
      "roleKind": "cast",
      "voteAverage": 4.6,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/aHqsLYSHop692ZEQJYTm3rCPDhx.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/tv/18696/cavalcade-of-america-1952"
    },
    {
      "mediaType": "tv",
      "tmdbId": 29458,
      "title": "Mr. & Mrs. North",
      "year": "1952",
      "role": "Cast",
      "roleKind": "cast",
      "voteAverage": 5,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/pOl5oaAe2PKbwsDOW7DgbghWjzO.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/tv/29458/mr-mrs-north-1952"
    },
    {
      "mediaType": "movie",
      "tmdbId": 564439,
      "title": "Swing Your Partner",
      "year": "1943",
      "role": "as Caroline Bird, aka Anna Robbins",
      "roleKind": "cast",
      "voteAverage": 10,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/3MGSpl5pmQX20Z8JABDSFeW2Ooy.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/movie/564439/swing-your-partner-1943"
    },
    {
      "mediaType": "movie",
      "tmdbId": 88075,
      "title": "Walk Softly, Stranger",
      "year": "1950",
      "role": "as Miss Thompson",
      "roleKind": "cast",
      "voteAverage": 5.089,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/iWA8WTamFe1JYvlmIav0TRDI7Sw.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/movie/88075/walk-softly-stranger-1950"
    },
    {
      "mediaType": "movie",
      "tmdbId": 22490,
      "title": "The Women",
      "year": "1939",
      "role": "as Ingrid (uncredited)",
      "roleKind": "cast",
      "voteAverage": 7.145,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/wMTbDI60uvt7ecLZ301XEE8mAOo.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/movie/22490/the-women-1939"
    },
    {
      "mediaType": "movie",
      "tmdbId": 6523,
      "title": "North to Alaska",
      "year": "1960",
      "role": "as Woman at Picnic",
      "roleKind": "cast",
      "voteAverage": 6.53,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/1HSf0NsKtEy2w5qIJqpP5BppZkL.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/movie/6523/north-to-alaska-1960"
    },
    {
      "mediaType": "movie",
      "tmdbId": 27973,
      "title": "Dead End",
      "year": "1937",
      "role": "as Mrs. Fenner",
      "roleKind": "cast",
      "voteAverage": 7.044,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/5ZYJY5qZOj7dPfjSdnM7gFk2Ch0.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/movie/27973/dead-end-1937"
    },
    {
      "mediaType": "movie",
      "tmdbId": 14675,
      "title": "The Awful Truth",
      "year": "1937",
      "role": "as Mrs. Leeson",
      "roleKind": "cast",
      "voteAverage": 7.219,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/2VtsJoxvjpcMpwh0gweS8IMfHxO.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/movie/14675/the-awful-truth-1937"
    },
    {
      "mediaType": "movie",
      "tmdbId": 14615,
      "title": "Fury",
      "year": "1936",
      "role": "as Mrs. Whipple",
      "roleKind": "cast",
      "voteAverage": 7.469,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/u1kjLTUqmqjDMlRxcwCqWagjf6r.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/movie/14615/fury-1936"
    },
    {
      "mediaType": "movie",
      "tmdbId": 24008,
      "title": "Monkey Business",
      "year": "1952",
      "role": "as Mrs. Rhinelander",
      "roleKind": "cast",
      "voteAverage": 6.684,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/2IVEO2NwhL6Qp5KPbzcXzK8Wh4R.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/movie/24008/monkey-business-1952"
    },
    {
      "mediaType": "movie",
      "tmdbId": 159615,
      "title": "The Sound and the Fury",
      "year": "1959",
      "role": "as Mrs. Maud Mansfield",
      "roleKind": "cast",
      "voteAverage": 6.735,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/u3FZk577E5ArVaeEDTiz1VSbmWV.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/movie/159615/the-sound-and-the-fury-1959"
    },
    {
      "mediaType": "movie",
      "tmdbId": 43806,
      "title": "Abe Lincoln in Illinois",
      "year": "1940",
      "role": "as Lincoln's Cook (uncredited)",
      "roleKind": "cast",
      "voteAverage": 6.926,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/xKI8TOiOL5Emt2GAOIOckmlisF1.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/movie/43806/abe-lincoln-in-illinois-1940"
    },
    {
      "mediaType": "movie",
      "tmdbId": 131770,
      "title": "Arise, My Love",
      "year": "1940",
      "role": "as Susie",
      "roleKind": "cast",
      "voteAverage": 6.313,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/depZFXpKyOw7aeIGWa42A30H64L.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/movie/131770/arise-my-love-1940"
    },
    {
      "mediaType": "movie",
      "tmdbId": 24197,
      "title": "Mr. & Mrs. Smith",
      "year": "1941",
      "role": "as Mrs. Krausheimer",
      "roleKind": "cast",
      "voteAverage": 5.986,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/lIFBvhh9EbQpwkYa135dQvMHXSj.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/movie/24197/mr-mrs-smith-1941"
    },
    {
      "mediaType": "movie",
      "tmdbId": 113003,
      "title": "Margie",
      "year": "1946",
      "role": "as Grandma McSweeney",
      "roleKind": "cast",
      "voteAverage": 7.125,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/yi8Xdp8Rl9SnssxIeM95KELHOT2.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/movie/113003/margie-1946"
    },
    {
      "mediaType": "movie",
      "tmdbId": 255648,
      "title": "Women Without Names",
      "year": "1940",
      "role": "as Head Matron Ingles",
      "roleKind": "cast",
      "voteAverage": 4.7,
      "posterUrl": "https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/w500/sdjQ8eS4j55Z9qwjyFmCSLZd2ed.jpg",
      "screenSearchUrl": "https://www.screensearch.co.uk/watch/movie/255648/women-without-names-1940"
    }
  ]
}