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Maureen Stapleton

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For the American politician, see Maureen Stapleton (politician).
Maureen Stapleton
Stapleton in 1975
Born
Lois Maureen Stapleton

(1925-06-21)June 21, 1925
Troy, New York, U.S.
DiedMarch 13, 2006(2006-03-13) (aged 80)
Lenox, Massachusetts, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1946–2003
Spouses
Max Allentuck
​
​
(m. 1949; div. 1959)​
​
​
(m. 1963; div. 1966)​
Children2

Lois Maureen Stapleton (June 21, 1925 – March 13, 2006) was an American actress.[1] She received numerous accolades becoming one of the few actors to have achieved the Triple Crown of Acting winning an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and two Tony Awards.[2] She has also received a British Academy Film Award and a Golden Globe Award, as well as a nomination for a Grammy Award.

Stapleton started her career in theatre making her Broadway debut in The Playboy of the Western World (1946). She went on to receive two Tony Awards for Best Featured Actress in a Play for The Rose Tattoo (1951) and for Best Actress in a Play for The Gingerbread Lady (1971).[3] She was Tony-nominated for her roles in The Cold Wind And The Warm (1959), Toys in the Attic (1960), Plaza Suite (1971), and The Little Foxes (1981).

For her portrayal of Emma Goldman in the historical epic film Reds (1981) she received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She was also Oscar-nominated for her roles in Lonelyhearts (1958), Airport (1970), and Interiors (1978). During her career Stapleton acted in films such as Bye Bye Birdie (1963), Plaza Suite (1971), The Fan (1981), Cocoon (1985), The Money Pit (1986), and Nuts (1987).

On television, Stapleton played a variety of roles including in the television film Among the Paths to Eden (1967) for which she won the Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Drama.[4] She was Emmy-nominated for her roles in Queen of the Stardust Ballroom (1975), The Gathering (1977), B.L. Stryker (1989), Miss Rose White (1992), and Road to Avonlea (1995). She received a Grammy Award nomination for narrating To Kill a Mockingbird in 1975. For her life achievement she was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 1981.

Early life[edit]

Stapleton was born in Troy, New York, the daughter of John P. Stapleton and Irene (née Walsh), and grew up in a strict Irish American Catholic family.[5][6] Her father was an alcoholic and her parents separated during her childhood.[7][8]

Career[edit]

Stapleton with Don Murray in The Rose Tattoo (1951)

Stapleton moved to New York City at the age of 18, and worked as a salesgirl, hotel clerk, and modeled to pay the bills, including for artist Raphael Soyer.[9] She once said that it was her infatuation with the handsome Hollywood actor Joel McCrea which led her into acting. She made her Broadway debut in the production featuring Burgess Meredith of The Playboy of the Western World in 1946. That same year, she played the role of "Iras" in Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra in a touring production by actress and producer Katharine Cornell.[10] Stepping in because Anna Magnani refused the role due to her limited English, Stapleton won a Tony Award for her role in Tennessee Williams' The Rose Tattoo in 1951 (Magnani's English improved, however, and she was able to play the role in the film version, winning an Oscar).

Stapleton played in other Williams' productions, including Twenty-Seven Wagons Full of Cotton and Orpheus Descending (and its film adaptation, The Fugitive Kind, co-starring her friend Marlon Brando), as well as in The Cold Wind and the Warm (Tony nomination, 1959) and Lillian Hellman's Toys in the Attic (1960), for which she received another Tony Award nomination. She was nominated for a Tony Award for Neil Simon's Plaza Suite in 1968 and won a second Tony Award for Simon's The Gingerbread Lady, which was written especially for her, in 1971. Later Broadway roles included a Tony-nominated turn as "Birdie" in The Little Foxes, opposite Elizabeth Taylor, and as a replacement for Jessica Tandy in The Gin Game.

Stapleton's film career, though limited, brought her immediate success, with her debut in Lonelyhearts (1958) earning nominations for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and a Golden Globe Award.[11] She appeared in the 1963 film version of Bye Bye Birdie, in the role of Mama Mae Peterson, with Dick Van Dyke, Janet Leigh, Paul Lynde, and Ann-Margret. Stapleton played the role of Dick Van Dyke's mother, even though she was only five months and 22 days older than Van Dyke. She was nominated again for an Oscar for Airport (Golden Globe Award nomination, 1970[11]) and Woody Allen's Interiors (Golden Globe Award nomination, 1978[11]). She won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Reds (1981), directed by Warren Beatty, in which she portrayed the Lithuanian-born anarchist, Emma Goldman. In her acceptance speech, she stated, "I would like to thank everyone I've ever met in my entire life."[12] Her later appearances included Johnny Dangerously (1984), Cocoon (1985), and its sequel Cocoon: The Return (1988).

