- Bonnie Bartlett
Infobox Actor
imagesize =
caption = Bonnie Bartlett with husband William Daniels,
1987Emmy Awards
birthdate = birth date and age|1929|6|20
birthplace = Wisconsin Rapids,Wisconsin , USA
occupation =Film ,television actress
spouse =William Daniels (1951-present)
emmyawards = Outstanding Supporting Actress - Drama Series
1986 "St. Elsewhere "
1987 "St. Elsewhere "Bonnie Bartlett (born
June 20 ,1929 ) is an Americantelevision andfilm actress . Her career spans over 50 years, with her first major role being on a 1950s daytime drama, "Love of Life ". She is best known for her 1980sEmmy Award -winning role as Ellen Craig on the popular medical drama series "St. Elsewhere ". She and her husband, actorWilliam Daniels , who played her fictional husband Dr. Mark Craig, won 1986 Emmy Awards on the same night, becoming the first married couple to accomplish the feat sinceAlfred Lunt andLynn Fontanne in 1965. Lunt and Fontanne were the first to win Emmy Awards for a film, and Bartlett and Daniels were the first couple to win for a series.Biography
Early life
Bartlett was born in
Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin , the daughter of Carrie and E.E. Bartlett, [ [http://www.filmreference.com/film/89/Bonnie-Bartlett.html Bonnie Bartlett Biography (1929-) ] ] and raised inMoline, Illinois . Her father was an insurance salesman and a failed actor, and she was determined to live out his dream. Bartlett met her husband, actorWilliam Daniels atNorthwestern University . They were married onJune 30 ,1951 . In 1961, she gave birth to a son, who died just 24 hours later. They later adopted two children: Michael, who became an assistant director and stage manager in Los Angeles, and Robert, who became an artist and computer graphics designer based inNew York City .Career
Bartlett studied acting with
Lee Strasberg , and first got her start in television playing the heroine "Vanessa Dale Raven" on thesoap opera "Love of Life " from 1955 to 1959, replacing actressPeggy McCay . She then moved on to nighttime roles in the 1960s. Her most widely known role was as Ellen Craig on St. Elsewhere. Initially an infrequently recurring character, she took on greater prominence in the 1984–1985 season when the storyline included Ellen and Mark's marital problems. The storyline deepened in the next season when their son was killed and they had to raise their granddaughter. Bartlett won back-to-back Emmys, and was made a contract player. Further difficult material included Ellen and Mark's divorce and slow reconciliation following the loss of their granddaughter in a custody dispute with her birth mother.While her children were growing up, Bartlett was mostly a stay-at-home mother, accepting only small guest appearances on such programs as "
Gunsmoke ", "Rockford Files ", as well as a recurring role as Grace Edwards on "Little House on the Prairie" from 1974 to 1977. Her acting career picked up considerably in the 1980s, including the miniseries "V" and "North and South: Part II".Bartlett and husband
William Daniels madeEmmy Awards history in 1986 when they became just the second real-life married couple to win acting awards on the same night. Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne first accomplished the feat in 1965. Bartlett and Daniels won for their portrayals of Dr. Mark and Mrs. Ellen Craig on theTV series "St. Elsewhere ". They later acted together again when she played a college dean in a season of Daniels' ABC series, "Boy Meets World ".When "St. Elsewhere" ended in 1988, Bartlett's career moved to a wide variety of guest-starring appearances, including major roles on "
Wiseguy " as a tough and corrupt matriarch of a sewage business, as Andrea Drey; Secretary General of the United Earth Oceans Organization (UEO) on "seaQuest DSV ", on "Home Improvement " as Lucille Taylor(Tim "The Tool-Man" Taylor's mother), and on "ER (TV series) " as Ruth Katherine Greene (Dr. Mark Greene's mother).In the fall of 2000, she was an honoree at
Moline High School inMoline, Illinois . Her plaque sits in a viewing window in the auditorium lobby at the school. Bartlett is an active member ofScreen Actors Guild and currently serves on its National Board of Directors. [ [http://www.sag.org/node/5/ Screen Actors Guild National Board of Directors] ]Filmography
References
External links
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