Posted on 06/07/2005 2:37:37 PM PDT by kcvl
Actress Anne Bancroft Dies at Age 73
By DINO HAZELL, Associated Press Writer 1 minute ago
NEW YORK -
Anne Bancroft, who won the 1962 best actress Oscar as the teacher of a young Helen Keller in "The Miracle Worker" but achieved greater fame as Mrs. Robinson, the seducer of her daughter's boyfriend in the 1967 movie "The Graduate," has died, a spokesman for her husband, producer
Mel Brooks, said Tuesday. She was 73.
ADVERTISEMENT
click here
She died of cancer on Monday at Mount Sinai Hospital, spokesman John Barlow said.
Bancroft was awarded the Tony for creating the role on Broadway of poor-sighted Annie Sullivan, the teacher of Keller, who was born deaf and blind. She repeated her portrayal in the film version. Despite her Academy Award and four other nominations, "The Graduate" overshadowed her other achievements.
Dustin Hoffman delivered the famous line when he realized his girlfriend's mother was coming on to him in a hotel room: "Mrs. Robinson, you're trying to seduce me. ... Aren't you?"
Bancroft complained to a 2003 interviewer: "I am quite surprised that with all my work, and some of it is very, very good, that nobody talks about `The Miracle Worker.' We're talking about Mrs. Robinson. I understand the world.... I'm just a little dismayed that people aren't beyond it yet."
Her beginnings in Hollywood were unimpressive. She was signed by Twentieth Century-Fox in 1952 and given the glamour treatment. She had been acting in television as Anne Marno (her real name: Anna Maria Louise Italiano), but it sounded too ethnic for movies. The studio gave her a choice of names; she picked Bancroft "because it sounded dignified."
After a series of B pictures, she escaped to Broadway in 1958 and won her first Tony opposite
Henry Fonda in "Two for the Seesaw." The stage and movie versions of "The Miracle Worker" followed. Her other Academy nominations: "The Pumpkin Eater" (1964); "The Graduate" (1967); "The Turning Point" (1977); "Agnes of God" (1985).
Eternal Rest grant unto her and let perpetual light shine unto her. May she rest in peace.
Bzzzz. That's Ann Bancroft. No "e".
Sorry. Didn't see the original title of the thread.
Awww, I thought she was quite beautiful.
Love her portrayal of Mary Magdalene in Jesus of Nazareth. Prayers.
That's a lovely picture. Probably on the opening night of 'The Producers.'
Hard to believe that you never heard of her.
Birth name was Anna Italiano....from da bronx.
She was great in it. What an odd couple they appeared to be...but it worked for them.
Can you imagine how wonderful her life was being married to one of the funniest human beings on the planet?
She had a lot of laughs!
God Speed, Mrs. Brooks.
And my sincere condolences, Mel.
That's sad she was a gifted actress and she had a solid marriage to Mel Brooks which is so uncommon in Hollyweird
May she rest in peace, and prayers to Mel Brooks and the rest of her family.
It's more a generational thing.
Her absolute best performance was with Anthony Hopkins in "84 Charing Cross Road". A real heartbreaker.
Great movie.
RIP, Anne.
Well, if she was 36 when The Graduate was made, that'd make her at least 72...
Not really old, but not really young, either.
My parents died in the last couple years at ages 63 and 64. That's considered "relatively young" nowadays.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.