Eileen Heckart | |
|---|---|
 Heckart in the 1990s | |
| Born | Anna Eileen Herbert (1919-03-29)March 29, 1919 Columbus, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | December 31, 2001(2001-12-31) (aged 82) Norwalk, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Ohio State University (B.A.) |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1943–2001 |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 3, includingLuke Yankee |
Anna Eileen Heckart (néeHerbert; March 29, 1919 – December 31, 2001) was an American stage and screen actress whose career spanned nearly 60 years.
Heckart was born Anna Eileen Herbert inColumbus, Ohio. Her mother Esther (née Stark) wed Leo Herbert (not the child's father) at her own mother's insistence so her child would not be born with the stigma ofillegitimacy. Eileen was soon after legally adopted by her maternal grandmother's wealthy second husband, J.W. Heckart, providing her with the surname by which she would be known throughout the remainder of her life.[1] She had two stepsisters, Anne and Marilyn. She graduated fromOhio State University with a B.A. in drama.[2] She additionally studied drama atHB Studio in New York City.[3]
Heckart acted with the Blackfriars Guild and studied for four years at theAmerican Theatre Wing.[4]
Heckart began her Broadway career as the assistant stage manager and an understudy forThe Voice of the Turtle in 1943. Her many credits includePicnic,The Bad Seed,A View from the Bridge,A Memory of Two Mondays,The Dark at the Top of the Stairs,A Family Affair,And Things That Go Bump in the Night,Barefoot in the Park,Butterflies Are Free,You Know I Can't Hear You When the Water's Running, andThe Cemetery Club.[citation needed]
Heckart won the 1953Theatre World Award forPicnic. Her nominations include Tony Award nominations forButterflies Are Free,Invitation to a March, andThe Dark at the Top of the Stairs.[5]
In 2000, at age 81, she appeared off-Broadway inKenneth Lonergan'sThe Waverly Gallery. For this performance, she won several awards, including theDrama Desk Award, theLucille Lortel Award, theDrama League Award and theOuter Critics Circle Award. That same year, she was inducted into theAmerican Theatre Hall of Fame and received an honoraryTony Award for lifetime achievement.[citation needed]
She was granted three honorary doctorates by Sacred Heart University, Niagara University, and Ohio State University.[6]
Heckart's television debut came in the mid-1940s when she had two lines in an episode ofSuspense.[4]
Heckart won theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her work in the 1972 movie adaptation ofButterflies Are Free and was nominated in 1957 for her performance as the bereaved, besotted Mrs. Daigle inThe Bad Seed (1956),[7] both of which were roles Heckart originated on Broadway. Heckart appeared inThe Hiding Place (1976) as nurse, "Katje", working inside "Kamp Vught", the Dutch Concentration Camp. In 1977, Heckart played Bertha Hayden, mother of Sam Hayden in NBC's made for TV Christmas movie, "Sunshine Christmas". 1n 1978, Heckart appeared in the Resorts International Atlantic City New Jersey Christmas production, "Jackie Gleason Presents The Honeymooners", as Alice's mother, Mrs Gibson. She later appeared as a Vietnam War widow in theClint Eastwood filmHeartbreak Ridge (1986). She playedDiane Keaton's meddling mother in the 1996 comedy filmThe First Wives Club.
On television, Heckart had starring roles inThe 5 Mrs. Buchanans,Out of the Blue,Partners in Crime, andBackstairs at the White House (Emmy nomination asEleanor Roosevelt). In 1994, she won an Emmy Award forOutstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her appearance as Rose Stein onLove & War. In 1988, she appeared as Ruth in theTales from the Darkside episode "Do Not Open This Box". Her other guest roles includedThe Fugitive (where she appeared in three episodes as a nun, "Sister Veronica"),The Mary Tyler Moore Show (two Emmy nominations as journalist Flo Meredith, a role she carried over to a guest appearance on MTM's spinoffLou Grant),Love Story,Rhoda,Alice,Murder One,Hawaii Five-O,Gunsmoke,Cybill,The Cosby Show (one Emmy nomination as Mrs. Hickson), and many others.[8]
She appeared on two episodes ofGunsmoke. In 1965, Heckart appeared as Hattie Silks on the episode "The Lady." In 1969, Heckart appeared as Athena Partridge Royce on the episode "The Innocent".
Heckart played two unrelated characters on the daytime soap operaOne Life to Live. During the 1980s, she played Ruth Perkins, the mother of Allison Perkins, who had kidnapped the newborn baby of heroineViki Lord Buchanan under orders from phony evangelist and mastermind criminal Mitch Laurence. During the early 1990s, she played the role of Wilma Bern, mother of upstate Pennsylvania mob bossCarlo Hesser and his meek twin, Mortimer Bern. She appeared in the 1954 legal dramaJustice, based on case files of New York'sLegal Aid Society.[citation needed] She appeared in an episode of the medical dramaThe Eleventh Hour, titled "There Should Be an Outfit Called 'Families Anonymous!'" (1963), and an episode ofHome Improvement, titled "Losing My Religion". She also played the role of spinster Amanda Cooper on season 5 episode 17 in theLittle House on the Prairie episode "Dance With Me".
Heckart has a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame at 6140 Hollywood Blvd.[9]
In 1942, Heckart married insurance broker John Harrison Yankee Jr., her college sweetheart. They had three sons.[2] Her sonLuke Yankee is the author of her 2006 biographyJust Outside the Spotlight: Growing Up with Eileen Heckart. In February 2024, Luke Yankee's playMarilyn, Mom, and Me debuted at theInternational City Theater.[10]
Heckart was aDemocrat.[11]: 150 She met PresidentLyndon B. Johnson at theWhite House in 1967.[11]: 149–150
On December 31, 2001, Heckart died of lung cancer at her home in Norwalk, Connecticut, at the age of 82.[12] She was cremated with her ashes scattered outside theMusic Box Theatre in Manhattan, New York.[13]
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1956 | Miracle in the Rain | Grace Ullman |
| 1956 | Somebody Up There Likes Me | Ma Barbella |
| 1956 | Bus Stop | Vera |
| 1956 | The Bad Seed | Hortense Daigle |
| 1958 | Hot Spell | Alma's Friend |
| 1960 | Heller in Pink Tights | Mrs. Lorna Hathaway |
| 1963 | My Six Loves | Ethel |
| 1967 | Up the Down Staircase | Henrietta Pastorfield |
| 1968 | No Way to Treat a Lady | Mrs. Brummel |
| 1969 | The Tree | Sally Dunning |
| 1972 | Butterflies Are Free | Mrs. Florence Baker |
| 1974 | Zandy's Bride | Ma Allan |
| 1975 | The Hiding Place | Katje |
| 1976 | Burnt Offerings | Roz Allardyce |
| 1983 | Trauma Center | Amy Decker R.N. |
| 1986 | Seize the Day | Funeral Woman No. 1 |
| 1986 | Heartbreak Ridge | Little Mary Jackson |
| 1994 | The 5 Mrs. Buchanans | Emma Buchanan |
| 1994 | Ultimate Betrayal | Sarah McNeil |
| 1996 | The First Wives Club | Catherine MacDuggan |
Highway to Heaven (1985) Helen Season 1
On March 29, 1919, Anna Eileen Herbert was born, and her surname was quickly changed to Heckart.
