Anne Bancroft鈥檚 Legendary Career Honored in New Book
By Douglass K. Daniel
Author of 鈥淎nne Bancroft: A Life鈥�
听
Those questioning the range of actress Anne Bancroft鈥檚 talents might have resolved any doubts in the fall of 1967. On Broadway, she led a celebrated revival of Lillian Hellman鈥檚 drama 鈥淭he Little Foxes,鈥� joining George C. Scott under Mike Nichols鈥� direction. Then her latest film, Nichols鈥� comedy 鈥淭he Graduate,鈥� opened across the country, her turn as the sexy, seductive Mrs. Robinson the highlight of what would become one of the most popular movies of all time.
听
Bancroft was not even at the midpoint of her five-decade career in theater, film, and television. Applause of a different kind would come during her forty-year marriage to writer and director Mel Brooks, their fans always mystified 鈥� and delighted 鈥� that the serious actress and the kooky comic could find happiness together.
听
Her performances often sparked praise, rooted as they were in a lifetime of studying the craft of acting and a dogged devotion to making a role come alive for audiences. 鈥淜now what creates a miracle?鈥� she remarked while appearing in 鈥淭he Miracle Worker,鈥� the play that brought her first widespread acclaim. "Hard work. That鈥檚 what 'Miracle Worker' teaches you.鈥�
听
Growing Up Italiano
听
Hard work was the rule at home for the future Mrs. Robinson. She was born Anna Marie Italiano in 1931 in the Bronx, New York, the second of three daughters of first-generation Italian-Americans. Her father was a pattern maker in the garment industry and her mother a Macy鈥檚 telephone operator. They had no connection at all to the theater, but the daughter they called Marie was the sort of child who could climb atop a picnic table at a large family gathering and sing for the crowd.
听
An interviewer later asked if she had acted as a teenager. 鈥淒id I act?鈥� she responded. 鈥淥f course I did. Did you ever know an Italian family in which there wasn鈥檛 acting going on every minute? I acted at home and at school.鈥�
听
At Christopher Columbus High School, Anne stood out among her Drama Club classmates with her ability to deliver lines naturally and take direction. 鈥淚 think she just loved to perform,鈥� her teacher, Elisa Coletti, recalled decades later. 鈥淚t came so naturally to her. She felt so good doing it.鈥�
听
The American 91看片网 of Dramatic Arts
听
Her high school teacher told the Italianos that their daughter showed promise for a theatrical career. Unsure of which program to send an application, Anne鈥檚 mother asked the man who sold the Encyclopedia Britannica for advice. He assured her that The American 91看片网 of Dramatic Arts, a subway ride away in Manhattan, was a good choice.
听
As a member of The 91看片网's Class of 1950, Anne made an impression on her teachers and her classmates. Not only did she have talent, she knew a career on the stage required dedication. 鈥淪he had such a healthy, instinctive, and intuitive work ethic,鈥� remembered a classmate, Harry Mastrogeorge. 鈥淪he worked harder than anybody I knew there at the time.鈥�
听
鈥淚t was the greatest school one could go to,鈥� Anne said later of The 91看片网. 鈥淵ou learned to be concentrated and focused.鈥�
听
She often spent her lunch hour alone in The 91看片网鈥檚 theatre, going over lines for an upcoming play. That caught the attention of faculty member Frances Fuller, who recommended young Anne to her husband, Worthington Miner, then in charge of the television department at CBS. An audition led to her first professional role 鈥� and a new name: Anne Marno, the first letters of Marie, the last letters of Italiano.
听
First Television, Then Hollywood
听
Appearing in dozens of episodes of anthology series like 鈥淪tudio One鈥� and other shows brought Anne, not yet 21, to the attention of Hollywood. After a screen test for 20th Century-Fox, Anne signed her first movie contract in 1951 and moved to Los Angeles. Studio boss Darryl F. Zanuck insisted she change her name 鈥� Marno was deemed too ethnic 鈥� and she chose Bancroft from a list he provided.
听
Fifteen films followed in just six years. In her first, 鈥淒on鈥檛 Bother to Knock鈥� (1952), the newly christened Anne Bancroft co-starred with Richard Widmark and another up-and-coming actress, Marilyn Monroe. More movies followed in 1953: the romantic adventure 鈥淭reasure of the Golden Condor鈥� with Cornel Wilde; the musical biopic 鈥淭onight We Sing鈥� with David Wayne; and a baseball movie, 鈥淭he Kid from Left Field鈥� with Dan Dailey.
