Anne Bancroft, Actress Who Played Mrs. Robinson, Is Dead at 73

[johnfunk]

What a damn shame...

Anne Bancroft, Actress Who Played Mrs. Robinson, Is Dead at 73
By ROBERT BERKVIST

Published: June 7, 2005

Anne Bancroft, enshrined in film history as the iconic Mrs. Robinson, the seductress who devours her daughter's nerdy boyfriend-to-be (Dustin Hoffman) in the 1967 film "The Graduate," and also remembered for her sensitive portrayal on both stage and screen of Annie Sullivan, the teacher who leads the blind and deaf Helen Keller out of darkness into light in "The Miracle Worker," died Monday at Mount Sinai Medical Center. She was 73.

The cause was uterine cancer, said John Barlow, a spokesman for the family.

Those widely dissimilar roles were emblematic of Ms. Bancroft's long career. During more than 50 years of acting in films, theater and television she played everything from Brecht's "Mother Courage" to the mother superior of a convent, and from an aging ballerina to the Prime Minister Golda Meir of Israel, and repeatedly won praise for her work. Arthur Penn, who directed her award-winning Broadway performances in "Two for the Seesaw" and "The Miracle Worker," both by William Gibson, put it this way: "More happens in her face in 10 seconds than happens in most women's faces in 10 years."

"Hello, Benjamin..." -- still THE sexiest line in film history.

[TexMexTex]

1. "Good bye Mrs. Robsinson.... "

[Hegemony Cricket]

2. She was only six years older than Dustin Hoffman in the Graduate...

...which must have pissed her off to no end.

She'll be sorely missed.

[Sequoia]

6. That's amazing. She was great and lovely. Goodbye.

[msanthrope]

3. Oh, No--I just loved her, in everything I saw her in. RIP Ms Bancroft.

[Bonescrat]

4. RIP

Here's to you Mrs. Robinson. :cry:

[GCP]

5. Condolences to Mel

They've been married forever.

[dolo amber]

57. That was my first thought as well

I, tragically, didn't even realise she'd played Mrs. Robinson. D'oh! x(

RIP. :(

[chaumont58]

7. In view of her screen persona, her choice of husband seemed so odd

She was married to Mel Brooks. Young Frankenstein Mel Brooks and Blazing Saddles Mel Brooks.

[mcscajun]

14. And did you see her in "To Be Or Not To Be"?

http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0086450/combined

She showed her zanier side in that one. :)

[Bridget Burke]

58. She was a smart lady--she preferred the Funny Guy.

I'm sure she had her choice of actors who were prettier than she was. Who could blather on forever about the Art of the Theatre. But she picked the guy who could make her laugh.

High class, all the way.

[Catchawave]

8. Here's to you Annie Bancroft....

...whoa..ho..ho...RIP

[flordehinojos]

9. I loved her in the MIRACLE WORKER, (who didn't?) and also in

AGNES OF GOD. I loved how she storms into the very highfalutin reporter's office (played by Jane Fonda) and just walks by, right past the receptionist who keeps mouthing words to the air ... I loved her in THE PUMPKIN EATERS as a woman who is having a nervous breakdown, and I also loved her in THE TURNING POINT. I loved the the spat to physical blows scene between her and SHIRLEY MCLAINE. BANCROFT was a very impressive actress (would she prefer the word actor? does the word actor carry more weight to it?) she simply was damned good!

[PassingFair]

10. Thank you,flordehinojos!

For bringing all those scenes back to me.
A loss, for I'm sure she had some good scenes left in her still....

[flordehinojos]

16. much oblige! (i think it means, you are welcome!)

One big BRAVO and heart felt applause to Anne Bancroft!

:applause:

[David Zephyr]

11. I didn't even know that she was ill.

I have adored this woman as a person and as a professional for decades. Man, this is really sad. Really sad.

[Jack Rabbit]

12. Rest in peace

Still form the motion picture The Graduate by Mike Nichols (1967)
from the BBC

[Roland99]

13. Awww...

:(

[Catchawave]

15. Here's to you....

[medeak]

17. how terribly sad for Mel Brooks n/t

[DinahMoeHum]

18. Remember "The Turning Point" with Shirley MacLaine ??

(snippet of dialogue)

Emilia (Bancroft): You got pregnant.
DeeDee (MacLaine): And you got 19 curtain calls.


RIP, "Mrs Robinson". You were truly one of a kind.


:toast:

[Matilda]

25. Bancroft's character was Emma Jacklin.

But yes, it was a good film. Sadly, it seems to have disappeared;
I haven't seen it anywhere for over a decade.

[bluedonkey]

19. Too sad

she was a wonderful actress.
Rest in Peace Mrs Robinson.

[PopSixSquish]

20. Simply One One the Greatest Actresses of All Time

Regardless of the role or movie, Anne always brought dignity and class to the screen.

My sympathies to her husband and family.

[Janice325]

21. I heard about her death about 2 hours ago from Randi

I was sooo bummed out! :(
I've had a crush on her for years and years. She was one of the few actresses who got better looking and sexier as she got older, IMO. My favorite role was Annie Sullivan in the Miracle Worker. The scene by the water pump when Helen says "Wa wa" always makes me cry buckets and buckets of tears.
My sympathies to Mr. Brooks and family.
She will be missed.

