Stage In 1903, Byington joined a repertory company, Belasco De Mille Company of New York, that was touring
Buenos Aires,
Argentina. Among the plays that she performed in Buenos Aires was
Dr. Morris, written by Dr. Alberto del Solar. Between 1903 and 1916, the company performed American plays, translated into Spanish and Portuguese in Argentina and Brazil. Upon returning to New York, Byington divided her time between working in
Manhattan and staying with her daughters. Her daughters were living with friends J. Allen and Lois Babcock, in
Leonardsville, New York, who were taking care of them while Byington worked in the city. She began touring in 1919 with a production of
The Bird of Paradise, which brought the Hawaiian culture to the mainland, and in 1921 began work with the Stuart Walker Company, for which she played roles in
Mr. Pim Passes By,
The Ruined Lady, and ''
Rollo's Wild Oat'', among others. This connection landed her a role in her first Broadway performance in 1924,
George S. Kaufman and
Marc Connelly's Beggar on Horseback which ran for six months. She renewed the role in March and April 1925, and continued on Broadway with an additional 18 productions from 1925 to 1935. These included roles in Kaufman and
Moss Hart's Once in a Lifetime,
Rachel Crothers's
When Ladies Meet (which had 173 performances on Broadway during the 1932-33 winter season, with Spring Byington playing the role of Bridget Drake), and
Dawn Powell's Jig Saw.
Films, radio and television In her last years on Broadway, Byington began work in films. The first was a short film titled ''Papa's Slay Ride
(1930), performing the role of Mama, and the second role, and better known, was in Little Women'' (1933) as Marmee, with
Katharine Hepburn as her daughter Jo. For
MGM, she played Midshipman Roger Byam's (
Franchot Tone) mother in
Mutiny on the Bounty (1935). She became a household name during
The Jones Family series of films, and continued as a character actress in Hollywood for several years. In 1952, she joined
CBS Radio to become the lead role of the widowed Lily Ruskin, in the
sitcom December Bride. In 1954, the television company
Desilu Productions produced a pilot of the show for a sitcom, also starring Byington. The pilot was successful, and the new hit sitcom aired in its first two seasons immediately following
I Love Lucy.
December Bride broadcast 156 episodes through 1959. Byington appeared with
Tab Hunter in a 1960 episode of
The Tab Hunter Show. She also guest-starred as herself in the CBS sitcom
Dennis the Menace, starring
Jay North, in the episode titled "Dennis' Birthday" (1961), with character actor
Vaughn Taylor also appearing in the segment. From 1961 to 1963, Byington was cast as the wise, matronly housekeeper, Daisy Cooper, in the
NBC Western series
Laramie, starring
John Smith and
Robert Fuller. On
Laramie, Daisy serves as a surrogate grandmother to orphaned Mike Williams, played by the child actor
Dennis Holmes. After
Laramie, Byington guest-starred in "Oh, Those Hats!", a 1963 episode of
Mister Ed, playing Karen Dooley, an influential Beverly Hills columnist. She later appeared as Mrs. Jolly on
Dennis Weaver's NBC
comedy drama Kentucky Jones, and as wealthy J. Pauline Spaghetti in two episodes of
Batman in 1966. Her
penultimate role before her death from
cancer was in 1967, as
Larry Hagman's mother on NBC's
I Dream of Jeannie. Her final role was in 1968 as Mother General on
ABC's The Flying Nun, starring
Sally Field. ==Personal life==