Mitzi Hoag
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Margaret Myrtle "Mitzi" Hoag (September 25, 1932 – February 26, 2019) was an American actress. Over the course of her career, she appeared in more than 73 different TV shows and movies. Notable among these are recurring roles in '' We'll Get By'', ''
Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 12, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 431 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running Western, the second-longest-running Western series on ...
'', ''
Here Come the Brides ''Here Come the Brides'' is an American comedy Western television series from Screen Gems that aired on the ABC television network from September 25, 1968, to April 3, 1970. It was loosely based on Asa Mercer's efforts in the 1860s to import m ...
'', and ''
The Partridge Family ''The Partridge Family'' is an American musical sitcom created by Bernard Slade, which was broadcast in the United States from September 1970 to March 1974 on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. After the final first-run telecast on ABC in March ...
''.


Early life and education

Hoag was raised in North Olmsted, Ohio, near
Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...
, where she was born. Her father, John C. Hoag, was a supervisor for the A&P store chain. She graduated from John Marshall High School in 1949. A straight-A student and head majorette of the marching band, she appeared in numerous high school stage productions, already using the nickname "Mitzi". After high school, Hoag attended
Shimer College Shimer Great Books School ( ) is a Classic_book#University_programs, Great Books college that is part of North Central College in Naperville, Illinois. Prior to 2017, Shimer was an independent, accredited college on the south side of Chicago, or ...
, then located in Mount Carroll, Illinois, completing her degree in two years under the radically flexible University of Chicago curriculum of
Robert Maynard Hutchins Robert Maynard Hutchins (January 17, 1899 – May 14, 1977) was an American educational philosopher. He was the President of the University of Chicago, 5th president (1929–1945) and chancellor (1945–1951) of the University of Chicago, and ear ...
. She chose Shimer for its small classes and the opportunity for horseback riding. Because Shimer was then closely affiliated with the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...
, she is sometimes reported as having graduated from there. When Hoag graduated from Shimer at age 19 in 1952, she was one of the first five Shimer students to receive the bachelor's degree. She was the only woman in the graduating class. She earned a bachelor of arts in general education, and became a certified teacher, but her experiences with drama at Shimer turned her towards an acting career. After leaving Shimer, Hoag studied drama at the graduate level at
Case Western Reserve University Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a Private university, private research university in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was established in 1967 by a merger between Western Reserve University and the Case Institute of Technology. Case ...
for two years.


Acting career

In the mid-1950s, Hoag moved to New York, where she continued her study of acting with
Herbert Berghof Herbert Berghof (September 13, 1909 – November 5, 1990) was an American actor, director and acting teacher.Kennedy, Dennis. ''The Oxford Companion to Theatre and Performance'', Oxford Univ. Press (2010) p. 61 Early life Berghof was born in ...
. She was cast in multiple off-Broadway shows, but these were all cancelled due to funding problems. Finally, she starred in the title role of the 1958 off-Broadway hit ''Heloise'', an adaptation by James Forsyth of the story of Heloise and Abelard. The play, which won considerable critical acclaim, was produced primarily by erstwhile actors and staffers of Case Western's Eldred Theatre. Hoag subsequently went to Hollywood, on her mother's advice. There she married Stephen Wolfson, who had a bit part in ''Heloise'', and later became a teacher. They had a daughter together, but subsequently divorced. In Hollywood, Hoag at first worked as a stage actress. She parlayed a successful stage performance as Annie Sullivan in ''The Miracle Worker'' into screen roles, starting with a role in the movie '' Tammy and the Doctor'', and continuing with numerous TV appearances. In the late 1960s, Hoag had a recurring role in ''Here Come the Brides'' in the late 1960s. In addition, she appeared twice in the TV show ''
Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 12, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 431 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running Western, the second-longest-running Western series on ...
'': in 1966 as Libby Spencefield and in 1972 as Alice Brenner. In 1976, she appeared in the drama ''Family'' as Clara Briault. During this period, she also appeared in several movies, including '' Play It as It Lays'', '' Pieces of Dreams'', and ''
Devil's Angels ''Devil's Angels'' (also known as ''The Checkered Flag'') is a 1967 American outlaw biker film written by Charles B. Griffith and directed by Daniel Haller. It stars John Cassavetes. Plot Cody (John Cassavetes) and his motorcycle gang, the ...
''. She also played Natalie Green's adoptive mother on '' The Facts of Life'', a role she played through all 9 seasons. Hoag's first and only starring role in a TV series came in 1975, when she appeared as the mother Liz Platt in the
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
sitcom '' We'll Get By'', starring opposite
Paul Sorvino Paul Anthony Sorvino (, ; April 13, 1939 – July 25, 2022) was an American actor. He often portrayed authority figures on both the criminal and the law enforcement sides of the law. Sorvino was particularly known for his roles as Lucchese cri ...
. A family sitcom, the show was created by
Alan Alda Alan Alda (; born Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo; January 28, 1936) is an American actor. A six-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award winner and a three-time Tony Award nominee, he is best known for playing Captain Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pier ...
, and modeled after his own domestic life. The show ran to twelve episodes, filmed in front of a live studio audience. Originally scheduled for September 1974, the show did not air until March 1975, in a time slot facing ''
Chico and the Man ''Chico and the Man'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC for four seasons from September 13, 1974, to July 21, 1978. It stars Jack Albertson as Ed Brown (the Man), the cantankerous owner of a run-down garage in an East Los ...
'', one of NBC's most popular programs. It was not renewed.


Filmography


Works cited

*


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hoag, Mitzi 1932 births 2019 deaths American stage actresses American television actresses American film actresses Actresses from New York City Actresses from Ohio People from North Olmsted, Ohio Shimer College alumni Case Western Reserve University alumni 20th-century American actresses