# Maureen Stapleton, 1925-2006 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 13, 2006, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maureen-stapleton-1925-2006/348221 "2006-03-13T20:12:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2006, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maureen-stapleton-1925-2006/348221/1 "2006-03-13T20:12:43Z")
LENOX, Mass. – Maureen Stapleton, the Oscar-winning character actress whose subtle vulnerability and down-to-earth toughness earned her dramatic and comedic roles on stage, screen, and television, died Monday. She was 80. Her son, Daniel Allentuck, said she died of natural causes. Stapleton, whose unremarkable, matronly appearance belied her star personality and talent, won an Academy Award in 1981 for her supporting role as anarchist-writer Emma Goldman in Warren Beatty’s "Reds,’’ about a left-wing American journalist who journeys to Russia to cover the Bolshevik Revolution. To prepare for the role, Stapleton said she tried reading Goldman’s autobiography, but soon chucked it out of boredom. "There are many roads to good acting,’’ Stapleton, known for her straightforwardness, said in her 1995 autobiography, "Hell of a Life.’’ "I’ve been asked repeatedly what the ‘key’ to acting is, and as far as I’m concerned, the main thing is to keep the audience awake.’’ Stapleton was nominated several times for a supporting actress Oscar, including for her first film role in 1958’s "Lonelyhearts’’; "Airport’’ in 1970; and Woody Allen’s "Interiors’’ in 1978. Her other film credits include the 1963 musical "Bye Bye Birdie’’ opposite Ann-Margret and Dick Van Dyke, "Johnny Dangerously,’’ "Cocoon,’’ "The Money Pit’’ and "Addicted to Love.’’ In television, she earned an Emmy for "Among the Paths to Eden’’ in 1967. She was nominated for "Queen of the Stardust Ballroom’’ in 1975; "The Gathering’’ in 1977; and "Miss Rose White’’ in 1992. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2006, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maureen-stapleton-1925-2006/348221/2 "2006-03-13T20:27:20Z")
I thought she was great. Particularly in Queen of the Stardust Ballroom. Helluva movie, helluvan actress. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2006, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maureen-stapleton-1925-2006/348221/3 "2006-03-13T20:27:25Z")
[Pssssst!](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=362689&highlight=stapleton) Ralph Wiggim voice: I beat the smart kids. ---
**Author:** ![UntouchedTakeaway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d78d45/32.png) [@UntouchedTakeaway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UntouchedTakeaway)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2006, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maureen-stapleton-1925-2006/348221/4 "2006-03-13T20:33:44Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > LENOX, Mass. – Maureen Stapleton, the Oscar-winning character actress whose subtle vulnerability and down-to-earth toughness earned her dramatic and comedic roles on stage, screen, and television, died Monday. She was 80. Her son, Daniel Allentuck, said she died of natural causes. > > Stapleton, whose unremarkable, matronly appearance belied her star personality and talent, won an Academy Award in 1981 for her supporting role as anarchist-writer Emma Goldman in Warren Beatty’s "Reds,’’ about a left-wing American journalist who journeys to Russia to cover the Bolshevik Revolution. To prepare for the role, Stapleton said she tried reading Goldman’s autobiography, but soon chucked it out of boredom. "There are many roads to good acting,’’ Stapleton, known for her straightforwardness, said in her 1995 autobiography, "Hell of a Life.’’ "I’ve been asked repeatedly what the ‘key’ to acting is, and as far as I’m concerned, the main thing is to keep the audience awake.’’ > > Stapleton was nominated several times for a supporting actress Oscar, including for her first film role in 1958’s "Lonelyhearts’’; "Airport’’ in 1970; and Woody Allen’s "Interiors’’ in 1978. Her other film credits include the 1963 musical "Bye Bye Birdie’’ opposite Ann-Margret and Dick Van Dyke, "Johnny Dangerously,’’ "Cocoon,’’ "The Money Pit’’ and "Addicted to Love.’’ In television, she earned an Emmy for "Among the Paths to Eden’’ in 1967. She was nominated for "Queen of the Stardust Ballroom’’ in 1975; "The Gathering’’ in 1977; and "Miss Rose White’’ in 1992. The above-mentioned autobiography is _hilarious_. Ditto some passages about her in Carol (Marcus) Matthau’s autobiography “Among the Porcupines”. VCNJ~ ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2006, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maureen-stapleton-1925-2006/348221/5 "2006-03-13T20:38:02Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > [Pssssst!](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=362689&highlight=stapleton) > > Ralph Wiggim voice: I beat the smart kids. Ah–it was already off the front page by the time I searched for it. Let’s face it, ain’t nobody gives a good goddam about anyone who ain’t Geo. Clooney. _Mods, please close this one_. [P.S. It’s “Wiggum,” says Smart Kid] ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2006, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/maureen-stapleton-1925-2006/348221/6 "2006-03-13T20:48:40Z")
Closed at the request of the OP.