Stapleton with Jason Robards in 1958

Stapleton won a 1968 Emmy Award for her performance in Among the Paths of Eden and was nominated for six more, for Avonlea (1996), Miss Rose White (1992), B.L. Stryker (1989), the television version of All the King's Men (1959), Queen of the Stardust Ballroom (1975), and The Gathering (1977), and Kraft Theatre (1959).[4] She also appeared opposite Laurence Olivier and Natalie Wood in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1976).

She was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 1981.[13] She was an alumna of the famous Actors Studio in New York City, led by Lee Strasberg, where she became friends with Marilyn Monroe, who was only one year younger than Stapleton. She was impressed with Monroe's talent, and always thought it was a shame that Monroe was rarely allowed to play roles beyond the ditzy blonde. By comparison, Stapleton thought herself lucky: "I never had that problem. People looked at me on stage and said, 'Jesus, that broad better be able to act.'" One of the most famously remembered scenes at the studio was when Stapleton and Monroe acted in Anna Christie together.

Despite her association with Strasberg, Stapleton cited Mira Rostova as her most influential acting teacher.[14] She appeared with Rostova and another of Rostova's pupils, Montgomery Clift, Off-Broadway in The Sea Gull (1954).[15] Additionally, in his book Sanford Meisner on Acting, Meisner cites Stapleton as being "a wonderful actress." The pair starred together on Broadway in The Cold Wind and the Warm.[16]

She was nominated for a 1975 Grammy Award for the spoken word recording of To Kill a Mockingbird.[17]

She hosted the 19th episode of Season 4 of NBC's Saturday Night Live in 1979.

Personal life and death[edit]

Stapleton's first husband was Max Allentuck, general manager to the producer Kermit Bloomgarden, and her second was playwright David Rayfiel, from whom she divorced in 1966.[18] She had a son, Daniel, and a daughter, Katherine, by her first husband.[19] Her daughter, Katherine Allentuck, played a single movie role, that of "Aggie" in Summer of '42 (Stapleton herself also had a minor, uncredited role in the film as the protagonist's mother, though only her voice is heard; she does not appear on camera). Her son, Daniel Allentuck, is a documentary filmmaker.

Stapleton suffered from anxiety and alcoholism for many years, and once told an interviewer, "The curtain came down, and I went into the vodka."[9] She also said that her unhappy childhood contributed to her insecurities, which included a fear of flying, airplanes, and elevators.[20] A lifelong heavy smoker, Stapleton died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in 2006 at her home in Lenox, Massachusetts.[9]

In 1981 Hudson Valley Community College in Stapleton's childhood city of Troy, New York, dedicated a theater in her name.[21]

She was not related through her father to All In the Family star Jean Stapleton (who used her mother's maiden name professionally).

Acting credits[edit]

Film[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1955 Main Street to Broadway Maureen Stapleton - First Nighter Uncredited
1958 Lonelyhearts Fay Doyle
1960 The Fugitive Kind Vee Talbot
1961 A View from the Bridge Beatrice Carbone
1963 Bye Bye Birdie Mama Mae Peterson
1969 Trilogy Mary O'Meaghan Segment: "Among the Paths to Eden"
1970 Airport Inez Guerrero
1971 Summer of '42 Hermie's mother Voice, Uncredited
Plaza Suite Karen Nash
1978 Interiors Pearl
1979 Lost and Found Jemmy
The Runner Stumbles Mrs. Shandig
1981 On the Right Track Mary the Bag Lady
The Fan Belle Goldman
Reds Emma Goldman
1984 Johnny Dangerously Ma Kelly
1985 Cocoon Marilyn Luckett
1986 The Money Pit Estelle
The Cosmic Eye Mother Earth Voice
Heartburn Vera
1987 Sweet Lorraine Lillian Garber [22]
Made in Heaven Aunt Lisa
Nuts Rose Kirk
1988 Cocoon: The Return Marilyn 'Mary' Luckett
Doin' Time on Planet Earth Helium Balloon Saleslady
1992 Passed Away Mary Scanlan
1994 The Last Good Time Ida Cutler
Trading Mom Mrs. Cavour
1997 Addicted to Love Nana
1998 Wilbur Falls Wilbur Falls High Secretary
2003 Living and Dining Mrs. Lundt Final film role

