For the American politician, see Maureen Stapleton (politician).
Maureen Stapleton | |
|---|---|
 Stapleton and Charles Durning in Queen of the Stardust Ballroom (1975) | |
| Born | Lois Maureen Stapleton June 21, 1925 Troy, New York, U.S. |
| Died | March 13, 2006 (aged 80) Lenox, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1946–2003 |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 2 |
Lois Maureen Stapleton (June 21, 1925 – March 13, 2006) was an American actress in film, theater, and television. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Lonelyhearts (1958), Airport (1970), and Interiors (1978), before winning for her performance as Emma Goldman in Reds (1981). She was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 1981.
Stapleton made her Broadway debut in 1946 in The Playboy of the Western World, and went on to win the 1951 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for The Rose Tattoo and the 1971 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for The Gingerbread Lady. She also won an Emmy Award for the television film Among the Paths to Eden (1967), and the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Reds. Her other film roles included Bye Bye Birdie (1963), Plaza Suite (1971), The Fan (1981), Cocoon (1985), and The Money Pit (1986).
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.[1][2] Her father was an alcoholic and her parents separated during her childhood.[3][4]
Career[edit]
Stapleton moved to New York City at the age of 18, and did modeling to pay the bills. 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.[5] 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 Lillian Hellman's Toys in the Attic. She won a second Tony Award for Neil Simon's The Gingerbread Lady, which was written especially for her, in 1971. Later Broadway roles included "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 a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. 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 (1970) and Woody Allen's Interiors (1978). 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."[6]
Stapleton won a 1968 Emmy Award for her performance in Among the Paths of Eden. She was nominated for the television version of All the King's Men (1959), Queen of the Stardust Ballroom (1975), and The Gathering (1977). Her later appearances included Johnny Dangerously (1984), Cocoon (1985), and its sequel Cocoon: The Return (1988).
She was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 1981.[7] She was an alumna of the famous Actors Studio in New York City, led by Lee Strasberg. 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.
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.[8] She had a son, Daniel, and a daughter, Katherine, by her first husband.[9] Her daughter, Katherine Allentuck, garnered good reviews for her 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).
Stapleton suffered from anxiety and alcoholism for many years, and once told an interviewer, "The curtain came down, and I went into the vodka."[10] She also said that her unhappy childhood contributed to her insecurities. A lifelong heavy smoker, Stapleton died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in 2006 at her home in Lenox, Massachusetts.[10]
In 1981 Hudson Valley Community College in Stapleton's childhood city of Troy, New York, dedicated a theater in her name.[11]
She was not related to All In the Family star Jean Stapleton (who used her mother's maiden name professionally). Her biography, A Hell of a Life, was published by Simon & Schuster in 1995. In an interview, she states she was raised in the Catholic faith.[12]
Filmography[edit]
Film[edit]
Television[edit]
| Year 1994 | Title Trading Mom | Role magic old lady | 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 Nominated-Primetime Emmy Award for Best Single Performance by an Actress |
| 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 | (TV movie) Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Drama |
| 1969 | Mirror, Mirror Off the Wall | Ruthie Maxwell | (TV movie) |
| 1974 | Tell Me Where It Hurts | Connie | (TV movie) |
| 1975 | Queen of the Stardust Ballroom | Bea Asher | (TV movie) Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Special Program - Drama or Comedy |
| 1976 | The Lively Arts | Amanda Wingfield in 'The Glass Menagerie' | episode: Tennessee Williams |
| Cat on a Hot Tin Roof | Big Mama | (TV movie) | |
| 1977 | The Gathering | Kate | (TV movie) Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama or Comedy Special |
| 1979 | Letters from Frank | Betty Miller | (TV movie) |
| The Gathering, Part II | Kate Thornton | (TV movie) | |
| Saturday Night Live | Herself (host) | Episode: "Maureen Stapleton/Linda Ronstadt and Phoebe Snow" | |
| 1982 | The Electric Grandmother | Grandmother | (TV movie) |
| Little Gloria... Happy at Last | Nurse Emma Kieslich | (TV movie) | |
| 1983 | Great Performances | White Queen | episode: Alice in Wonderland |
| 1984 | Sentimental Journey | Ruthie | (TV movie) |
| Family Secrets | Maggie Lukauer | (TV movie) | |
