Marsha Mason
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Marsha Mason (born April 3, 1942) is an American actress and theatre director. She has been nominated four times for the
Academy Award for Best Actress The Academy Award for Best Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It has been awarded since the 1st Academy Awards to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a lead ...
for her performances in '' Cinderella Liberty'' (1973), '' The Goodbye Girl'' (1977), '' Chapter Two'' (1979), and '' Only When I Laugh'' (1981). The first two also won her
Golden Globe Awards The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual Awards ceremony, award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally ...
. She was married for 10 years (1973–1983) to the playwright and screenwriter
Neil Simon Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He received three ...
, who wrote all but the first film cited above, in addition to several others in which she starred. Mason's film debut was in the 1966 film ''Hot Rod Hullabaloo''. Her other films include '' Blume in Love'' (1973), '' The Cheap Detective'' (1978), '' Max Dugan Returns'' (1983), '' Heartbreak Ridge'' (1986), '' Stella'' (1990) and '' Drop Dead Fred'' (1991). On television, she appeared in the soap opera '' Love of Life'' (1971–72) and received a
Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...
nomination for her recurring role on the
sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...
'' Frasier'' (1997–98). She has also had an extensive career on stage, making her Broadway debut as a replacement in the comedy'' Cactus Flower'' in 1968. She starred in a 1999 revival of '' The Prisoner of Second Avenue'' in London, and received a Grammy nomination for Best Comedy Album for the 2000 recording. In 2006, she starred in the American premiere production of '' Hecuba'' at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Her other Broadway credits include '' The Night of the Iguana'' (1996), '' Steel Magnolias'' (2005), and ''
Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...
'' (2009). Mason guest starred in '' Madam Secretary'' (2015–16) and '' The Good Wife'' (2016), and has had recurring roles on the ABC sitcom '' The Middle'' from 2010 to 2017 and the
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series '' Grace and Frankie'' since 2016.


Career

After seeing her 1973 film debut in '' Blume in Love'',
Neil Simon Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He received three ...
cast Mason in his Broadway play '' The Good Doctor''. Shortly afterwards, Mason and Simon, a widower, fell in love and got married. That same year, Mason co-starred opposite James Caan in the 20th Century Fox film '' Cinderella Liberty'', which netted her an Oscar nomination for Best Actress. In 1977, Mason's performance in Simon's smash hit film, '' The Goodbye Girl'', won her a second Best Actress Academy Award nomination. In 1979, Simon successfully cast Mason as Jennie MacLaine in the screen adaptation of his hit play '' Chapter Two'', which was based on Mason's relationship with Simon up to their marriage. The film proved to be another big hit, garnering her a third Oscar nomination for Best Actress. In 1981, Mason starred along with Kristy McNichol, James Coco, and Joan Hackett in '' Only When I Laugh'', Simon's film adaptation of his Broadway comedy-drama '' The Gingerbread Lady''; it was another box-office success. For her performance as Georgia Hines, Mason was highly praised and earned a fourth Best Actress Oscar nomination. Mason's '' Max Dugan Returns'' (1983), also written by Simon, grossed a modest $17.6 million at the box office. Despite a stellar cast led by Mason, Donald Sutherland, Jason Robards and Matthew Broderick, the film was a slow starter, becoming more popular after premiering on cable TV and VHS. By this time, Mason and Simon had divorced, and her film career lost momentum. She co-starred with
Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western (genre), Western TV series ''Rawhide (TV series), Rawhide'', Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the "Ma ...
in the 1986 film '' Heartbreak Ridge'', which was fairly well received and a commercial success. Mason also played a supporting role in the 1990 motion picture '' Stella'' starring Bette Midler, a remake of the 1937 film '' Stella Dallas''. Mason played in a New York production of
Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A List of Nobel laureates in Literature, Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramat ...
's '' Old Times.'' She next directed the play ''Juno's Swans'' (1986), by E. Katherine Kerr, at the Second Stage Theatre in Los Angeles. Her stage credits include
Norman Mailer Nachem Malech Mailer (January 31, 1923 – November 10, 2007), known by his pen name Norman Kingsley Mailer, was an American writer, journalist and filmmaker. In a career spanning more than six decades, Mailer had 11 best-selling books, at least ...
's ''
The Deer Park ''The Deer Park'' is a Hollywood novel written by Norman Mailer and published in 1955 by G.P. Putnam's Sons after it was rejected by Mailer's publisher, Rinehart & Company, for obscenity. Despite having already typeset the book, Rinehart claime ...
,''
Israel Horovitz Israel Horovitz (March 31, 1939 – November 9, 2020) was an American playwright, director, actor and co-founder of the Gloucester Stage Company in 1979. He served as artistic director until 2006 and later served on the board, ex officio and ...
's '' The Indian Wants the Bronx'', Neil Simon's '' The Good Doctor'' and Joseph Papp's 1974 ''
Richard III Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...
'' at the
Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5  ...
. Mason starred on Broadway in a revival of '' Night of the Iguana'' in 1996, and the following year in Michael Cristofer's ''Amazing Grace''. Mason reunited with ''Goodbye Girl'' co-star Richard Dreyfuss and writer Neil Simon in Duncan Weldon and Emanuel Azenberg's production of '' The Prisoner of Second Avenue'' in 1999, which was performed at the L.A. Theatre Works shortly after a revival in London's West End. She earned a Grammy nomination in comedy. She appeared in Charles L. Mee's ''Wintertime'' at the Second Stage theatre in New York. In August 2005 Mason starred as Hecuba at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater and on Broadway in '' Steel Magnolias'', with Delta Burke, Frances Sternhagen, Rebecca Gayheart, Lily Rabe and Christine Ebersole. She appeared in ''A Feminine Ending'' at Playwrights Horizons, and in the Shakespeare Theater Company's performance of '' All's Well That Ends Well'' in Washington, D.C. Recently, she starred in
Lillian Hellman Lillian Florence Hellman (June 20, 1905 – June 30, 1984) was an American playwright, Prose, prose writer, Memoir, memoirist, and screenwriter known for her success on Broadway as well as her communist views and political activism. She was black ...
's '' Watch on the Rhine'' at Arena Stage in Washington, DC and off-Broadway in the Irish Repertory Theatre's production of "Little Gem" which earned her an Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Play. Mason's television work includes guest roles on ''
Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, with a total of nine seasons consisting of List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It ...
'', '' Lipstick Jungle'', and '' Army Wives''. Mason starred in her own series, '' Sibs'', which ran from 1991 to 1992. In 1997 and 1998, she had a recurring role on the TV show '' Frasier'' as Sherry Dempsey, Martin Crane's flamboyant girlfriend. She received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series. In February 2010, she co-starred in '' California Suite'' at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. Mason played Patricia Heaton's mother in the ABC comedy series '' The Middle'' from 2010 to its conclusion in 2018. Other recent TV roles have included "Grace & Frankie", "Madam Secretary" and "The Good Wife". In April 2010, Mason co-starred with Keir Dullea and Matt Servitto in an
Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
production of '' I Never Sang for My Father''. For her performance as Margaret Garrison, Mason received good reviews. During the Pandemic, she appeared in zoom productions of '' Dear Liar'' with Brian Cox for Bucks County Playhouse and opposite Richard Dreyfus in "The Letters of Noel Coward" for Bay Street Playhouse in Sag Harbor, NY. As a director, Mason has helmed productions of Neil Simon's '' Chapter Two'' and Robert Harling's '' Steel Magnolias'' at the Bucks County Playhouse; the first female version of '' An Act of God'' with Paige Davis at Arizona Theatre Company; ''Juno Stories'' for Second Stage in NYC; the world premiere of Tennessee Williams' ''Talisman Roses'' with Amanda Plummer for the Tennessee Williams Festival in Provincetown, Mass.; and a benefit production of '' The Man Who Came To Dinner'' starring Walter Bobbie and
Brooke Shields Brooke Christa Shields (born May 31, 1965) is an American actress. A child model starting at the age of 11 months, Shields gained widespread notoriety at age 12 for her leading role in Louis Malle's film ''Pretty Baby (1978 film), Pretty Baby ...
for Bucks County Playhouse. Marsha was Associate Director with Jack O'Brien for the Roundabout Theatre's production of '' All My Sons'' on Broadway. In 2022, she starred in and co-directed Neil Simon's '' Lost in Yonkers'' at Hartford Stage. Mason has a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame. She has taught at HB Studio (Herbert Berghof Studio) in New York City.