Television[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1954 Medic Evelyn Strauss Episode: "Day 10"
The Philco Television Playhouse Daughter Episode: "The Mother"
1955 The Philco Television Playhouse Mrs. Johnson Episode: "Incident in July"
1956 Armstrong Circle Theatre Mrs. Elizabeth Steigerwald Episode: "H.R. 8438: The Story of a Lost Boy"
The Alcoa Hour Vi Miller Episode: "No License to Kill (II)"
Studio One in Hollywood Rachel Johnson Episode: "Rachel"
1958 Kraft Theatre Sadie Burke Episode: "All the King's Men"
1959 Playhouse 90 Pilar Episode: "For Whom the Bell Tolls"
1960 CBS Repertoire Workshop Tessie Episode: "Tessie Malfitano and Anton Waldek"
1961 Car 54, Where Are You? Gypsy Woman Episode: "The Gypsy Curse"
Naked City Abbey Bick Episode: "Ooftus Goofus"
1962 Naked City Ruth Cullan Episode: "Kill Me While I'm Young So I Can Die Happy!"
The DuPont Show of the Week Professor Gretchen Anna Thaelman Episode: "The Betrayal"
1964 East Side/West Side Molly Cavanaugh Episode: "One Drink at a Time"
1967 Among the Paths to Eden Mary O'Meaghan Television movie
1969 Mirror, Mirror Off the Wall Ruthie Maxwell Television movie
1974 Tell Me Where It Hurts Connie Television movie
1975 Queen of the Stardust Ballroom Bea Asher Television movie
1976 The Lively Arts Amanda Wingfield Episode: "Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie"
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Big Mama Television movie
1977 The Gathering Kate Television movie
1979 Letters from Frank Betty Miller Television movie
The Gathering, Part II Kate Thornton Television movie
Saturday Night Live Herself (host) Episode: "Maureen Stapleton/Linda Ronstadt and Phoebe Snow"
1982 The Electric Grandmother Grandmother Television movie
Little Gloria... Happy at Last Nurse Emma Kieslich Television movie
1983 Great Performances White Queen Episode: "Alice in Wonderland"
1984 Sentimental Journey Ruthie Television movie
Family Secrets Maggie Lukauer Television movie
1985 Private Sessions Dr. Liz Bolger Television movie
1988 The Thorns Peggy / Mrs. Hamilton 2 episodes: "The Other Maid" / "The Maid"
Liberace: Behind the Music Frances Liberace Television movie
1989 B.L. Stryker Auntie Sue Episode: "Auntie Sue"
The Equalizer Emily Rutherford Episode: "The Caper"
1992 Last Wish Ida Rollin Television movie
Miss Rose White Tanta Perla Television movie
Lincoln Sarah Bush Lincoln Voice; Television movie
1995 Road to Avonlea Maggie MacPhee Episode: "What a Tangled Web We Weave"

Theatre[edit]

Year Title Role Venue Ref.
1946–1947 The Playboy of the Western World Sara Tansey / Pegeen Mike (replacement) Booth Theatre, Broadway [23]
1947–1948 Antony and Cleopatra Iras Martin Beck Theatre, Broadway [24]
1949–1950 Detective Story Miss Hatch Hudson Theatre, Broadway [25]
1950 The Bird Cage Emily Williams Coronet Theatre, Broadway [26]
1951 The Rose Tattoo Serafina Delle Rose Martin Beck Theatre, Broadway [27]
1953 The Crucible Elizabeth Proctoer (replacement) Martin Beck Theatre, Broadway [28]
1953 The Emperor's Clothes Bella Ethel Barrymore Theatre, Broadway [29]
1953 Richard III Lady Anne New York City Center, Broadway [30]
1955 27 Wagons Full of Cotton Flora Meighan Playhouse Theatre [31]
1957 Orpheus Descending Lady Torrance Martin Beck Theatre, Broadway [32]
1958–1959 The Cold Wind And The Warm Aunt Ida Morosco Theatre, Broadway [33]
1960–1961 Toys in the Attic Carrie Berniers Hudson Theatre, Broadway [34]
1965 The Glass Menagerie The Mother Brooks Atkinson Theatre, Broadway [35]
1966 The Rose Tattoo Serafina Delle Rose Billy Rose Theatre, Broadway
1968–1970 Plaza Suite Karen Nash / Muriel Tate / Norma Hubley Plymouth Theatre, Broadway
1970 Norman, Is That You? Beatrice Chambers Lyceum Theatre, Broadway
1970–1971 The Gingerbread Lady Evy Meara Plymouth Theatre, Broadway
1972 The Country Girl Georgie Elgin Billy Rose Theatre, Broadway
1972 The Secret Affairs of Mildred Wild Mildred Wild Ambassador Theatre, Broadway
1975–1976 The Glass Menagerie The Mother Circle in the Square Theatre, Broadway
1977–1978 The Gin Game Fonisa Dorsey (replacement) John Golden Theatre, Broadway
1981 The Little Foxes Birdie Hubbard Martin Beck Theatre, Broadway

