Lois Nettleton

[Schmermie]

If you look at the photo on the link at the bottom you will thing "Oh yeah, I remember her."

Lois Nettleton, 80, Dies; Acted on Stage and TV

By DOUGLAS MARTIN [New York Times]

Lois Nettleton, an actress whose dramatic and comic dexterity in
theater, film and television earned her wide public recognition and
deep professional respect for more than a half century, died on Friday
[January 18, 2008] in Woodland Hills, California. She was 80.
The cause was complications of lung cancer, her friend Dale Olson
said.


Ms. Nettleton, who had a soft, almost breathy speaking voice, made an
indelible impression in 1973 when she took over the role of Blanche
DuBois in a Broadway revival of Tennessee Williams's "Streetcar Named
Desire." Critics applauded the courage her character displayed in the
face of corruption and broken, magnolia-scented dreams. In a review
for The Chicago Tribune-New York News Syndicate, Rex Reed called her
performance, starkly different from previous ones, "shatteringly
brilliant."


Her extensive work in television included the role of Norma in "The
Midnight Sun," a 1961 episode of "The Twilight Zone" about an ever-
hotter Earth, which is considered a classic by students of the series.
Her many other television roles included appearances on early dramatic
shows like "Studio One" and "Armstrong Circle Theater" and more recent
ones on popular shows like "Seinfeld" and "Cagney & Lacey." She also
appeared for three years on the daytime drama "General Hospital."

Her movies began with a bit part on Elia Kazan's "Face in the Crowd,"
and she was one of the last contract players at MGM. In an interview
with Back Stage in 2004, Ms. Nettleton said she was first cast as "the
plain nice girl or the unhappy wife next door." Her vehicles later
became quite varied, ranging from the film adaptation of Williams's
"Period of Adjustment" to "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas."

Ms. Nettleton told Back Stage that "the joy in acting is playing as
many different characters as possible." She said she turned down many
roles that did not interest her and favored "mature roles."

Lois Nettleton was born in August 1927, in Oak Park, Illinois. Her
family was poor and her parents divorced when she was young. In an
interview with After Dark in 1972, she said she used fantasy to escape
her circumstances, developing an ambition to act in the process. She
put on little shows in her backyard.
In 1948, she was Miss Chicago [Illinois] and a semifinalist in the
Miss America pageant.


After graduating from high school, Ms. Nettleton studied at the
Goodman Theater in Chicago, then moved to New York [New York] to join
the Actors Studio, where she learned the Method approach to acting.

Ms. Nettleton made her Broadway debut in 1949 in "The Biggest Thief in
Town," with Brooks Atkinson of The New York Times calling her work
"pleasantly fresh and disarming."
In 1955, Ms. Nettleton was understudy to Barbara Bel Geddes in
Williams's "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" and occasionally got to play the
role of Maggie. In 1959, she won a Clarence Derwent Award for best
supporting performance by a nonfeatured actress for her portrayal of
Shelagh O'Connor in "God and Kate Murphy."


In 1976, Ms. Nettleton was nominated for a Tony Award for a Broadway
revival of Sidney Howard's "They Knew What They Wanted."

She told Back Stage that she would have liked to have spent more time
in New York concentrating on theater, but that she had to take care of
her ailing mother in Los Angeles. There, she became best known for her
television work, including being a regular on "In the Heat of the
Night" and appearing in popular series like "Murder, She Wrote," and
"The Golden Girls." She was nominated for several Emmies.

Ms. Nettleton was divorced from Jean Shepherd, the radio host and
author; they met when she called his show. She left no immediate
survivors.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/22/arts/22nettleton.html?_r=1&ref=obit...

[SuburbanDeathHag]

Thanks for the post! I always thought she was so pretty, loved her in that Twilight Zone episode where the sun was burning up the planet.

[ROBERT63]

She Was On The Tv Series "in The Heat Of The Night" Starring Carroll O' Connor. I Think.

[Jack-O-Lantern]

One of the GREAT character actresses...this really saddens me

[mr.wanttohaveitall]

Darn. Another great character actor gone. They really are dropping like flies so far this year. Lois, Heath Ledger. This is another round of 3 I think. Who's next??????


You will be missed Lois.

[Katie]

I remember her most from the Golden Girls episode where she is gay, has lost her partner, and is in love with Rose. It was one of the funniest episodes.

