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Nancy Walker | |
|---|---|
 Trailer forBest Foot Forward (1943) | |
| Born | Anna Myrtle Swoyer (1922-05-10)May 10, 1922 |
| Died | March 25, 1992(1992-03-25) (aged 69) Studio City, Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Other names | Nan Barto |
| Occupation(s) | Actress, director |
| Years active | 1937–1992 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 1 |
| Father | Dewey Barto |
Nancy Walker (bornAnna Myrtle Swoyer;[note 1] May 10, 1922 – March 25, 1992)[1] was an American actress of stage, screen, and television. She was also an occasional film and television director (lending her talents toThe Mary Tyler Moore Show, on which she also made several guest appearances). During her five-decade-long career, she had long-running roles as Mildred onMcMillan & Wife and as Ida Morgenstern on several episodes ofThe Mary Tyler Moore Show and on the spinoff seriesRhoda as a prominent recurring character.
Anna Myrtle Swoyer was born on May 10, 1922, inPhiladelphia, the elder of two daughters. When she was 10 months old, she made her debut invaudeville alongside her parents. She decided to become an actress at the age of 10.[1]
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In 1937, as "Nan Barto", Walker appeared on theNBC radio programsCoast to Coast on a Bus andOur Barn.[2] She made herBroadway debut in 1941 inBest Foot Forward. The role provided Walker with her film debut, when she signed a contract withMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer to appear in the 1943film version, starringLucille Ball. She also appeared withMickey Rooney andJudy Garland in the second film version ofGirl Crazy (1943). Her next film,Broadway Rhythm, in which she had a featured musical number backed byTommy Dorsey and His Orchestra, "Milkman, Keep Those Bottles Quiet", ended Walker's contract with MGM.
She continued acting throughout the 1940s and 1950s, originating the roles of Hildy Eszterhazy ("I Can Cook, Too!") inOn the Town (1944), Yetta Samovar inBarefoot Boy with Cheek (1947), and Lily Malloy inLook, Ma, I'm Dancin'! (1948) on Broadway. She was nominated for aTony Award in 1956 for her work in the musical revuePhoenix '55, and again in 1960 for her performance inDo Re Mi, oppositePhil Silvers.[3]
Walker also starred in the short-lived Broadway musical comedyCopper and Brass in 1957, and appeared in the 1958New York City Center production ofWonderful Town. For the early 1970s revival ofA Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, she appeared again opposite Silvers, playing the character of Domina. Owing to her television contractual responsibilities, she was unable to transfer with the show to Broadway. Her musical appearances led to record releases, includingI Hate Men (1959; withSid Bass and his orchestra, featuring such show tunes as "I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair", and "You Irritate Me So"); the cover featured Walker humorously sticking male dolls with pins.[4]
Dozens of television guest appearances and recurring roles followed, providing her with steady work. Her career spanned five decades and included comedies, dramas, and television variety shows such asFaye Emerson's Wonderful Town,The Garry Moore Show, andThe Carol Burnett Show.
In the 1960–61 television season, she appeared in two episodes ofNBC'sThe Tab Hunter Show. In 1970, she secured a recurring role as Emily, the housekeeper, on the television seriesFamily Affair, which starredBrian Keith. After five seasons, though, the ratings ofFamily Affair had plummeted opposite NBC's popularThe Flip Wilson Show. The series was canceled at the end of that season.[5]
In 1970, she also made her first appearance playing Ida Morgenstern, the mother ofValerie Harper's characterRhoda Morgenstern on the first season ofThe Mary Tyler Moore Show. The role proved to be ideal for her. The episode that introduced her character, "Support Your Local Mother", was so well received that it won an Emmy for Outstanding Writing Achievement in a Comedy Series forJames L. Brooks andAllan Burns. Walker thereafter became an annual guest star on the show for the next three years. When the MTM spinoff seriesRhoda premiered in 1974, Walker was a regular cast member in 41 episodes.
From 1971 to 1976, she was a regular on the successfulRock Hudson detective seriesMcMillan & Wife, playing the McMillans' housekeeper, Mildred. During the first two years ofRhoda, Walker was not featured every week, so she was able to shuttle back and forth between the CBS sitcom and the NBC detective series. These two roles brought her sevenEmmy Award nominations. In 1976, ABC-TV offered Walker a contract to headline her own series,The Nancy Walker Show, which was produced byNorman Lear's production company, in which she starred as Nancy Kittredge, a talent agent. Walker appeared on a second-season episode ofThe Muppet Show.[6]
Before she filmed the first episode of the series, Walker made her only appearance onRhoda for the 1976–77 season. In the season premiere, "The Separation", Rhoda (Valerie Harper) and her husband Joe (David Groh) decide to separate. Rhoda tries to keep the news from her mother Ida (Walker), since Ida is about to embark on a year-long trip across America with Rhoda's father (Harold Gould). Ida learns the truth from Rhoda prior to Ida's departure.
Almost immediately,Garry Marshall signed Walker for another series,Blansky's Beauties. The main character of the series was introduced a week before the series premiere in an episode of the hit sitcom,Happy Days. The show premiered on ABC-TV in February 1977 with Walker playing Nancy Blansky, den mother to a group of Las Vegas showgirls. It failed to find an audience and was canceled in May 1977, giving Walker the unenviable distinction of being in two failed series in the same year. She returned toRhoda at the beginning of the 1977–78 season (giving the show a much-needed boost in the ratings, which had fallen the previous year), and remained with the series for the rest of its run. During this time, she began directing, including episodes ofThe Mary Tyler Moore Show,Rhoda,13 Queens Boulevard, andAlice.
