Sandy Dennis

Sandra Dale Dennis (April 27, 1937 – March 2, 1992) was an American actress. She made her film debut in the drama Splendor in the Grass. For her performance in the comedy-drama film Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), she received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Dennis appeared in the films Up the Down Staircase (1967), The Fox (1967), Sweet November (1968), That Cold Day in the Park (1969), The Out-of-Towners (1970), God Told Me To (1976), The Four Seasons (1981), Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982), and Another Woman (1988). Her final film appearance came in the crime drama film The Indian Runner (1991).

In a successful career on stage, Dennis appeared in the original stage production of Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean. For her performance in the play A Thousand Clowns, she received the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play. For her performance in the play Any Wednesday, she received the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play.

Dennis was devoted to the cause of animal welfare. She rescued stray cats from Grand Central Terminal. At the time of her death in Westport, Connecticut, she lived with more than 20 cats, who were adopted out by longtime friends to new homes.

Early life Dennis was born in Hastings, Nebraska, the daughter of Yvonne (née Hudson), a secretary, and Jack Dennis, a postal clerk. Her parents divorced in 1966 after 38 years of marriage. She had one brother, Frank, who was eight years older. Dennis grew up in Kenesaw, Nebraska, and Lincoln, Nebraska, graduating from Lincoln High School in 1955; one of her classmates was writer and comedian Dick Cavett. She attended Nebraska Wesleyan University and the University of Nebraska, appearing in the Lincoln Community Theater Group before moving to New York City at age 19. She studied acting at HB Studio in New York City.

Career Early career Dennis made her television debut in 1956 in the soap opera Guiding Light.

She had an early break when cast as an understudy in the Broadway production of William Inge's The Dark at the Top of the Stairs (1957) directed by Elia Kazan. Kazan cast Dennis in her first feature film, a small part in Splendor in the Grass (1961), which starred Natalie Wood and Warren Beatty.

Dennis was cast in Face of a Hero (1960) on Broadway alongside Jack Lemmon. The play had only a short run, but Dennis received good notices. The Complaisant Lover (1961–62) by Graham Greene was more successful, running for 101 performances; Michael Redgrave and Googie Withers were also in the cast.

Broadway stardom Dennis achieved Broadway fame with her leading role in Herb Gardner's A Thousand Clowns (1962–63), for which she won a Tony award for her performance. She was replaced in the 1965 film version by Barbara Harris. The show ran for 428 performances.

Around this time, Dennis guest-starred on episodes of the TV series Naked City ("Idylls of a Running Back", 1962, "Carrier", 1963), The Fugitive ("The Other Side of the Mountain", 1963), Arrest and Trial ("Somewhat Lower Than the Angels" 1964), and Mr. Broadway ("Don't Mention My Name in Sheboygan", 1964). She was the lead of the Broadway comedy Any Wednesday (1964–66), which ran for 983 performances and won her a second Tony.

Dennis in Up the Down Staircase (1967)Dennis returned to the stage in a production of The Three Sisters (1966) with Geraldine Page and Kim Stanley that went to London and was filmed.

Dennis' first lead role in a movie was in Up the Down Staircase (1967), directed by Robert Mulligan. In his review for The New York Times, Bosley Crowther cited her for "a vivid performance of emotional range and depth … engagingly natural, sensitive, literate and thoroughly moving." The film was a box-office success, as was The Fox (1967), directed by Mark Rydell, despite its controversial subject matter. In 1967 Dennis was voted the 18th biggest star in the US.

Dennis briefly returned to Broadway to star in Daphne in Cottage D (1967), which had a short run.

She starred in Sweet November (1968) as a woman who takes multiple lovers, and made a TV version of the play A Hatful of Rain (1968).

Dennis went to London to star in A Touch of Love (1969), alternately titled Thank You All Very Much in the USA, which flopped at the box office. That Cold Day in the Park (1969), by Robert Altman, did not fare much better. The Out-of-Towners (1970), a Neil Simon comedy with Jack Lemmon, was a hit.

Dennis guest starred in Police Story ("Day of Terror... Night of Fear", 1978), and starred in the TV movies Perfect Gentlemen (1979) (written by Nora Ephron), and Wilson's Reward (1981). On Broadway she briefly joined the cast of the long-running Same Time, Next Year.

She had a well-received part in Alan Alda's The Four Seasons (1981) and was in The Supporting Cast (1981) on Broadway for Gene Saks. She was in the stage production and film version of Robert Altman's Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982).

