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'Colleen Dewhurst' (June 3, 1924 – August 22, 1991) was a Canadian actress known for playing Marilla Cuthbert in the various ''Anne of Green Gables'' productions from Sullivan Entertainment.

Contents

Biography

Early life

Career

Personal life

Awards

References

External links

Biography

Early life

Dewhurst was born in Montreal, Quebec, the only child of a hockey player turned businessman and his homemaker wife. Her mother was a practitioner of Christian Science.^[1] Dewhurst was raised in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee, where she attended Whitefish Bay High School and the Milwaukee-Downer College.^[2]

Career

Her breakthrough stage role, which made her a major success, came in 1974 after 27 years of acting, when she appeared in Eugene O'Neill's ''A Moon for the Misbegotten'' as "Josie Hogan". She interpreted many roles in O'Neill plays. She also received great acclaim for her appearance opposite her then-husband, George C. Scott, in a 1971 television adaptation of Arthur Miller's ''The Price'', on the Hallmark Hall of Fame.
In 1977 Woody Allen cast her in his film Annie Hall as Annie's mother. Annie was a wasp from Wisconsin and Colleen's portrayal was spot on.
She was president of the Actors' Equity Association from 1985 until her 1991 death from cervical cancer at the age of 67. Dewhurst's Christian Science beliefs led to her refusal to countenance any kind of surgical treatment. It is believed that had she accepted treatment she would have been cured.
Over the course of her 45 year career, Dewhurst won the 1974 Sarah Siddons Award for her work in Chicago theatre, two Tony Awards, two Obies and two Gemini Awards. In 1989 she won the Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role for her role in ''Hitting Home''. She was nominated for an Emmy Award on twelve occasions, she won four:

★ 1989 & 1991 : "Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series" for ''Murphy Brown''

★ 1989 : "Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Special" for ''Those She Left Behind''

★ 1986 : "Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Special" for ''Between Two Women''

Personal life

Dewhurst was married to James Vickery from 1947 to 1960, and to actor George C. Scott twice for a total of approximately 10 years, both times resulting in divorce; she was the mother of 2 sons, including actor Campbell Scott, with whom she costarred in ''Dying Young'' (1991), one of her last performances.
During the last years of her life, she lived on a farm in South Salem, New York with her partner, Ken Marsolais, and also in a summer home on Prince Edward Island, in her native Canada.

Awards

References

1. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,911043,00.html
2. http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800017656/bio

External links

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★ Colleen Dewhurst Photos at ''Find A Grave Memorial''