Denise Marie Nickerson
Nickerson in 2017
Born	(1957-04-01)April 1, 1957 New York City, U.S.
Died	July 10, 2019(2019-07-10) (aged 62) Aurora, Colorado, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1959–1978 (acting)
Known for	Violet Beauregarde inWilly Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
Spouses	Rich Keller ​ ​ (m. 1981; died 1983)​ Mark Willard ​ ​ (m. 1995; div. 1998)​
Children	1

Denise Marie Nickerson (April 1, 1957 – July 10, 2019)^[1] was an American actress. At the age of 13, she starred asViolet Beauregarde in the 1971 filmWilly Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. She later played Allison onThe Electric Company, and had recurring roles as Amy Jennings, Nora Collins, and Amy Collins in thesoap operaDark Shadows. She retired from acting in 1978 and later worked as a receptionist and office manager.

Nickerson was born on April 1, 1957,^[2] in New York City,^[3] to Florence Bickford, a clerical worker, and Fred Nickerson, a mail carrier. The family, along with older sister Carol, moved toMiami.^[2] Nickerson, at the age of two, appeared in atelevision commercial for a Florida heating company. At the age of four, she was discovered at a fashion show by Broadway theatre producerZev Buffman of drama school theNeighborhood Playhouse.^[2]

In 1962, when she was five, Nickerson was in aplay ofPeter Pan asWendy's daughter starringBetsy Palmer at Miami'sCoconut Grove Playhouse. Buffman selected Nickerson to go on the road with the play, first toWashington, DC. When Nickerson was nine, the play ended.^[2] Her parents moved Carol and Nickerson back to New York City at56th and Lexington in astudio apartment, while they stayed with her grandmother inMassachusetts.^[4]

In 1971, Nickerson, at 13, was cast as the nymphet Lolita, replacing the original actress Annette Ferra in the ill-fated musical,Lolita, My Love during its run inBoston, which closed on the road before reaching Broadway.^[3][5]

Nickerson made appearances in the 1960s on such shows asThe Doctors as Kate Harris,^[4][6] oppositeBill Bixby in an unsoldtelevision pilot calledRome Sweet Rome, and onThe New Phil Silvers Show.^[7][8] Nickerson's big break came in 1968, when she joined the cast ofABC Daytime'sDark Shadows, appearing as recurring characters Amy Jennings, Nora Collins, and Amy Collins from 1968 to 1970.^[9][10] Upon leavingDark Shadows, she appeared in the 1971television movieThe Neon Ceiling.^[11][12] That year, she appeared in her signature role as gum-chewingViolet Beauregarde inWilly Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, based onRoald Dahl's novelCharlie and the Chocolate Factory.^[9][10][13]

From 1972 to 1973, Nickerson joined the cast ofThe Electric Company as Allison, a member of the Short Circus music group. Producers saw the potential in her fresh face and had her sing lead on several songs, including "The Sweet Sweet Sway". She guest-starred as Pamela Phillips, one of two datesPeter Brady had on one night, in a final-season episode ofThe Brady Bunch titled "Two Petes in a Pod". She auditioned for the role of Regan MacNeil inThe Exorcist, losing toLinda Blair.^[14] Also in 1974, Nickerson was Sophie Pennington, alongsideTeddy Eccles, in the unsold television pilotIf I Love You, Am I Trapped Forever?, based onM. E. Kerr's novel of the same name.^[15][16]

Nickerson created the role ofLiza Walton on theCBS Daytime soap opera,Search for Tomorrow. She remained with the series until producers decided to age the character and make her one of the show's romantic heroines.^[3][12]

In 1973, Nickerson starred in the TV movieThe Man Who Could Talk to Kids, oppositePeter Boyle andScott Jacoby.^[17] In 1975 she appeared in the satiric, beauty-pageant inspired motion pictureSmile, as Miss San Diego Shirley Tolstoy, also starring a youngMelanie Griffith andAnnette O'Toole.^[18]

In 1978, Nickerson appeared in the filmZero to Sixty oppositeDarren McGavin andSylvia Miles, and the TV filmChild of Glass.

After turning 21, Nickerson quit acting and subsequently began nursing school, but ultimately worked as areceptionist and later as anoffice manager/accountant in a doctor's office.^[10]

Nickerson was a longtime attendee atfan conventions for bothWilly Wonka andDark Shadows.^[19]

In 2001, Nickerson appeared in thedocumentaryPure Imagination: The Story of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, directed by J.M. Kenny.

In later years, Nickerson appeared on television sporadically, including an appearance on an episode of the 2000–2002 version ofTo Tell the Truth.

In 2003, Nickerson and some of herWilly Wonka & the Chocolate Factory castmates appeared on an episode of the British television documentary series,After They Were Famous, also directed by J.M. Kenny.

In 2011, some of theWilly Wonka & the Chocolate Factory cast members, which included Nickerson, reunited for an episode ofTop Chef: Just Desserts, which challenged the contestants to create an edible world of wonder.^[20] The partialWonka cast reunited in 2011 and again in 2015 onThe Today Show.^{[21][22][23][24]}

Nickerson was married twice. Her first marriage was to Rick Keller in 1981; he died two years later of abrain aneurysm. Her second marriage was to Mark Willard in 1995; they had one son, Joshua Nickerson, before divorcing in 1998.^[25]

In 1976, Nickerson was hit by a car while crossing the street and was left in a full leg cast for eight months.^[26]

In June 2018, Nickerson suffered a severestroke and was hospitalized in intensive care. She was discharged to a rehabilitation center the following month. In August, she went home to live under her family's care.^[27] In September 2018,Julie Dawn Cole andParis Themmen fromWilly Wonka & the Chocolate Factory visited Nickerson after she was discharged from a rehabilitation center.^[9][28]

On July 8, 2019, Nickerson took an overdose of prescription medicines while her son and daughter-in-law were out; her son took her to a hospital in respiratory distress. While in intensive care, she developedpneumonia.^[29] She suffered a massive seizure the following day and slipped into a coma. She had ado not resuscitate order in place,^[30] and on July 10, her family removed her fromlife support.^[31][32] She died later that day frompneumonia at the age of 62.^[1][24]

• Hamrick, Craig; Jamison, R. J. (2012).Barnabas & Company: The Cast of the TV Classic Dark Shadows.Bloomington, Indiana:iUniverse. pp. 267–276.ISBN 978-1-4759-1034-6.
• Terrace, Vincent (1985).Encyclopedia of Television Series, Pilots and Specials. Vol. 2 (1st ed.).New York City: New York Zoetrope Publishing. p. 115.ISBN 978-0-9184-3261-2.
• Monaco, James (1992).The Movie Guide. New York City:TarcherPerigee. p. 863.ISBN 978-0-3995-1780-8.
• Berard, Jeanette M.; Englund, Klaudia (2009).Television Series and Specials Scripts, 1946-1992: A Catalog of the American Radio Archives Collection. New York City:McFarland & Company.ISBN 978-0-7864-3348-3.

• Denise Nickerson atIMDb
• Denise Nickerson at theTCM Movie Database
• Denise Nickerson at theInternet Broadway Database

• 1957 births
• 2019 deaths
• 20th-century American actresses
• 21st-century American actresses
• Actresses from New York City
• American child actresses
• American film actresses
• American soap opera actresses
• American television actresses
• Drug-related deaths in Colorado
• Actresses from New York (state)

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