Phyllis Somerville

Phyllis Jeanne Somerville (December 12, 1943 – July 16, 2020)^[1] was an American stage, film, and television actress. She is best known for her roles in Little Children (2006), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008), Surviving Family (2012), The Big C (2010–2013), and Outsiders (2016–2017).

Phyllis Somerville
Somerville at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival
Born	(1943-12-12)December 12, 1943 Iowa City, Iowa, U.S.
Died	July 16, 2020 (aged 76) New York City, New York, U.S.
Education	University of Northern Iowa
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1968–2020

Personal life

Somerville was born in Iowa City, Iowa, to Lefa Mary (née Pash; 1918–2011) and the Rev. Paul Somerville (1919-1995), who moved the family around as he preached at different churches, until settling in Traer, and eventually Cresco, Iowa. There, her mother worked as a librarian, and Phyllis attended high school, where she was involved with cheerleading, drama, and music, including playing clarinet in the All-State band. She had three brothers: Paul, (Clinical social worker MBA) (1947–2005), Stephen, (Naval officer, Forensic pathologist.) and Bruce (Artist) ^[2]

She attended Morningside College and then transferred to the University of Northern Iowa, studying theatre and graduating with a degree in English in 1966. In college, she starred in productions such as The Visit, Electra, and Macbeth. She next did graduate work performing classical roles such as Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Hilberry Theatre through Wayne State University in Detroit and later became a resident equity actress with the Arena Stage in Washington, DC. Her first paid job as an entertainer was at Buckskin Joe amusement park over summer break in college.^[3][4][5]

She lived in New York City, where she died in 2020, aged 76, of natural causes.^[6][7]

Theatre

Somerville made her Broadway debut as Wilma in the 1974 musical Over Here!, which was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Musical. The following year, she performed in the off-Broadway musical The Journey of Snow White as the Witch. She appeared in the 1978 Broadway production of Once in a Lifetime. In 1983, she was the understudy for Kathy Bates in the Broadway production of Marsha Norman's 'night, Mother, and later toured in the role opposite Mercedes McCambridge. In 1984, she originated the role of Glory in Norman's next play, Traveler in the Dark, at the American Repertory Theater.

In 1990, she originated the role of Joyce in The Sum of Us by David Stevens. In 2001, she originated the role of Hannah in the off-Broadway musical The Spitfire Grill, a role played in the 1996 film by Ellen Burstyn. In 2009, she performed in the musical Happiness at the Lincoln Center Theatre. She has appeared in other productions off-Broadway, as well as in regional theatre, including many roles with the Hartford Stage Company. She was a member of the LAByrinth Theater Company. In 2014, she appeared off-Broadway in an experimental all-female production of I Remember Mama, alongside Rita Gardner, Heather MacRae, and Barbara Barrie.^[8][1]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1981	Arthur	Saleslady
1992	Leap of Faith	Dolores
1997	Trouble on the Corner	Crazy Woman
1998	Montana	Waitress
	The Impostors	Woman at Bar with Pills
	Just One Time	Scratchy-voiced Woman
	Curtain Call	Gladys
	Better Living	Nellie
1999	Simply Irresistible	Ruth
	Bringing Out the Dead	Mrs. Burke
2001	The Sleepy Time Gal	Rebecca's Adoptive Mother
2002	Swimfan	Aunt Gretchen Christopher
2005	Just Like the Son	Judge
2006	Little Children	May MacGorvey
2007	Broken English	Psychic
	Lucky You	Pawnbroker
2008	The Brooklyn Heist	Connie
	The Curious Case of Benjamin Button	Grandma Fuller
2009	The Mighty Macs	Sister Sister
2011	One Fall	Mrs. Barrows
	A Bird of the Air	Ivy Campbell
2012	Forgetting the Girl	Ruby
	Surviving Family	Mary Giaconne
2013	Stoker	Mrs. McGarrick
	The Double	Mrs. James
2015	Stuff	Ginger
2016	Detours	Annie Delaney
2017	Our Souls at Night	Ruth
2018	Diane	Ina
2019	Poms	Helen

