In Remembrance: Maureen Stapleton

     Maureen Stapleton, the actress who won an Academy Award and a British Film Academy Award for her portrayal of anarchist/writer Emma Goldman in Warren Beatty’s Reds (1981), has passed away in Lenox, Massachusetts on March 13, 2006. She was 80.

     Born on June 21, 1925 in Troy, New York, Stapleton left home after high school graduation with $100.00, heading to New York City to study at the Herbert Berghof Acting School and then the Actor’s Studio. She made her Broadway debut in 1946’s The Playboy Of The Western World, directed by Burgess Meredith. She also appeared as Serafina Delle Rose in Tennessee Williams’ The Rose Tattoo, opposite acting school friend Eli Wallach, for which she won a Tony Award at age 24.

     After making several television appearances, Stapleton made her film debut in the 1958 drama Lonelyhearts playing a conniving vixen opposite Montgomery Clift. Although the film did not perform well at the box office, Stapleton received a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award nomination for her role. In addition to her Oscar nomination for Lonelyhearts, Stapleton was also nominated for roles in Airport (1970) and Interiors (1978).

     Never one to be interested in a film’s lead roles, Stapleton turned in memorable supporting performances in such films as The Fugitive Kind (1959) an adaptation of the play Orpheus, Bye Bye Birdie (1962), Trilogy (1969), Plaza Suite (1971), Johnny Dangerously (1984), Cocoon (1985) and Cocoon: The Return (1988). Over her career she appeared on stage in productions of Williams’ Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, Lillian Hellman’s Toys In The Attic and Neil Simon’s The Gingerbread Lady.

     In preparation for her role in Reds, Stapleton attempted to read Goldman’s autobiography, though she reportedly found the book boring.

     In 1995 Stapleton published her autobiography Hell Of A Life, in which she puckishly observed "I've been asked repeatedly what the 'key' to acting is, and as far as I'm concerned, the main thing is to keep the audience awake."

     Her final film was 2003’s Living And Dining.