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Elizabeth Franz | |
|---|---|
| Born | Betty Frankovitch 1941 (age 82–83) Akron, Ohio |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1981–present |
| Spouse | |
Elizabeth Franz (born Betty Frankovitch; [1] 1941 [2] ) is an American stage and television actress.
|
Elizabeth Franz | |
|---|---|
| Born | Betty Frankovitch 1941 (age 82–83) Akron, Ohio |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1981–present |
| Spouse | |
Elizabeth Franz (born Betty Frankovitch; [1] 1941 [2] ) is an American stage and television actress.
Franz was born Betty Frankovitch in Akron, Ohio. [1] Her Serbo-Croatian father, Joe Frankovitch, worked at an Akron, tire factory. Her half Irish, half Native American mother, Harriet, had mental problems that sometimes frightened Franz when she was a child. In childhood she decided to becme an actress as a way of releasing emotions that she had to hold in while dealing with her parents. [3] She had two brothers and a sister, and she graduated from Copley High School in Copley Township, Ohio, in 1959. [4]
Although her mother never thought Franz would succeed as an actress, she wanted to attend the American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) and worked as a secretary at Ohio Edison to save enough money to enroll there. [5] An AADA teacher warned her that despite being a good actress, she might not get roles before she reached age 40. [3]
Billed as Betty Frankovitch, Franz acted at the Weathervane Theater in Akron. [4] She acted with The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis 1968-1970. [6]
In 2004–05, she appeared at the Royal National Theatre in London, in the Sam Shepard play Buried Child . She has starred in numerous Off-Broadway and regional theater productions, including the American premiere of Frank McGuinness's Bird Sanctuary . She also appeared in Long Day's Journey into Night , The Glass Menagerie , The Comedy of Errors , Madwoman of Chaillot , The Lion in Winter , A View from the Bridge , The Matchmaker , The Wizard of Oz , Great Expectations , The Model Apartment, and Woman in Mind .
Her "subtly layered performance" as Grandma Kurnitz in the 2017 Weston Playhouse Theatre Company production of Neil Simon's Lost in Yonkers was duly noted by Rutland Herald critic Jim Lowe, who deemed Franz's portrayal the "dramatic backbone" of the production, "allowing only traces of the octogenarian's love and humanity to seep through." [7]
Franz's Tony-winning performance as Linda Loman in the 50th anniversary production of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman proved a revelation to audiences and author alike, as evidenced by Miller's brief but pointed tribute.
She has discovered in the role the basic underlying powerful protectiveness, which comes out as fury, and that in the past, in every performance that I know of, was simply washed out. [8]
On television, Franz is most notably a character actor. She became best known for her role as the villainous Alma Rudder on Another World , which she portrayed from 1982–83, while she was performing Brighton Beach Memoirs on Broadway. She played Helen Wendall on As the World Turns from 1994–95, and appeared as free-spirited beauty salon owner Marsha in three episodes of Roseanne .
She appeared in the series Gilmore Girls , as the inn owner, Mia, and in Law & Order , Law & Order: Special Victims Unit , Cold Case , Dear John and Judging Amy .
She has appeared in such feature films and motion pictures as Sabrina , Christmas with the Kranks , The Substance of Fire , The Pallbearer , Thinner , The Secret of My Success , School Ties and Jacknife .