[Stinky The Clown]

22. I'm really going to miss her .. her best role - Mrs. Mel Brooks. Her best

film may well have been her directorial debut in 1980, in which she also acted. The movie was Fatso, which starred Dom DeLuise. It was a riotously funny, but very 'inside' NY movie.



I'd recommend this movie to anyone. It was GREAT.

Anna Marie Italiano (aka Anne Bancroft) was an amzing woman. Known for her serious roles and her range of ability, she was also a warmly funny woman, who was married forever, it seems, to Mel Brooks. Word is, she was every bit his equal at being just plain nuttily funny.

Bona notte, Signora Robinson. Riposarsi nella pace Signora Brooks.

[PurityOfEssence]

23. Mel, you're in my thoughts

A truly great actor and human being, I hope it wasn't too hard.

Among the many celebrities who strut and fret their hour on the stage, she was one of the supreme troupers. Lost in the ballyhoo of selfish celebrity is that many who tred the boards do so out of a covenant of connection. She was one of the greats.

Goodnight sweet princess.

[Matilda]

24. She was a very fine actress,

one of my favorites. Great power and integrity.

RIP

[kskiska]

26. She married Mel at 33

According to Mel:

When Mel Brooks told his mother that he was marrying an Italian girl, she said, 'Bring her over. I'll be in the kitchen - with my head in the oven.'

[Pryderi]

27. Anne Bancroft Dead at 73

:( She was one of my favorite actresses. Underrated by most ppl.

nne Bancroft, enshrined in film history as the iconic Mrs. Robinson, the seductress who devours her daughter's nerdy boyfriend-to-be (Dustin Hoffman) in the 1967 film "The Graduate," and also remembered for her sensitive portrayal on both stage and screen of Annie Sullivan, the teacher who leads the blind and deaf Helen Keller out of darkness into light in "The Miracle Worker," died Monday at Mount Sinai Medical Center. She was 73.

The cause was uterine cancer, said John Barlow, a spokesman for the family.

Those widely dissimilar roles were emblematic of Ms. Bancroft's long career. During more than 50 years of acting in films, theater and television she played everything from Brecht's "Mother Courage" to the mother superior of a convent, and from an aging ballerina to the Prime Minister Golda Meir of Israel, and repeatedly won praise for her work. Arthur Penn, who directed her award-winning Broadway performances in "Two for the Seesaw" and "The Miracle Worker," both by William Gibson, put it this way: "More happens in her face in 10 seconds than happens in most women's faces in 10 years."

Ms. Bancroft worked hard to get beneath the surface, to inhabit a role as deeply as possible. While rehearsing for "The Miracle Worker," she put tape over her eyes to better understand what it was like to be blind like Helen Keller, learned sign language and spent time at a home for the visually impaired. Preparing for "Golda," she traveled to Israel and got to know and observe Prime Minister Meir. She was more interested in performance than theory, although she was a member of the Actors Studio early in her career. The actor Rod Steiger once gave her a copy of Stanislavsky's writings on acting. "I still have it," she said some years later, "but I've never read it."

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/07/movies/07cnd-bancroft.html?hp&ex=1118203200&en=a5ea8752394ac4fb&ei=5094&partner=homepage

[jonnyblitz]

28. she was great in "the graduate" !! oh well

R.I.P. Ann Bancroft. :(

[AlCzervik]

29. oh no!!!! I'm so sad to hear that!!'

She was a wonderful actress.

[Pryderi]

32. Ever see 84 Charing Cross Rd?

[quiet.american]

42. YES! Beautiful, touching movie. Never forgot it! n/t

[Jawja]

45. I loved her in

John Ford's "7 Women." It's not in print.

I was a lifelong fan of Anne Bancroft.

:cry:

[MassLiberal]

54. yes--I loved her in that one

Then again, I loved her in everything I saw her in. She was the best. Such warmth and passion, always.

[MountainLaurel]

59. Just read the book

And in the film, she was so good and true to that role.

[clar8130]

68. I thought that was Glenda Jackson

But I may be having a senior moment...

[otohara]

30. Loved Her

RIP Anne

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

31. LOL..glad she never read it

Method actors get on my nerves

[booksenkatz]

33. I've dreaded this day since I was 13 years old

I am almost 45 years old but I have adored that woman since I was 13 and first saw her in "The Miracle Worker" in May 1973. She is the main reason I became an actress instead of a veterinarian! I used to dream about her every night and she was always encouraging me. I felt that I knew her. Funnily, she played ME in "Garbo Talks" because she played a character who desperately wanted to meet Garbo before she died. I always dreamed of meeting Anne one of these days, somehow. I have a skillion treasured pictures of her. Oh God I am sick. I am too sick to even cry. She was my personal Muse and at this moment sitting here, even though I am a middle-aged lady, I feel absolutely lost without her on this planet! I'm that little 13-year-old kid again.

This is the darkest day I've known in years and I am stunned, I am totally speechless.