| 1985 | Private Sessions | Dr. Liz Bolger | (TV movie) |
| 1988 | The Thorns | Peggy Mrs. Hamilton | episode: The Other Maid episode: The Maid |
| Liberace: Behind the Music | Frances Liberace | (TV movie) | |
| 1989 | B.L. Stryker | Auntie Sue | episode: Auntie Sue Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series |
| The Equalizer | Emily Rutherford | episode: The Caper | |
| 1992 | Last Wish | Ida Rollin | (TV movie) |
| Miss Rose White | Tanta Perla | (TV movie) Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie | |
| Lincoln | Sarah Bush Lincoln | (voice) (TV movie) | |
| 1995 | Road to Avonlea | Maggie MacPhee | episode: What a Tangled Web We Weave Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series |
Stage[edit]
| Year | Title | Role | Venue | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1946–1947 | The Playboy of the Western World | Sara Tansey / Pegeen Mike (replacement) | Booth Theatre | 81 performances |
| 1947–1948 | Antony and Cleopatra | Iras | Martin Beck Theatre | 126 performances |
| 1949–1950 | Detective Story | Miss Hatch | Hudson Theatre Broadhurst Theatre | 581 performances |
| 1950 | The Bird Cage | Emily Williams | Coronet Theatre | 21 performances |
| 1951 | The Rose Tattoo | Serafina Delle Rose | Martin Beck Theatre | 306 performances Theatre World Award for Outstanding Individual Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play |
| 1953 | The Crucible | Elizabeth Proctoer (replacement) | Martin Beck Theatre | |
| 1953 | The Emperor's Clothes | Bella | Ethel Barrymore Theatre | 16 performances |
| 1953 | Richard III | Lady Anne | City Center | 15 performances |
| 1955 | All in One | Flora Meighan | Playhouse Theatre | 47 performances |
| 1957 | Orpheus Descending | Lady Torrance | Martin Beck Theatre | 68 performances |
| 1958–1959 | The Cold Wind and the Warm | Ida | Morosco Theatre | 120 performances Nominated – Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play |
| 1960–1961 | Toys in the Attic | Carrie Berniers | Hudson Theatre | 456 performances Nominated – Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play |
| 1965 | The Glass Menagerie | The Mother | Brooks Atkinson Theatre | 175 performances |
| 1966 | The Rose Tattoo | Serafina Delle Rose | Billy Rose Theatre | 62 performances |
| 1968–1970 | Plaza Suite | Karen Nash / Muriel Tate / Norma Hubley | Plymouth Theatre | 1,097 performances Nominated – Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play |
| 1970 | Norman, Is That You? | Beatrice Chambers | Lyceum Theatre | 12 performances |
| 1970–1971 | The Gingerbread Lady | Evy Meara | Plymouth Theatre | 193 performances Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play |
| 1972 | The Country Girl | Georgie Elgin | Billy Rose Theatre | 61 performances |
| 1972 | The Secret Affairs of Mildred Wild | Mildred Wild | Ambassador Theatre | 23 performances |
| 1975–1976 | The Glass Menagerie | The Mother | Circle in the Square Theatre | 77 performances |
| 1977–1978 | The Gin Game | Fonisa Dorsey (replacement) | John Golden Theatre | |
| 1981 | The Little Foxes | Bridie Hubbard | Martin Beck Theatre | 126 performances Nominated – Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play |
References[edit]
- ^ Sean O'Driscol (March 2006). "Stapleton, Oscar Winner, Dies at 80". Irish Abroad. Retrieved 2008-05-11.
- ^ Tom Vallance (15 March 2006). "Maureen Stapleton". The Independent. Archived from the original on 13 January 2013. Retrieved 2008-05-11.
- ^ The Associated Press (13 March 2006). "Famed Actress Maureen Stapleton Dies". CBS News. Retrieved 2008-05-11.
- ^ Robert Berkvist (19 March 2006). "Maureen Stapleton; actress collected Oscar, Tonys, Emmy". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on 9 September 2012. Retrieved 2008-05-11.
- ^ Mosel, "Leading Lady: The World and Theatre of Katharine Cornell
- ^ IMDB
- ^ "26 Elected to the Theater Hall of Fame." The New York Times, March 3, 1981.
- ^ 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 2012-10-19. Retrieved 2011-05-15.
- ^ https://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/13/movies/13cnd-stapleton.html?_r=0
- ^ a b Berkvist, Robert (2006-03-13). "Maureen Stapleton, Oscar-Winning Actress, Is Dead at 80". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-05-04.
- ^ Staff writers (1981-11-30). "College to Call Theater The Maureen Stapleton". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-05-04.
- ^ [1]
- ^ "Overnight fire destroys Heiden Hotel of Sweet Lorraine fame". Times Herald-Record. Middletown, New York: Dow Jones Local Media Group, Inc. May 18, 2008. Archived from the original on February 1, 2013. Retrieved June 9, 2010.
External links[edit]
- Maureen Stapleton at the Internet Broadway Database
- Maureen Stapleton at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
- Maureen Stapleton on IMDb
- Maureen Stapleton at Find a Grave
- Maureen Stapleton at the University of Wisconsin's Actors Studio audio collection
- Maureen Stapleton Papers. Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.
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