听
There was a stinker or two, particularly a 3-D thriller called 鈥淕orilla at Large鈥� (1954) in which Bancroft played a trapeze performer in a carnival terrorized by a runaway ape. One of the better movies she made during her first years in Hollywood was a noir titled 鈥淣ightfall鈥� (1956), directed by Jacques Tourneur. She also appeared in a few Westerns, one of them 鈥淲alk the Proud Land鈥� (1956) in which she played an Apache woman opposite Audie Murphy.
听
At Home on the Stage
听
Finding her film career in a rut, Bancroft took a chance on Broadway. She was relatively unknown to theater audiences when, in 1957, she was cast in her first Broadway show, 鈥淭wo for the Seesaw,鈥� directed by Arthur Penn. The star of the two-character play was Henry Fonda, by then a veteran of films and theater. Opening night in early 1958 changed everything for her: critics hailed Anne Bancroft as the find of the theater season, and she won her first Tony.
听
Her star on Broadway shone even brighter 鈥� she won another Tony 鈥� after the opening, in 1959, of 鈥淭he Miracle Worker,鈥� also directed by Penn. The film version of the story of teacher Annie Sullivan and her blind and deaf pupil, Helen Keller, marked Bancroft鈥檚 triumphant return to Hollywood in 1962 and brought her an Oscar. She didn鈥檛 turn her back on the theater, however, appearing in ten other productions over the course of her career. She was a rarity for the time, an actress who seemed to move easily from film to theater.
听
Her stage work, mostly in New York, included productions of 鈥淢other Courage and Her Children (1963) directed by Jerome Robbins; 鈥淭he Devils鈥� (1965) with fellow 91看片网 alumnus Jason Robards; 鈥淭he Skin of Our Teeth鈥� (1966) directed by Penn; 鈥淭he Little Foxes鈥� (1967); and 鈥淎 Cry of Players鈥� (1968) with Frank Langella and directed by Gene Frankel. She worked with Penn yet again in 鈥淕olda鈥� (1977), playing Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir. She last appeared on the stage in 鈥淓dward Albee鈥檚 Occupant鈥� in 2002.
听
Making Movie Memories
听
Bancroft is best known for her film work after 鈥淭he Miracle Worker.鈥� She earned another 91看片网 Award nomination for 鈥淭he Pumpkin Eater鈥� (1964), playing an emotionally disturbed British wife and mother. She appeared as a suicidal housewife in 鈥淭he Slender Thread鈥� (1965) with Sidney Poitier and as a no-nonsense doctor in 鈥�7 Women鈥� (1966), directed by John Ford. Then came her signature, Oscar-nominated role in 鈥淭he Graduate鈥� (1967) opposite movie newcomer Dustin Hoffman.
听
Many more films followed in the 1970s and 1980s, among them the epic 鈥淵oung Winston鈥� (1972) with Robert Shaw; Neil Simon鈥檚 comedy 鈥淭he Prisoner of Second Avenue鈥� (1975) with Jack Lemmon; and the disaster epic 鈥淭he Hindenburg鈥� (also 1975). She earned two more Oscar nominations, playing an aging ballerina in 鈥淭he Turning Point鈥� (1977) with Shirley MacLaine and appearing as a combative mother superior in 鈥淎gnes of God鈥� (1985) with Jane Fonda. A memorable supporting role came with 鈥淭he Elephant Man鈥� (1980), in which she played an actress who welcomes the disfigured outsider into English society.
听
Bancroft fans are especially fond of 鈥淕arbo Talks鈥� (1984), in which she plays a dying woman determined to meet her favorite actress; 鈥溾�檔ight, Mother鈥� (1986) with Sissy Spacek, an adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play about a suicidal young woman; and 鈥�84 Charing Cross Road鈥� (1987) with Anthony Hopkins, a love story of sorts about bibliophiles separated by an ocean.
听
What About Mel?
听
Bancroft was famous long before Mel Brooks, whom she married in 1964, became a household name. The upswing in his career that began 1974 with the back-to-back hits 鈥淏lazing Saddles鈥� and 鈥淵oung Frankenstein鈥� came as Anne scaled back her work to have time at home with their son, Max.
听
Hollywood鈥檚 odd couple found a way to work together in 1976 when Mel starred in and directed 鈥淪ilent Movie.鈥� In the film he plays a nutty director planning a star-studded silent film and, naturally, one of the stars he tries to sign is Anne Bancroft. Playing herself, she comes to a nightclub in the company of four handsome young men 鈥� a sly nod to her Mrs. Robinson persona.