[Minstrel Boy]

49. what a heartfelt tribute

You really made me feel your loss.

:hug:

[booksenkatz]

51. I really need to apologize to y'all

I didn't mean to make it all about me. But man, I'm floored here, and I'm embarrassed to say so, because I hate how we idolize celebrities in this culture. I honestly can't stop weeping about this, and it's making me do a great deal of soul searching.

Thanks so much for the "cyberhug."

[ronnykmarshall]

60. No need to apologize

your post was a great tribute to a great lady.

:loveya:

[tishaLA]

34. RIP Ms. Bancroft

and my heart goes out to Mr. Brooks and family.

[LeighAnn]

35. Married to Mel Brooks?

Am I remembering that right? Feel awfully sorry for him right now.

[DODI]

38. Yes, they were married for YEARS. My thoughts and prayers

are with their family.

[readermostly]

63. They both said through the years that they knew they were right for each

other the first time they met, and they were married more than 40 years. What a wonderful actress, and what a wonderful couple. My thoughts are with Mel, their son, and all of Anne Bancroft's family.

[faithnotgreed]

36. incredible talent and beautiful. a rare actor for sure

[saltpoint]

37. Totally agree with William Gibson on Ms. Bancroft.

I will miss her very much.

Great woman, terrific talent.

[cry baby]

39. I loved her - she had a great sense of humor.

I guess shehad to, being married to Mel Brooks.

[barb162]

40. wonderful, talented actress!

[moobu2]

41. Awww what a great loss

I always remember her playing Thelma I think it was the character's name in Night Mother with Sissy Spacek. I know she played many incredible rolls but that one stuck with me for some reason. Great actress and wonderful person.

Bye Anne.

[NotGivingUp]

43. One of the best...if not THE best

She was absolutely excellent in every role that I've seen her in. The roles were so diverse from one another, yet she played each one perfectly. One of the most fabulous actors of all time. She certainly deserved a heck of a lot more recognition than she received.

[booksenkatz]

44. My muse is gone, so I did the only thing I could think to do:

I changed my avatar. Hate to replace Ann Richards with another Anne, but dammit, I feel lost without my muse tonight.

[Voltaire99]

46. "Look around you / All you see are sympathetic eyes"

An amazing talent and a great beauty. RIP.

[merh]

47. Here's to you Mrs. Robinson.

:toast:

O8) May you rest in peace. O8)

[libnnc]

48. Dammit. She was one of my favs.

Such a talented, wonderful woman. I loved her in "The Turning Point". I hope Mel will be okay. :cry:

[OzarkDem]

50. Queens in heaven tonight

I lost a girlfriend to breast cancer yesterday. A Lt. Colonel, 48, veteran of the Gulf War and 2 time vet of the Iraq War. Too young, too soon. Ann is in good company in her journey.

[cmkramer]

52. Saw the news on HEADLINE NEWS a few hours ago

Very unexpected.

You know, when she first started doing movies, she was in mainly low-budget horror pictures or she played psycho types -- I know she was in one film featuring a gorilla. Anyway, she got so disgusted with what she was being offered that she left Hollywood and went to New York and the Broadway stage. She got the role in "The Miracle Worker", and the rest is history.

By the way, her real name was Anne Marie Italiano.

[tibbir]

53. This is horrible.

She was a great actress and an even better person.

[sleipnir]

55. May Peace be with Mel tonight.

It must be hard to lose a good friend, and wife. Tonight the world cries with Mel...and hopefully someday he and we will learn to laugh again.

[Serial Mom]

56. Here's to you Mrs. Robinson

:toast:

[bunkerbuster1]

61. Heard about it on Randi's show last night.

My condolences to Mel, who might just lurk here. Hang in there, bro.

And not to politicize this, just FYI--did you know that Paul Simon originally penned the immortal "Mrs. Robinson" about Mrs. Roosevelt?

[bear425]

62. What sad news! Mel, if you're reading this - my condolences to you

She was an awesome actor and an amazing woman!

Look around you all you see are sympathetic eyes,
Stroll around the grounds until you feel at home.

And here's to you, Mrs. Robinson! :toast:

[BlueIris]

65. Yes, my condolences to Mel, as well.

Hugs. Love, Iris.

[BlueIris]

64. Oh, man. Hurting so bad. She was my favorite.

Most beautiful woman in Hollywood, of you ask me.

[leftyclimber]

66. They didn't make 'em much better.

The obit mentioned that she played Mother Courage, but they didn't mention that she did it when she was only THIRTY.

My condolences to Mr. Brooks.

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

67. Rest in peace, signora bella

[Tellurian]

69. 84 Charing Cross Road (1986)

84 Charing Cross Road (1986)

If you haven't seen this movie costaring Anthony Hopkins; I highly recommend renting it over the weekend. Anne is (as always) superb in this movie. She vividly conveys the magical ways that friendship can open up new worlds of experience and meaning.

She will be sorely missed. God Bless you Anne for allowing us the pleasure of your company and for sharing your life with us on the big screen. You are and always will be a great lady-

RIP and Blessings to Mel..

(I'm sure (I hope!) he's looking for a project to honor his wife. They were a fab couple..)