Eileen Letchworth (July 19, 1922 – February 15, 2003) was an American actress.

Early years

Born in

Charleroi, Pennsylvania Charleroi ( ) is a borough in Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States, along the Monongahela River, 21 miles south of Pittsburgh. Charleroi was settled in 1890 and incorporated in 1891. The 2020 census recorded a population of 4,210. Red ...

, Letchworth was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Alvin Letchworth. Her father was president of the Bethel Township School Board for 16 years, and her grandfather, G. E. Letchworth, was a Methodist minister. She had a sister, Doris. After attending Bethel High School, Letchworth became a drama student at

Carnegie Tech Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a Private university, private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became t ...

. She went on to act at the

Pittsburgh Playhouse Pittsburgh Playhouse is Point Park University's performing arts center located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It houses three performance spaces and is home to The Rep, Point Park's resident professional theatre company, as well as three student com ...

. In 1953, Letchworth was one of three recipients of the first Faculty Fund scholarships to attend the

American Theatre Wing The American Theatre Wing (the Wing for short) is a New York City–based non-profit organization "dedicated to supporting excellence and education in theatre", according to its mission statement. Originally known as the Stage Women's War Relief ...

Professional Training Program. Selected from more than 100 applicants, the three each received one year's training in the program.

Career

Stage

Letchworth's debut on Broadway came when she portrayed Frances in ''I Gotta Get Out'' (1947). The play was not successful, and she returned to Pittsburgh to work as a model. In August 1960, she had the leading female role in ''

The Dark at the Top of the Stairs ''The Dark at the Top of the Stairs'' is a 1957 play by William Inge about family conflicts during the early 1920s in a small Oklahoma town. It was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play in 1958 and was made into a film of the same name in 1 ...

'' at the Hyde Park Playhouse. She also acted in ''The Matchmaker'' at the Playhouse that summer. Letchworth returned to Broadway to portray June in ''

Say, Darling ''Say, Darling'' is a three-act comic play by Abe Burrows and Richard and Marian Bissell about the creation of a Broadway musical. While the play featured nine original songs with lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Jule Styne, ...

'' (1958) and Mrs. Durant in '' Cactus Flower'' (1965). She was also an understudy for ''A Desert Incident'' (1959), ''The Warm Peninsula'' (1959), ''Absence of a Cello'' (1964), and ''A Very Rich Woman'' (1965). Her other roles on stage included "a slickly sophisticted suburbanite" in ''Spofford'' at the Parker Playhouse in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in 1969. She played Amanda in ''

The Glass Menagerie ''The Glass Menagerie'' is a memory play by Tennessee Williams that premiered in 1944 and catapulted Williams from obscurity to fame. The play has strong autobiographical elements, featuring characters based on its author, his histrionic mo ...

'' at the Rodale Theater in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in 1980, and she portrayed Flora Van Huysen in an off-Broadway production of ''The Matchmaker'' (1991).

TV and film

In 1974, Letchworth received attention for having the results of her own

facelift A facelift, technically known as a rhytidectomy (from the Ancient Greek () 'wrinkle', and () 'excision', the surgical removal of wrinkles), is a type of cosmetic surgery procedure intended to give a more youthful facial appearance. There are ...

shown on network television as part of the ABC soap opera ''

All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 2 ...

''. After learning of Letchworth's desire for time off to have the cosmetic surgery, the show's creator,

Agnes Nixon Agnes Nixon ( Eckhardt; December 10, 1922 – September 28, 2016) was an American television writer and producer, and the creator of the ABC soap operas ''One Life to Live'', ''All My Children'', as well as '' Loving'' and its spin-off '' The ...

, suggested writing a facelift for Letchworth's character into the script. The actress agreed. In August 1974, she had the surgery; on August 12, her doctor removed her bandages, and on August 13, her character, Margo Flax, had her bandages removed on the program. Letchworth used no makeup on the program for about a month, allowing the cameras to show the healing of her face from its post-surgery puffiness and black eyes. In addition to ''

'', Letchworth was on several other daytime soap operas, including the role of Anne Mason on '' Another World'', Sharon Feress on ''

Love of Life ''Love of Life'' is an American soap opera televised on CBS from September 24, 1951, to February 1, 1980. It was created by Roy Winsor, whose previous creation '' Search for Tomorrow'' premiered three weeks before ''Love of Life''; he created ...

'' and appearances on ''

One Life to Live ''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as ...

''. She was also featured on other TV programs, including ''The Phil Silvers Show'' and talk shows hosted by

Phil Donahue Phillip John Donahue (December 21, 1935 – August 18, 2024) was an American media personality, writer, film producer, and the creator and host of '' The Phil Donahue Show''. The television program, later known simply as ''Donahue'', was the fir ...

and

Polly Bergen Polly Bergen (born Nellie Paulina Burgin; July 14, 1930 – September 20, 2014) was an American actress, singer, television host, writer, and entrepreneur. She won an Emmy Award in 1958 for her performance as Helen Morgan (singer), Helen ...

. She also appeared in several TV commercials. Letchworth appeared in the films '' Last Summer'' (1969) and ''

Gypsy 83 ''Gypsy 83'' is an American 2001 drama film, written and directed by Todd Stephens. The film is about two young goths, Gypsy and Clive, who travel to New York for an annual festival celebrating their idol, Stevie Nicks. Filming took place in ...

'' (2001).

Personal life and death

On February 28, 1945, Letchworth married William C. Larson. After they divorced, she married actor Paul Larson on August 14, 1966, in New York. She had a son, Eric, from her first marriage and a stepson, also named Eric, from her second marriage. She died on February 15, 2003, in New York City, aged 80.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Letchworth, Eileen 1922 births 2003 deaths 20th-century American actresses Actresses from Pennsylvania American film actresses American stage actresses American television actresses Broadway theatre people American soap opera actresses Carnegie Mellon University alumni