Elizabeth Wilson

Elizabeth Welter Wilson (April 4, 1921 – May 9, 2015) was an American actress whose career spanned nearly 60 years in film and television. In 1972 she won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her role in Sticks and Bones. Wilson was also a Primetime Emmy Award and BAFTA Award nominee, and was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2006.

Early life Wilson was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the daughter of insurance agent Henry Dunning Wilson and Marie Ethel (née Welter) Wilson. She attended the Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Virginia, and then studied with Sanford Meisner at The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York City.

Career Wilson was a versatile character actress, appearing in over 30 movies and many Broadway plays. The Los Angeles Times noted: "Tall and elegant, Wilson often played women who had or sought authority."

Wilson made her Broadway debut in Picnic in 1953. Her stage credits include Desk Set (1955), The Good Woman of Szechuan (1970), Sticks and Bones (1972), Uncle Vanya (1973), Threepenny Opera (1976), The Importance of Being Earnest (1977), Morning's at Seven (1980), You Can't Take It with You (1983), Ah, Wilderness! (1988), and A Delicate Balance (1996).

Following an uncredited appearance in Notorious (1946), Wilson played Marge Fleming in Rod Serling's "Patterns" for the Kraft Television Theatre and its subsequent film adaptation. She also reprised her stage role in the 1955 film adaptation of Picnic as Christine Schoenwalder. Additional films include The Goddess (1958), The Tunnel of Love (1958), A Child Is Waiting (1963, The Birds (1963), The Graduate (1967), Jenny (1970), Catch-22 (1970) Little Murders (1971), The Day of the Dolphin (1973), Man on a Swing (1974), The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1975), 9 to 5 (1980), Grace Quigley (1984), Regarding Henry (1991), The Addams Family (1991), and Quiz Show (1994). Her last film role was as Sara Delano Roosevelt in Hyde Park on Hudson (2012).

Wilson's television credits include early anthology series such as Kraft Television Theatre, The United States Steel Hour, and Armstrong Circle Theatre. She was a regular on the primetime drama East Side/West Side and the sitcom Doc, and appeared in Dark Shadows, The Secret Storm, Another World, All in the Family, Murder, She Wrote, and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. She also appeared in television movies, including The Boys Next Door (1996). She appeared in the miniseries Nutcracker: Money, Madness and Murder in March 1987 as the mother of Frances Schreuder (played by Lee Remick), as well as the miniseries Alex Haley's Queen.

Death On May 9, 2015, at age 94, Wilson died at her home in New Haven, Connecticut. She is buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with her parents. She never married or had children.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Nominated work Results Ref. 1956 British Academy Film Awards Most Promising Newcomer to Film Patterns 1976 Drama Desk Awards Outstanding Actress in a Musical The Threepenny Opera 1980 Outstanding Ensemble Performance Morning's at Seven 1985 Outstanding Actress in a Play Salonika 1987 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Special Nutcracker: Money, Madness and Murder 1972 Tony Awards Best Supporting or Featured Actress in a Play Sticks and Bones