Kathleen Widdoes

Last updated
Kathleen Widdoes
Born
Kathleen Effie Widdoes

(1939-03-21) March 21, 1939 (age 85)
Education Sorbonne
OccupationActress
Years active1958-present
Spouses
(m. 1964;div. 1972)
  • Jerry Senter
Children1

Kathleen Effie Widdoes [1] (born March 21, 1939) [2] is an American actress. She is known for playing the role of Emma Snyder on the CBS Daytime soap opera As the World Turns (1985 to 2010). For her work on As the World Turns, she was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 1986, 1987, and 1991. She also received a Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 1994.

Contents

Widdoes was also nominated for a Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award, as well as winning two Obie Awards and a Lucille Lortel Award.

Early life

Widdoes was born on March 21, 1939 in Wilmington, Delaware. [1] [2] She is the oldest of six siblings, all raised by their mother. [1] She has three brothers and two sisters. In Delaware, she performed in an amateur theater group's production of They Ain't Done Right By Nell. [3] Widdoes moved to New York after high school. She continued to study acting in Manhattan. In 1963, she went to Paris to spend a year at the Sorbonne, under a Fulbright scholarship, training as a mime. [3] [2] [4]

She subsequently taught acting at Yale, where she appeared in productions of the Yale Repertory Theater.[ citation needed ]

Career

Widdoes played Teusret in the original Broadway production of The Firstborn. The play opened at the Coronet Theatre on April 29, 1958. She co-starred with Katharine Cornell. [3] [5] Widdoes also performed in Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge (1958). [1] [3] She played a Tourist in the original Broadway production of The World of Suzie Wong . The play opened at the Broadhurst Theatre on October 14, 1958. [6] On television, Widdoes was cast as Jill Malone on the NBC Daytime soap opera Young Doctor Malone , playing the role from 1958 to 1959. [4] In October 1959, she played Irina in Chekhov's Three Sisters at New York's Fourth Street Theater. [7]

In 1960, she performed in Henry V and Measure for Measure at the New York Shakespeare Festival. In September 1960, she appeared in Dostoevsky's The Idiot at the Gate Theatre. [8] [4] [2] Widdoes performed in Richard II, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Romeo and Juliet at the New York Shakespeare Festival in 1961. [4] [2] [3] She also appeared in The Tempest for the NYSF in 1962. [2] Widdoes had a singing role in the musical We Take the Town (1962), but she heard through the dressing room wall that she was going to be fired, so she gave her notice that she was leaving. [3]

She appeared in The Maids at the Aldana Theatre in November 1963, co-starring with Lee Grant. [9]

Television

In Season 1, Episode 2, "A Crying Need", on the television series Here Come the Brides , she appears as Dr. Allyn Wright, Seattle's first doctor who also happens to be female. The series ran from 1968 to 1970.

She was menaced in the Dissolve to Black (1961) episode of Roald Dahl's Way Out (1961) and appeared in The Invaders TV series as Ellen Woods (1967), supposedly deranged after seeing extraterrestrials in a barn near her town in the episode "Nightmare". She had a featured role in the HBO series Oz (1997, 2000).

Although she often appeared on stage New York theatre, Widdoes may be most widely known for her work in soap operas. She was an original cast member of Young Doctor Malone , playing Jill Malone (1958–59). She played lower middle class matriarch Rose Perrini on Another World (1978–80) and appeared for a short time on Ryan's Hope (1983) as the vindictive villainess Una McCurtain, a character seeking revenge on Maeve Ryan as part of an old family feud.

Her best known work was as Emma Snyder on As the World Turns . Emma was the matriarch of the Snyder family, introduced to the show's canvas in 1985. The Snyders were based on the family of then-head writer Douglas Marland. She was prominently featured during the show's 50th anniversary program in April 2006 and continued to make regular appearances until the series finale year (although she was noticeably absent during the last few months).

Films

Her film credits include The Group (1966), Petulia (1968), The Sea Gull (1968), The Mephisto Waltz (1971), Savages (1972), I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can (1982) and Courage Under Fire (1996).

Theater

She received a 1973 Tony Award nomination (Best Actress in a Play) for her performance as Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing , [10] set at the end of the Spanish–American War (1898), for the New York Shakespeare Festival. The production transferred from the open-air Delacorte Theater in Central Park to Broadway and was preserved for television. She played other roles for the Festival, including Titania in A Midsummer Night's Dream . In 2002, she received the Lucille Lortel Award (Featured Actress) for her work in the play Franny's Way Off-Broadway.

