Elizabeth Welter Wilson (April 4, 1921 – May 9, 2015) was an American actress whose career spanned nearly 60 years, including memorable roles in film and television. In 1972 she won the

Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play The Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play is an honor presented at the Tony Awards, a ceremony established in 1947 as the Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, to actresses for quality supporting roles in a Broadway theatre, ...

for her role in '' Sticks and Bones''. Wilson was inducted into the

American Theater Hall of Fame The American Theater Hall of Fame was founded in 1972 in New York City. The first head of its executive committee was Earl Blackwell. In an announcement in 1972, he said that the new ''Theater Hall of Fame'' would be located in the Uris Theatre, ...

in 2006.

Early life

Wilson was born in

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...

, the daughter of insurance agent Henry Dunning Wilson and Marie Ethel (née Welter) Wilson. Her maternal grandfather was a wealthy German immigrant, and Wilson was raised in a large mansion.Jean, Pat Grand
"First Q&A: Elizabeth Wilson"
''Connecticut Magazine'', April 2012 She attended the

Barter Theatre Barter Theatre, in Abingdon, Virginia, opened on June 10, 1933. It is the longest-running professional Equity theatre in the United States. History Concept In 1933, when the United States was in the middle of the Great Depression, many peo ...

Abingdon, Virginia Abingdon is a town in and the county seat of Washington County, Virginia, United States, southwest of Roanoke. The population was 8,376 at the 2020 census. The town encompasses several historically significant sites and features a fine arts a ...

, and then studied with Sanford Meisner at The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York City.

Career

Wilson was a versatile character actress, appearing in over 30 movies and many Broadway plays. The ''Los Angeles Times'' noted: "Tall and elegant, Wilson often played women who had or sought authority." Wilson made her Broadway debut in ''

Picnic A picnic is a meal taken outdoors (Al fresco dining, ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event su ...

'' in 1953. Her stage credits include ''Desk Set'' (1955), '' The Good Woman of Szechuan'' (1970), '' Sticks and Bones'' (1972), ''

Uncle Vanya ''Uncle Vanya'' ( rus, Дя́дя Ва́ня, r=Dyádya Ványa, p=ˈdʲædʲə ˈvanʲə) is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1897, and first produced in 1899 by the Moscow Art Theatre, directed by Konstan ...

'' (1973), '' Threepenny Opera'' (1976), ''

The Importance of Being Earnest ''The Importance of Being Earnest, a Trivial Comedy for Serious People'' is a play by Oscar Wilde, the last of his four drawing-room plays, following ''Lady Windermere's Fan'' (1892), ''A Woman of No Importance'' (1893) and ''An Ideal Husban ...

'' (1977), ''

Morning's at Seven ''Morning's at Seven'' is a play by Paul Osborn. Its plot focuses on four aging sisters living in a small Midwestern United States, Midwestern town in 1928, and it deals with ramifications within the family when two of them begin to question the ...

'' (1980), '' You Can't Take It with You'' (1983), '' Ah, Wilderness!'' (1988), and '' A Delicate Balance'' (1996)."Elizabeth Wilson Broadway Credits"
playbillvault.com, accessed May 11, 2015 Wilson made her screen debut reprising her stage role in the 1955 film adaptation of ''

'' as Christine Schoenwalder. Additional films include '' Patterns'' (1956), '' The Goddess'' (1958), '' The Tunnel of Love'' (1958), '' A Child Is Waiting'' (1963, '' The Birds'' (1963), ''

The Graduate ''The Graduate'' is a 1967 American independent romantic comedy-drama film directed by Mike Nichols and written by Buck Henry and Calder Willingham, based on the 1963 novella by Charles Webb. It stars Dustin Hoffman as Benjamin Braddoc ...

'' (1967), '' Jenny'' (1970), '' Catch-22'' (1970) '' Little Murders'' (1971), ''

The Day of the Dolphin ''The Day of the Dolphin'' is a 1973 American science fiction thriller film directed by Mike Nichols and starring George C. Scott. Based on the 1967 novel '' Un animal doué de raison'' (lit. ''A Sentient Animal''), by French writer Robert Mer ...