One of Walker's last major film roles was in the 1976 all-star comedy spoofMurder by Death. She continued to remain active in show business until her death, playing Rosie, aNew Jersey diner waitress in a series of commercials forBountypaper towels from 1970 to 1990. She helped make the product'sslogan, "the quicker picker-upper", a commoncatchphrase.[7] She credited the towel commercials with landing her the role of Ida Morgenstern.[8]
Among her final guest appearances in a television series was the recurring role of Aunt Angela, Sophia Petrillo's (Estelle Getty) widowed sister, onThe Golden Girls, for which she received an Emmy Award nomination.Golden Girls creatorSusan Harris then cast Walker oppositeBruce Weitz in her NBC sitcom projectMama's Boy, which aired as six comedy specials during the 1987–88 season, but never reached series status.
In 1990, Walker began starring on theFox sitcomTrue Colors as Sara Bower, the outspoken mother of Ellen Davis Freeman (Stephanie Faracy), who moves into Ellen's household despite having objections to her daughter's interracial marriage. In 1990, Walker appeared as herself in theColumbo episode "Uneasy Lies the Crown".
Walker had guest starred as Rhoda's motherIda Morgenstern in several episodes ofThe Mary Tyler Moore Show, and continued that role in itsspin-offRhoda. After establishing the character, Walker directed some episodes of both series, along with episodes of othersituation comedy series.[9]
In 1980, Walker made her feature-film directorial debut, directingdisco groupThe Village People andOlympianBruce Jenner in the pseudo-biographical musicalCan't Stop the Music. The film was a box-office failure, and Walker's sole feature-film directorial credit.Filmink argued that although Walker's "contribution was routinely dismissed by film bro critics (“she was old! No other features!”)... her direction is perfectly competent and the whole movie is infused with a great deal of fun and adequate performances, especially considering so many of the cast were inexperienced."[10]
After the film, she did some stage and television directing, including three episodes of the situation comedyAlice.[9]
Walker was 4'11", the same height as her father,Dewey Barto ofBarto and Mann. Walker was married twice. Her first husband wasGar Moore, whom she wed on August 1, 1948. They divorced within 10 months. She remarried, to musical theater teacher David Craig on January 29, 1951, and their daughter, Miranda Craig, was born in 1953. David Craig died in 1998 at the age of 75 from lung cancer.[11]
Walker was also a close friend of actorMontgomery Clift. BiographerPatricia Bosworth stated the two first met in 1948, but did not become good friends until 10 years later, after Clift's disfiguring car accident. Bosworth adds that Walker would sustain him as his dearest friend for the rest of his life; their relationship was one of mutual support – whereas most of Clift's friends assumed he needed to be looked after, or else left alone, Walker stated, "he needed to be needed", adding "I liked his face better after the accident; his strengthshone through." Clift nicknamed friends for whom he felt particular affection, and he called Walker "Nanny".[12]
Walker was aDemocrat who supportedAdlai Stevenson's campaign during the1952 presidential election.[13]
Walker died of lung cancer on March 25, 1992, at age 69, inStudio City, California.[14]
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1943 | Best Foot Forward | Nancy – Blind Date | |
| 1943 | Girl Crazy | Polly Williams | |
| 1944 | Broadway Rhythm | Trixie Simpson | |
| 1954 | Lucky Me | Flo Neely | |
| 1972 | Stand Up and Be Counted | Agnes | |
| 1973 | The World's Greatest Athlete | Mrs. Petersen | |
| 1973 | 40 Carats | Mrs. Margie Margolin | |
| 1975 | Death Scream | Mrs. Jacobs | |
| 1976 | Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood | Mrs. Fromberg | |
| 1976 | Murder by Death | Maid | |
| Television | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1959 | The World of Sholom Aleichem | Wife | Play of the Week "Tale of Chelm" |
| 1959–1964 | The Garry Moore Show | Herself | Regular guest star (13 episodes) |
| 1960 | The Tab Hunter Show | Buddy Parker | Episode: "I Love a Marine" |
| 1970–1971 | Family Affair | Emily Turner | Recurring role (6 episodes) |
| 1971–1974 | The Mary Tyler Moore Show | Ida Morgenstern | Recurring role (4 episodes) |
| 1971–1976 | McMillan & Wife | Mildred | Main cast (32 episodes) |
| 1972 | Bridget Loves Bernie | Aunt Ruthie | Episode: "The Little White Lie That Grew" |
| 1973 | The Partridge Family | Mrs. Applebaum | Episode: "Aspirin at 7, dinner at 8" |
| 1974 | Thursday's Game | Mrs. Bender | Television film |
| 1974–1978 | Rhoda | Ida Morgenstern | Main cast (42 episodes) |
| 1976–1977 | The Nancy Walker Show | Nancy Kitteridge | Main role (13 episodes) |
| 1977 | Blansky's Beauties | Nancy Blansky | Main role (13 episodes) |
| 1977 | The Muppet Show | Herself | Guest Star (1 episode) |
| 1978 | Fantasy Island | Mumsy | Episode: "The Common Man" |
| 1982 | Trapper John, M.D. | Harriett Krieger | Episode: "42" |
| 1987 | The Golden Girls | Angela | Recurring role (2 episodes) |
| 1987–1988 | Mama's Boy | Molly McCaskey | Main role (6 episodes) |
| 1989 | Newhart | Aunt Louise | Episode: "Attack of the Killer Aunt" |
| 1990 | Columbo | Herself | Episode: "Uneasy Lies the Crown" |
| 1990–1992 | True Colors | Sara Bower | Main cast (46 episodes) |
Thomas S. Hischak.The Oxford Companion to the American Musical: theatre, film, and television (June 2008), Oxford University Press, USA (ISBN 0195335333)