Personal life

In 1961, Widdoes met actor Richard Jordan when they played the lead roles in a Shakespeare Festival production of Romeo and Juliet . They were married in Paris in 1964, while she was studying at the Sorbonne. They had a daughter, born the same year. [3] They were later divorced. [11]

She is married to Jerry Senter. [4]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1966 The Group Helena
1968 Petulia Wilma
The Sea Gull Masha
1971 The Mephisto Waltz Maggie West
1972 Savages Leslie
1982 I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can Dr. Rawlings
1983 Without a Trace Ms. Hauser
1996 Courage Under Fire Geraldine Walden
1998 Hi-Life Frankie

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1958–1959 Young Doctor Malone Jill Malone5 episodes
1958–1959 Camera Three 3 episodes
1959 The Art Carney Special Emily WebbEpisode: "Our Town"
1960 Startime RachelEpisode: "Jeff McCleod, the Last Reb"
1960–1962 Festival Joan of Arc; Ondine3 episodes
1961 Way Out Bonnie DracoEpisode: "Dissolve to Black"
Look Up and Live ElektraEpisode: "The Flies"
Armstrong Circle Theatre Anna HalberEpisode: "A Chapter on Tyranny: Dateline Berlin"
1962 The DuPont Show of the Week Kathy AllenEpisode: "The Movie Star"
1962; 1963 The Defenders Sandra Mason; Theresa SullivanEpisodes: "The Benefactor", "The Star Spangled Ghetto"
1963 The Doctors Charity5 episodes
1965 The Nurses Young WomanEpisode: "Sixteen Hours to Chicago"
1966 12 O'Clock High Lt. Irina ZavanoffEpisode: "Massacre"
1967 The Invaders Ellen WoodsEpisode: "Nightmare"
A Bell for AdanoTina TomasinoTelevision film
1968 Here Come the Brides Dr. Allyn WrightEpisode: "A Crying Need"
The F.B.I. Margaret KaneEpisode: "The Hero"
1972 Bonanza Anna KosovoEpisode: "Frenzy"
The Return of Charlie Chan Irene HadrachiTelevision film
1973Much Ado About NothingBeatriceTelevision film [12]
Toma Marian DaltonEpisode: "The Bambara Bust"
1974The American ParadeAnne BradstreetEpisode: "We the Women"
Punch and Jody Margaret Howell GrantTelevision film
1975 ABC's Wide World of Entertainment Joan HarperEpisode: "Please Call It Murder"
1977 The Andros Targets Bonnie StanikEpisode: "A Currency for Murder"
Kojak SoniaEpisode: "Another Gypsy Queen"
1978–1980 Another World Rose Perrini
1981 Secrets of Midland Heights Helen Millington DullesEpisode: "The Birthday Party"
Great Performances Edith Wharton Episode: "Edith Wharton: Looking Back"
Nurse Dr. Carol SwansonEpisode: "My Life as a Woman"
1983 Ryan's Hope Una MacCurtainRecurring role, 9 episodes
1985–2010 As the World Turns Emma Snyder Contract role: 1985–1995, Recurring role: 1995–2010
1986Mafia PrincessAngelina GiancanaTelevision film
1991 American Playhouse Esther RosenbloomEpisode: "The Hollow Boy"
1997–2002 Oz Mrs. BeecherEpisodes: "Straight Life", "Works of Mercy", "Impotence"
1999 Law & Order Judge ChildersEpisodes: "Sideshow"

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Kelly, Kevin (May 30, 1982). "Lively Kathleen Widdoes likes to play lighter roles, too". The Boston Globe. p. 68. Retrieved June 26, 2021 via Newspapers.com.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "About the Actors: Kathleen Widdoes". Soap Central. Archived from the original on August 5, 2024. Retrieved September 16, 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Berkvist, Robert (January 28, 1973). "She'll Do 'Much Ado' on TV". The New York Times . Archived from the original on November 7, 2023. Retrieved November 7, 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Rout, Nancy E.; Buckley, Ellen (1992). The Soap Opera Book: Who's Who in Daytime Drama. Todd Publications. p. 287. ISBN   978-0-915344-23-9.
  5. "The Firstborn". Playbill . Archived from the original on April 16, 2023. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  6. "The World of Suzie Wong". Playbill . Archived from the original on March 5, 2024. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  7. Dickstein, Morris (October 14, 1959). "Three Sisters: Compassionate Drama". Columbia Daily Spectator . p. 2. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  8. "Repertory's Members". The Villager . August 11, 1960. p. 12. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  9. "Show Business". New York Daily News . October 31, 1963. p. 65. Retrieved September 18, 2024.
  10. "Kathleen Widdoes". Playbill. Retrieved 2019-02-06.
  11. "Richard Jordan, Actor, Director, Producer and Writer, 56, Is Dead". The New York Times . September 1, 1993. Archived from the original on November 27, 2009.
  12. The New York Times Biographical Service. New York Times & Arno Press. 1973.