Rosemary Murphy (January 13, 1925 – July 5, 2014) was a German- American actress of stage, film, and television. She was nominated for three

Tony Awards The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual c ...

for her stage work, as well as two Emmy Awards for television work, winning once, for her performance in '' Eleanor and Franklin'' (1976).

Biography and career

Murphy was born in

Munich, Germany Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

in 1925, the daughter of American parents Mildred (née Taylor) and

Robert Daniel Murphy Robert Daniel Murphy (October 28, 1894 – January 9, 1978) was an American diplomat. He served as the first United States Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs when the position was established during the Eisenhower administration. E ...

, a diplomat. The family left Germany in 1939 due to the onset of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Education

Murphy, whose résumé came to include French and German films, attended

Manhattanville College Manhattanville College is a private university in Purchase, New York. Founded in 1841 at 412 Houston Street in lower Manhattan, it was initially known as Academy of the Sacred Heart, then after 1847 as Manhattanville College of the Sacred Heart ...

and trained as an actress at Catholic University of America in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, and in New York at the

Neighborhood Playhouse A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural ar ...

and the Actors Studio with Sanford Meisner before beginning her career on stage.

Stage

She made her stage debut in Germany, in a 1949 production of '' Peer Gynt''. She made her

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

debut in 1950 in ''The Tower Beyond Tragedy''. She went on to appear in some 15 Broadway productions, most recently in Noël Coward's '' Waiting in the Wings'' (1999).

Film and television

Murphy also acted in films and on TV, most notably portraying

Sara Delano Roosevelt Sara Ann Roosevelt ( Delano; September 21, 1854 – September 7, 1941) was the second wife of James Roosevelt I (from 1880), the mother of President of the United States Franklin Delano Roosevelt, her only child, and subsequently the mother ...

in the TV miniseries '' Eleanor and Franklin'' (1976) and '' Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years'' (1977). She played Maudie Atkinson in ''

To Kill a Mockingbird ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' is a novel by the American author Harper Lee. It was published in 1960 and was instantly successful. In the United States, it is widely read in high schools and middle schools. ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' has become ...

'' (1962) as well as Callie Hacker in '' Walking Tall'' (1973). The following year, in 1974, she appeared in the television film '' A Case of Rape'', playing a ruthless defense attorney who brutally cross-examines a rape victim (played by

Elizabeth Montgomery Elizabeth Victoria Montgomery (April 15, 1932 – May 18, 1995) was an American actress whose career spanned five decades in film, stage, and television. She is best remembered for her leading role as the witch Samantha Stephens on the televisi ...

) and wins an acquittal for the man who attacked her. In 1974–75, she played high-school principal Margaret Blumenthal in the series '' Lucas Tanner''. Her first soap opera role was Nola Hollister #2 on '' The Secret Storm'' (1969–1970). In 1977, she appeared on '' All My Children'' as Maureen Teller Dalton, Eric Kane's former mistress, and the mother of his son, Mark Dalton. In 1988, she played Loretta Fowler for several months, the kleptomaniac mother of Mitch Blake and Sam Fowler on '' Another World''. The following year, she appeared on ''

As the World Turns ''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other s ...

'' as Gretel Aldin #2 (a role previously played by

Joan Copeland Joan Maxine Kupchik ( Miller; June 1, 1922 – January 4, 2022), known professionally as Joan Copeland, was an American actress. She was the younger sister of playwright Arthur Miller. She began her career during the mid-1940s, appearing in thea ...

) when her character's son,

James Stenbeck James Stenbeck is a fictional character on CBS's daytime drama ''As the World Turns'', portrayed by Anthony Herrera. Storylines Introduced in 1980 as a widower and controlling ex-lover of heroine Barbara Ryan (who was pregnant with his child), he ...

, was allegedly murdered. She also appeared in episodes of '' Columbo'' (1974) and '' Murder, She Wrote'' (1987).

Awards

Murphy won an Emmy Award for her role in ''Eleanor and Franklin''. She also won a

Clarence Derwent Award The Clarence Derwent Awards are theatre awards given annually by the Actors' Equity Association on Broadway in the United States and by Equity, the performers' union, in the West End in the United Kingdom. Clarence Derwent (23 March 1884 – 6 Aug ...

and an Outer Critics Circle Award and was nominated for three

Tony awards The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual c ...

Death

She died on July 5, 2014 in Manhattan, from esophageal cancer. She never married.

Filmography

Television films

Partial Television Credits

References

External links

*
Rosemary Murphy
at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

'
Actors Studio audio collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Rosemary 1925 births 2014 deaths American expatriates in Germany American film actresses American stage actresses American television actresses Actresses from New York City Manhattanville College alumni Deaths from esophageal cancer Deaths from cancer in New York (state) Emmy Award winners Primetime Emmy Award winners Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie Primetime Emmy Award winners 21st-century American women