# Mabel Albertson
**Mabel Albertson** (Mabel Ida Albertson; July 24, 1901 – September 28, 1982) was an American character actress of stage, radio, film, and television, best known for playing Phyllis Stephens, the mother of Darrin Stephens, on the sitcom *Bewitched*[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0016781/bio/) • [2](https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/albertson-mabel-1901-1982). She was the sister of the actor [Jack Albertson](https://www.edgepedia.org/jack-albertson)[2](https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/albertson-mabel-1901-1982).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | July 24, 1901, in Lynn, Massachusetts (some records give Haverhill, Massachusetts)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0016781/bio/) • [3](https://www.ancestry.com/search/categories/bmd_death?birth=1901&death=1982&name=Mabel_Albertson) |
| Died | September 28, 1982, Santa Monica, California, of Alzheimer's disease, aged 81[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0016781/bio/) • [4](https://www.upi.com/Archives/1982/09/30/Obituaries/3052402206400/) |
| Signature role | Phyllis Stephens, Darrin's mother, on *Bewitched*, 19 episodes, 1964–1971[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057733/fullcredits/) |
| Career span | Vaudeville in the 1920s, radio star in the 1930s, theater actress and director in the 1940s, film and television from the early 1950s to the mid-1970s[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0016781/bio/) • [6](https://archives.nypl.org/the/21578) |
| Broadway | *The Egg* (1962) and *Xmas in Las Vegas* (1965)[7](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/mabel-albertson-484296) |
| Family | Sister of actor Jack Albertson (1907–1981); mother of producer George Englund; former mother-in-law of actress Cloris Leachman[2](https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/albertson-mabel-1901-1982) • [8](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0016781/trivia/) |
| Final films | *On a Clear Day You Can See Forever* (1970) and *What's Up, Doc?* (1972)[9](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/103468) |
## Early life and stage beginnings
Albertson was born in Massachusetts to Leopold Albertson, a shoemaker born in Russia, and Flora Kraft, also born in Russia; the couple were Russian Jewish immigrants who married in Boston on December 25, 1900[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0016781/bio/) • [8](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0016781/trivia/). Her brother Jack, born in 1907, became an Oscar- and Emmy-winning actor[2](https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/albertson-mabel-1901-1982) • [10](https://sovereign-press.com/index.php/persons/item/215942-mabel-albertson-the-quintessential-screen-mother-you-forgot-you-knew). She is often erroneously described as a sister of the actor Frank Albertson, but Frank was a native of Minnesota raised by parents of Irish heritage and was no relation[8](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0016781/trivia/).
After graduating from the New England School of Speech and Expression, she moved into professional stage work in stock theater, vaudeville, and night clubs, appearing with [Jimmy Durante](https://www.edgepedia.org/jimmy-durante)[6](https://archives.nypl.org/the/21578). A tribute account describes her upbringing as poor, with her mother working in a shoe factory after the parents' divorce, and notes that at nineteen Albertson worked as a saleslady in New York[10](https://sovereign-press.com/index.php/persons/item/215942-mabel-albertson-the-quintessential-screen-mother-you-forgot-you-knew) • [11](https://www.jimnolt.com/LADIESOFTAOS2.htm).
## Radio and the 1930s
During the 1930s Albertson became prominent in radio. She co-starred with the comedian Phil Baker on *The Armour Hour* (1933–35) and later on NBC's *Dress Rehearsal* (1936–37) with Joe Rines and Pinky Lee, a program to which she also contributed script ideas, dialog, and gags[6](https://archives.nypl.org/the/21578). A 1935 *Radio Mirror* cover feature identified her as Phil Baker's leading lady on the Armour program[12](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Radio-Mirror/35/Mirror-1935-Jun.pdf). Her surviving scrapbook, held by the [New York Public Library](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-york-public-library)'s Billy Rose Theatre Division, spans 1933 to 1939 and centers on this radio career[6](https://archives.nypl.org/the/21578).
## Film and television career
Albertson had tried films twice before, in 1928 (in *Gang War*) and 1940, without much success[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0016781/bio/) • [9](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/103468). At age 50 she took the supporting role of Mrs. Carter in a Warner Bros. Technicolor musical romance, and from the early 1950s onward she built a screen career playing what one biographical sketch calls "the ultimate haughty judgmental (often wealthy) mother-in-law (or mother, or stepmother, or auntie)"[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0016781/bio/). Her AFI Catalog filmography lists 27 titles, including *So This Is Love* (1953), *The Cobweb* (1955), *Don't Give Up the Ship* (1959) as [Jerry Lewis](https://www.edgepedia.org/jerry-lewis)'s mother-in-law, *All the Fine Young Cannibals* (1960) as George Hamilton's mother, *Period of Adjustment* (1962), *Barefoot in the Park* (1967) as Aunt Harriet, *On a Clear Day You Can See Forever* (1970), and *What's Up, Doc?* (1972) as Mrs. Van Hoskins[9](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/103468).
