Mary Kay Place

Mary Kay Place (born September 23, 1947) is an American actress. She is best known for portraying Loretta Haggers on the television series Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, a role that won her the 1977 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Comedy Series. Her numerous film appearances include Private Benjamin, The Big Chill (1983), Captain Ron (1992) and The Rainmaker (1997). Place also recorded three studio albums for Columbia Records, one in the Haggers persona, which included the Top Ten country music hit "Baby Boy". For her performance in Diane (2018), Place won the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress and the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress.

Early life Place was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the daughter of Gwendolyn Lucille (née Johnson) and Bradley Eugene Place. She graduated from Nathan Hale High School and the University of Tulsa, where her father was an art professor; she was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority.

Career Place moved to Hollywood with aspirations of becoming an actress and writer. She was hired for The Tim Conway Comedy Hour in the 1970s as a production assistant to both Conway and producer Norman Lear. Conway gave Place her first on-camera break, while Lear saw to it that Place received her first writing credit on his subsequent All in the Family. On the episode, she and actress Patty Weaver sang "If Communism Comes Knocking on Your Door, Don't Answer It." She appeared in the third-season episode of M*A*S*H titled "Springtime", for which she also received writing credits.

Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman and musical career Lear then cast her in the role of would-be country and western star Loretta Haggers on the satirical soap opera Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman (1976–1977). She won an Emmy Award for her work as Loretta, and was nominated in 1977 for a Grammy Award for Best Country Vocal Performance, Female for the associated music album Tonite! At the Capri Lounge Loretta Haggers. Place wrote two of the songs on Tonite!: "Vitamin L" and "Baby Boy," both of which she sang on the television series as Loretta.

Both Tonite! At the Capri Lounge Loretta Haggers and its follow up Aimin' To Please featured A-list country and pop performers from the 1970s. Dolly Parton, on whom the Loretta character was loosely based, provided backing vocals as well as the song "All I Can Do" (which Parton also wrote). Emmylou Harris, Anne Murray and Nicolette Larson sang backup as well. Lily Tomlin and Place did the pilot and 5 episodes of 12 Miles of Bad Road from Harry Thomason and Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, who wrote television scripts with Place in the 1970s. HBO chose not to air the series, and producers were seeking other networks to air it.

In 2009, she served as the voice of Julie Powell's mother in the film Julie & Julia. In 2013, she appeared as Bryan's mother on The New Normal.

In 2015, Place guest starred on The Mentalist and Looking. She also starred in the comedy-drama film I'll See You in My Dreams directed by Brett Haley, opposite Blythe Danner, and The Breakup Girl directed by Stacy Sherman. She provided the voice of Anne Hathaway's mother in The Intern, directed by Nancy Meyers. Place also had a recurring role on Grace and Frankie opposite Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin.

In 2016, Place starred in the comedy film The Hollars directed by John Krasinski and the comedy-drama Youth in Oregon directed by Joel David Moore. Place also portrayed Maria Bamford's mother in the comedy series Lady Dynamite which was cancelled after two seasons.

In 2017, Place guest starred in an episode of the comedy series Black-ish. She also had a cameo voice appearance in Downsizing directed by Alexander Payne. Place also had a recurring role on the comedy series Imposters.

In 2018, Place starred in State Like Sleep directed by Meredith Danluck and appeared in an episode of the anthology drama The Romanoffs. That same year, she starred in the drama film Diane directed by Kent Jones, and executive produced by Martin Scorsese. The film marked Place's first lead role in a film, and was written specifically for her by Jones. The film had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 22, 2018. Place's performance received rave reviews from critics. The film was released on March 29, 2019, by IFC Films. Place won the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress and National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress for her performance. Place received nominations for Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Actress and Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead. Place also had a recurring role on Shameless.

2020–present In 2020, Place guest starred on the comedy-drama series AJ and the Queen, and on Fox's 9-1-1: Lone Star as Theresa Blake, the mother to Liv Tyler's character. In 2021, Place played Millie in the musical drama Music, co-written and directed by Sia. She also starred in the musical The Prom based on the Broadway musical of the same title directed by Ryan Murphy, for Netflix.

Filmography

Film

Television

As director or writer

Year Title Notes 1973 Writer, TV special 1973–1974 M*A*S*H Writer, 3 episodes1974 Paper Moon Writer, episode: "Gimme That Old Time Relation" Friends and Lovers Writer, episode: "The Groupie"1975 Writer, episode: "Mary's Delinquent" Phyllis Writer, episode: "So Lonely I Could Cry" 1988 Baby Boom Director, episode: "Stress" 1994 Dream On Director, 2 episodes 1995 Friends Director, episode: "The One with the List"1996 Dream On Director, episode: "Tenants, Anyone?" Arliss Director, episode: "The Company You Keep" 2007 Director, 2 episodes

Discography

Albums Year Album U.S. Country Label 1976 Tonite! At the Capri Lounge Loretta Haggers 6 Columbia 1977 Aimin' to Please 40 Columbia 2011 Almost Grown — Wounded Bird/Sony

Note: Both of Place's albums just missed charting on the general pop Billboard Hot 200 chart, her 1976 bubbled under in the ten runner-up slots at #202 and the 1977 at #203.

Singles Year Single Chart Positions Album U.S. Country U.S. Can. Country 1976 "Baby Boy" 3 60 6 Tonite! At the Capri Lounge Loretta Haggers(credited to "Mary Kay Place as Loretta Haggers") 1977 "Vitamin L" 72 — — "Something to Brag About" (with Willie Nelson) 9 — 15 Aimin' to Please