This world sure has lost a lot of good actors lately. I am not even sure you can count them in threes anymore. We might have to up the number in a row.

[Morbid1]

Wow..another sad loss!

I loved her in the Twilight Zone "The Midnight Sun"


RIP

-Morbid1

[cachluv]

[Suzanne30]

I remember her in a short lived sitcom from the 70's called "All That Glitters." The gender roles were switched in that show.

The Midnight Sun is also one of my favorite TZ episodes. She was great in it.

[Martini]

My favorite movie of hers is " Women in Chains" with Ida Lupino & Jessica Walters.

From IMDb:

Lady parole officer goes undercover to investigate prison brutality, but is trapped when the only person on the outside who knows why she's there is killed.

This one got me started on my obsession with tv movies of the 70's.

[Jazbabee]

I remember her well, but for some reason, didn't realize she was 80 !

[Overtaxed]

I would have never thought she was 80 years old!

[Noelle Page]

All right! Lois knocks Heath off the front page of the FAD Forum!

I like to imagine the recently deceased celebs meeting up at the Pearly gates.....some odd combos!

[Irishlass]

man we have had a lot of deaths in the past few weeks

I remember her most from the Mini seris CENTENTIAL she played a grifter and she was good at it

[Noelle Page]

She was a sexy looking bitch! (Hope she enjoys that compliment up in heaven)

[KELT]

Originally Posted by Martini

My favorite movie of hers is " Women in Chains" with Ida Lupino & Jessica Walters.

From IMDb:

Lady parole officer goes undercover to investigate prison brutality, but is trapped when the only person on the outside who knows why she's there is killed.

This one got me started on my obsession with tv movies of the 70's.

I remember that one; LUPINO was a real bitch in it. I recall a scene in which she stabbed NETTLETON in the gut with a fork.

[Pammijo]

Oh that episode of Twilight Zone is my absolute favorite!!!!! So sorry to hear of her demise. Yup, she's started the threesome - omg! Who's next?

[mr.wanttohaveitall]

I just remembered, she fell in love with Mr. Grant on the MARY TYLER MOORE show.

Her credits are endless.....

[Elizabeth]

Originally Posted by cachluv

She had kind of a Grace Kelly look about her-very beautiful!!! And a wonderful actress....

[mr.wanttohaveitall]

Originally Posted by Elizabeth

She had kind of a Grace Kelly look about her-very beautiful!!! And a wonderful actress....

LOL. I didn't have any Partridge family albums, BUT my sister did. She had a HUGE crush on David Cassidy.........OMG she loved him.

[KELT]

Originally Posted by Pammijo

Oh that episode of Twilight Zone is my absolute favorite!!!!! So sorry to hear of her demise. Yup, she's started the threesome - omg! Who's next?

It's 4 really:

BRAD RENFRO..................................... January 15th
LOIS NETTLETON................................. January 18th
SUZANNE PLESHETTE.......................... January 19th
HEATH LEDGER................................... January 22nd

[don't_axe_me]

Kelt was banned!?!?!?!

[SuburbanDeathHag]

I hope it's a short banning, I love KELT'S posts!

[Schmermie]

Originally Posted by Elizabeth

She had kind of a Grace Kelly look about her-very beautiful!!! And a wonderful actress....

Not only did I have that album, but I also had the lunch box. Dang, where the heck did those things go? Probably worth a fortune on eBay.

[Schmermie]

Oops....

__________________
You know you had one.....

THIS is what I was commenting on. Doh!

[Miss Weasel]

Originally Posted by KELT

It's 4 really:

BRAD RENFRO..................................... January 15th
LOIS NETTLETON................................. January 18th
SUZANNE PLESHETTE.......................... January 19th
HEATH LEDGER................................... January 22nd

Does this mean it will start over and the grim reaper needs two more to make it three again? Kind of a silly question but this is the first time I've seen it in fours.

[PiggyTx]

Why was Kelt banned?

[mr.wanttohaveitall]

Originally Posted by Schmermie

Oops....

__________________
You know you had one.....

THIS is what I was commenting on. Doh!

I knew that's what you meant. Yes, all of those things are probably worth some $$$$. I don't know if my sis has any of hers anymore. I also remember she had a huge poster of David too.

