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Eileen Heckart

Eileen Heckart

Known For Acting
Birthday Mar 29, 1919
Died Dec 31, 2001 (82)
Birthplace Columbus, Ohio, U.S.
Popularity 1 (history)
Updated Aug 09, 2025
Entry Date Apr 13, 2024
Links TMDb IMDb
Biography

Eileen Heckart was an American actress of stage, screen, and television. Born Anna Eileen Herbert, her career spanned nearly 60 years. She first became known for her role as schoolteacher Rosemary Sydney in the original 1953 cast of William Inge's play Picnic on Broadway. She won an Academy Award f ... or Best Supporting Actress for her performance as the overprotective mother of a blind adult son in Butterflies Are Free, a role she originated on Broadway before playing it in the film. She often played mothers, including Rocky Graziano's mother in Somebody Up There Likes Me; the mother of a murdered child in The Bad Seed; the elderly mother of an estranged son in the PBS production of the one-act play Save Me a Place at Forest Law; the overbearing mother of the detective portrayed by George Segal in No Way to Treat a Lady; the mother of reporter Jack Stein on the 1990s television sitcom Love & War; the mother of two separate characters on the daytime soap opera One Life to Live in the 1980s and 1990s; and the meddling mother of a jilted wife (played by Diane Keaton) in The First Wives Club, her last film role. She also had a recurring role on the 1970s sitcom, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, as Mary's Aunt Flo Meredith, a famous woman reporter, which she repeated on the subsequent spin-off series, Lou Grant. In addition to her Academy Award, she also won two Emmy Awards for Save Me a Place at Forest Lawn and Love & War, and a Golden Globe Award for The Bad Seed. She also received a special Tony Award for lifetime achievement in 2000, and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She made her final acting appearance in 2000 at age 80 in an off-Broadway production, The Waverly Gallery, in which she played the leading role of an elderly grandmother with Alzheimer's disease. Description above from the Wikipedia article Eileen Heckart, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known For

Filmography

The First Wives Club

The First Wives Club

1996

as Catherine MacDuggan

Ultimate Betrayal

Ultimate Betrayal

1994

as Sarah McNeil

Breathing Lessons

Breathing Lessons

1994

as Mabel

Stuck with Each Other

Stuck with Each Other

1989

as Fay Cass

Heartbreak Ridge

Heartbreak Ridge

1986

as Little Mary Jackson

Stephen King's Golden Tales

Stephen King's Golden Tales

1985

as Rose Pennywell

Games Mother Never Taught You

Games Mother Never Taught You

1982

as Martha Brewster

Joe Dancer: The Big Black Pill

Joe Dancer: The Big Black Pill

1981

as Sister Clara

F.D.R.: The Last Year

F.D.R.: The Last Year

1980

as Eleanor Roosevelt

White Mama

White Mama

1980

as Three Bag Lady

The Sorrows of Gin

The Sorrows of Gin

1979

as Rosemary

Suddenly, Love

Suddenly, Love

1978

as Mrs. Malloy

Sunshine Christmas

Sunshine Christmas

1977

as Bertha Hayden

Burnt Offerings

Burnt Offerings

1976

as Roz Allardyce

The Hiding Place

The Hiding Place

1975

as Katje

Zandy's Bride

Zandy's Bride

1974

as Ma Allan

Wedding Band

Wedding Band

1974

as Herman's Mother

The Victim

The Victim

1972

as Mrs. Hawkes

Butterflies Are Free

Butterflies Are Free

1972

as Mrs. Florence Baker

All the Way Home

All the Way Home

1971

as Aunt Hannah Lynch

The Tree

The Tree

1969

as Sally Dunning

No Way to Treat a Lady

No Way to Treat a Lady

1968

as Mrs. Brummel

Up the Down Staircase

Up the Down Staircase

1967

as Henrietta Pastorfield

My Six Loves

My Six Loves

1963

as Ethel

Heller in Pink Tights

Heller in Pink Tights

1960

as Mrs. Lorna Hathaway

A Doll's House

A Doll's House

1959

as Kristine

Hot Spell

Hot Spell

1958

as Fan

The Bad Seed

The Bad Seed

1956

as Hortense Daigle

Somebody Up There Likes Me

Somebody Up There Likes Me

1956

as Ma Barbella

Bus Stop

Bus Stop

1956

as Vera

Miracle in the Rain

Miracle in the Rain

1956

as Grace Ullman

The Little Foxes

The Little Foxes

1956

as Birdie

The Trip to Bountiful

The Trip to Bountiful

1953

as Jessie Mae Watts

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Organization Category Movie
Academy Awards Best Actress The Subject Was Roses Nominated
Television Credits

