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Anita Gillette

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Anita Gillette
Gillette in 1960
Born
Anita Luebben

(1936-08-16) August 16, 1936 (age 88)
Occupation(s)Actress, singer
Years active1959–present
Spouse(s)Dr. William Gillette (1957–1967) (2 children, divorced)
Armand Coullet (1982–1999) (his death)[1][2]
Children2[citation needed]
From TV series Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1973). Back: David Spielberg; front, L–R: Anne Archer, Robert Urich, Anita Gillette

Anita Gillette (née Luebben;[3] born August 16, 1936[4]) is an American actress and singer. She has performed numerous roles on Broadway, American television, and in feature films.

Her Broadway credits include performing in musical productions of Gypsy, Carnival!, Guys and Dolls, They're Playing Our Song, Mr. President, and Cabaret. In 1978, she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performance in Neil Simon's Chapter Two.

Early life

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Raised in suburban Rossville, Gillette graduated from Kenwood High School. Gillette studied at the Peabody Conservatory[5]

Career

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Television and film

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Gillette's first television appearance was on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1963. She joined the cast of The Edge of Night in 1967, leaving the next year. Gillette's biggest exposure on a national scale came as a celebrity guest on various New York City-based game shows, mostly those produced by Goodson-Todman and Bob Stewart. She served as a semi-regular on the syndicated What's My Line?, Match Game and the various Pyramid series, among others. She also appeared with Robert Alda as a panelist on Fast Draw.[6]

Gillette's roles in the 1970s included the short-lived series Me and the Chimp with Ted Bessell and Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice with a then-unknown Robert Urich and a young Jodie Foster. She also appeared in Norman Lear's All That Glitters (1977), and TV movies such as A Matter of Wife... and Death (1975) and It Happened at Lakewood Manor (1977).

The 1980s marked Gillette's transition from Broadway and television into a character film actress. Prior to this transition, she had sizeable television roles as Nancy Baxter on the national run of The Baxters, Quincy's second wife Dr. W. Emily Hanover on the last season of Quincy M.E. (having previously portrayed his deceased first wife Helen Quincy in a flashback[7]), and a role on Search for Tomorrow at the end of that series' long run, as well as the early David Chase series Almost Grown (1988–1989).

After the end of Search for Tomorrow in late 1986, and appearing with Robert Reed and Bert Convy on Super Password, Gillette transitioned to film with a variety of notable roles such as that of Mona in 1987's Moonstruck. Many of these roles had her as an on-screen mother to characters played by prominent actors; she played Jack Black's mother in Bob Roberts (1992), Mary-Louise Parker's mother in Boys on the Side (1995), Bill Murray's mother in Larger than Life (1996), Jennifer Aniston's mother in She's The One (1996), and the mother of Bobby Cannavale's love interest in The Guru (2002). Her return to television in 2000's short-lived Normal, Ohio had her playing the mother of John Goodman's character (coincidentally with fellow former game show regular Orson Bean as her on-screen husband).

In the 1990s, Gillette starred in two Hallmark Hall of Fame movies, The Summer of Ben Tyler (1996) with James Woods and A Christmas Memory (1997) with Patty Duke. In 2004, Gillette appeared as Miss Mitzi, the lonely alcoholic owner of a struggling dance studio in Shall We Dance?, opposite Richard Gere, Jennifer Lopez and Susan Sarandon. She made several appearances as Grandma Betty on Fox's The War at Home (2005–2007); as Lily Flynn, the mother of criminalist Catherine Willows, in four episodes of CSI (2005–2007/2012); and the mother of Liz Lemon in two episodes of 30 Rock (2007/2010). She starred in the 2006 film Hiding Victoria.

Since 2010 she has had several guest-starring roles in such shows as: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2010), Shake it Up (2012), Modern Family (2013), Blue Bloods (2013), Elementary (2015), Public Morals (2015) and Chicago Med (2016).[citation needed] She played Rose Fitzgerald in the 2012 film The Fitzgerald Family Christmas, written, directed by, and starring Edward Burns.

Theatre

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She made her Broadway debut in Gypsy in 1959. Additional Broadway credits include Carnival!, All American, Mr. President, Kelly, Jimmy, Guys and Dolls, Don't Drink the Water, Cabaret, They're Playing Our Song, Brighton Beach Memoirs, and Chapter Two, for which she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. She received a 1960 Theatre World Award for her performance in Russell Patterson's Sketchbook. On February 17, 2020, Gillette was bestowed Honorary Member of The Lambs, America's oldest professional theatrical association.

