Monday, April 18, 2016

Anne Jackson Passes On

Anne Jackson, who often collaborated with husband Eli Wallach, died on April 12 2016 at the age of 90.

Anne Jackson was born on September 3 1926 in Millvale, Pennsylvania. She was seven years old when her family moved to Brooklyn. Anne Jackson trained at the Neighbourhood Playhouse and The Actor's Studio. She made her Broadway debut in 1944 in The New Moon. In the late Forties she appeared in such productions on Broadway as The Cherry Orchard, King Henry VIII, What Every Woman Knows, John Gabriel Borkman, The Last Dance, Summer and Smoke, and The Lady from the Sea. She met Eli Wallach when the two of them were appearing in Tennessee Williams’s This Property Is Condemned. They married in 1948.  Anne Jackson made her television debut in an episode of The Actor's Studio in 1949. In the late Forties she also appeared in an episode of Academy Theatre. She made her film debut in 1950 in So Young So Bad.

In the Fifties Anne Jackson guest starred on such shows as Danger, Armstrong Circle Theatre, Lux Video Theatre, Kraft Theatre, The Web, Suspense, The Doctor, Robert Montgomery Presents, The Philco-Goodyear Television Playhouse, and Studio One. She appeared in the films The Journey (1959) and Tall Story (1960). She appeared on Broadway in Arms and the Man, Never Say Never, Oh, Men! Oh, Women!, Middle of the Night, and Major Barbara.

In the Sixties Anne Jackson appeared on Broadway in Rhinoceros, Luv, The Exercise, and Inquest. On television she guest starred on such shows as General Electric Theatre, The Untouchables, The Defenders, and CBS Playhouse. She appeared in the films The Tiger Makes Out (1967), How to Save a Marriage and Ruin Your Life (1968), The Secret Life of an American Wife (1968), Zig Zag (1970), The Angel Levine (1970), Lovers and Other Strangers (1970), and Dirty Dingus Magee (1970).

In the Seventies Miss Jackson appeared on Broadway in Promenade, All! and The Waltz of the Toreadors. On television she guest starred on Gunsmoke, Marcus Welby M.D., Great Mysteries, Play for Today, and Rhoda. She appeared in the films Sticks and Bones (1973), Independence (1976), Nasty Habits (1977), The Bell Jar (1979), and The Shining (1980).

In the Eighties Anne Jackson was a regular on the show Everything's Relative. She guest starred on the shows The Equalizer, The Facts of Life, Out on a Limb, Worlds Beyond, and Highway to Heaven. She appeared in the films Sam's Son (1984), Dear Papa (1986), and Funny About Love (1990). She appeared on Broadway in Twice Around the Park and Cafe Crown.

In the Nineties she appeared in the films Folks! (1992), Man of the Century (1999), and Something Sweet (2000). She guest starred on the TV show Law & Order. She appeared on Broadway in Lost in Yonkers and The Flowering Peach. In the Naughts she guest starred on The Education of Max Bickford and ER. She appeared in the films Vote and Die: Liszt for President (2008) and Lucky Days (2008)

Anne Jackson was a very versatile actress who could play a wide variety of roles. Whether working with her husband Eli Wallach or without him, she had a gift for playing complicated women. She played Abigail Adams in Independence. In The Bell Jar she played Dr. Nolan, the psychiatrist who treats Esther Greenwood. In the Untouchables episode "Cooker in the Sky" she played the wife of a lackey for the mob who starts feeding Eliot Ness information about the mob's brewing operations. Throughout the years, on television, in film, and on stage. Anne Jackson gave a number of great performances. Even when the material was not particularly good, Anne Jackson always was.

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