Jane Darwell was an American actor stage, film and TV. She is remembered for her characterization of matriarch and leader of the Joad family in the film adaptation of John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. She portrayed the role of Bird Woman in Disney’s musical family film, Mary Poppins. By the end of her career she had appeared in more than 170 films which includes Huckleberry Finn, Jesse James, There's Always Tomorrow, The Last Hurrah. She also appeared in TV shows like Burke's Law, Follow the Sun, New Comedy Showcase. She died from a heart attack at the age of eighty-seven.