From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia Cecil Cunningham August 2 1888 April 17 1959 was an American film and stage actress With whitish hair cut like a mans she was a Hollywood character actress often cast in roles as a general knowitall She made more than 80 appearances in movies between 1929 and 1946 many of them uncredited Cunningham started her working life as a switchboard operator in a commerce bank and did some sittings as a photographers model Her first show business job was in the chorus line of Mademoiselle Modiste at the age of eighteen Cunningham trained as a singer and appeared in opera She worked as a vaudeville comedian at the Palace Theatre in New York City until the commencement of her movie career in 1929