听
The couple were full-fledged co-stars in 鈥淭o Be or Not to Be鈥� (1983). The wartime comedy-drama cast them as husband-and-wife actors in Poland just before the German invasion in 1939. The movie opened with a typical Brooks gag that Bancroft ably pulled off: singing 鈥淪weet Georgia Brown鈥� in Polish. And there was a small role for son Max, too.
听
Some Kind of Character
听
When leading roles became scarce as she grew older, Bancroft turned to character parts in film and television. Among audience favorites were the films 鈥淗ow to Make an American Quilt鈥� with Winona Ryder and 鈥淗ome for the Holidays鈥� with Holly Hunter (both 1995) and 鈥淕.I. Jane鈥� (1997) with Demi Moore.
听
On television she appeared in the miniseries 鈥淛esus of Nazareth鈥� (1977) and 鈥淥ldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All鈥� (1994) and the TV movies 鈥淏roadway Bound鈥� (1992) and 鈥淗omecoming鈥� (1996). In 鈥淒eep in My Heart鈥� (1999), she portrayed a woman who gives up her mixed-race daughter, the product of a sexual assault 鈥� and won an Emmy. On a 1994 episode of 鈥淭he Simpson鈥� she gave voice to Homer鈥檚 psychiatrist.
听
A life beyond work
听
Bancroft turned down roles that encroached on her family time or that she didn鈥檛 think were right for her. Two examples were the mother in 鈥淭he Exorcist鈥� (1973) and the nurse in 鈥淥ne Flew Over the Cuckoo鈥檚 Nest鈥� (1976). She enjoyed her time away from work, antiquing and tending her garden and spending evenings with her husband and their friends.
听
When she died of cancer in 2005, Broadway dimmed its lights in her honor. Newsday remembered her as 鈥渙ne of the most versatile and resourceful actors of her generation鈥� while CNN called her 鈥渁 great, powerful, often joyful actress,鈥� a performer whom The New York Times complimented for appearing 鈥渂oth tough and vulnerable.鈥�
听
Protective of her privacy, Anne Bancroft was never fully comfortable with being a star but never stopped acting. The intellectual and emotional process 鈥� finding a personal connection and developing a characterization 鈥� continued to fascinate and challenge her.
鈥淭he pleasure and the thrill,鈥� she once said, 鈥渋s all in the doing.鈥�
Author of 鈥淎nne Bancroft: A Life鈥�
听
Those questioning the range of actress Anne Bancroft鈥檚 talents might have resolved any doubts in the fall of 1967. On Broadway, she led a celebrated revival of Lillian Hellman鈥檚 drama 鈥淭he Little Foxes,鈥� joining George C. Scott under Mike Nichols鈥� direction. Then her latest film, Nichols鈥� comedy 鈥淭he Graduate,鈥� opened across the country, her turn as the sexy, seductive Mrs. Robinson the highlight of what would become one of the most popular movies of all time.
听
Bancroft was not even at the midpoint of her five-decade career in theater, film, and television. Applause of a different kind would come during her forty-year marriage to writer and director Mel Brooks, their fans always mystified 鈥� and delighted 鈥� that the serious actress and the kooky comic could find happiness together.
听
Her performances often sparked praise, rooted as they were in a lifetime of studying the craft of acting and a dogged devotion to making a role come alive for audiences. 鈥淜now what creates a miracle?鈥� she remarked while appearing in 鈥淭he Miracle Worker,鈥� the play that brought her first widespread acclaim. "Hard work. That鈥檚 what 'Miracle Worker' teaches you.鈥�
听
Growing Up Italiano
听
Hard work was the rule at home for the future Mrs. Robinson. She was born Anna Marie Italiano in 1931 in the Bronx, New York, the second of three daughters of first-generation Italian-Americans. Her father was a pattern maker in the garment industry and her mother a Macy鈥檚 telephone operator. They had no connection at all to the theater, but the daughter they called Marie was the sort of child who could climb atop a picnic table at a large family gathering and sing for the crowd.
听
An interviewer later asked if she had acted as a teenager. 鈥淒id I act?鈥� she responded. 鈥淥f course I did. Did you ever know an Italian family in which there wasn鈥檛 acting going on every minute? I acted at home and at school.鈥�
听
At Christopher Columbus High School, Anne stood out among her Drama Club classmates with her ability to deliver lines naturally and take direction. 鈥淚 think she just loved to perform,鈥� her teacher, Elisa Coletti, recalled decades later. 鈥淚t came so naturally to her. She felt so good doing it.鈥�
听
The American 91看片网 of Dramatic Arts
听
Her high school teacher told the Italianos that their daughter showed promise for a theatrical career. Unsure of which program to send an application, Anne鈥檚 mother asked the man who sold the Encyclopedia Britannica for advice. He assured her that The American 91看片网 of Dramatic Arts, a subway ride away in Manhattan, was a good choice.
