Kathleen Widdoes

Kathleen Effie Widdoes[1] is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Emma Snyder in the television soap opera As the World Turns, which earned her four Daytime Emmy Award nominations.

Kathleen Widdoes
Born
Kathleen Effie Widdoes

OccupationActress
Spouses
(m. 1964; div. 1972)
  • Jerry Senter
Children1

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 years

Widdoes was born in Wilmington, Delaware.[1] She is the oldest of six siblings, all raised by their mother.[1] Widdoes moved to Manhattan to pursue stage work and studied at the Sorbonne in Paris under a Fulbright scholarship. She subsequently taught acting at Yale, where she appeared in productions of the Yale Repertory Theater.

Career

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

Widdoes toured in A View from the Bridge with Luther Adler in 1958, and in 1960, she toured with Katharine Cornell in The Firstborn.[1]

She received a 1973 Tony Award nomination (Best Actress in a Play) for her performance as Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing,[2] 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

From 1964 to 1972 Widdoes was married to well-known actor Richard Jordan, with whom she had her daughter Nina. She is currently married with one child and one grandchild.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1966 The Group Helena
1968 Petulia Wilma
1968 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

Year Title Role Notes
1958-59 Young Doctor Malone Jill Malone TV series
1959 The Art Carney Special Emily Webb "Our Town"
1960 Startime Rachel "Jeff McCleod, the Last Reb"
1961 Way Out Bonnie Draco "Dissolve to Black"
1961 Armstrong Circle Theatre Anna Halber "A Chapter on Tyranny: Dateline Berlin"
1961 Festival Ondine "Ondine"
1962 Festival Joan of Arc "The Lark"
1962 The DuPont Show of the Week Kathy Allen "The Movie Star"
1962 The Defenders Sandra Mason "The Benefactor"
1963 The Defenders Theresa Sullivan "The Star Spangled Ghetto"
1966 12 O'Clock High Lt. Irina Zavanoff "Massacre"
1967 The Invaders Ellen Woods "Nightmare"
1967 A Bell for Adano Tina TV film
1968 Here Come the Brides Dr. Allyn Wright "A Crying Need"
1968 The F.B.I. Margaret Kane "The Hero"
1972 Bonanza Anna Kosovo "Frenzy"
1973 Much Ado About Nothing Beatrice TV film[3]
1973 The Return of Charlie Chan Irene Hadrachi TV film
1974 The American Parade Anne Bradstreet "We the Women"
1974 Punch and Jody Margaret Howell Grant TV film
1975 ABC's Wide World of Entertainment Joan Harper "Please Call It Murder"
1977 The Andros Targets Bonnie Stanik "A Currency for Murder"
1977 Kojak Sonia "Another Gypsy Queen"
1978-80 Another World Rose Perrini TV series
1981 Secrets of Midland Heights Helen Dulles "The Birthday Party"
1981 Great Performances Edith Wharton "Edith Wharton: Looking Back"
1981 Nurse Dr. Carol Swanson "My Life as a Woman"
1983 Ryan's Hope Una MacCurtain TV series
1985-2010 As the World Turns Emma Snyder TV series
1986 Mafia Princess Angelina Giancana TV film
1991 American Playhouse Mrs. Rosenbloom "The Hollow Boy"
1997-02 Oz Mrs. Beecher "Straight Life", "Works of Mercy", "Impotence"
1999 Law & Order Judge Childers "Sideshow: Part 1"

References

  1. 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. "Kathleen Widdoes". Playbill. Retrieved 2019-02-06.
  3. The New York Times Biographical Service. New York Times & Arno Press. 1973.
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