Eileen Heckart
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| Eileen Heckart | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | Anna Eileen Heckart March 29, 1919 Columbus, Ohio |
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| Died | December 31, 2001 (aged 82) Norwalk, Connecticut |
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| Spouse(s) | John Harrison Yankee, Jr. (1944-1997) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Eileen Heckart (March 29, 1919 – December 31, 2001) was an Academy Award and Tony Award-winning American actress of stage, screen, and television.
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[edit] Background
Born Anna Eileen Heckart in Columbus, Ohio to a family of Irish extraction, she graduated from Ohio State University with a B.A. in drama.
[edit] Career
Heckart began her Broadway career as the assistant stage manager and an understudy for The Voice of the Turtle in 1943. Her many credits include Picnic, The Bad Seed, A View from the Bridge, A Memory of Two Mondays, The Dark at the Top of the Stairs, A Family Affair, Barefoot in the Park, Butterflies Are Free, and The Cemetery Club. Her awards include a special 2000 Tony Award for Excellence in the Theatre, a 2000 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play for the off-Broadway The Waverly Gallery, and the 1953 Theatre World Award for Picnic. Her nominations include a 1996 Drama Desk Award for Northeast Local and Tony nods for Butterflies Are Free, Invitation to a March, and The Dark at the Top of the Stairs.
Heckart won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her work in the 1972 movie adaptation of Butterflies Are Free and was nominated in 1956 for her performance as the bereaved, besotted Mrs. Daigle in The Bad Seed. She also appeared as a Vietnam War widow with Clint Eastwood in Heartbreak Ridge.
Heckart was familiar to TV audiences with starring roles in The Five Mrs. Buchanans, Annie McGuire, Out of the Blue, Trauma Center, Partners in Crime, Backstairs at the White House (as Eleanor Roosevelt), and guest spots on The Mary Tyler Moore Show (as journalist Flo Meredith, a role she carried over to a guest appearance on MTM's spinoff Lou Grant), Rhoda, Murder One, Cybill, The Cosby Show, and many other shows.
[edit] Personal life
Heckart was married to John Harrison Yankee Jr. from 1944 until his death in 1997. Her son Luke Yankee is the author of Just Outside the Spotlight: Growing Up with Eileen Heckart (ISBN 0-8230-7888-4), published by Back Stage Books in 2006.
Heckart died of cancer at her home in Norwalk, Connecticut at the age of 82. She also had lived in Stamford, Connecticut.[1] She was survived by 3 children and 2 stepsisters.
[edit] Partial filmography
- Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956)
- Bus Stop (1956)
- The Bad Seed (1956)
- Heller in Pink Tights (1960)
- Up the Down Staircase (1967)
- Butterflies are Free (1972)
- Burnt Offerings (1976)
- Seize the Day (1986)
- Heartbreak Ridge (1986)
- The First Wives Club (1996)
[edit] References
[edit] External links
| Awards | ||
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| Preceded by Marisa Pavan for The Rose Tattoo |
Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture 1957 for The Bad Seed |
Succeeded by Elsa Lanchester for Witness for the Prosecution |
| Preceded by Cloris Leachman for The Last Picture Show |
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress 1972 for Butterflies Are Free |
Succeeded by Tatum O'Neal for Paper Moon |
| Preceded by Kathleen Chalfant for Wit |
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play 1999-2000 for The Waverly Gallery |
Succeeded by Mary-Louise Parker for Proof |
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