听
As a member of The 91看片网's Class of 1950, Anne made an impression on her teachers and her classmates. Not only did she have talent, she knew a career on the stage required dedication. 鈥淪he had such a healthy, instinctive, and intuitive work ethic,鈥� remembered a classmate, Harry Mastrogeorge. 鈥淪he worked harder than anybody I knew there at the time.鈥�
听
鈥淚t was the greatest school one could go to,鈥� Anne said later of The 91看片网. 鈥淵ou learned to be concentrated and focused.鈥�
听
She often spent her lunch hour alone in The 91看片网鈥檚 theatre, going over lines for an upcoming play. That caught the attention of faculty member Frances Fuller, who recommended young Anne to her husband, Worthington Miner, then in charge of the television department at CBS. An audition led to her first professional role 鈥� and a new name: Anne Marno, the first letters of Marie, the last letters of Italiano.
听
First Television, Then Hollywood
听
Appearing in dozens of episodes of anthology series like 鈥淪tudio One鈥� and other shows brought Anne, not yet 21, to the attention of Hollywood. After a screen test for 20th Century-Fox, Anne signed her first movie contract in 1951 and moved to Los Angeles. Studio boss Darryl F. Zanuck insisted she change her name 鈥� Marno was deemed too ethnic 鈥� and she chose Bancroft from a list he provided.
听
Fifteen films followed in just six years. In her first, 鈥淒on鈥檛 Bother to Knock鈥� (1952), the newly christened Anne Bancroft co-starred with Richard Widmark and another up-and-coming actress, Marilyn Monroe. More movies followed in 1953: the romantic adventure 鈥淭reasure of the Golden Condor鈥� with Cornel Wilde; the musical biopic 鈥淭onight We Sing鈥� with David Wayne; and a baseball movie, 鈥淭he Kid from Left Field鈥� with Dan Dailey.听
There was a stinker or two, particularly a 3-D thriller called 鈥淕orilla at Large鈥� (1954) in which Bancroft played a trapeze performer in a carnival terrorized by a runaway ape. One of the better movies she made during her first years in Hollywood was a noir titled 鈥淣ightfall鈥� (1956), directed by Jacques Tourneur. She also appeared in a few Westerns, one of them 鈥淲alk the Proud Land鈥� (1956) in which she played an Apache woman opposite Audie Murphy.
听
At Home on the Stage
听
Finding her film career in a rut, Bancroft took a chance on Broadway. She was relatively unknown to theater audiences when, in 1957, she was cast in her first Broadway show, 鈥淭wo for the Seesaw,鈥� directed by Arthur Penn. The star of the two-character play was Henry Fonda, by then a veteran of films and theater. Opening night in early 1958 changed everything for her: critics hailed Anne Bancroft as the find of the theater season, and she won her first Tony.
听
Her star on Broadway shone even brighter 鈥� she won another Tony 鈥� after the opening, in 1959, of 鈥淭he Miracle Worker,鈥� also directed by Penn. The film version of the story of teacher Annie Sullivan and her blind and deaf pupil, Helen Keller, marked Bancroft鈥檚 triumphant return to Hollywood in 1962 and brought her an Oscar. She didn鈥檛 turn her back on the theater, however, appearing in ten other productions over the course of her career. She was a rarity for the time, an actress who seemed to move easily from film to theater.
听
Her stage work, mostly in New York, included productions of 鈥淢other Courage and Her Children (1963) directed by Jerome Robbins; 鈥淭he Devils鈥� (1965) with fellow 91看片网 alumnus Jason Robards; 鈥淭he Skin of Our Teeth鈥� (1966) directed by Penn; 鈥淭he Little Foxes鈥� (1967); and 鈥淎 Cry of Players鈥� (1968) with Frank Langella and directed by Gene Frankel. She worked with Penn yet again in 鈥淕olda鈥� (1977), playing Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir. She last appeared on the stage in 鈥淓dward Albee鈥檚 Occupant鈥� in 2002.
