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Eileen Heckart
Actor

Eileen Heckart

29 Mar 1919Born
31 Dec 2001Died
82Age at death
82Credits

Biography

Eileen Heckart was an American actress of stage, screen, and television. Born Anna Eileen Herbert, her career spanned nearly 60 years. She first became known for her role as schoolteacher Rosemary Sydney in the original 1953 cast of William Inge's play Picnic on Broadway.

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She won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as the overprotective mother of a blind adult son in Butterflies Are Free, a role she originated on Broadway before playing it in the film.

She often played mothers, including Rocky Graziano's mother in Somebody Up There Likes Me; the mother of a murdered child in The Bad Seed; the elderly mother of an estranged son in the PBS production of the one-act play Save Me a Place at Forest Law; the overbearing mother of the detective portrayed by George Segal in No Way to Treat a Lady; the mother of reporter Jack Stein on the 1990s television sitcom Love & War; the mother of two separate characters on the daytime soap opera One Life to Live in the 1980s and 1990s; and the meddling mother of a jilted wife (played by Diane Keaton) in The First Wives Club, her last film role. She also had a recurring role on the 1970s sitcom, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, as Mary's Aunt Flo Meredith, a famous woman reporter, which she repeated on the subsequent spin-off series, Lou Grant.

In addition to her Academy Award, she also won two Emmy Awards for Save Me a Place at Forest Lawn and Love & War, and a Golden Globe Award for The Bad Seed. She also received a special Tony Award for lifetime achievement in 2000, and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She made her final acting appearance in 2000 at age 80 in an off-Broadway production, The Waverly Gallery, in which she played the leading role of an elderly grandmother with Alzheimer's disease.

Description above from the Wikipedia article Eileen Heckart, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known for

Filmography

The 80 most recent of 82 credits.