Personal life

Mason was born in St. Louis,
Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...
, on April 3, 1942, to Jacqueline Helena (Rakowski) and James Joseph Mason, a printer. She and her younger sister, Linda, were raised Catholic and grew up in Crestwood. Mason is a graduate of Nerinx Hall High School and Webster University, both in Webster Groves. While at Webster, she performed in a variety of theatrical productions. She raced a Mazda RX-3 in SCCA events. Mason was married to actor Gary Campbell from 1965 until they divorced in 1970. Her second marriage, to playwright
Neil Simon Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He received three ...
, lasted from 1973 until their 1983 divorce. A former long-time resident of
New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
, Mason had a farm in Abiquiu that grew certified organic herbs. In the late 1990s, Mason sold herbs wholesale to companies both locally and regionally before starting a line of wellness and bath and body products called "Resting in the River". Now based in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, in 2018 she completed building a home on a hayfield in Litchfield County, Connecticut, where she currently resides. Mason has frequently visited Eastern countries like
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
for many decades and has been a practitioner of Transcendental Meditation since 1970.


Filmography


Film


Television


Awards and nominations


References


External links

* * * * *
Marsha Mason Papers at Webster University



"Marsha Mason: A Conversation for Women's History Month"
''Broadway World'', March 29, 2010
"With: Marsha Mason"
''American Theatre Wing'', March 31, 2010
"SURVIVAL KIT: MARSHA MASON"
''WNYC'', March 28, 2004 {{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, Marsha Living people American film actresses American stage actresses American television actresses Best Musical or Comedy Actress Golden Globe (film) winners Best Drama Actress Golden Globe (film) winners Actresses from St. Louis Writers from St. Louis Webster University alumni 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Missouri Democrats Connecticut Democrats New Mexico Democrats California Democrats New York (state) Democrats American memoirists Simon family People from Abiquiú, New Mexico Catholics from Missouri Catholics from New Mexico American women memoirists Year of birth missing (living people)