听
Making Movie Memories
听
Bancroft is best known for her film work after 鈥淭he Miracle Worker.鈥� She earned another 91看片网 Award nomination for 鈥淭he Pumpkin Eater鈥� (1964), playing an emotionally disturbed British wife and mother. She appeared as a suicidal housewife in 鈥淭he Slender Thread鈥� (1965) with Sidney Poitier and as a no-nonsense doctor in 鈥�7 Women鈥� (1966), directed by John Ford. Then came her signature, Oscar-nominated role in 鈥淭he Graduate鈥� (1967) opposite movie newcomer Dustin Hoffman.
听
Many more films followed in the 1970s and 1980s, among them the epic 鈥淵oung Winston鈥� (1972) with Robert Shaw; Neil Simon鈥檚 comedy 鈥淭he Prisoner of Second Avenue鈥� (1975) with Jack Lemmon; and the disaster epic 鈥淭he Hindenburg鈥� (also 1975). She earned two more Oscar nominations, playing an aging ballerina in 鈥淭he Turning Point鈥� (1977) with Shirley MacLaine and appearing as a combative mother superior in 鈥淎gnes of God鈥� (1985) with Jane Fonda. A memorable supporting role came with 鈥淭he Elephant Man鈥� (1980), in which she played an actress who welcomes the disfigured outsider into English society.
听
Bancroft fans are especially fond of 鈥淕arbo Talks鈥� (1984), in which she plays a dying woman determined to meet her favorite actress; 鈥溾�檔ight, Mother鈥� (1986) with Sissy Spacek, an adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play about a suicidal young woman; and 鈥�84 Charing Cross Road鈥� (1987) with Anthony Hopkins, a love story of sorts about bibliophiles separated by an ocean.
听
What About Mel?听
Bancroft was famous long before Mel Brooks, whom she married in 1964, became a household name. The upswing in his career that began 1974 with the back-to-back hits 鈥淏lazing Saddles鈥� and 鈥淵oung Frankenstein鈥� came as Anne scaled back her work to have time at home with their son, Max.
听
Hollywood鈥檚 odd couple found a way to work together in 1976 when Mel starred in and directed 鈥淪ilent Movie.鈥� In the film he plays a nutty director planning a star-studded silent film and, naturally, one of the stars he tries to sign is Anne Bancroft. Playing herself, she comes to a nightclub in the company of four handsome young men 鈥� a sly nod to her Mrs. Robinson persona.
听
The couple were full-fledged co-stars in 鈥淭o Be or Not to Be鈥� (1983). The wartime comedy-drama cast them as husband-and-wife actors in Poland just before the German invasion in 1939. The movie opened with a typical Brooks gag that Bancroft ably pulled off: singing 鈥淪weet Georgia Brown鈥� in Polish. And there was a small role for son Max, too.
听
Some Kind of Character
听
When leading roles became scarce as she grew older, Bancroft turned to character parts in film and television. Among audience favorites were the films 鈥淗ow to Make an American Quilt鈥� with Winona Ryder and 鈥淗ome for the Holidays鈥� with Holly Hunter (both 1995) and 鈥淕.I. Jane鈥� (1997) with Demi Moore.
听
On television she appeared in the miniseries 鈥淛esus of Nazareth鈥� (1977) and 鈥淥ldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All鈥� (1994) and the TV movies 鈥淏roadway Bound鈥� (1992) and 鈥淗omecoming鈥� (1996). In 鈥淒eep in My Heart鈥� (1999), she portrayed a woman who gives up her mixed-race daughter, the product of a sexual assault 鈥� and won an Emmy. On a 1994 episode of 鈥淭he Simpson鈥� she gave voice to Homer鈥檚 psychiatrist.
听
A life beyond work
听
Bancroft turned down roles that encroached on her family time or that she didn鈥檛 think were right for her. Two examples were the mother in 鈥淭he Exorcist鈥� (1973) and the nurse in 鈥淥ne Flew Over the Cuckoo鈥檚 Nest鈥� (1976). She enjoyed her time away from work, antiquing and tending her garden and spending evenings with her husband and their friends.
听
When she died of cancer in 2005, Broadway dimmed its lights in her honor. Newsday remembered her as 鈥渙ne of the most versatile and resourceful actors of her generation鈥� while CNN called her 鈥渁 great, powerful, often joyful actress,鈥� a performer whom The New York Times complimented for appearing 鈥渂oth tough and vulnerable.鈥�
听
Protective of her privacy, Anne Bancroft was never fully comfortable with being a star but never stopped acting. The intellectual and emotional process 鈥� finding a personal connection and developing a characterization 鈥� continued to fascinate and challenge her.
鈥淭he pleasure and the thrill,鈥� she once said, 鈥渋s all in the doing.鈥