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Elizabeth Franz | |
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| Born | Elizabeth Jean Frankovitch (1941-06-18)June 18, 1941 Akron, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | November 4, 2025(2025-11-04) (aged 84) Woodbury, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1981–2015 |
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Elizabeth Jean Frankovitch (June 18, 1941 – November 4, 2025), known professionally asElizabeth Franz, was an American stage and television actress.
Franz was born Elizabeth Jean Frankovitch inAkron, Ohio, on July 18, 1941.[1][2][3] Her father, Joseph Frankovitch, worked in a tire factory. Her half Irish, half Native American mother, Harriet, had mental problems that sometimes frightened Franz when she was a child. In childhood she decided to become an actress as a way of releasing emotions that she had to hold in while dealing with her parents.[1] She had two brothers and a sister, and she graduated fromCopley High School inCopley Township, Ohio, in 1959.[4]
Although her mother never thought Franz would succeed as an actress, she wanted to attend theAmerican Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) and worked as a secretary atOhio Edison to save enough money to enroll there.[5] An AADA teacher warned her that despite being a good actress, she might not get roles before she reached age 40.[6]
Billed as Betty Frankovitch, Franz acted at the Weathervane Theater in Akron.[4] She acted withThe Repertory Theatre of St. Louis 1968–1970.[7]
In 2004–05, she appeared at theRoyal National Theatre in London, in theSam Shepard playBuried Child. She starred in numerousOff-Broadway and regional theater productions, including the American premiere ofFrank McGuinness'sBird Sanctuary. She also appeared inLong Day's Journey into Night,The Glass Menagerie,The Comedy of Errors,Madwoman of Chaillot,The Lion in Winter,A View from the Bridge,The Matchmaker,The Wizard of Oz,Great Expectations,The Model Apartment, andWoman in Mind.
Her "subtly layered performance" asGrandma Kurnitz in the 2017Weston Playhouse Theatre Company production ofNeil Simon'sLost in Yonkers was duly noted byRutland Herald critic Jim Lowe, who deemed Franz's portrayal the "dramatic backbone" of the production, "allowing only traces of theoctogenarian's love and humanity to seep through."[8]
Franz'sTony-winning performance asLinda Loman in the 50th anniversary production ofArthur Miller'sDeath of a Salesman proved a revelation to audiences and author alike, as evidenced by Miller's brief but pointed tribute.
She has discovered in the role the basic underlying powerful protectiveness, which comes out as fury, and that in the past, in every performance that I know of, was simply washed out.[9]
On television, Franz was most notably acharacter actor. She became best known for her role as the villainous Alma Rudder onAnother World, which she portrayed from 1982–83, while she was performingBrighton Beach Memoirs on Broadway. She played Helen Wendall onAs the World Turns from 1994–95, and appeared as free-spirited beauty salon owner Marsha in three episodes ofRoseanne.
She appeared in the seriesGilmore Girls, as the inn owner, Mia, and inLaw & Order,Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,Cold Case,Dear John, andJudging Amy.
Franz appeared in such feature films and motion pictures asSabrina,Christmas with the Kranks,The Substance of Fire,The Pallbearer,Thinner,The Secret of My Success,School Ties, andJacknife.
Franz married actorEdward Binns in 1983, and they remained wed until his death in 1990.[6][10] She died from cancer at her home inWoodbury, Connecticut on November 4, 2025, at the age of 84.[1] At the time of her death, she was married to Christopher Pelham.[1][10][11]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | The Secret of My Success | Grace Foster | |
| 1989 | Jacknife | Pru Buckman | |
| 1992 | School Ties | Jane Dillon | |
| 1993 | It's Nothing Personal | Unknown | |
| 1995 | Sabrina | Joanna | |
| 1996 | The Pallbearer | Aunt Lucille | |
| The Substance of Fire | Miss Barzakian | ||
| Thinner | Leda Rossington | ||
| Twisted | Mrs. Bundrass | ||
| 1999 | A Fish in the Bathtub | Bea Greenberg | |
| 2004 | Christmas with the Kranks | Bev Scheel | |
| Loopy | Doris Highsmith | Short Film | |
| 2005 | The Reader | Sissel | Short Film |
| 2009 | In Memoriam | Woman | Short Film |
| Alone | Sarah | Short Film | |
| 2015 | Take Me to the River | Evelyn |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | The House of Mirth | Grace Stepney | TV movie |
| 1982 | American Playhouse | Doctor | Episode: "Pilgrim, Farewell" |
| 1982 | Another World | Alma Rudder | Episode: "July 30, 1982" |
| 1985 | Spenser: For Hire | Mrs. O'Rourke | Episode: "Original Sin" |
| 1986 | American Playhouse | Mrs. Rice | Episode: "The Rise and Rise and Daniel Rocket" |
| 1987 | The Equalizer | Mrs. Thomas | Episode: "Blood and Wine" |
| 1987 | American Playhouse | Dottie McCann | Episode: "Dottie" |
| 1989 | ABC Afterschool Special | Cecile Nelson | Episode: "A Town's Revenge" |
| 1989 | American Playhouse | Unknown | Episode: "Love and Other Sorrows" |
| 1990 | Roseanne | Marsha | 3 episodes |
| 1991 | Face of a Stranger | TV movie | |
| 1993 | Shameful Secrets | Maryanne's Mother | TV movie |
| 1994–1995 | Sisters | Gladys Lear | 2 episodes |
| 1995 | ABC Afterschool Special | Alice Kelly | Episode: "Notes for My Daughter" |
| 2000 | Death of a Salesman | Linda Loman | TV movie |
| 2000–2001 | Judging Amy | Vivian Galloway | 2 episodes |
| 2001 | A Girl Thing | Josephine McCormack | TV movie |
| 2001 | Gilmore Girls | Mia | Episode: "The Ins and Outs of Inns" |
| 2003 | Cold Case | Evelyn Shelby | Episode: "Look Again"(S1.E1) |
| An Unexpected Love | Dorothy | TV movie | |
| 2004 | Law & Order | Alison Bishop | Episode: "Married with Children" |
| 2004 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Jeannette Henley | Episode: "Scavenger"(S6.E4) |
| 2011 | Homeland | Isabel Samler | Episode: "Marine One" |
| 2012 | Grey's Anatomy | Emma Carroll | Episode: "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" |
Franz's creative choices took even playwright Miller by surprise [as revealed] in a 1999 interview. 'I don't think [Miller] thought of it as being done that way, ever,' Franz says in a quiet, almost tremulous voice during an interview backstage at the Ahmanson.
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