Rose Gregorio (October 17, 1925 – August 17, 2023) was an American actress. She began her career appearing mostly in theatre in Chicago and New York City during the 1950s and 1960s. During the 1970s she became more active in television and film, appearing mostly in supporting roles.
Early years
Gregorio's parents came from Italy. She was born in Chicago, Illinois on October 17, 1925.
Early career
Gregorio began her career appearing onstage in Chicago in the 1950s. She made her television debut in 1961 on ''
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 ...
'' in ''The Fortune Tellers'', starring opposite
Val Avery. The following year, she moved to New York City, making her
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 ...
debut as the title character in
William Snyder's ''
The Days and Nights of BeeBee Fenstermaker'' at the
Sheridan Square Playhouse, a production which included
Robert Duvall. She next appeared as Martha in the 1963 play ''Journey to the Day'' at the
Lucille Lortel Theatre.
During the mid-1960s, Gregorio served as a standby performer for many Broadway shows in case the regularly scheduled actress was unable to perform. She made her official Broadway debut in 1968 in
Jack Gelber's ''The Cuban Thing'' at the
Henry Miller's Theatre. The same year, she landed her first film role, the role of Sylvia Finney in
Frank Perry's ''
The Swimmer''. The following year, she returned to Broadway to appear with
Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Lee Hoffman (born August 8, 1937) is an American actor. As one of the key actors in the formation of New Hollywood, Hoffman is known for Dustin Hoffman filmography, his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and emotionally vulnerable charac ...
in ''
Jimmy Shine''.
Later career
In the 1970s, her career became more centered on film and television. Her movie appearances include Gloria Soloway in ''
Who Is Harry Kellerman and Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me?'' (1971), Ruth in ''
Desperate Characters'' (1971), Angela in ''
Mr. Ricco'' (1975), Elaine Cassel in ''
Eyes of Laura Mars'' (1978) and Brenda Samuels in
''True Confessions'' (1981). She appeared in television movies such as ''
Paradise Lost
''Paradise Lost'' is an Epic poetry, epic poem in blank verse by the English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The poem concerns the Bible, biblical story of the fall of man: the temptation of Adam and Eve by the fallen angel Satan and their ex ...
'' (1971) and ''
The Death of Richie'' (1977).
In 1977, Gregorio returned to Broadway after an eight-year hiatus in the original production of
Michael Cristofer's ''
The Shadow Box'' as Agnes; she garnered nominations for the
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play and the
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play. After that, her theatre appearances were sporadic. She appeared as Laurie in the Off-Broadway production of David Blomquist's ''Weekends Like Other People'' at the Marymount Manhattan Theatre in 1982. The following year, she returned to Broadway as Beatrice in the original production of ''
A View from the Bridge'' at the
Ambassador Theatre and again in 1988 as Helga in the original production of ''
M. Butterfly'' at the
Eugene O'Neill Theatre. In 1993, she appeared as Karen Frick in the
Manhattan Theatre Club's production of Arthur Miller's ''
The Last Yankee'', and in 2000, she portrayed the roles of Lena and Sandra in
Beth Henley's ''Family Week'' at the
Century Center for the Performing Arts.
Gregorio also remained active in film and television during the 1980s and 1990s. Her film credits include Brenda Samuels in ''
True Confessions'' (1981), which was directed by her husband, Mrs. Sabantino in ''
Five Corners'' (1987), Pina in ''
City of Hope'' (1991), Pina in ''
Tarantella
Tarantella () is a group of various Southern Italy, southern Italian Italian folk dance, folk dances originating in the regions of Calabria, Campania, Sicilia, and Apulia. It is characterized by a fast Beat (music), upbeat tempo, usually in Ti ...
'' (1995), Grandma Rosie Cappadora in ''
The Deep End of the Ocean'' (1999), and Helen in ''
Maze
A maze is a path or collection of paths, typically from an entrance to a goal. The word is used to refer both to branching tour puzzles through which the solver must find a route, and to simpler non-branching ("unicursal") patterns that lead ...
'' (2000). On television, she portrayed Helen Hathaway, the mother of
Carol Hathaway, on ''
ER'' from 1996 to 1999. She made guest appearances on ''
The Doctors'' (1972), ''
The Bob Newhart Show'' (1974), ''
Medical Center'' (1974), ''
The Rookies'' (1975), ''
Harry O'' (1975), ''
Jigsaw John'' (1976), ''
Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman'' (1976), ''
The Rockford Files'' (1978), ''
Charlie's Angels'' (1979), ''
Falcon Crest'' (1984), ''
Doogie Howser, M.D.'' (1989), ''
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 ...
'' (1991), ''
The Practice
''The Practice'' is an American legal drama television series created by David E. Kelley centering on partners and associates at a Boston law firm. The show ran for eight seasons on ABC, from March 4, 1997, to May 16, 2004. It won an Emmy i ...
'' (1997) and ''
Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' (2003), and appeared in numerous television movies.
Personal life and death
Gregorio was married to Belgian-American stage and film director
Ulu Grosbard from 1965 until his death in 2012.
[
Gregorio died of ]pneumonia
Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...
at her home in Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...
on August 17, 2023, at the age of 97.[ She is interred at ]Kensico Cemetery
Kensico Cemetery, located in Valhalla, New York, Valhalla, Westchester County, New York was founded in 1889, when many New York City cemeteries were becoming full, and rural cemeteries were being created near the railroads that served the city ...
.
Awards
In 1977, Gregorio received the Clarence Derwent and Drama Desk Awards, as well as a Tony nomination, for her portrayal of Agnes in the original production of Michael Cristofer's '' The Shadow Box''."Triple Crown (continued from First Page)"
''the Los Angeles Times''. June 10, 1977. p. 82. Retrieved September 19, 2023.
Filmography
Film
Television
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Gregorio, Rose
1925 births
2023 deaths
21st-century American women
Actresses from Chicago
American film actresses
American musical theatre actresses
American people of Italian descent
American stage actresses
American television actresses
Clarence Derwent Award winners
Burials at Kensico Cemetery