Mildred Dunnock | |
|---|---|
 Dunnock in 1956 | |
| Born | Mildred Dorothy Dunnock (1901-01-25)January 25, 1901 |
| Died | July 5, 1991(1991-07-05) (aged 90) |
| Resting place | Lambert's Cove Cemetery,West Tisbury,Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Education | Goucher College Johns Hopkins University Columbia University (MA) Actors Studio |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1932–1987 |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
Mildred Dorothy Dunnock (January 25, 1901 – July 5, 1991) was an American stage and screen actress. She was nominated twice for anAcademy Award for her works inDeath of a Salesman (1951) andBaby Doll (1956).
Born inBaltimore, Maryland, Dunnock graduated fromWestern High School.[1] She developed an interest in theater while she was a student atGoucher College[2] where she was a member ofAlpha Phi sorority[3] and the Agora dramatic society. After graduating, she taught English atFriends School of Baltimore and helped with productions of plays there.[1]
While teaching school in New York, she earned her Master of Arts degree atColumbia University and acted in a play while she was there. She also studied at the Actors Studio underLee Strasberg,Robert Lewis andElia Kazan.[2]
After roles inBroadway productions ofLife Begins (1932) andThe Hill Between (1938),[4] Dunnock won praise for her performance as a Welsh school teacher inThe Corn is Green[according to whom?] in 1940 — a role that she performed while she was a full-time teacher atBrearley School.[1] The 1945film version marked her screen debut.[citation needed] During the 1940s she performed mainly on stage, in such dramas asAnother Part of the Forest (1946) andDeath of a Salesman (1949) and in the musicalLute Song (1946).[4] She also performed in regional theatrical productions, including those of theLong Wharf Theatre and theYale Repertory Theatre.[5]
In 1947, she became a founding member of theActors Studio.[6]
Dunnock reprised her role as Linda Loman, Willy's wife, in the 1951 film version ofDeath of a Salesman. She originated the role of Big Mama on Broadway inTennessee Williams' playCat on a Hot Tin Roof, although she lost the film role toJudith Anderson. Several of her films includeThe Trouble with Harry (1955),Love Me Tender (1956),Baby Doll (1956),Peyton Place (1957),The Nun's Story (1959),Butterfield 8 (1960),Something Wild (1961) andSweet Bird of Youth (1962). She was the woman in the wheelchair pushed down a flight of stairs to her death by the psychotic villain Tommy Udo (Richard Widmark) inKiss of Death (1947). She also appeared in guest roles on numerous TV series such asAlfred Hitchcock Presents andPonds Theater, and, later in her career, several television movies.[citation needed]
Dunnock was twice nominated for anAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress, forDeath of a Salesman in 1951, and forBaby Doll in 1956. She was also nominated for theGolden Globe for Best Supporting Actress forBaby Doll, as well asViva Zapata! in 1952 andPeyton Place in 1957.
In 1960 she appeared in the playThe Crystal Heart at theEast 74th Street Theater withVirginia Vestoff (in her first professional appearance), with top seats selling for $4.96 ($53 in current dollar terms).[7]
In 1966, she played Linda Loman for the third time in thetelevision film adaptation ofDeath of a Salesman,[8] alongside her original Broadway co-star,Lee J. Cobb.[9] This earned Dunnock a nomination for anEmmy Award in 1967, in the category of Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Drama.[10]
Her final film wasThe Pick-up Artist (1987), which starredRobert Downey Jr. andMolly Ringwald.
Dunnock has a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame for her contribution to motion pictures, at 6613 Hollywood Boulevard.[11] She is also a member of theAmerican Theater Hall of Fame, which she was inducted into in 1983.[12]
Dunnock was married to Keith Urmy, an executive at Chemical Bank in Manhattan, from 1933 until her death. The couple had one child. In 1991, at age 90, Dunnock died from natural causes inOak Bluffs, Massachusetts, although at that time she was a resident of nearbyWest Tisbury.[13]
| Year | Program | Episode/source |
|---|---|---|
| 1952 | Grand Central Station | Seed of Doubt[14] |
Lewis' class included Herbert Berghof, Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, Mildred Dunnock, Tom Ewell, John Forsythe, Anne Jackson, Sidney Lumet, Kevin McCarthy, Karl Malden, E.G. Marshall, Patricia Neal, William Redfield, Jerome Robbins, Maureen Stapleton, Beatrice Straight, Eli Wallach, and David Wayne.
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