![]() ![]() ![]() Stapleton also played Philamente in Moliere's "The Learned Ladies." Moliere, she notes, "was the perfect step toward playing Shakespeare." Michael Kahn, artistic director of the Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, says he cast her as the Nurse in "Romeo and Juliet," because "the part requires great humor, warmth, and believability. She later appeared in stage roles in "Cinderella," "Arsenic and Old Lace," and two Harold Pinter plays - "The Birthday Party" and the American premiere of "Mountain Language," for which she won an Obie. In 1984 she made her operatic debut in Leonard Bernstein's "Candide," followed the next year by an operatic double bill "Bon Appetit!" and "The Italian Lesson," to music of Lee Hoiby. She wanted the freedom to do a variety of projects. The mystery series "Murder, She Wrote" was originally developed for her, but she didn't want to commit herself to another TV series. The chairs also grace a stamp in the Postal Service's "Celebrate the Century" collection.ĭespite the brilliance and popularity of her portrayal of Edith, Stapleton left "All in the Family" after nine seasons. Edith's and Archie's chairs are now in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, emblematic of their place in cultural history. Edith Bunker was a brilliant part, and Jean became a national icon. TV critics have used the word "inspired" to describe Norman Lear's casting of the stage-trained Stapleton in his comedy series "All in the Family" in 1971. She was then discovered by famed Broadway playwright and director George Abbott, who heard her sing and said, "We must find a part for her in our next musical." She first appeared on Broadway in the 1953 production "In the Summer House" and then in a series of musicals and films including "Damn Yankees," "Bells Are Ringing," and "Funny Girl." Stapleton almost made her Broadway debut in Foote's "The Trip to Bountiful," but her part was cut in tryouts. She first met Foote, considered to be one of America's greatest living playwrights, when she worked in the 1940s as an apprentice with the American Actors Company, of which Foote was one of the founders. She worked as a typist and secretary to help support herself. "I'm glad I was born in New York City because I could never have afforded to come to New York to study," says Stapleton. 17.Ī vivacious woman with an intelligent liveliness and a sense of humor, Stapleton says she went into theater because the desire to act suddenly "seized me." Arrangements are being made for Stapleton to appear in "Eleanor" at the Arena Theatre in Washington Sept. Roosevelt made publicly and privately as she turned herself from a shy girl into a magnificent woman. Stapleton has also been touring the country in her New York-bound one-woman show, "Eleanor: Her Secret Journey," which depicts the odyssey that Mrs. I always thought the character parts were more interesting than the ingenues." "I've been a character actress since I was 18. Stapleton has just appeared in the CBS movie "Like Mother, Like Son: The Strange Story of Sante and Kenny Kimes," based on a true story of a mother-son grifter team convicted of the 1998 murder of Irene Silverman. Stapleton characterizes Grace Anne as "strong-willed" and having "guts." Grace Anne is the independent woman among the three, a quality that frees her from the domination of the family. Stapleton, best known for her role as television's Edith Bunker in "All in the Family," plays Grace Anne, one of three sisters who tell the story of the carpetbagger's family, each from her own perspective. Tonight, she will appear in the world premiere of Horton Foote's "The Carpetbagger's Children" at the Tony Award-winning Alley Theatre in Houston. ![]() She has had a number of scripts "jump out" at her of late. Does it jump out at you? That's something I can tell after reading 10 pages into a script." She doesn't care how large a part is, just "how good it is.
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