Rosemary Murphy

Rosemary Murphy (January 13, 1925 – July 5, 2014) was a German-American actress of stage, film, and television. She was nominated for three Tony Awards for her stage work, as well as two Emmy Awards for television work, winning once, for her performance in Eleanor and Franklin (1976).[1]

Rosemary Murphy
Murphy in 1970
Born(1925-01-13)January 13, 1925
DiedJuly 5, 2014(2014-07-05) (aged 89)
OccupationActress
Years active1949–2010

Biography and career

Murphy was born in Munich, Germany, in 1925, the daughter of American parents Mildred (née Taylor) and Robert Daniel Murphy, a diplomat. The family left Germany in 1939 due to the onset of World War II.

Education

Murphy, whose résumé came to include French and German films, attended Manhattanville College and trained as an actress at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and in New York at the Neighborhood Playhouse and the Actors Studio with Sanford Meisner before beginning her career on stage.[2]

Stage

She made her stage debut in Germany, in a 1949 production of Peer Gynt. She made her Broadway debut in 1950 in The Tower Beyond Tragedy. She went on to appear in some 15 Broadway productions, most recently in Noël Coward's Waiting in the Wings (1999).[1]

Film and television

Rosemary Murphy with child actor Phillip Alford in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

Murphy also acted in films and on TV, most notably portraying Sara Delano Roosevelt in the TV miniseries Eleanor and Franklin (1976) and Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years (1977). She played Maudie Atkinson in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) as well as Callie Hacker in Walking Tall (1973). The following year, in 1974, she appeared in the television film A Case of Rape, playing a ruthless defense attorney who brutally cross-examines a rape victim (played by Elizabeth Montgomery) and wins an acquittal for the man who attacked her. In 1974–75, she played high-school principal Margaret Blumenthal in the series Lucas Tanner.

Her first soap opera role was Nola Hollister #2 on The Secret Storm (1969–1970). In 1977, she appeared on All My Children as Maureen Teller Dalton, Eric Kane's former mistress, and the mother of his son, Mark Dalton. In 1988, she played Loretta Fowler for several months, the kleptomaniac mother of Mitch Blake and Sam Fowler on Another World. The following year, she appeared on As the World Turns as Gretel Aldin #2 (a role previously played by Joan Copeland) when her character's son, James Stenbeck, was allegedly murdered.

She also appeared in episodes of Columbo (1974) and Murder, She Wrote (1987).

Awards

Murphy won an Emmy Award for her role in Eleanor and Franklin. She also won a Clarence Derwent Award and an Outer Critics Circle Award and was nominated for three Tony awards.[3]

Death

She died on July 5, 2014, in Manhattan, from esophageal cancer. She never married.[4]

Filmography

Year Title Role
1947Der RufMary
1957That Night!Nurse 'Chorny' Chornis
1961The Young DoctorsMiss Graves
1962To Kill a MockingbirdMaudie Atkinson
1966Any WednesdayDorothy Cleves
1972A Fan's NotesMoms
BenBeth Garrison
You'll Like My MotherMrs. Kinsolving
1973Walking TallCallie Hacker
Ace Eli and Rodger of the SkiesHannah
40 CaratsMrs. Latham
1974A Case of RapeMuriel Dyer
1977JuliaDottie
1980The AtticMrs. Perkins
1981The HandKaren Wagner
1987SeptemberMrs. Mason
1991For the BoysLuanna Trott
1993Twenty BucksAunt Dotty
1995Mighty AphroditeAdoption Coordinator
1999Message in a BottleHelen at the B&B
2001DustAngela
2007The SavagesDoris Metzger
2008Synecdoche, New YorkFrances
2009After.LifeMrs. Whitehall
2010The RomanticsGrandmother Hayes

Television films

Year Title Role Notes
1968A Case of LibelClaire
1972Invitation to a March
1974The Lady's Not for BurningMargaret Devize
1976Eleanor and FranklinSara RooseveltWinner - Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie
1977Eleanor and Franklin: The White House YearsSara RooseveltNominated - Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie
1978Before and AfterHelen, Carole's Mother
1981Mr. Griffin and MeJane Barlow
1993And the Band Played OnBlood Bank Executive
1994Don't Drink the WaterMiss Pritchard
1995The Tuskegee AirmenEleanor Roosevelt
1999The Hunt for the Unicorn KillerBea Einhorn

Partial Television Credits

Year Title Role Notes
1951-53Lux Video TheatreVarious roles3 episodes
1962The VirginianPearl Dodd KrauseEpisode: "Big Day, Great Day"
1973MaudeJaneEpisode: "Maude's Good Deed"
1976Eleanor and FranklinSara RooseveltEmmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie
1984George WashingtonMary Ball Washington
1996-97EZ StreetsChristina Quinn4 episodes
1997CrackerVictoria2 episodes
1997-99FrasierCarol Larkin2 episodes
1998The VisitorTour GuideEpisode: "The Trial"

References

  1. Rosemary Murphy at the Internet Broadway Database
  2. Fox, Margalit (July 10, 2014). "Rosemary Murphy, 89, Emmy Winner Familiar to Broadway, Dies". The New York Times. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
  3. Mahan, Bill (December 21, 1972). "Rosemary Murphy Moves into Spotlight". Valley News. Valley News. p. 85. Retrieved May 3, 2015 via Newspapers.com. open access
  4. Barnes, Mike (July 9, 2014). "'To Kill a Mockingbird' Actress Rosemary Murphy Dies at 89". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
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