The 5 Mrs. Buchanans

as Mother Emma Buchanan

Episodes: 18

First Aired: Sep 24, 1994

Out of the Blue

as The Boss Angel

Episodes: 16

First Aired: Sep 09, 1979

Trauma Center

as Amy Decker

Episodes: 13

First Aired: Sep 22, 1983

Partners in Crime

as Jeanine

Episodes: 13

First Aired: Sep 27, 1984

Backstairs at the White House

as Eleanor Roosevelt

Episodes: 4

First Aired: Jan 29, 1979

The Fugitive

as Sister Veronica

Episodes: 3

First Aired: Sep 17, 1963

Home Improvement

as Elaine Jenkins

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 17, 1991

The F.B.I.

as Mrs. Creighton

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 19, 1965

Hawaii Five-O

as Agatha Henderson

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 20, 1968

The Cosby Show

as Mrs. Hickson

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 20, 1984

Highway to Heaven

as Helen Spencer

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 19, 1984

Naked City

as Mildred Pepper

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 30, 1958

Gunsmoke

as Hattie Silks

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 10, 1955

Hallmark Hall of Fame

as Birdie

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Dec 24, 1951

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

as Lucy Baldwin

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Oct 02, 1955

Tales from the Darkside

as Rose Pennywell

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 30, 1984

Switch

as Annie Warren

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 09, 1975

Lux Video Theatre

as Florie

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Oct 02, 1950

The New Breed

as Harriet Dawson

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Oct 03, 1961

Suspense

as Mollie

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Jan 06, 1949

Dr. Kildare

as Nurse Jenny Freesmith

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 27, 1961

Naked City

as Virginia Cort

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 30, 1958

Gunsmoke

as Athena Partridge Royce

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 10, 1955

Lux Video Theatre

as Miss Green

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Oct 02, 1950

The Streets of San Francisco

as Stella 'Stell' Charnovski

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 23, 1972

Studio One

as Evie Jackson

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Nov 07, 1948

Hallmark Hall of Fame

as Mabel

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Dec 24, 1951

Ellen

as Grandma

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Mar 29, 1994

Hallmark Hall of Fame

as Kristine Linde

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Dec 24, 1951

Hallmark Hall of Fame

as Aunt Hannah Lynch

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Dec 24, 1951

Play of the Week

as Myrtle

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Oct 12, 1959

Suspense

as Margaret Quartermain

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Jan 06, 1949

Suspense

as Mrs. Haskell

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Jan 06, 1949

The Philco Television Playhouse

as Jessie Mae

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Oct 03, 1948

The Philco Television Playhouse

as Ruthie

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Oct 03, 1948

Barnaby Jones

as Virginia Lennox / Steele

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Jan 28, 1973

Rhoda

as Aunt Lillian Fiedler

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 09, 1974

Banyon

as Mrs. Shaw

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 15, 1972

Annie McGuire

Episodes: 11

First Aired: Oct 26, 1988

Murder One

Episodes: 6

First Aired: Sep 20, 1995

Suspense

Episodes: 5

First Aired: Jan 06, 1949

The Philco Television Playhouse

Episodes: 3

First Aired: Oct 03, 1948

Alice

Episodes: 2

First Aired: Aug 31, 1976

Love & War

Episodes: 2

First Aired: Sep 21, 1992

Lou Grant

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 20, 1977

Trapper John, M.D.

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 23, 1979

Studio One

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Nov 07, 1948

Felony Squad

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 12, 1966

Ben Casey

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Oct 02, 1961

CBS Playhouse

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Dec 08, 1966

Flying High

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Sep 29, 1978

The Ed Sullivan Show

as Self

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Jun 20, 1948

Tony Awards

as Self - Winner

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Apr 01, 1956

Kraft Television Theatre

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Oct 15, 1953

The Mike Douglas Show

as Self

Episodes: 1

First Aired: Dec 11, 1961

Popularity Metrics

Popularity History


Year Month Avg Max Min
2024 6 7 11 5
2024 7 14 25 6
2024 8 12 31 5
2024 9 9 20 3
2024 10 4 13 1
2024 11 3 9 1
2024 12 5 8 3
2025 1 8 22 3
2025 2 4 10 1
2025 3 4 8 1
2025 4 1 2 1
2025 5 2 3 1
2025 6 1 1 1
2025 7 0 1 0
2025 8 2 10 0
2025 9 0 0 0
2025 10 0 1 0

Trending Rank


Year Month Avg Rank Max Rank
No trending metrics available.

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