When asked in a New York World-Telegram interview in 1936 about her size, Emerson said, "I've heard a lot of blather about the tragedy of being a big woman but I've never known any of it.

"[1] After graduation, Emerson played stock music in Omaha, Nebraska, Sioux City, Iowa, and Denver Colorado.

At the time, her mother ended her career in vaudeville for sewing, dressmaking, and paying for Emerson's piano lessons.

[1] Turner Classic Movies said, "The 6'2" tall, 230-pound Hope Emerson, with her dark, curly hair, trademarked sidelong stares and grimly set mouth, may be primarily remembered for her unique and unforgettable physical presence.

Most often cast in villainous roles in both comedy and drama, this giant and imposing figure could strike fear into any woman or man.

The Hawarden Gazette wrote, "Miss Emerson was playing in vaudeville in Baltimore when her manager suddenly wired her to come to New York.

[6] Some of Emerson's more memorable roles were as a circus strongwoman in the film Adam's Rib (1949), as a nefarious masseuse-conspirator in the noirish Cry of the City (1948), and as a mail-order bride in Westward the Women (1952).

[4] Her most famous character was the sadistic prison matron Evelyn Harper in Caged (1950), a role that garnered her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

[7] The book Female Masculinity says that Emerson's performance in Caged "became the standard model for women's prison films.

[4] She was featured on an episode of This Is Your Life, a television show that was based around family or friends luring a special guest to a specific event without them knowing.

After the host Ralph Edwards appeared, the rest of the episode focused on Emerson's life as told by people who knew her.

"[1] Her other film roles included Thieves' Highway, Rosanna McCoy, House of Strangers, and Dancing in the Dark.

[2] Emerson had a regular role as Mother on the detective series Peter Gunn (1958–1961), for which she received an Emmy nomination.

She left Peter Gunn after its first season for a starring role on the CBS sitcom The Dennis O'Keefe Show (1959–60).

[10][11][12] KWIT writer James C. Schaap said, "And that's why, should you stop by Hawarden sometime, you should drive up to the cemetery, take the first little road north, cross a gravel lane, keep watching the graves on the edge and you'll find the pink Emerson stone--father, mother, and daughter.