Personal life Dennis lived with prominent jazz musician Gerry Mulligan from 1965 to 1974. In October 1965, her hometown newspaper, The Lincoln Star, published an Associated Press article stating she and Mulligan had married in Connecticut in June of that year. In a 1989 interview with People, however, Dennis admitted that they only pretended to be married after she unintentionally became pregnant. Dennis' dog survived the accident. In his 2024 autobiography Runaway Train, Roberts wrote that he too had impregnated Dennis, but she got an abortion.

Dennis' sexual orientation was a matter of public discussion as early as 1968, when the scandal magazine Uncensored ran a story that labeled her a lesbian. In an article published less than four years after Dennis' death, Eric Roberts identified her as bisexual. According to Roberts, Dennis told him she had many lesbian relationships and that she "appreciated the beauty of women. But she also liked and appreciated what a very, very young man could do to a woman, I suppose."

During Dennis' lifetime, in-depth published interviews with her, such as one with The Christian Science Monitor during her stint performing in an ensemble cast at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 1981, made no mention of close relationships with women. That interview included the following exchange between journalist Louise Sweeney and Dennis about her marital status:

Dennis also dated actor Gerald S. O'Loughlin.

Death Dennis died from ovarian cancer on March 2, 1992, at her home in Westport, Connecticut, at age 54. She was cremated and inurned at Lincoln Memorial Park in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 1961 Splendor in the Grass Kay 1966 Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? "Honey" Academy Award for Best Supporting ActressLaurel Award for Top Female Supporting PerformanceLaurel Award for Top Female New FaceNominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture Irina 1967 Up the Down Staircase Sylvia Barrett Moscow International Film Festival Best Actress Award (tied with Grynet Molvig for A Time in the Sun) Jill Banford 1968 Sweet November Sara Deever 1969 Rosamund Stacey That Cold Day in the Park Frances Austen 1970 The Out of Towners Gwen Kellerman Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or ComedyNominated—Laurel Award for Top Female Comedic Performance 1975 Mr. Sycamore Jane Gwilt 1976 God Told Me To Martha Nicholas 1977 Nasty Habits Sister Winifred 1981 Anne Callan 1982 Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean Mona 1986 Laughter in the Dark Unknown 1988 Another Woman Claire 976-EVIL Aunt Lucy Wilmoth 1989 Parents Millie Dew 1991 Mrs. Roberts Final film role

Television Year Title Role Notes 1956 Guiding Light Alice Holden Unknown episodes 1962 Naked City Eleanor Ann Hubber Episode: "Idylls of a Running Back" 1963 Naked City Lorraine Episode: "Carrier" Cassie Bolin Episode: "The Other Side of the Mountain" 1964 Arrest and Trial Molly White Episode: "Somewhat Lower Than the Angels" Mr. Broadway Patricia Kelsey Episode: "Don't Mention My Name in Sheboygan" 1968 Celia Pope Television film 1970 Only Way Out Is Dead Dr. Enid Bingham Television film 1972 Something Evil Marjorie Worden Television film 1978 Police Story Sharon Bristol Episode: "Day of Terror... Night of Fear" Perfect Gentlemen Sophie Rosenman Television film 1980 Wilson's Reward Martha James Television film 1985 Elsa Spahn Television film Gina Caldwell Episode: "Roommates/Heartbreakers/Out of the Blue" Alfred Hitchcock Presents Helen Episode: "Arthur, or the Gigolo" Young People's Specials Patricia Benson Episode: "The Trouble with Mother" 1986 Kay Wesley Episode: "Out of the Past"

Theater Run Title Role Notes Dec 5, 1957 – Jan 17, 1959 Reenie Flood / Flirt Conroy Understudy Oct 20, 1960 – Nov 19, 1960 Face of a Hero Millicent BishopTheatre World Award Nov 1, 1961 – Jan 27, 1962 Ann Howard Apr 5, 1962 – Apr 13, 1963 A Thousand Clowns Sandra Markowitz Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play Feb 18, 1964 – Jun 26, 1966 Any Wednesday Ellen Gordon Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play Oct 15, 1967 – Nov 18, 1967 Daphne in Cottage D Daphne Mar 29, 1971 – Jun 26, 1971 How the Other Half Loves Teresa Phillips Jan 16, 1973 Let Me Hear You Smile Hannah Heywood Oct 8, 1974 – Mar 6, 1976 Absurd Person Singular Eva Mar 14, 1975 – Sep 3, 1978 Same Time, Next Year Doris Replacement Aug 6, 1981 – Sep 5, 1981 Sally Feb 18, 1982 – Apr 4, 1982 Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean Mona