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1990	Law & Order	Ms. Maltese	Episode: "Subterranean Homeboy Blues"
1991	Law & Order	Kristen Cameron	Episode: "Heaven"
1992	Loving	Mrs. Swan	Episode #1.2201
1994	As the World Turns	Alice	1 episode
1995	New York News	Edith Schemer	Episode: "The Using Game"
1995–1996	NYPD Blue	Dorothy Russell	2 episodes
1998	One Life to Live	Charlotte Stonecliff	Episode #1.7668
	Guiding Light	Mrs. Beasley	Unknown episodes
	Sex and the City	Gertrude Morgan	Episode: "The Power of Female Sex"
	Homicide: Life on the Street	Faye Ann Ralston	Episode: "Brotherly Love"
2000	The Sopranos	Brenda	Episode: "Big Girls Don't Cry"
2001	Third Watch	Fran	Episode: "A Hero's Rest"
	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Mrs. Moss	Episode: "Victims"
2002	Law & Order: Criminal Intent	Mrs. McLeish	Episode: "The Third Horseman"
2003	Chappelle's Show	Old Lady #2	Episode: "O'Dweeds & Trading Spouses"
2004	As the World Turns	Annabelle Fettle	1 episode
	Law & Order: Criminal Intent	Louise Politano	Episode: "The Saint"
2007	Kidnapped	Annie Phillips	3 episodes
2008	Life on Mars	Mrs. Raimes	Episode: "Out Here in the Fields"
2010	CSI: Miami	Louise Russo	Episode: "In the Wind"
2010–2013	The Big C	Marlene	19 episodes
2011	Fringe	Alice Merchant	Episode: "6B"
2013	House of Cards	Russo's Mother	Episode: "Chapter 8"
	Unforgettable	Ruth	Episode: "Memory Kings"
	Elementary	Miriam Berg	Episode: "The Marchioness"
2014	Taxi Brooklyn	Sasha Lowenthal	Episode: "Brooklyn Heights"
	The Blacklist	Skye Kincaid	Episode: "The Mombasa Cartel"
2015	Blue Bloods	Beth Del Rio	Episode: "Occupational Hazards"
	The Night Shift	Marilyn Capshaw	Episode: "Eyes Look Your Last"
	Daredevil	Mrs. Vistain	2 episodes
	The Good Wife	Louise Nolfi	Episode: "The Deconstruction"
2016	Impastor	Ester Strumble	Episode: "Guardian Angel"
2016–2017	Outsiders	Lady Ray	13 episodes
2017	Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt	Meemaw	Episode: "Kimmy Steps on a Crack!"
2018	Castle Rock	Leanne Chambers	Episode: "Severance"
	Madam Secretary	Gloria Paley	Episode: "Requiem"
2021	Mare of Easttown	Betty Carroll	Posthumous release

Podcasts

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2016	Homecoming	Ellen Bergman	3 Episodes

Awards and nominations

Year	Award / Festival	Category	Work	Result
2006	Awards Circuit Community Awards	Best Cast Ensemble	Little Children	Nominated
2009	Gold Derby Awards	Best Ensemble Cast	The Curious Case of Benjamin Button	Nominated
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture		Nominated
2012	Indie Gathering International Film Festival	Best Supporting Actress	Surviving Family	Nominated
	Golden Door Film Festival	Best Supporting Actress		Won
2016	Long Island International Film Expo	Best Supporting Actress	Stuff	Won

References

1. "Phyllis Somerville Dies: 'The Big C', Broadway's 'To Kill A Mockingbird' Actress Was 76". www.msn.com.
2. Profile, iagenweb.org; accessed May 30, 2014.
3. Lefa Pash Somerville obituary, iowajones.org; accessed May 28, 2014.
4. Profile 2014-05-29 at the Wayback Machine, unialum.org; accessed May 28, 2014.
5. Phyllis Somerville interview with AARP, aarp.org; accessed May 28, 2014.
6. Profile, wcfcourier.com; accessed May 28, 2014.
7. Profile, historicimages.com; accessed May 28, 2014.
8. Profile, abouttheartists.com; accessed May 24, 2014.

External links

• Phyllis Somerville at the Internet Broadway Database  
• Phyllis Somerville at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Phyllis Somerville at IMDb