Stapleton, Maureen (1925–2006)

American actress. Born Lois Maureen Stapleton in Troy, New York, June 21, 1925; died Mar 13, 2006, in Lenox, Massachusetts; m. Max Allentuck (producer), 1949 (div. 1959); m. David Rayfiel (playwright), May 1965 (div.); children: (1st m.) Cathy Allentuck; Danny Allentuck.

Emmy, Oscar, and Tony winner, who slipped easily between drama and comedy in a career that spanned almost 5 decades, made NY debut as Sarah Tansey in The Playboy of the Western World (1946); became charter member of Actors Studio; had breakthrough role as Serafina in Tennessee Williams' The Rose Tattoo (1951), for which she won Tony Award as Best Actress; following appearances in The Emperor's Clothes,The Crucible, and The Sea Gull (1953–54), created roles in 2 additional plays by Williams: Flora in Twenty-Seven Wagons Full of Cotton and Lady Torrance in Orpheus Descending; appeared as Carrie in Toys in the Attic (1960) and Georgie Elgin in The Country Girl (1972); launched film career with an Oscar nomination for Lonelyhearts (1959), as well as for her work in Airport (1970) and Interiors (1978); won Oscar for portrayal of Emma Goldman in Reds (1981); on tv, won Sullivan Award for performance as Sadie Burke in All the King's Men (1958) and Emmy for Save Me a Place at Forest Lawn (1967); had 3 roles in Neil Simon's comedy Plaza Suite (1970) and appeared as Evy Meara in his The Gingerbread Lady; appeared in The Glass Menagerie (1975); other films include The Fugitive Kind (1960), Bye Bye Birdie (1963), Plaza Suite (1971), The Runner Stumbles (1979), The Fan (1981), Cocoon (1985), The Money Pit (1986), Heartburn (1986), Nuts (1987), Cocoon: The Return (1988) and Passed Away (1992).

See also autobiography (with Jane Scovell) A Hell of a Life? (1995); and Women in World History.