Awards and nominations[edit]

Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref.
1958 Academy Awards Best Supporting Actress Lonelyhearts Nominated [36]
1970 Airport Nominated [37]
1978 Interiors Nominated [38]
1981 Reds Won [39]
1970 British Academy Film Awards Best Actress in a Supporting Role Airport Nominated [40]
1982 Reds Won[a] [41]
1996 CableACE Awards Actress in a Dramatic Special/Series Avonlea (Episode: "What a Tangled Web We Weave") Nominated [42]
1971 Drama Desk Awards Outstanding Performance The Gingerbread Lady Won [43]
1958 Golden Globe Awards Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture Lonelyhearts Nominated [44]
1970 Airport Won[b]
1971 Plaza Suite Nominated
1978 Interiors Nominated
1981 Reds Nominated
1975 Grammy Awards Best Spoken Word Recording To Kill a Mockingbird Nominated [45]
1978 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards Best Supporting Actress Interiors Won[c] [46]
1981 Reds Won [47]
1978 National Society of Film Critics Awards Best Supporting Actress Interiors 2nd Place [48]
1981 Reds Won
1966 New York Emmy Awards Individuals New York Television Theatre Won [49]
1978 New York Film Critics Circle Awards Best Supporting Actress Interiors Won
1981 Reds Runner-up
1959 Primetime Emmy Awards Best Single Performance by an Actress Kraft Television Theatre (Episode: "All the King's Men") Nominated [50]
1966 Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Drama Among the Paths to Eden Won
1975 Outstanding Lead Actress in a Special Program – Drama or Comedy Queen of the Stardust Ballroom Nominated
1978 Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama or Comedy Special The Gathering Nominated
1989 Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series B.L. Stryker (Episode: "Auntie Sue") Nominated
1992 Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Special Miss Rose White Nominated
1996 Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series Avonlea (Episode: "What a Tangled Web We Weave") Nominated
1951 Theatre World Awards The Rose Tattoo Won [51]
1951 Tony Awards Best Featured Actress in a Play Won [52]
1959 Best Leading Actress in a Play The Cold Wind And The Warm Nominated [53]
1960 Toys in the Attic Nominated [54]
1968 Plaza Suite Nominated [55]
1971 The Gingerbread Lady Won [56]
1981 Best Featured Actress in a Play The Little Foxes Nominated [57]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Tied with Rohini Hattangadi for Gandhi.
  2. ^ Tied with Karen Black for Five Easy Pieces.
  3. ^ Tied with Mona Washbourne for Stevie.

References[edit]

