Colleen Dewhurst

Colleen Dewhurst was a Canadian-American actress born in Montreal, Quebec best known for her interpretation of Eugene O'Neill plays on the stage and television appearances in the 1980s. Dewhurst was nominated for eight Tonys and won two, and was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmys, of which she won four. Dewhurst was the son of Fred Dewhurst, a hockey player turned sales manager, and Frances Dewhurst, a Christian Scientist whose faith Colleen followed. The family moved to America when Dewhurst was 13, and she graduated from Riverside High School in Milwaukee in 1942. She attended Milwaukee-Downer College for a time, but moved to New York City to pursue an acting career. There, she studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, where she met future husband and fellow actor James Vickery. The couple married in 1947, and five years later, in 1952, Dewhurst made her professional acting debut with a small dancing part in Eugene O'Neill's "Desire Under the Elms." She worked extensively with theater producer Joseph Papp for his New York Shakespeare Festival in 1956, which brought her a first taste of notoriety and critical acclaim. Dewhurst made her television debut in an episode of "Studio One in Hollywood" (CBS, 1948-1958) in 1957, but would prefer the stage for much of her career. She met future husband and acclaimed actor George C. Scott while the pair worked together on the Broadway play "Children of Darkness"; Dewhurst and Vickery would divorce in 1960, and her and Scott would marry the next year. Dewhurst and Scott had two sons, writer Alexander and actor Campbell, but would divorce in 1965 before remarrying in 1967. The couple ultimately divorced for good in 1972. She made her film debut in the Audrey Hepburn-led movie "The Nun's Story" (1959) and won her first Tony for her performance in "All the Way Home" in 1961. Dewhurst acted in a string of productions in which her performances were Tony-nominated, including "A Moon for the Misbegotten" (1974), for which she won. Through most of the 1960s and '70s, Dewhurst also worked extensively in anthology shows and TV movies, garnering Emmy nominations frequently, but landed a pair of notable film roles; in John Wayne's "The Cowboys" (1972) and as Annie's mom in Woody Allen's "Annie Hall" (1977). Dewhurst was also the president of Actors Equity from 1985 to 1991. But her lasting legacy may lie in a few 1980s television series. She played Marilla Cuthbert in three "Anne of Green Gables" series, including the eponymous miniseries (CBC, 1985), "Anne of Avonlea" (CBC, 1987), and "Road to Avonlea" (CBC, 1990-96). Dewhurst's role as the titular character's mother in "Murphy Brown" (CBS, 1988-1998) was the second of these most well-known TV roles. She won her first Primetime Emmy in 1986 for her role in the TV movie "Between Two Women" and her second and third in 1989 for "Murphy Brown" and "Those She Left Behind." Dewhurst provided various voices for Ken Burns' seminal documentary miniseries "The Civil War" (PBS, 1990), acted alongside her son Campbell in "Dying Young" (1991), and made her last film appearance in "Bed & Breakfast" (1991), starring Roger Moore. She received her final Emmy for her role on "Murphy Brown" in 1991, and passed away from cervical cancer the same year at age 67 in South Salem, New York, where she had lived with her partner, theater producer Ken Marsolais.