Edith Atwater

Last updated • 2 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Edith Atwater
Edith Atwater1961.JPG
Atwater in 1961
Born(1911-04-22)April 22, 1911
DiedMarch 14, 1986(1986-03-14) (aged 74)
OccupationActress
Years active1936–1985
Spouses
(m. 1941;div. 1946)
Joseph Allen
(m. 1951;div. 1953)
(m. 1962;died 1985)
From TV's Love on a Rooftop: Back row, L-R: Pete Duel, Judy Carne Front: Edith Atwater, Herbert Voland (1966) Love on a Rooftop Cast No 2.jpg
From TV's Love on a Rooftop : Back row, L-R: Pete Duel, Judy Carne Front: Edith Atwater, Herbert Voland (1966)

Edith Atwater (April 22, 1911 – March 14, 1986) was an American stage, film, and television actress.

Contents

Career

Born in Chicago, Atwater made her Broadway debut in 1933. In 1939, she starred in The Man Who Came to Dinner . Her film career included roles in The Body Snatcher (1945), Sweet Smell of Success (1957), It Happened at the World's Fair (1963), Strait-Jacket (1964), Strange Bedfellows (1965), True Grit (1969), The Love Machine (1971), Die Sister, Die! (1972), Mackintosh and T.J. (1975), and Family Plot (1976).

From 1964 to 1965, Atwater appeared in several episodes of the television series Peyton Place in the role of Grace Morton, wife of Dr. Robert Morton, who was played by her real-life husband Kent Smith. During the 1966–1967 television season, she appeared in the series Love on a Rooftop . She was also a regular on the television series Kaz during the 1978–1979 season. Her other television work included appearances on The Rockford Files , Hazel , Knots Landing , and numerous other series.

Atwater's work on Broadway included performances in Flahooley (1951), King Lear (1950), Metropole (1949), The Gentleman From Athens (1947), Parlor Story (1947), State of the Union (1945), R.U.R. (1942), Broken Journey (1942), Johnny on a Spot (1942), Retreat to Pleasure (1940), The Man Who Came to Dinner (1939), Susan and God (1937), The Masque of Kings (1937), The Country Wife (1936), This Our House (1935), Brittle Heaven (1934), Are You Decent (1934), and Springtime for Henry (1931). [1]

Atwater was a member of the governing board of Actors' Equity Association. [2]

Personal life and death

In November 1941, Atwater married actor Hugh Marlowe; [3] they divorced in 1946. She was married to actor Kent Smith from 1962 until his death in 1985. She died of cancer in 1986 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center [4] at age 74. [5] She had no children.

Legacy

Atwater's likeness was drawn in caricature by Alex Gard for Sardi's, the theatre-district restaurant in New York City. The picture is now part of the collection of the New York Public Library. [6]

