Gertrude W. Hoffmann (born Eliza Gertrude Wesselhoeft; May 17, 1871 – February 13, 1968) was a German-born American character actress who began her Hollywood career in her sixties.

Family Hoffmann was born on May 17, 1871,California Death Index at Heidelberg (German Empire), the daughter of Walter and Mary Sara Silver (née Fraser) Wesselhoeft.US Passport Application - October 15, 18891880-1900 US Census Records Her father was a German-born doctor who at the time of her birth had left his medical practice in Halifax, Nova Scotia to volunteer his services after the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War. He returned to North America in early 1873 and opened a general practice in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where Gertrude was raised along with her six siblings.

Though German by birth, Dr. Wesselhoeft was raised in Cambridge where a number of his relatives had established themselves in the medical community there. He received his medical degree from Harvard University in 1859 and upon graduation began his practice in Halifax. In time he became associated with the Massachusetts Homeopathic Hospital and a frequent lecturer at Boston University Medical School.Cleveland Medical and Surgical Reporter, Volume 17-1906 At the time of his death in 1920, aged 80, Dr. Wesselhoeft was Emeritus Professor of Clinical Medicine in the School of Medicine at the University of Cambridge, a position he had held since 1908.Bostonia: Volumes 19-21

Mary Fraser was a native of Halifax, and she died in 1886, around the age of 40.US Passport Application - 15 October 18891880-1900 US Census RecordsWalter Wesselhoeft - History of Homœopathy Biographies Presented by Sylvain CazaletAnniversary report, Volumes 3-4 by Harvard College; Class of 1890 Dr. Wesselhoeft remarried in 1896 to Mary A. Leavitt, a native of Lowell, Massachusetts, and only a few years older than his eldest child.US Passport Application for Mary Leavitt Wesselhoeft, April 17, 19221900 US Census Records Gertrude's youngest sister, Eleanor Wesselhoeft (1882–1945),California Death Jindex was a stage actress and playwright who also found some success late in life as a character actor in Hollywood. Eleanor was married to Albert Christian Henderson von Tornow (1867–1938), a Shakespearean actor who performed under the stage name Albert Henderson.The Hartford Courant, December 29, 1938

Marriage On June 23, 1894, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Gertrude married Ralph Hoffmann (1870–1932), a native of Stockbridge, Massachusetts, whose family had emigrated from Germany a generation earlier. He was a teacher of natural history and had a keen interest in ornithology. He co-founded the Alstead School of Natural History in Alstead, New Hampshire and taught there for several summers and the rest of his year was spent teaching at Buckingham Browne and Nichols in Cambridge.Anniversary report, Volumes 3-4 By Harvard College; Class of 1890

From the spring of 1910 until 1917, he was headmaster of the Country Day School founded by Vassie Ward (1875-1954) in Kansas City, Missouri. He later was named director of the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History in California. Ralph Hoffmann died from a fall while on a scientific expedition to California's Channel Islands in 1932.North Adams Transcript (July 23, 1932)The Nevada State Journal (July 23, 1932)

The couple had two daughters and a son. Eleanor Hoffmann was born on December 21, 1895, in Belmont, Massachusetts and died on December 20, 1990, in Santa Barbara, California. Walter Wesselhoeft Hoffmann was born on December 20, 1897, in Belmont, Massachusetts and died on May 7, 1977, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The youngest child, Gertrude "Trudy" Hoffmann, was born on April 2, 1904, in Belmont, Massachusetts. Trudy married British composer Sir Arthur Bliss on June 1, 1925, in Santa Barbara, California and moved to London, England, where she lived until her death in 2008.The Berkshire Eagle (Pittsfield, Massachusetts), March 28, 1975

Acting career Gertrude W. Hoffmann's first Hollywood role was playing Mattie in Before Dawn that premiered on August 4, 1933. She would go on to have a 30-year career as a character actor, appearing in a number of movies and television shows. Among her credits are such films as Alfred Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent, The File on Thelma Jordon (1950), Caged (1950), and The War of the Worlds (1953). She played Mrs. Odetts in the 1950s sitcom My Little Margie and made her final performance in an episode of the sitcom Car 54, Where Are You? in 1963.