  1. ^ https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2006/03/14/maureen-stapleton/a505269b-9feb-42fb-aac4-787734448757/
  2. ^ "Maureen Stapleton: Almost an EGOT". Legacy. March 13, 2014. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  3. ^ "Maureen Stapleton Tony Awards Info". www.broadwayworld.com. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Maureen Stapleton". Television Academy. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  5. ^ Sean O'Driscol (March 2006). "Stapleton, Oscar Winner, Dies at 80". Irish Abroad. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved May 11, 2008.
  6. ^ Tom Vallance (March 15, 2006). "Maureen Stapleton". The Independent. Archived from the original on January 13, 2013. Retrieved May 11, 2008.
  7. ^ "Famed Actress Maureen Stapleton Dies". CBS News. The Associated Press. March 13, 2006. Archived from the original on March 2, 2012. Retrieved May 11, 2008.
  8. ^ Robert Berkvist (March 19, 2006). "Maureen Stapleton; actress collected Oscar, Tonys, Emmy". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on September 9, 2012. Retrieved May 11, 2008.
  9. ^ a b c Berkvist, Robert (March 13, 2006). "Maureen Stapleton, Oscar-Winning Actress, Is Dead at 80". The New York Times. Retrieved May 4, 2008.
  10. ^ Mosel, "Leading Lady: The World and Theatre of Katharine Cornell
  11. ^ a b c "Maureen Stapleton". www.goldenglobes.com. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  12. ^ The Oscar Acceptance Speech: By and Large, It's a Lost Art Washington Post. March 21, 1999.
  13. ^ "26 Elected to the Theater Hall of Fame." The New York Times, March 3, 1981.
  14. ^ Stapleton, Maureen; Scovell, Jane (1995). A Hell of a Life: An Autobiography. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-684-81092-8.
  15. ^ "The Seagull". www.iobdb.com. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  16. ^ Hultman, Jon B. (February 5, 1997). "Sanford Meisner". Variety. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
  17. ^ "Maureen Stapleton". GRAMMY.com. May 19, 2020. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  18. ^ Daniel McEneny (June 2009). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: David Rayfiel House". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Archived from the original on October 19, 2012. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
  19. ^ Berkvist, Robert (March 13, 2006). "Maureen Stapleton, Oscar-Winning Actress, Is Dead at 80". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
  20. ^ Haun, Harry (September 20, 2006). "Friends and Colleagues Remember Maureen Stapleton at Memorial". Playbill. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  21. ^ "College to Call Theater The Maureen Stapleton". The New York Times. November 30, 1981. Retrieved May 4, 2008.
  22. ^ "Overnight fire destroys Heiden Hotel of Sweet Lorraine fame". Times Herald-Record. Middletown, New York. May 18, 2008. Archived from the original on February 1, 2013. Retrieved June 9, 2010.
  23. ^ "The Playboy of the Western World (Broadway, 1946)". Playbill. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  24. ^ "Antony and Cleopatra (Broadway, 1947)". Playbill. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  25. ^ "Detective Story (Broadway, 1949)". Playbill. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  26. ^ "The Bird Cage (Broadway, 1950)". Playbill. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  27. ^ "The Rose Tattoo (Broadway, 1951)". Playbill. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  28. ^ "The Crucible (Broadway, 1953)". Playbill. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  29. ^ "The Emperor's Clothes (Broadway, 1953)". Playbill. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  30. ^ "Richard III (Broadway, 1953)". Playbill. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  31. ^ "27 Wagons Full of Cotton (Broadway, 1955)". Playbill. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  32. ^ "Orpheus Descending (Broadway, 1957)". Playbill. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  33. ^ "The Cold Wind and the Warm (Broadway, 1958)". Playbill. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  34. ^ "Toys in the Attic (Broadway, 1960)". Playbill. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  35. ^ "The Glass Menagerie (Broadway, 1965)". Playbill. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  36. ^ "The 31st Academy Awards (1959) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  37. ^ "The 43rd Academy Awards (1971) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  38. ^ "The 51st Academy Awards (1978) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  39. ^ "The 54th Academy Awards (1982) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  40. ^ "BAFTA Awards: Film in 1971". British Academy Film Awards. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  41. ^ "BAFTA Awards: Film in 1983". British Academy Film Awards. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  42. ^ "CableACE Nominations Are Dominated by HBO". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  43. ^ "1971 Awards – Drama Desk". Drama Desk Awards. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  44. ^ "Maureen Stapleton". Golden Globe Awards. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  45. ^ "Maureen Stapleton". Grammy Awards. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  46. ^ "The 4th Annual Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards". Los Angeles Film Critics Association. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  47. ^ "The 7th Annual Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards". Los Angeles Film Critics Association. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  48. ^ "Past Awards". National Society of Film Critics. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  49. ^ "10th Annual New York Emmy® Awards" (PDF). New York Emmy Awards. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  50. ^ "Maureen Stapleton". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  51. ^ "Past Honorees". Theatre World Awards. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  52. ^ "The Tony Award Nominations 1951". American Theatre Wing. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  53. ^ "The Tony Award Nominations 1959". American Theatre Wing. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  54. ^ "The Tony Award Nominations 1960". American Theatre Wing. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  55. ^ "The Tony Award Nominations 1968". American Theatre Wing. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  56. ^ "The Tony Award Nominations 1971". American Theatre Wing. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
  57. ^ "The Tony Award Nominations 1981". American Theatre Wing. Retrieved July 8, 2024.

External links[edit]

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