Filmography

Film
YearTitleRoleNotes
1936 We Went to College NinaAlternate title: The Old School Tie
1936 The Gorgeous Hussy Lady VaughnUncredited
1945 The Body Snatcher Meg Cameron
1949 C-Man Lydia Brundage
1951 Teresa Mrs. LawrenceUncredited
1957 Sweet Smell of Success Mary
1961 Mr. Sardonicus NurseUncredited
1962 Sweet Bird of Youth Minor RoleUncredited
1963 It Happened at the World's Fair Miss Steuben
1964 Strait-Jacket Mrs. Alison Fields
1965 Strange Bedfellows Mrs. Stevens
1969 Daddy's Gone A-Hunting Hospital Desk NurseUncredited
1969 True Grit Mrs. Floyd
1970 Pieces of Dreams Mrs. Lind (Gregory's Mother)
1970 Norwood Angry Bus Passenger
1971 The Love Machine Mary
1972Call Me by My Rightful NameMrs. Watkins
1972 Stand Up and Be Counted Sophie
1974 Our Time Mrs. Margaret Pendleton
1975 Mackintosh and T.J. Mrs. Webster
1976 Family Plot Mrs. Clay
1978 Mean Dog Blues Linda's Mother
1978 Die Sister, Die! Amanda Price
Television
YearTitleRoleNotes
1948 The Philco Television Playhouse Marian BurnettEpisode: "Parlor Story"
1949 NBC Presents Episode: "Concerning a Lady's Honor"
1950 Suspense Louise LordEpisode: "The Man Who Talked in His Sleep"
1951 Somerset Maugham TV Theatre Episode: "The Outstation"
1955 Armstrong Circle Theatre Episode: "The Honorable Mrs. Jones"
1958 Decoy Lily Conway FlaglerEpisode: "High Swing"
1960 The Witness Episode: "Police Lt. Charles Becker"
1961 Festival Mrs. MoreenEpisode: "The Pupil"
1962 Stoney Burke Ruth ColesEpisode: "A Matter of Pride"
1962 The Eleventh Hour Ann Tabor2 episodes
1964 Dr. Kildare Miss ThortonEpisode: "A Day to Remember"
1964–65 Peyton Place Grace Morton11 episodes
1965 The Alfred Hitchcock Hour Mrs. BrennerEpisode: "Thou Still Unravished Bride"
1965 Profiles in Courage Mrs. AndrewsEpisode: "Judge Benjamin Barr Lindsey"
1965 Hazel Edith StonehamEpisode: "Do Not Disturb Occupants"
1965 The Legend of Jesse James Sarah ToddEpisode: "One Too Many Mornings"
1966–67 Love on a Rooftop Phyllis Hammond15 episodes
1967 Judd, for the Defense Mrs. BuckleyEpisode: "To Love and Stand Mute"
1969 Ironside Miss BryanEpisode: "Up, Down and Even"
1969 Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color Mrs. Addy MasonEpisodes: "Ride a Northbound Horse" (Parts 1 & 2)
1969 The Flying Nun Mother GeneralEpisode: "The New Habit"
1970 Nanny and the Professor Miss DunbarEpisode: "Nanny Will Do"
1970 Bonanza RobertaEpisodes: "The Night Virginia City Died", "The Weary Willies"
1973 Room 222 Mrs. TravisEpisode: "Can Nun Be One Too Many?"
1974 Doc Elliot Emma JohnsonEpisode: "The Gold Mine"
1975 The Rockford Files Kate BanningEpisode: "The Four Pound Brick"
1975 Insight Alice JeffriesEpisode: "The Pendulum"
1976 Switch Mrs. WoodEpisode: "Round Up the Usual Suspects"
1976 Family Judge HarmonEpisode: "Coming Apart"
1976 Baretta Mrs. YoungsteinEpisode: "Dear Tony"
1977 The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries Aunt Gertrude Hardy7 episodes
1978–79 Kaz Illsa Fogel22 episodes
1981 CBS Afternoon Playhouse Mrs. RutherfordEpisode: "The Great Gilly Hopkins"
1982 Knots Landing Dr. Lillian McCaryEpisode: "The Best Kept Secret"
1983 Hart to Hart Dr. Jane BarrettEpisodes: "Pounding Harts", "Harts on the Scent"
1985 Family Ties Gertrude "Aunt Trudy" HarrisEpisode: "Auntie Up"

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bessie Love</span> American actress (1898–1986)

Bessie Love was an American-British actress who achieved prominence playing innocent, young girls and wholesome leading ladies in silent and early sound films. Her acting career spanned nearly seven decades—from silent film to sound film, including theatre, radio, and television—and her performance in The Broadway Melody (1929) earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dorothy Lamour</span> American actress and singer (1914–1996)

Dorothy Lamour was an American actress and singer. She is best remembered for having appeared in the Road to... movies, a series of successful comedies starring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean Stapleton</span> American actress (1923–2013)

Jean Stapleton was an American character actress of stage, television and film. Stapleton is best known for her portrayal of Edith Bunker, the perpetually optimistic and devoted wife of Archie Bunker, on the 1970s sitcom All in the Family. The role earned her three Emmys and two Golden Globes for Best Actress in a comedy series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Betty Garrett</span> American actress, comedian, singer and dancer (1919–2011)

Betty Garrett was an American actress, comedian, singer and dancer. She originally performed on Broadway, and was then signed to a film contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. She appeared in several musical films, then returned to Broadway and made guest appearances on several television series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kent Smith</span> American actor (1907–1985)

Frank Kent Smith was an American actor who had a lengthy career in film, theatre and television.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Eythe</span> American actor (1918–1957)

William John Eythe was an American actor of film, radio, television and stage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donna Murphy</span> American actress

