Rosemary DeCamp, actress, 90

["Deathwatch Central" <cdw@slick.org>]

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Rosemary DeCamp, a matriarchal character actress who
played mother to James Cagney in ``Yankee Doodle Dandy'' and Marlo Thomas
on the TV show ``That Girl,'' died Tuesday from complications of
pneumonia. She was 90.

DeCamp began playing numerous ``old lady'' roles while still in her 30s,
securing a place as a top supporting actress but hampering efforts to
become a leading lady.

Most of DeCamp's best-known roles were performed behind layers of
makeup. She played Cagney's mother in George M. Cohan's film biography,
``Yankee Doodle Dandy,'' and the mother of Mowgli in Rudyard Kipling's
adventure ``The Jungle Book.''

She played George Gershwin's mother in 1945's ``Rhapsody in Blue.''

DeCamp also starred with Ronald Reagan (news - web sites) in 1943's ``This
Is the Army'' and the 1949 drama ``Night Unto Night.''

In the 1949 film version of the popular radio show ``The Life of Riley,''
she played the wife of hard-luck factory worker Chester A. Riley and
resumed the role on television opposite Jackie Gleason.

DeCamp played the role of widowed housewife in the CBS sitcom ``The Bob
Cummings Show'' from 1955-59. She began playing Thomas' mother on ``That
Girl'' in 1966, a role she kept for four seasons.



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