'' (1973), '' Man on a Swing'' (1974), '' The Prisoner of Second Avenue'' (1975), ''

9 to 5 Working time or laboring time is the period of time that a person spends at paid Wage labour, labor. Unpaid work, Unpaid labor such as personal housework or caring for children or pets is not considered part of the working week. Many countri ...

'' (1980), '' Grace Quigley'' (1984), '' Regarding Henry'' (1991), ''

The Addams Family The Addams Family is a fictional family created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. They originally appeared in a series of 150 standalone single-panel comics, about half of which were originally published in ''The New Yorker'' between 193 ...

'' (1991), and '' Quiz Show'' (1994). Her last film role was as

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 Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd President of the United States and her only child, and subsequently th ...

in '' Hyde Park on Hudson'' (2012). Wilson's television credits include early

anthology series An anthology series is a written series, radio, television, film, or video game series that presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a different ca ...

such as ''

Kraft Television Theatre ''Kraft Television Theatre'' is an American anthology drama television series running from 1947 to 1958. It began May 7, 1947, on NBC, airing at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday evenings until December of that year. It first promoted MacLaren's Impe ...

'', ''

The United States Steel Hour ''The United States Steel Hour'' is an anthology series which brought hour-long dramas to television from 1953 to 1963. The television series and the radio program that preceded it were both sponsored by the United States Steel Corporation (U.S. ...

'', and ''

Armstrong Circle Theatre ''Armstrong Circle Theatre'' is an American anthology drama television series which ran from June 6, 1950, to June 25, 1957, on NBC, and from October 2, 1957, to August 28, 1963, on CBS. It alternated weekly with '' The United States Steel Ho ...

''. She was a regular on the primetime drama ''

East Side/West Side ''East Side/West Side'' is an American Dramatic programming, drama series starring George C. Scott, Elizabeth Wilson, Cicely Tyson, and, later on, Linden Chiles. The series aired for one season (1963–1964), and was shown Monday nights on CBS. ...

'' and the sitcom '' Doc'', and appeared in ''

Dark Shadows ''Dark Shadows'' is an American Gothic fiction, Gothic soap opera that aired weekdays on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network from June 27, 1966, to April 2, 1971. The show depicted the lives, loves, trials, and tribulatio ...

'', ''

The Secret Storm ''The Secret Storm'' is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS from February 1, 1954, to February 8, 1974. It was created by Roy Winsor, who also created the long-running soap operas '' Search for Tomorrow'' and '' Love of Life''. ...

'', '' Another World'', ''

All in the Family ''All in the Family'' is an American sitcoms in the United States, sitcom television series that aired on CBS for nine seasons from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979, with a total of 205 episodes. It was later produced as ''Archie Bunker's Pla ...

'', ''

Murder, She Wrote ''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The series f ...

'', and '' Law & Order: Criminal Intent''. She also appeared in television movies, including '' The Boys Next Door'' (1996). She appeared in the miniseries '' Nutcracker: Money, Madness and Murder'' in March 1987 as the mother of

Frances Schreuder Frances is an English given name or last name of Latin origin. In Latin the meaning of the name Frances is 'from France' or 'the French.' The male version of the name in English is Francis. The original Franciscus, meaning "Frenchman", comes from ...

(played by

Lee Remick Lee Ann Remick (; December 14, 1935 – July 2, 1991) was an American actress and singer. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for the film ''Days of Wine and Roses (film), Days of Wine and Roses'' (1962) and was nominated fo ...

), as well as the miniseries ''

Alex Haley's Queen ''Alex Haley's Queen'' (also known as ''Queen'') is a 1993 American television miniseries that aired in three installments on February 14, 16, and 18 on CBS. The miniseries is an adaptation of the 1993 novel '' Queen: The Story of an American ...

''.

Death

On May 9, 2015, at age 94, Wilson died at her home in New Haven, Connecticut. She is buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with her parents. She never married or had children.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * *
Obituary
HollywoodReporter.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Elizabeth 1921 births 2015 deaths American people of German descent American film actresses American stage actresses American television actresses Actresses from Grand Rapids, Michigan Tony Award winners American Academy of Dramatic Arts alumni Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre alumni 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Grand Rapids Community College alumni