In 2012, she was nominated for the Lucille Lortel Award Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play for her performance in Dan LeFranc's The Big Meal Off-Broadway.[8]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1987 Moonstruck Mona
1988 Bum Rap Drunk woman
1991 Undertow Marlene
1992 Bob Roberts Mrs. Davis
1995 Boys on the Side Elaine
1996 Larger than Life Mom
She's the One Carol
1998 Charlie Hoboken Stepmother
2001 Dinner and a Movie Heddie
Early Bird Special Betty
2002 The Guru Mrs. McGee
2004 Shall We Dance? Miss Mitzi
2005 The Great New Wonderful Lainie
2006 The Last Adam Betty Adams
Hiding Victoria Althea Jaffery
2012 The Fitzgerald Family Christmas Rosie Fitzgerald

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1956 The Edge of Night Franki
1961 Route 66 Nancy Episode: "The Thin White Line"
1963 The Ed Sullivan Show Singer 1 episode
1968 Pinocchio Blue Fairy Television film
1970 George M! Ethel Levey
1971–1974 Love, American Style Pat O'Brien 4 episodes
1972 Me and the Chimp Liz Reynolds 13 episodes
1973 Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice Alice Henderson 12 episodes
1975 A Matter of Wife... and Death Helen Baker Television film
1977 All That Glitters Nancy Langston 2 episodes
It Happened at Lakewood Manor Peggy Kenter Television film
1979 Trapper John, M.D. Teresa Duvall Episode: "Taxi in the Rain"
1979–1983 Quincy, M.E. Dr. Emily Hanover / Helen Quincy 17 episodes
1980 Marathon Anita Television film
1982 Another World Loretta Shea Episode #1.4498
1985 Brass Sister Mary Elizabeth Television film
1986 St. Elsewhere Maureen Westphall Episode: "Time Heals: Part 1"
Search for Tomorrow Wilma Holliday Episode: "Finale"
You Again? Sue Episode: "Henry the Kissinger"
1987 Brothers Flo Waters Episode: "Love and Learn"
1988–1989 Almost Grown Vi Long 13 episodes
1992 All My Children Dee Dee Dunstin 3 episodes
1994 Mad About You Claire Wicker Episode: "When I'm Sixty-Four"
1996 Law & Order Cookie Costello Episode: "Remand"
ABC Afterschool Special Aunt Rita Episode: "Through Thick & Thin"
The Summer of Ben Tyler Suellen Television film
Jules Herky
1997 A Christmas Memory Callie
2000 Frasier Mrs. Wojadubakowski Episode: "Whine Club"
Sex and the City Mrs. Adams Episode: "Hot Child in the City"
Normal, Ohio Joan Gamble 12 episodes
2001 Law & Order: Criminal Intent Loretta Marlon Episode: "Poison"
2003 Queens Supreme Mrs. DeSipio Episode: "Case by Case"
2005–2007 The War at Home Betty 5 episodes
2005–2010 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Lily Flynn 4 episodes
2007 Women's Murder Club Winnie Spencer Episode: "Grannies, Guns and Love Mints"
2007, 2010 30 Rock Margaret Lemon 2 episodes
2009 Cold Case Grace Stearns '09 Episode: "The Crossing"
2010 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Judge Sheila Tripler 2 episodes
2012 Shake It Up Edie Wilde Episode: "Rock and Roll It Up"
2013 Modern Family Annie Episode: "Goodnight Gracie"
Blue Bloods Colleen McGuire Episode: "Bad Blood"
2015 Elementary Claire Renziger Episode: "A Stitch in Time"
Public Morals Eileen 2 episodes
2016 Chicago Med Ruth Episode: "Extreme Measures"
2018–2019 After Forever Frannie 7 episodes

References

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  1. ^ "Anita Gillette-After All, a Working Actress". Woman Around Town. September 17, 2012. Retrieved June 30, 2017.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ "Paid Notice: Deaths COULLET, ARMAND". The New York Times. April 23, 1999. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  3. ^ Wolf, William (August 5, 1962). "Understudy to Star in a Single Year: And Anita Gillette, of Baltimore, Maintains a Family Life, Too". The Baltimore Sun. p. MA8. ProQuest 533766321. The actress is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John A. Luebben, of Lennings Lane in Rosedale.
  4. ^ "Today in History: Today's Birthdays". The Home News. Somerville, New Jersey. August 16, 1984. p. 12. ProQuest 2271060883. Singer Eydie Gorme is 52. Actress Julie Newmar is 49 [sic]. Actress Anita Gillette is 48. See also:
    • "Today in History: August 16 Birthdays". Asheville Citizen-Times. August 16, 2022. p. 6B. ProQuest 2706778479. Actor Julie Newmar is 89. Actor-singer Kitty Lester ("Little House on the Prairie") is 88. Actor Anita Gillette is 86.
  5. ^ Kelly, Jacques (May 7, 2010). "Baltimore actress returns home for 'After All'". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  6. ^ "Fast Draw Starring Johnny Gilbert". Summer 1968. Retrieved February 25, 2024 – via YouTube.
  7. ^ Quincy, M.E. episode "Promises to Keep", March 1, 1979
  8. ^ Isherwood, Christopher (March 21, 2012). "A High-Gear Trip Through Life, From Soup to Nuts". The New York Times. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
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