Madeline Sherwood (1922-2016). Immortal as 'Sister Woman' or Mae Pollitt in the 1957 CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF, Sherwood was a Broadway actress of note, with some other good movie credits, as in SWEET BIRD OF YOUTH, PARRISH, HURRY SUNDOWN and THE FLYING NUN from 1967-1970. She had trained with Lee Strasberg at The Actors Studio and created the role of Abigail in Arthur Miller's THE CRUCIBLE in 1953. But she will always be the vicious, greedy Sister Woman whom Gooper (Jack Carson, right) married to please Big Daddy ...
Barry Howard (1937-2016). Barry was one of the stars of popular 80s British sit-com HI-DE-HI as the waspish Barry Stewart-Hargreaves, part of the holiday camp dance team with his equally supercilious wife Yvonne (Diane Holland). How we enjoyed watching them. He was also a great panto dame, often with that other camp sitcom star John Inman (Mr Humphries of ARE YOU BEING SERVED?). Barry had a long career on tv and stage - a great entertainment stalwart.
I had missed the news about Madeleine Sherwood. 93 is a good run but in this brutal year of almost constant performer loss it's quite saddening. Like a great many people in the States I'd venture to say my first knowledge of her was as Reverend Mother on The Flying Nun, a dignified placid presence up against Sister Betrille's never ending shenanigans. Sally Field has cited her as a mentor who lead her during the show's run and after to work on her craft and strive to learn and grow.
ReplyDeleteAs the years passed though it was always a pleasure to see her turn up, it was a bit of a shock when I first saw Cat on a Hot Tin Roof to realize that the awful braying Sister Woman was the serene lady from the series. A wonderful actress and from the obit I just read a feisty committed woman.