Anita Gillette (née Luebben; born August 16, 1936 See also: ) is an American actress and singer. She has performed numerous roles on Broadway and 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 at the 32nd Tony Awards for her performance in Neil Simon's Chapter Two.

Early life Raised in Rossville, Maryland, Anita Gillette graduated from Kenwood High School and studied at the Peabody Conservatory.

Career

Television and film 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 Pyramid series. She also appeared with Robert Alda as a panelist on Fast Draw.

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 film. Before this transition, she had sizeable television roles as Nancy Baxter on the national run of The Baxters; Dr. W. Emily Hanover, Dr. R. Quincy's (Jack Klugman) second wife on the eighth and final season of Quincy, M.E. (having previously portrayed his deceased first wife Helen Quincy in a flashbackQuincy, M.E. episode "Promises to Keep", March 1, 1979); a role on Search for Tomorrow at the end of that series' long run; and the 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 made the transition 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 Roger Davis' (Jack Black) mother Mrs. Davis in Bob Roberts (1992), Robin Nickerson's (Mary-Louise Parker) mother Elaine Nickerson in Boys on the Side (1995), Jack Corcoran's (Bill Murray) mother Mrs. Corcoran in Larger than Life (1996), Renee Fitzpatrick's (Jennifer Aniston) mother Carol in She's The One (1996), and Mrs. McGee, the mother of Randy's (Bobby Cannavale) love interest Rusty McGee (Dash Mihok) in The Guru (2002). Her return to television in 2000's short-lived Normal, Ohio had her playing Joan Gamble, the mother of John Goodman's character William "Butch" Gamble.

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?. She made several appearances as Grandma Betty on The War at Home (2005–2007); as Lily Flynn, the mother of criminalist Catherine Willows (Marg Helgenberger), in four episodes of CSI (2005–2007/2012); and Margaret Lemon, the mother of Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) 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 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). She played Rose Fitzgerald in the 2012 film The Fitzgerald Family Christmas, directed by Edward Burns.

Theatre 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 at the 32nd Tony Awards in 1978. 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 for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play for her performance in Dan LeFranc's Of-Broadway play The Big Meal.

Filmography

Film +YearTitleRoleNotes1987MoonstruckMona1988Bum RapDrunk woman1991UndertowMarlene1992Bob RobertsMrs. Davis1995Boys on the SideElaine Nickerson1996Larger than LifeMrs. CorcoranShe's the OneCarol1998Charlie HobokenStepmother2001Dinner and a MovieHeddieEarly Bird SpecialBetty2002The GuruMrs. McGee2004Shall We Dance?Miss Mitzi2005The Great New WonderfulLainie 2006The Last AdamBetty AdamsHiding VictoriaAlthea Jaffery2012The Fitzgerald Family ChristmasRosie Fitzgerald

Television YearTitleRoleNotes1956The Edge of NightFranki 1961Route 66NancyEpisode: "The Thin White Line"1963The Ed Sullivan ShowSinger1 episode1968PinocchioBlue FairyTelevision film1970George M!Ethel Levey1971–1974Love, American StylePat O'Brien4 episodes1972Me and the ChimpLiz Reynolds13 episodes1973Bob & Carol & Ted & AliceAlice Henderson12 episodes1975A Matter of Wife... and DeathHelen BakerTelevision film1977All That GlittersNancy Langston2 episodesIt Happened at Lakewood ManorPeggy KenterTelevision film1979Trapper John, M.D.Teresa DuvallEpisode: "Taxi in the Rain"1979–1983Quincy, M.E.Dr. Emily Hanover / Helen Quincy17 episodes1980MarathonAnitaTelevision film1982Another WorldLoretta SheaEpisode #1.44981985BrassSister Mary ElizabethTelevision film 1986St. ElsewhereMaureen WestphallEpisode: "Time Heals: Part 1"Search for TomorrowWilma HollidayEpisode: "Finale"You Again?SueEpisode: "Henry the Kissinger"1987BrothersFlo WatersEpisode: "Love and Learn"1988–1989Almost GrownVi Long13 episodes1992All My ChildrenDee Dee Dunstin3 episodes1994Mad About YouClaire WickerEpisode: "When I'm Sixty-Four" 1996Law & OrderCookie CostelloEpisode: "Remand"ABC Afterschool SpecialAunt RitaEpisode: "Through Thick & Thin"The Summer of Ben TylerSuellenTelevision filmJulesHerky1997A Christmas MemoryCallie 2000FrasierMrs. WojadubakowskiEpisode: "Whine Club"Sex and the CityMrs. AdamsEpisode: "Hot Child in the City"Normal, OhioJoan Gamble12 episodes2001Law & Order: Criminal IntentLoretta MarlonEpisode: "Poison"2003Queens SupremeMrs. DeSipioEpisode: "Case by Case"2005–2007The War at HomeBetty5 episodes2005–2010CSI: Crime Scene InvestigationLily Flynn4 episodes2007Women's Murder ClubWinnie SpencerEpisode: "Grannies, Guns and Love Mints"2007, 201030 RockMargaret Lemon2 episodes2009Cold CaseGrace Stearns '09Episode: "The Crossing"2010Law & Order: Special Victims UnitJudge Sheila Tripler2 episodes2012Shake It UpEdie WildeEpisode: "Rock and Roll It Up" 2013Modern FamilyAnnieEpisode: "Goodnight Gracie"Blue BloodsColleen McGuireEpisode: "Bad Blood" 2015ElementaryClaire RenzigerEpisode: "A Stitch in Time"Public MoralsEileen2 episodes2016Chicago MedRuthEpisode: "Extreme Measures"2018–2019After ForeverFrannie7 episodes

References

External links

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