**Television mothers.** On television she became a recurring maternal presence across 1950s and 1960s sitcoms. The trade directory *TV Stars* credits her as Henrietta Patterson on *That's My Boy* (1954–55), Mrs. Whiting on *Those Whiting Girls* (1955 and 1957), and Irene Brady on *The Tom Ewell Show* (1960–61), and notes later appearances as Don Hollinger's mother, Mildred, on *That Girl*[13](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/Radio-Programming/TV-Stars-The-Complete-Directory-to-Prime-Time-1964-Present-B--221117.pdf). NNDB lists her as Mrs. Sprague on *The Andy Griffith Show* (1966–68) and Mrs. Preston, Dick's mother, on *The New Dick Van Dyke Show* (1971–73)[14](https://www.nndb.com/people/760/000160280/). In the 1960s she also appeared on top-rated series including *Gunsmoke*, *Perry Mason*, *The Munsters*, *Bonanza*, and *That Girl*[6](https://archives.nypl.org/the/21578).
Her most recognizable role was Phyllis Stephens on *Bewitched*, the mother of Darrin Stephens, played across 19 episodes from 1964 to 1971[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057733/fullcredits/). The character was known for her headaches and her disapproval of her daughter-in-law; in the first-season episode "Samantha Meets the Folks," Phyllis hopes to find that Samantha is a poor housekeeper[15](https://tv.apple.com/us/person/mabel-albertson/umc.cpc.8ofnwr7yc7ab9z86xtq6wejd).
On Broadway, IBDB credits her in the original casts of *The Egg* (January 1962), playing three roles, and *Xmas in Las Vegas* (November 1965) as Mrs. Edna Simon[7](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/mabel-albertson-484296).
## Personal life
Albertson married Harold Austin Ripley on August 20, 1924; the marriage ended in divorce in 1928 and produced two children[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0016781/bio/). Her son [George Englund](https://www.edgepedia.org/george-englund) became a film producer, and through him she was the former mother-in-law of the actress [Cloris Leachman](https://www.edgepedia.org/cloris-leachman)[8](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0016781/trivia/). She then married the radio and film writer Ken Englund in November 1936; that marriage also ended in divorce, in January 1951, according to IMDb[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0016781/bio/). Other sources describe the Englund marriage differently: the Bewitched Wiki lists Ken Englund as her second husband from 1937 until her death[16](https://bewitched.fandom.com/wiki/Mabel_Albertson), and the New York Public Library finding aid says she married Ken England in 1937[6](https://archives.nypl.org/the/21578).
## Final years and death
Albertson retired from acting in the mid-1970s after a guest role on *The Mary Tyler Moore Show* in 1975, as her health and memory began to fail[6](https://archives.nypl.org/the/21578) • [16](https://bewitched.fandom.com/wiki/Mabel_Albertson). She died of Alzheimer's disease on September 28, 1982, at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, where she had been hospitalized nearly three weeks; a family spokesman said there would be no funeral and her body was to be cremated[4](https://www.upi.com/Archives/1982/09/30/Obituaries/3052402206400/). NNDB records that her ashes were scattered in the [Pacific Ocean](https://www.edgepedia.org/pacific-ocean)[14](https://www.nndb.com/people/760/000160280/). She died ten months after her brother Jack, who died on November 25, 1981[14](https://www.nndb.com/people/760/000160280/) • [16](https://bewitched.fandom.com/wiki/Mabel_Albertson).
## References
1. [Mabel Albertson – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0016781/bio/)
2. [Albertson, Mabel (1901–1982), Dictionary of Women Worldwide via Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/albertson-mabel-1901-1982)
3. [Mabel Albertson death records, Ancestry.com](https://www.ancestry.com/search/categories/bmd_death?birth=1901&death=1982&name=Mabel_Albertson)
4. [Obituaries, UPI Archives, September 30, 1982](https://www.upi.com/Archives/1982/09/30/Obituaries/3052402206400/)
5. [Bewitched (1964–1972) full cast and crew, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057733/fullcredits/)
6. [Mabel Albertson scrapbook, 1933–1939, Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library](https://archives.nypl.org/the/21578)
7. [Mabel Albertson – Broadway Cast & Staff, IBDB](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/mabel-albertson-484296)
8. [Mabel Albertson – Trivia, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0016781/trivia/)
9. [Mabel Albertson, AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/PersonDetails/103468)
10. [Mabel Albertson: The Quintessential Screen Mother You Forgot You Knew, Sovereign Press](https://sovereign-press.com/index.php/persons/item/215942-mabel-albertson-the-quintessential-screen-mother-you-forgot-you-knew)
11. [Ladies of Taos: Tribute to Mabel Albertson, Colete Morlock and Thom Hamilton](https://www.jimnolt.com/LADIESOFTAOS2.htm)
12. [Radio Mirror, June 1935, WorldRadioHistory](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Radio-Mirror/35/Mirror-1935-Jun.pdf)
13. [TV Stars: The Complete Directory to Prime Time, ALBERTSON, MABEL entry](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSHELF-ARH/Radio-Programming/TV-Stars-The-Complete-Directory-to-Prime-Time-1964-Present-B--221117.pdf)
14. [Mabel Albertson, NNDB](https://www.nndb.com/people/760/000160280/)
15. [Mabel Albertson Movies and Shows, Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/us/person/mabel-albertson/umc.cpc.8ofnwr7yc7ab9z86xtq6wejd)
16. [Mabel Albertson, Bewitched Wiki (Fandom)](https://bewitched.fandom.com/wiki/Mabel_Albertson)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1940s to 1960s › Surnames A to Bo*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license