Death Gertrude W. Hoffmann died on February 13, 1968, in Santa Barbara, California. She was interred at Grand View Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.

Filmography Year Title Role Notes1917 Ein nasses Abenteuer 1918 The Blue Lantern Hilde 1919 Prinzessin Tatjanah Tatjana 1919 Sie können bei mir schlafen 1919 Heddas Rache 1919 Prostitution 1919 Die ums Leben spielen Ilona 1920 Das Geheimnis der Mitternachtsstunde 1920 Tagebuch meiner Frau 1920 Auri Sacra Fames, 1. Teil - An der Liebe Narrenseil 1920 Humanity Unleashed Rita, Clarenbachs Frau 1920 Auri Sacra Fames, 2. Teil - Das Testament eines Exzentrischen 1920 Satans Peitsche 1920 Rafaello - Das Rätsel von Kopenhagen 1 1920 Lepain - 6. Teil 1920 Lepain - 5. Teil 1920 Lepain, der König der Verbrecher - 4. Teil 1920 Lepain, der König der Verbrecher - 3. Teil 1920 Der Spitzel 1920 Der Schrecken der Millionäre 1921 Die Ratten 1921 Das Gewissen der Welt, 1. Teil - Schattenpflanzen der Großstadt Dama 1921 The Handicap of Love 1921 Kaschemmenadel 1922 Louise de Lavallière Marquise François Athenais von Montespan 1922 Der Fall Gembalsky 1923 Die Schlucht des Todes Countess Gabriela 1933 Before Dawn Mattie 1933 Hell and High Water Mom Wealin 1934 I'll Tell the World Aunt Louise Uncredited1934 The Cat's-Paw Mrs. Noon - Cobb's Landlady Uncredited1934 6 Day Bike Rider Old Lady Uncredited1935 Les Misérables Nurse Uncredited1936 A Son Comes Home Effie Wimple 1936 The Gentleman from Louisiana Miss Langley 1937 Mountain Justice Granny Burnside Uncredited1938 Cassidy of Bar 20 Ma Caffrey 1939 Laugh It Off Carrie Uncredited1940 East Side Kids Old Lady in Montage Uncredited1940 Untamed Miss Rhine 1940 Foreign Correspondent Mrs. Benson 1940 The Ape Jane - Adrian's Housekeeper 1941 Lydia Mrs. Fairfield Uncredited1941 One Foot in Heaven Elderly Woman Uncredited1941 Suspicion Mrs. Wetherby Uncredited1941 No Hands on the Clock Passerby Below Clock Uncredited1942 North of the Rockies Flora Bailey 1942 The Wife Takes a Flyer Mrs. Gruyson Uncredited1942 Texas Trouble Shooters Granny Wilson 1942 I Married an Angel Lady Gimcrack Uncredited1942 Tish Spinster Uncredited1942 Commandos Strike at Dawn Elderly Village Woman Uncredited1943 The Moon Is Down Villager Uncredited1943 Dr. Gillespie's Criminal Case Grandmother Uncredited1943 A Guy Named Joe Old Woman Uncredited1943 What a Woman! Night Maid Uncredited1944 The Heavenly Body Mrs. Potter's Mother Uncredited1945 The Clock Old Woman Painter Uncredited1946 The Bride Wore Boots Mrs. Harvey - Mason-Dixon Dames Club Woman Uncredited1947 California Old Woman Uncredited1947 Welcome Stranger Miss Wendy Uncredited1949 Roseanna McCoy Old Woman at Campfire Uncredited1950 The File on Thelma Jordon Aunt Vera Edwards 1950 Caged Millie Lewis Uncredited1951 The Company She Keeps Mrs. Kaufman Uncredited1951 Close to My Heart Mrs. Madison Uncredited1953 The War of the Worlds Elderly News Vendor Uncredited1955 Alfred Hitchcock Presents Margaret Stoddard Season 1 Episode 9: "The Long Shot"1955 Not as a Stranger Mrs. Payton Uncredited

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