  1. 1996The First Wives ClubFilm: Catherine MacDuggan
  2. 1995Murder OneSeries (6 episodes)
  3. 1995CybillSeries: Marge (3 episodes)
  4. 1994The 5 Mrs. BuchanansSeries: Mother Emma Buchanan (17 episodes)
  5. 1994EllenSeries: Grandma (1 episode)
  6. 1994Ultimate BetrayalFilm: Sarah McNeil
  7. 1994Breathing LessonsFilm: Mabel
  8. 1993Triumph Over Disaster: The Hurricane Andrew StoryFilm: Shelly, Shelley
  9. 1993Stephen King's Golden TalesFilm: Rose Pennywell
  10. 1992Love & WarSeries (2 episodes)
  11. 1991Home ImprovementSeries: Elaine Jenkins (1 episode)
  12. 1989Stuck with Each OtherFilm: Fay Cass
  13. 1988Annie McGuireSeries (11 episodes)
  14. 1986Heartbreak RidgeFilm: Little Mary Jackson
  15. 1984Tales from the DarksideSeries: Rose Pennywell (1 episode)
  16. 1984Partners in CrimeSeries: Jeanine (13 episodes)
  17. 1984The Cosby ShowSeries: Mrs. Hickson (1 episode)
  18. 1984Highway to HeavenSeries: Helen Spencer (1 episode)
  19. 1983Trauma CenterSeries: Amy Decker (13 episodes)
  20. 1982Games Mother Never Taught YouFilm: Martha Brewster
  21. 1982Table SettingsFilm
  22. 19829 to 5Series (1 episode)
  23. 1981Joe Dancer: The Big Black PillFilm: Sister Clara
  24. 1980F.D.R.: The Last YearFilm: Eleanor Roosevelt
  25. 1980White MamaFilm: Three Bag Lady
  26. 1979The Sorrows of GinFilm: Rosemary
  27. 1979Trapper John, M.D.Series (1 episode)
  28. 1979Out of the BlueSeries: The Boss Angel (16 episodes)
  29. 1979Backstairs at the White HouseSeries: Eleanor Roosevelt (4 episodes)
  30. 1978The Honeymooners Christmas SpecialFilm: Mildred
  31. 1978Suddenly, LoveFilm: Mrs. Malloy
  32. 1978Flying HighSeries (1 episode)
  33. 1977Sunshine ChristmasFilm: Bertha Hayden
  34. 1977Lou GrantSeries (1 episode)
  35. 1976Burnt OfferingsFilm: Roz Allardyce
  36. 1976AliceSeries (2 episodes)
  37. 1975SwitchSeries: Annie Warren (1 episode)
  38. 1975The Hiding PlaceFilm: Katje
  39. 1974The F.B.I. Story: The FBI Versus Alvin Karpis, Public Enemy Number OneFilm: Ma Barker
  40. 1974Little House on the PrairieSeries: Amanda Cooper (1 episode)
  41. 1974RhodaSeries: Aunt Lillian Fiedler (1 episode)
  42. 1974Zandy's BrideFilm: Ma Allan
  43. 1974Wedding BandFilm: Herman's Mother
  44. 1973Barnaby JonesSeries: Virginia Lennox / Steele (1 episode)
  45. 1972The VictimFilm: Mrs. Hawkes
  46. 1972The Streets of San FranciscoSeries: Stella 'Stell' Charnovski (1 episode)
  47. 1972BanyonSeries: Mrs. Shaw (1 episode)
  48. 1972Butterflies Are FreeFilm: Mrs. Florence Baker
  49. 1971All the Way HomeFilm: Aunt Hannah Lynch
  50. 1970The Mary Tyler Moore ShowSeries: Flo Meredith (1 episode)
  51. 1969The TreeFilm: Sally Dunning
  52. 1969Hawaii Five-OSeries: Agatha Henderson (1 episode)
  53. 1968No Way to Treat a LadyFilm: Mrs. Brummel
  54. 1967Up the Down StaircaseFilm: Henrietta Pastorfield
  55. 1966CBS PlayhouseSeries: Janet Ferguson (1 episode)
  56. 1966Felony SquadSeries (1 episode)
  57. 1965The F.B.I.Series: Mrs. Creighton (1 episode)
  58. 1963The FugitiveSeries: Sister Veronica (3 episodes)
  59. 1963My Six LovesFilm: Ethel
  60. 1961The New BreedSeries: Harriet Dawson (1 episode)
  61. 1961Ben CaseySeries (1 episode)
  62. 1961Dr. KildareSeries: Nurse Jenny Freesmith (1 episode)
  63. 1960Heller in Pink TightsFilm: Lorna Hathaway
  64. 1959A Doll's HouseFilm: Kristine
  65. 1959Play of the WeekSeries: Myrtle (1 episode)
  66. 1958Naked CitySeries: Mildred Pepper, Virginia Cort (1 episode)
  67. 1958Hot SpellFilm: Fan
  68. 1956The Little FoxesFilm: Birdie
  69. 1956The Bad SeedFilm: Hortense Daigle
  70. 1956Bus StopFilm: Vera
  71. 1956Somebody Up There Likes MeFilm: Ma Barbella
  72. 1956Miracle in the RainFilm: Grace Ullman
  73. 1955Alfred Hitchcock PresentsSeries: Lucy Baldwin (1 episode)
  74. 1955GunsmokeSeries: Hattie Silks, Athena Partridge Royce (1 episode)
  75. 1953Kraft Television TheatreSeries (1 episode)
  76. 1953The Trip to BountifulFilm: Jessie Mae Watts
  77. 1951Hallmark Hall of FameSeries: Birdie, Mabel, Kristine Linde, Aunt Hannah Lynch (1 episode)
  78. 1950Lux Video TheatreSeries: Florie, Miss Green (1 episode)
  79. 1949SuspenseSeries: Mollie, Margaret Quartermain, Mrs. Haskell (1 episode)
  80. 1948Studio OneSeries: Evie Jackson (1 episode)

Biography and credits from TMDB. This website uses TMDB and the TMDB APIs but is not endorsed, certified, or otherwise approved by TMDB.