Rosemary Murphy
Rosemary Murphy (January 13, 1925 – July 5, 2014) was a German-American actress of stage, film, and television. She was nominated for three Tony Awards for her stage work, as well as two Emmy Awards for television work, winning once, for her performance in Eleanor and Franklin (1976).[1][2]
Rosemary Murphy | |
|---|---|
Murphy in 1970 | |
| Born | January 13, 1925 |
| Died | July 5, 2014 (aged 89) New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1949–2010 |
Biography and career
Murphy was born in Munich, Germany in 1925, the daughter of American parents Mildred (née Taylor) and Robert Daniel Murphy, a diplomat.[3] The family left Germany in 1939 due to the onset of World War II.
Education
Murphy, whose résumé came to include French and German films, attended Manhattanville College and trained as an actress at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and in New York at the Neighborhood Playhouse and the Actors Studio with Sanford Meisner before beginning her career on stage.[4]
Stage
She made her stage debut in Germany, in a 1949 production of Peer Gynt. She made her Broadway debut in 1950 in The Tower Beyond Tragedy. She went on to appear in some 15 Broadway productions, most recently in Noël Coward's Waiting in the Wings (1999).[1]
Film and television
Murphy also acted in films and on TV, most notably portraying Sara Delano Roosevelt in the TV miniseries Eleanor and Franklin (1976) and Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years (1977). She played Maudie Atkinson in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) as well as Callie Hacker in Walking Tall (1973). The following year, in 1974, she appeared in the television film A Case of Rape, playing a ruthless defense attorney who brutally cross-examines a rape victim (played by Elizabeth Montgomery) and wins an acquittal for the man who attacked her. In 1974–75, she played high-school principal Margaret Blumenthal in the series Lucas Tanner.
Her first soap opera role was Nola Hollister #2 on The Secret Storm (1969–1970). In 1977, she appeared on All My Children as Maureen Teller Dalton, Eric Kane's former mistress, and the mother of his son, Mark Dalton. In 1988, she played Loretta Fowler for several months, the kleptomaniac mother of Mitch Blake and Sam Fowler on Another World. The following year, she appeared on As the World Turns as Gretel Aldin #2 (a role previously played by Joan Copeland) when her character's son, James Stenbeck, was allegedly murdered.
She also appeared in episodes of Columbo (1974) and Murder, She Wrote (1987).[2]
Awards
Murphy won an Emmy Award for her role in Eleanor and Franklin. She also won a Clarence Derwent Award and an Outer Critics Circle Award and was nominated for three Tony awards.[5]
Death
She died on July 5, 2014 in Manhattan, from esophageal cancer. She never married.[6]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1947 | Das Ruf | Mary |
| 1957 | That Night! | Nurse 'Chorny' Chornis |
| 1961 | The Young Doctors | Miss Graves |
| 1962 | To Kill a Mockingbird | Maudie Atkinson |
| 1966 | Any Wednesday | Dorothy Cleves |
| 1972 | A Fan's Notes | Moms |
| Ben | Beth Garrison | |
| You'll Like My Mother | Mrs. Kinsolving | |
| 1973 | Walking Tall | Callie Hacker |
| Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies | Hannah | |
| 40 Carats | Mrs. Latham | |
| 1974 | A Case of Rape | Muriel Dyer |
| 1977 | Julia | Dottie |
| 1980 | The Attic | Mrs. Perkins |
| 1981 | The Hand | Karen Wagner |
| 1987 | September | Mrs. Mason |
| 1991 | For the Boys | Luanna Trott |
| 1993 | Twenty Bucks | Aunt Dotty |
| 1995 | Mighty Aphrodite | Adoption Coordinator |
| 1999 | Message in a Bottle | Helen at the B&B |
| 2001 | Dust | Angela |
| 2007 | The Savages | Doris Metzger |
| 2008 | Synecdoche, New York | Frances |
| 2009 | After.Life | Mrs. Whitehall |
| 2010 | The Romantics | Grandmother Hayes |
Television films
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | A Case of Libel | Claire | |
| 1972 | Invitation to a March | — | |
| 1974 | The Lady's Not for Burning | Margaret Devize | |
| 1976 | Eleanor and Franklin | Sara Roosevelt | Winner - Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie |
| 1977 | Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years | Sara Roosevelt | Nominated - Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie |
| 1978 | Before and After | Helen, Carole's Mother | |
| 1981 | Mr. Griffin and Me | Jane Barlow | |
| 1993 | And the Band Played On | Blood Bank Executive | |
| 1994 | Don't Drink the Water | Miss Pritchard | |
| 1995 | The Tuskegee Airmen | Eleanor Roosevelt | |
| 1999 | The Hunt for the Unicorn Killer | Bea Einhorn |
Partial Television Credits
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1951-53 | Lux Video Theatre | Various roles | 3 episodes |
| 1962 | The Virginian | Pearl Dodd Krause | Episode: "Big Day, Great Day" |
| 1976 | Eleanor and Franklin | Sara Roosevelt | Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie |
| 1984 | George Washington | Mary Ball Washington | |
| 1996-97 | EZ Streets | Christina Quinn | 4 episodes |
| 1997 | Cracker | Victoria | 2 episodes |
| 1997-99 | Frasier | Carol Larkin | 2 episodes |
| 1998 | The Visitor | Tour Guide | Episode: "The Trial" |
References
- ^ a b Rosemary Murphy at the Internet Broadway Database
- ^ a b Rosemary Murphy at IMDb
- ^ Rosemary Murphy profile, filmreference.com; accessed July 10, 2014.
- ^ Fox, Margalit (July 10, 2014). "Rosemary Murphy, 89, Emmy Winner Familiar to Broadway, Dies". The New York Times. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
- ^ Mahan, Bill (December 21, 1972). "Rosemary Murphy Moves into Spotlight". Valley News. Valley News. p. 85. Retrieved May 3, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Barnes, Mike (July 9, 2014). "'To Kill a Mockingbird' Actress Rosemary Murphy Dies at 89". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
External links
- Rosemary Murphy at IMDb
- Rosemary Murphy at the University of Wisconsin's