Nancy Walker

Nancy Walker (May 10, 1922 – March 25, 1992) was an American actress.

Related Topics:
May 10 - 1922 - March 25 - 1992 - American - Actress

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Born Anna Myrtle Swoyer in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1922 (although some sources cite 1921 as her year of birth), Nancy Walker made her Broadway debut in 1941 in Best Foot Forward, the movie version of which would also allow her to make her film debut in 1943.

Related Topics:
Philadelphia - Pennsylvania - Broadway - 1941 - 1943

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A diminutive 4 feet and 11 inches (1.50 m) tall and not conventionally pretty, she was difficult to cast; however, she continued acting throughout the 1940s and 1950s and was nominated for a Tony Award in 1955. Nancy co-starred with Phil Silvers in the 1960 musical Do Re Mi.

Related Topics:
1940s - 1950s - Tony Award - Phil Silvers - 1960 - Do Re Mi

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She achieved her greatest success playing Ida Morgenstern, the mother of Rhoda in Mary Tyler Moore and its spinoff Rhoda. She was a regular on the Rock Hudson detective series McMillan and Wife, portraying Mildred the maid. These two roles would bring her seven Emmy Award nominations. She also starrred in two short-lived sitcoms, "Blansky's Beauties", and "The Nancy Walker Show" during the 1976-77 season.

Related Topics:
Mary Tyler Moore - Spinoff - Rhoda - Rock Hudson - McMillan and Wife - Emmy Award

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Her later efforts brought her no success. In 1980, she made her directorial debut directing disco group Village People in Can't Stop the Music. The film was a resounding failure.

Related Topics:
1980 - Disco - Village People - Can't Stop the Music - Resounding failure

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She also played "Rosie", a waitress in a series of commercials for "Bounty" paper towels from the 70's up to the early 90's. She helped make the product's slogan "The Quicker Picker Upper" a common catchphrase.

Related Topics:
Slogan - Catchphrase

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One of her film roles was as the master criminal, posing as the deaf maid Yetta, in the all-star comedy spoof Murder by Death, which also starred Truman Capote, Peter Falk, Eileen Brennan, Peter Sellers, Dame Maggie Smith, Elsa Lanchester, Estelle Winwood, James Cromwell, James Coco, and Sir Alec Guinness.

Related Topics:
Murder by Death - Truman Capote - Peter Falk - Eileen Brennan - Peter Sellers - Maggie Smith - Elsa Lanchester - Estelle Winwood - James Cromwell - James Coco - Alec Guinness

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She received one final Emmy Award nomination for a guest role (as regular Estelle Getty's estranged sister, "Aunt Angela") on the NBC TV series The Golden Girls.

Related Topics:
Estelle Getty - NBC - The Golden Girls

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She died from lung cancer at the age of 69 in Studio City, California. At the time of her death, she was costarring in the sitcom "True Colors" (about an interracial blended family), playing the grandmother.

Related Topics:
Lung cancer - Studio City, California

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