# RIP Nurse Ratched. Louise Fletcher dead at 88 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** celebrity-death\ **Created:** [September 24, 2022, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-nurse-ratched-louise-fletcher-dead-at-88/972115 "2022-09-24T04:24:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-nurse-ratched-louise-fletcher-dead-at-88/972115/1 "2022-09-24T04:24:29Z")
> **[Louise Fletcher, Oscar Winner for ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,’ Dies at 88](https://variety.com/2022/film/news/louise-fletcher-dead-one-flew-over-the-cuckoos-nest-1235382490/)** > > Louise Fletcher, who won the best actress Oscar for her indelible performance as Nurse Ratched in Milos Forman’s “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” died Friday at her home i… ---
**Author:** ![Kedikat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed655f/32.png) [@Kedikat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kedikat)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-nurse-ratched-louise-fletcher-dead-at-88/972115/2 "2022-09-24T04:41:48Z")
She was perfect as Ratched. But I personally never type cast her as that. I have vague memories of her playing varieties of characters with aplomb. And if that face smiles, you smile. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-nurse-ratched-louise-fletcher-dead-at-88/972115/3 "2022-09-24T05:03:56Z")
Well, shit. She was an excellent actress. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-nurse-ratched-louise-fletcher-dead-at-88/972115/4 "2022-09-24T05:15:42Z")
Can we watch the ball game now? 🤕 RIP, Louise. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-nurse-ratched-louise-fletcher-dead-at-88/972115/5 "2022-09-24T05:18:00Z")
I had no idea she was that old! I would have guessed that Nurse Ratched was a 30-something. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-nurse-ratched-louise-fletcher-dead-at-88/972115/6 "2022-09-24T11:38:06Z")
As I mentioned in the death poll thread, she was also Kai Winn on Deep Space Nine. She was in 14 episodes which is less than I would have guessed – she certainly made an impression. Brian ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-nurse-ratched-louise-fletcher-dead-at-88/972115/7 "2022-09-24T11:45:52Z")
She showed no signs of “bad guy” nurse when she won her oscar. RIP. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/pGl5U7nNlkY/hqdefault.jpg "Louise Fletcher Wins Best Actress: 48th Oscars (1976)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGl5U7nNlkY) ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-nurse-ratched-louise-fletcher-dead-at-88/972115/8 "2022-09-24T14:12:41Z")
I can’t think of anything else I’ve seen her in besides Cuckoo’s Nest and DS9. And her DS9 character was essentially “Nurse Ratched in Space”. (And yeah, 14 episodes seems way too low. I would have guessed about twice that.) ---
**Author:** ![Kelby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a587f6/32.png) [@Kelby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kelby)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-nurse-ratched-louise-fletcher-dead-at-88/972115/9 "2022-09-24T15:54:30Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > [Louise Fletcher Dead: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Oscar Winner Was 88](https://variety.com/2022/film/news/louise-fletcher-dead-one-flew-over-the-cuckoos-nest-1235382490/) I’d only seen her in Cuckoo’s Nest…great performance. So great I’d never considered how attractive she could be when seen smiling. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-nurse-ratched-louise-fletcher-dead-at-88/972115/10 "2022-09-24T15:56:36Z")
She was brilliant as the most-hated villain, even worse than Gul Dukat, even worse than the Changeling Female, on _Deep Space Nine_. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-nurse-ratched-louise-fletcher-dead-at-88/972115/11 "2022-09-24T16:13:45Z")
Because you wanted to punch Vedek then Kai Winn every episode she was in, it might have felt she was in more. Sisko certainly looked like he was having to restrain himself every time he dealt with her. DS9 had the best actors of all Trek, ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-nurse-ratched-louise-fletcher-dead-at-88/972115/12 "2022-09-24T17:38:57Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > I can’t think of anything else I’ve seen her in besides Cuckoo’s Nest and DS9. Apparently she was also in “Picket Fences”, which I watched but don’t remember her being in. (She played the mother of Marlee Matlin, who played the mayor, and I honestly don’t remember that either.) And also “Joan of Arcadia” which I didn’t watch but my wife did - don’t remember her in that either. 🤦🏻‍♂️ ---
**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-nurse-ratched-louise-fletcher-dead-at-88/972115/13 "2022-09-24T17:45:08Z")
She suffered from one of Hollywood’s oldest legends, the curse of winning an Oscar for an outstanding performance and never getting another role that could top it. It’s happened to actors and actresses time and again. It must be tough to see that gold statuette on the mantle and knowing that it represents the pinnacle of your career. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-nurse-ratched-louise-fletcher-dead-at-88/972115/14 "2022-09-24T17:58:20Z")
The reason she begins signing when she thanks her parents is that she’s a CODA-- a child of Deaf adults. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-nurse-ratched-louise-fletcher-dead-at-88/972115/15 "2022-09-24T19:45:45Z")
> [@N9IWP](#): > > As I mentioned in the death poll thread, she was also Kai Winn on Deep Space Nine. She was in 14 episodes which is less than I would have guessed – she certainly made an impression. > > Brian She was brilliantly evil in DS9. Kai Winn and Gul Dukat hooking up? Shudders Fletcher was brillant playing highly manipulative and Narcissistic characters. RIP She continued woriking until 2017. She was on 4 episodes of _Shameless_. > **[Louise Fletcher - IMDb](https://m.imdb.com/name/nm0001221/fullcredits?ref_=m_nmfm_1)** ---
**Author:** ![Tarataratara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Tarataratara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarataratara)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2022, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-nurse-ratched-louise-fletcher-dead-at-88/972115/16 "2022-09-24T21:40:17Z")
I pictured her as Dolores Umbridge when I read the Harry Potter books. She would have been fantastic as that character. ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-nurse-ratched-louise-fletcher-dead-at-88/972115/17 "2022-09-25T01:58:43Z")
She was very convincing in this scene from _Invaders from Mars_ (1983): [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/uUe4OXlrnDw/hqdefault.jpg "Invaders From Mars P6") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUe4OXlrnDw) Not many - possibly not any - Oscar-winning actresses have been eaten by a Martian. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-nurse-ratched-louise-fletcher-dead-at-88/972115/18 "2022-09-25T02:33:34Z")
Her death from a heart attack in _Brainstorm_ was really scary to me, since it was brought on by getting accidentally burned by a hot soldering iron and I occasionally do electronics projects. Just thinking about her facial expressions in that scene gives me the willies. It was pretty intense. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2022, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-nurse-ratched-louise-fletcher-dead-at-88/972115/19 "2022-09-25T19:00:33Z")
Oh, good lawd! What an unlikeable character, but you’re right! Definitely made a memorable impression. ( And I would have thought more than 14, too.)