Franz married actor Edward Binns in 1983, and they remained wed until his death in 1990. [3]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | The House of Mirth | Grace Stepney | Television movie |
| 1987 | The Secret of My Success | Grace Foster | |
| 1989 | Jacknife | Pru Buckman | |
| 1991 | Face of a Stranger | TV movie | |
| 1992 | School Ties | Jane Dillon | |
| 1993 | It's Nothing Personal | Unknown | |
| Shameful Secrets | Maryanne's Mother | TV movie | |
| 1995 | Sabrina | Joanna | |
| 1996 | The Pallbearer | Aunt Lucille | |
| The Substance of Fire | Miss Barzakian | ||
| Thinner | Leda Rossington | ||
| Twisted | Mrs. Bundrass | ||
| 1999 | A Fish in the Bathtub | Bea Greenberg | |
| 2000 | Death of a Salesman | Linda Loman | Television movie |
| 2001 | A Girl Thing | Josephine McCormack | TV movie |
| 2004 | Christmas with the Kranks | Bev Scheel | |
| Loopy | Doris Highsmith | Short Film | |
| 2005 | The Reader | Sissel | Short Film |
| 2009 | In Memoriam | Woman | Short Film |
| Alone | Sarah | Short Film | |
| 2015 | Take Me to the River | Evelyn |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | American Playhouse | Doctor | Episode: "Pilgrim, Farewell" |
| 1982 | Another World | Alma Rudder | Episode: "July 30, 1982" |
| 1985 | Spenser: For Hire | Mrs. O'Rourke | Episode: "Original Sin" |
| 1986 | American Playhouse | Mrs. Rice | Episode: "The Rise and Rise and Daniel Rocket" |
| 1987 | The Equalizer | Mrs. Thomas | Season 3: Episodes 1&2: Blood & Wine |
| 1987 | American Playhouse | Dottie McCann | Episode: "Dottie" |
| 1989 | ABC Afterschool Special | Cecile Nelson | Episode: "A Town's Revenge" |
| 1989 | American Playhouse | Unknown | Episode: "Love and Other Sorrows" |
| 1990 | Roseanne | Marsha | 3 episodes |
| 1994–1995 | Sisters | Gladys Lear | 2 episodes |
| 1995 | ABC Afterschool Special | Alice Kelly | Episode: "Notes for My Daughter" |
| 2000–2001 | Judging Amy | Vivian Galloway | 2 episodes |
| 2001 | Gilmore Girls | Mia | Episode: "The Ins and Outs of Inns" |
| 2003 | Cold Case | Evelyn Shelby | Season 1: Episode 1: "Look Again" |
| An Unexpected Love | Dorothy | Television movie | |
| 2004 | Law & Order | Alison Bishop | Episode: "Married with Children" |
| 2004 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Jeannette Henley | Season 6: Episode 4: "Scavenger" |
| 2011 | Homeland | Isabel Samler | Episode: "Marine One" |
| 2012 | Grey's Anatomy | Emma Carroll | Episode: "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" |
| Year | Association | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Play | Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You | Nominated |
| 1983 | Tony Awards | Best Featured Actress in a Play | Brighton Beach Memoirs | Nominated |
| 1990 | Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Performer in a Children's Special | ABC Afterschool Special | Nominated |
| 1999 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Play | Death of a Salesman | Nominated |
| 1999 | Tony Awards | Best Featured Actress in a Play | Death of a Salesman | Won |
| 2000 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie | Death of a Salesman | Nominated |
| 2001 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie | Death of a Salesman | Nominated |
| 2002 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play | Morning's at Seven | Nominated |
| 2002 | Tony Awards | Best Featured Actress in a Play | Morning's at Seven | Nominated |
Arthur Asher Miller was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are All My Sons (1947), Death of a Salesman (1949), The Crucible (1953), and A View from the Bridge (1955). He wrote several screenplays, including The Misfits (1961). The drama Death of a Salesman is considered one of the best American plays of the 20th century.
Death of a Salesman is a 1949 stage play written by the American playwright Arthur Miller. The play premiered on Broadway in February 1949, running for 742 performances. It is a two-act tragedy set in late 1940s Brooklyn told through a montage of memories, dreams, and arguments of the protagonist Willy Loman, a travelling salesman who is despondent with his life and appears to be slipping into senility. The play addresses a variety of themes, such as the American Dream, the anatomy of truth, and infidelity. It won the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play. It is considered by some critics to be one of the greatest plays of the 20th century. The play is included in numerous anthologies.
Mary Elizabeth Hartman was an American actress of stage and screen. She debuted in the popular 1965 film A Patch of Blue, playing a blind girl named Selina D'Arcy, opposite Sidney Poitier, a role for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress, and won the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year.