Sorry to get off topic Lois. I only WISH I had an autographed photo of her now or any memorabilia. Darn. I hate to see the good ones go.

[phirerednga]

The Golden Girls she was in was so funny, that one was one of my fave episodes.

[RoRo]

She was another of my favorite character actresses.....she was so pretty and lady like...I just saw her the other night on a Seinfeld rerun where George eats the pastry out of the garbage can!!

[Rebekah]

I'm sure it isn't over yet. The year has just begun and there
are several aged stars that might not make it to the end of
the year. Art Linkletter is 98, Barbara Billingsley of
Leave It To Beaver is around 94 or 95, Estelle Getty of "The
Golden Girls" and Charlton Heston are just a few that come
to mind. It use to be that stars die in threes but not anymore.
I remember in 1977, there were quite a few. In fact, 1977 and
2007 seem to have alot in common.

[Ghoulie Girl]

Yup, I remember her now.
Thanks for the post.

[Nicki]

Lois Nettleton
Lois Nettleton at the 1989 Emmy Awards.BornLois June Nettleton
August 6, 1927(1927-08-06)
Oak Park, Illinois, United StatesDiedJanuary 18, 2008 (aged 80)
Woodland Hills, California, United StatesSpouse(s)Jean Shepherd
1960–1967) (divorced)

Clip from Come Fly with me also with Delores Hart
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuQvGFWnq9w

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0626728/

Biography


Early years

Born in Oak Park, Illinois (near Chicago) to Edward and Virginia Nettleton, her professional acting career began in 1949. She understudied Barbara Bel Geddes in the original Broadway production of Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and first appeared on television in Captain Video.

[edit] Acting career


[edit] Television roles/Emmy Award nominations

She performed in dozens of guest-starring roles on shows, including the original Twilight Zone (in the classic episode "The Midnight Sun" in 1961), Route 66, The Eleventh Hour, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Cagney & Lacey, Seinfeld, Baywatch Nights, and Murder, She Wrote. In 1987, she portrayed the role of Penny VanderHof Sycamore on the TV series version of the classic Hart/Kauffman comedy play You Can't Take It With You with Harry Morgan (of M*A*S*H fame) and Richard Sanders (WKRP in Cincinnati).

Lois Nettleton in The Twilight Zone episode "The Midnight Sun."


She received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for an episode of The Golden Girls titled "Isn't It Romantic?", in which she portrayed a bereaved lesbian. She also received Emmy nominations for her work in the TV movie Fear on Trial (1975) (Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Special) and for a recurring role on the series In the Heat of the Night, in 1989 (Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series). She won two Daytime Emmy Awards for her work on General Hospital.

[edit] Stage roles

She was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance as "Amy" in a 1976 revival of They Knew What They Wanted, and she received critical praise for her stage performance as Blanche DuBois in a 1973 revival of A Streetcar Named Desire. Other stage credits include Broadway productions of Darkness at Noon and Silent Night, Lonely Night.
She appeared in a 1959 off-Broadway production of Look Charlie, which was written by her future husband, humorist Jean Shepherd. Nettleton continued to act on stage into her seventies. Her final stage performance was in 2004, in an off-Broadway play called How to Build a Better Tulip.

Film roles

Her film roles included Tennessee Williams' Period of Adjustment, Elia Kazan's A Face in the Crowd, and Colin Higgins' The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. In 1964 she played the role of the bride in Mail Order Bride, a western film also starring Buddy Ebsen and Keir Dullea. (The Honkers) with James Colburn

Voice roles

In recent years, she did several voice roles for Disney, such as Mickey's House of Villains, House of Mouse (as Maleficent), and Herc's Adventures.

Marriage

She was the first caller to Jean Shepherd's late-night radio program on WOR-AM. She became a regular guest, known to listeners as "The Caller," and they married in 1960, divorcing seven years later. They had no children.

Last years/Death

Nettleton appeared in a 2006 Christmas TV movie special, "The Christmas Card," and her last public appearance was at the 2007 Twilight Zone Convention in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey in August 2007. She died at the age of 80 from lung cancer in Woodland Hills, California on January 18, 2008. Her interment was located in New York City's Saint Raymond's Cemetery

[MoonRabbit]

A very pretty lady!

[guardmom2008]

She had a very nice career.