Carolyn Coates

Carolyn Owen Coates (April 29, 1927 – March 27, 2005) was an American stage, film and television actress. Noted for portraying formidable women, Coates earned a Theatre World Award for her performance as Hecuba in The Trojan Women. Her parents soon divorced, however, and, as noted in a 1973 interview, subsequent remarriages led to a decidedly unsettled pre-adolescence. As Coates recalled, "I was in 10 different schools before 10th grade." The resulting anxiety made her all the more appreciative upon discovering that "he theater is like a family, like a home—all of the things I missed as a child."

After finally settling in Santa Monica, Coates studied acting at UCLA. Margaret in Thomas Dekker's The Shoemaker's Holiday (starring opposite a young William Schallert), and Cybel in Eugene O'Neill's The Great God Brown. During this period, Coates also appeared in summer stock with the Bolton Landing Players, earning kudos as Millie in Frederick Jackson's The Bishop Misbehaves, and as Aunt Connie in Mark Reed's Yes, My Darling Daughter.

In 1954, Coates appeared as Agatha in the American premiere of Jean Giraudoux's Electra, staged at the Henry Street Playhouse in New York's Greenwich Village. The following year, she and erstwhile Pygmalion co-star James Noble were wed. In December of that year she was narrated "Sibelius: A Symphony for Finland," a 90-minute TV documentary commemorating the composer's centennial, which aired on NET's series Festival of the Arts.

In May 1967, Coates co-starred with Martin Sheen, Eugene Roche, Frederick Rolf and Eleanor Phelps on The Catholic Hour, in a series of four episodes addressing the question, "Is God dead?"

In 1985, Coates undertook what would later be termed, variously, a nine-year sabbatical or retirement, to volunteer in hospitals and on the phones for AIDS Project Los Angeles and the Gay Men's Health Crisis.

Personal life Having first met her future husband in 1951, playing Eliza Doolittle to his Henry Higgins in a summer stock production of Pygmalion in Worcester, Massachusetts, They had one child, a daughter. 1961 The Inheritance NA (Voice only) 1965 Jean Sibelius Narrator 1965 New York Television Theatre Elmina Ruggles "The Club Bedroom" 1966

Young Woman "A Sense of Loss" 1967 Guideline Margaret ("a 35-year-old mother of three who refuses to bear a fourth child";her abortion "causes estrangement among members of her family.") "Whose Life" 1970 The Doctors Alice Watson 1975 Dallas Nurse "Mastectomy: Part 1" 1979 Knots Landing Karen's Mother "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" 1980 Lou Grant Margaret Carruthers "Search" 1981 The Waltons Elvira Perkins "The Gold Watch" 1981 Palmerstown, U.S.A. "Roadhouse" 1981 Jessica Novac NA "Kenny" 1981 McClain's Law Margaret Stanton "The Sign of the Beast: Part 1" 1982

Mrs. Collingswood "The Honeymooners" 1983 Judge Watson Made in Hong Kong: Part 1 1984 Remington Steele Mayor Amaryllis MacKenzie "Small Town Steele" 1984 Glitter Mrs. Davis "A Minor Miracle" 1984

Mrs. Fordham "Saving Face" 1985 Mrs. Fordham "Amazing Face" 1985 Mrs. Fordham "She Rote" 1985

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1961 The Hustler Waitress 1972 The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds Mrs. McKay 1980 Barn Burning Aunt Joshua's World NA Scared Straight! Another Story Mary Loring 1981 The Postman Always Rings Twice Twin Oaks Customer Murder in Texas Helen Fairchild 1985 This Child Is Mine Grace 1954 Electra Agatha Henry Street Playhouse April 19, 1954 - April 25, 1954 Three Sisters Olga Williamstown Theatre Festival July 27, 1965 – July 31, 1965 Vivian Beaumont Theatre February 3, 1966 – March 13, 1966 The Caucasian Chalk Circle NA Vivian Beaumont Theatre March 24, 1966 – June 18, 1966 A Whitman Portrait The Woman Gramercy Arts Theatre October 11, 1966 – ? 1967 The Party on Greenwich Avenue Helen Radmacher Cherry Lane Theatre May 10, 1967 – ? 1968 The Death of Bessie Smith / The American Dream Second Nurse / Mrs. Barker Billy Rose Theatre October 2, 1968 – October 26, 19681969 Fire! Lorna Longacre Theatre January 28, 1969 - February 1, 1969 A Scent of Flowers Agnes Martinique Theatre October 20, 1969 – ? 1970 The Disintegration of James M. Cherry Woman Mitzi E. Newhouse Theatre January 29, 1970 – ? The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds Beatrice Mercer Arts Center April 7, 1970 – ? 1971 All Over The Wife, The Nurse (Standby) Martin Beck Theatre March 28, 1971 – May 1, 1971