Colleen Dewhurst

Colleen Rose Dewhurst (June 3, 1924 – August 22, 1991) was a Canadian-American actress mostly known for theatre roles. She was a renowned interpreter of the works of Eugene O'Neill on the stage, and her career also encompassed film, early dramas on live television, and performances in Joseph Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival. One of her last roles was playing Marilla Cuthbert in the Kevin Sullivan television adaptations of the Anne of Green Gables series and her reprisal of the role in the subsequent TV series Road to Avonlea. In the United States, Dewhurst won two Tony Awards and four Primetime Emmy Awards for her stage and television work. In addition to other Canadian honors over the years, Dewhurst won two Gemini Awards (the former Canadian equivalent of an Emmy Award) for her portrayal of Marilla Cuthbert; once in 1986 and again in 1988.

Dewhurst was a co-founder of the Writers and Artists for Peace in the Middle East, a pro-Israel group.

Early life Dewhurst was born June 3, 1924, in Montreal, Quebec, the only child of Frances Marie (nee Woods) and Ferdinand Augustus "Fred" Dewhurst. Fred Dewhurst was the owner of a chain of confectionery stores and had been a celebrated athlete in Canada, where he had played football with the Ottawa Rough Riders. The family became naturalized as U.S. citizens before 1940. Colleen Dewhurst's mother was a Christian Scientist, a faith Colleen also embraced.

The Dewhursts moved to Massachusetts in 1928 or 1929, staying in the Boston area neighborhoods of Dorchester, Auburndale, and West Newton. Later they moved to New York City and then to Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin. Dewhurst attended Whitefish Bay High School for her first two years of high school, moved to Shorewood High School for her junior year, and graduated from Riverside High School in Milwaukee in 1942. About this time her parents separated. Dewhurst attended Milwaukee-Downer College for two years, then moved to New York City to pursue an acting career.

Career One of her more significant stage roles was in the 1974 Broadway revival of O'Neill's A Moon for the Misbegotten as Josie Hogan, for which she won a Tony Award. She previously won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in 1961 for All the Way Home. She later played Katharina in a 1956 production of Taming of the Shrew for Joseph Papp. She (as recounted in her posthumous obituary in collaboration with Tom Viola) wrote: With Brooks Atkinson's blessing, our world changed overnight. Suddenly in our audience of neighbors in T-shirts and jeans appeared men in white shirts, jackets and ties and ladies in summer dresses. We were in a hit that would have a positive effect on my career, as well as Joe's, but I missed the shouting.

Dewhurst's Christian Science beliefs led to her refusal to accept any kind of surgical treatment. She died of cervical cancer at the age 67 at her South Salem home in 1991. She was cremated and her ashes were given to family and friends; no public service was planned.

Filmography Films and television films

Television work (excluding television films)

Theatre

Awards and nominations American Theater Hall of Fame Year Category Nominated work Result Ref. 1981 American Theater Hall of Fame

CableACE Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref. 1988 Supporting Actress in a Movie or Miniseries Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel 1991 Lantern Hill 1992 Actress in a Dramatic Series Road to Avonlea

Drama Desk Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref. 1970 Outstanding Performance Hello and Goodbye 1971 All Over 1973 Mourning Becomes Electra 1974 A Moon for the Misbegotten 1983 Outstanding Actress in a Play The Queen and the Rebels 1989 Long Day's Journey into Night

Gemini Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref. 1986 Best Performance by a Supporting Actress Anne of Green Gables 1988 Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel 1990 Best Guest Performance in a Series by an Actor or Actress Road to Avonlea

Genie Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref. 1980 Best Actress in a Supporting Role Tribute 1988 Hitting Home 1989 Best Actress in a Leading Role Termini Station

Obie Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref. 1957 Distinguished Performance by an Actress The Taming of the Shrew / The Eagle Has Two Heads / Camille 1963 Desire Under the Elms

Primetime Emmy Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref. 1962 Outstanding Performance in a Supporting Role by an Actress Focus 1968 Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Drama The Crucible 1971 Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role Hallmark Hall of Fame 1976 Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama or Comedy Special A Moon for the Misbegotten 1979 Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or a Special Silent Victory: The Kitty O'Neil Story 1981 The Women's Room 1986 Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Special Between Two Women 1989 Those She Left Behind Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series Murphy Brown 1990 Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Special Lantern Hill Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series Road to Avonlea 1991 Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series Murphy Brown Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series Road to Avonlea

Sarah Siddons Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref. 1975 Sarah Siddons Award

Stinkers Bad Movie Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref. 1979 Worst Supporting Actress Ice Castles

Theatre World Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref. 1958 Children of Darkness

Tony Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref. 1961 Best Supporting or Featured Actress in a Play All the Way Home 1962 Best Leading Actress in a Play Great Day in the Morning 1964 The Ballad of the Sad Café 1968 More Stately Mansions 1972 All Over 1973 Mourning Becomes Electra 1974 A Moon for the Misbegotten 1977 Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Viewers for Quality Television Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref. 1991 Specialty Player Murphy Brown

Western Heritage Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref. 1972 Theatrical Motion Picture The Cowboys