Donna Murphy is an American actress, best known for her work in musical theater. A five-time Tony Award nominee, she has twice won the Tony for Best Actress in a Musical: for her role as Fosca in Passion (1994–1995) and as Anna Leonowens in The King and I (1996–1997). She was also nominated for her roles as Ruth Sherwood in Wonderful Town (2003), Lotte Lenya in LoveMusik (2007), and Bubbie/Raisel in The People in the Picture (2011).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashley Williams (actress)</span> American actress (born 1978)

Ashley Churchill Williams is an American actress. She is known for starring in the television series The Jim Gaffigan Show on TV Land and in the NBC series Good Morning Miami. Williams played Victoria in 15 episodes of the CBS series How I Met Your Mother opposite Josh Radnor. She has starred in more than a dozen different television pilots over the years and done over 150 episodes of television in addition to television movies for The Hallmark Channel, Lifetime Television, and ABC Family. She has worked in studio and independent films, regional theater, Off-Broadway, and on Broadway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sardi's</span> Restaurant in Manhattan, New York

Sardi's is a continental restaurant located at 234 West 44th Street, between Broadway and Eighth Avenue, in the Theater District of Manhattan, New York City. Sardi's opened at its current location on March 5, 1927. It is known for the caricatures of Broadway celebrities on its walls, of which there are over a thousand.

JennyO'Hara is an American film, television, and stage actress. She is best known for Dixie in My Sister Sam (1986–1988), Janet Heffernan in The King of Queens (2001–2007), and Nita in Big Love (2006–2009).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jocelyn Brando</span> American actress (1919–2005)

Jocelyn Brando was an American actress, best known for her role as Katie Bannion in the film noir The Big Heat (1953). She was the sister of Marlon Brando.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pamela Tiffin</span> American actress and model (1942–2020)

Pamela Tiffin Wonso was an American film and television actress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bryan Batt</span> American actor (born 1963)

Bryan Batt is an American actor best known for his role in the AMC series Mad Men as Salvatore Romano, the closeted art director for the Sterling Cooper agency. Primarily a theater actor, he has had a number of starring roles in movies and television as well. His performance in the musical adaptation of Saturday Night Fever earned him one of New York City's more unusual honors, a caricature at Sardi's.

Holly Palance is an American former actress and journalist. She is perhaps best known for her role as the nanny of Damien Thorn in Richard Donner's The Omen (1976). Palance also appeared in Pete Walker's horror film The Comeback (1978). Beginning in 1984, she also co-hosted the series Ripley's Believe it or Not! with her father, Jack Palance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anita Gillette</span> American actress and singer (born 1936)

Anita Gillette is an American actress and singer. She has performed numerous roles on Broadway, American television, and in feature films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joan Darling</span> American actress

Joan Darling is an American actress, film and television director and a dramatic arts instructor.

Jennifer Warren is an American actress, producer and film director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frances Foster</span> American actress

Frances Helen Foster was an American film, television and stage actress. In addition to being an actress, Foster was also an award–winning stage director and a founding member of the Negro Ensemble Company. Moreover, in 1955, she became the first African American to appear in a nationally broadcast television commercial.

Alex Gard was a Russian American cartoonist. He was a regular cartoonist for newspapers, magazines and books, but is most well known for his celebrity caricatures at Sardi's restaurant in New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patti Karr</span> American actress (1932–2020)

Patti Karr, born Patsy Lou Karkalits, was an American actress, dancer, and singer in Broadway musicals, and in film and television.

References

  1. "Edith Atwater". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on November 3, 2020. Retrieved November 3, 2020.
  2. "To report on theatre". The New York Times. March 18, 1948. p. 36. ProQuest   108277401 . Retrieved November 3, 2020 via ProQuest.
  3. "Edith Atwater, Actress, Wed". The New York Times. November 21, 1941. p. 23. ProQuest   105667642 . Retrieved November 3, 2020 via ProQuest.
  4. "Edith Atwater Is Dead at 74; Actress in Theater and Film". The New York Times. March 17, 1986. p. B 10. ProQuest   111044239 . Retrieved November 3, 2020 via ProQuest.
  5. Hischak, Thomas S. (2003). Enter the Players: New York Stage Actors in the Twentieth Century. Lanham, Maryland, and Oxford: The Scarecrow Press, Inc. p. 15. ISBN   9780810847613.
  6. The New York Public Library Inventory of Sardi's Caricatures

Sources