Betty Field was an American film and stage actress.
Lee J. Cobb was an American actor, known both for film roles and his work on the Broadway stage, as well as for his television role in the series, The Virginian. He often played arrogant, intimidating and abrasive characters, but he also acted as respectable figures such as judges and police officers. Cobb originated the role of Willy Loman in Arthur Miller's 1949 play Death of a Salesman under the direction of Elia Kazan, and was twice nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for On the Waterfront (1954) and The Brothers Karamazov (1958).
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.
William "Willy" Loman is a fictional character and the protagonist of Arthur Miller's play Death of a Salesman, which debuted on Broadway with Lee J. Cobb playing Loman at the Morosco Theatre on February 10, 1949. Loman is a 63-year-old travelling salesman from Brooklyn with 34 years of experience with the same company who endures a pay cut and a firing during the play. He has difficulty dealing with his current state and has created a fantasy world to cope with his situation. This does not keep him from multiple suicide attempts.
Mildred Dorothy Dunnock was an American stage and screen actress. She was nominated twice for an Academy Award for her works in Death of a Salesman (1951) and Baby Doll (1956).
Alison Whyte is an Australian actress best known for her roles on the Australian television series Frontline and Satisfaction.
Cameron Mitchell was an American stage, film, and television actor for 55 years. Mitchell began his career on Broadway before entering films in the 1950s, appearing in several major features. Later in his career, he became known for his roles in numerous exploitation films in the 1970s and 1980s.
Catherine Burns was an American actress of stage, film, radio and television. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Last Summer (1969).
Richard Ward was an American actor on the stage, television, and in films, from 1949 until his death.
Irene Worth, CBE, born Harriett Elizabeth Abrams, was an American stage and screen actress who became one of the leading stars of the British and American theatre. She pronounced her first name with three syllables: "I-REE-nee".
Peggy Allenby was an American stage, film, television, and radio actress.
Copley High School is a public high school in Copley Township, just west of Akron, Ohio, United States. It is the only high school in the Copley–Fairlawn City School District and competes athletically in the American Division of the Suburban League. The school's colors are blue and gold. The fight song is Ohio State's "Across the Field". The school's main rival is Revere High School, with whom they play against annually for the a trophy called "The Bell" during the 5th game of their football season.
Linda Mathews Watkins was an American stage, radio, film, and television actress.
Death of a Salesman is a 1951 American drama film adapted from the 1949 play of the same name by Arthur Miller. It was directed by László Benedek and written for the screen by Stanley Roberts. The film received many honors, including four Golden Globe Awards, the Volpi Cup and five Oscar nominations. Alex North, who wrote the music for the Broadway production, was one of the five Academy Award nominees for the film's musical score.
Death of a Salesman is a 1966 American made-for-television video adaptation of the 1949 play of the same name by Arthur Miller. It was directed by Alex Segal and adapted for television by Miller. It received numerous nominations for awards, and won several of them, including three Primetime Emmy Awards, a Directors Guild of America Award and a Peabody Award. It was nominated in a total of 11 Emmy categories at the 19th Primetime Emmy Awards in 1967. Lee J. Cobb reprised his role as Willy Loman and Mildred Dunnock reprised her role as Linda Loman from the original 1949 stage production.
Evelyn Ellis was an American character actress of stage and film. Devoting herself to the theatre, her film roles were few, but she appeared in films including The Joe Louis Story and The Lady from Shanghai. Toward the end of her career, Miss Ellis, as she was referred to in the press also directed a few theater plays, including an all-black Broadway production of Tobacco Road. The Baltimore Afro American newspaper in its issue in October 26, 1929, described her as a “quiet and unassuming young lady with a very charming personality".
Elizabeth Kerr was an American actress, theatre producer and director, perhaps best known for playing Cora Hudson in Mork & Mindy.
Franz's creative choices took even playwright Miller by surprise [as revealed] in a 1999 interview. 'I don't think [Miller] thought of it as being done that way, ever,' Franz says in a quiet, almost tremulous voice during an interview backstage at the Ahmanson.
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