Cloris Leachman is DEAD to me
Robert Spencer 
She died last night at the age of 94.
Her Phyllis Lindstrom and Frau Blucher were my two favorite performances.
| by Anonymous | reply 368 | March 30, 2021 8:36 PM |
My mother always found her character of Phyllis , annoying and unfunny but my mother thought she was HILARIOUS in her Mel Brooks roles such as Young Frankenstein and High Anxiety.
| by Anonymous | reply 2 | January 27, 2021 10:03 PM |
TMZ article confirming her death.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 3 | January 27, 2021 10:04 PM |
Mitch gets to live but Cloris is taken from us, Not Fair!!!
| by Anonymous | reply 4 | January 27, 2021 10:05 PM |
She was truly immortalized in Kiss Me Deadly
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 5 | January 27, 2021 10:06 PM |
She was outrageous on Malcolm In the Middle; "Hide your shame, whore!" (said to her daughter) RIP
| by Anonymous | reply 7 | January 27, 2021 10:07 PM |
Another one bites the dust!
| by Anonymous | reply 9 | January 27, 2021 10:09 PM |
Wasn't she kind of a cunt?
| by Anonymous | reply 10 | January 27, 2021 10:10 PM |
Cast of The Facts Of Life must be devestated
| by Anonymous | reply 11 | January 27, 2021 10:10 PM |
LOVED her at Nurse Diesel
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 12 | January 27, 2021 10:10 PM |
Apparently Cloris was kind of batshit and often drunk. I still always had a soft spot for her.
The Last Picture Show was a brilliant performance. I liked her in a lot of things she did, the comedies and so forth, but she was brilliant as Ruth Popper. Unforgettable.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 13 | January 27, 2021 10:11 PM |
John Mahoney hated Cloris. He said she was terrible to work with and he was pretty easy-going.
| by Anonymous | reply 14 | January 27, 2021 10:11 PM |
I loved her in Raising Hope.
| by Anonymous | reply 16 | January 27, 2021 10:12 PM |
Ida was the best character on Malcolm in the Middle. I loved the episode where it turned out she had an entire cupboard full of presents she'd refused to give people out of spite.
| by Anonymous | reply 18 | January 27, 2021 10:14 PM |
Loved her in Young Frankenstein!!
| by Anonymous | reply 19 | January 27, 2021 10:15 PM |
Didn't she cause some escandalo! on Dancing With the Has-beens?
| by Anonymous | reply 21 | January 27, 2021 10:18 PM |
She was the best part of Rhoda’s wedding.
| by Anonymous | reply 22 | January 27, 2021 10:19 PM |
Her son Morgan Englund was quite a hottie in his soap days on Guiding Light. In a recent interview he was pretty blunt describing her as a highly negligent mother.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 23 | January 27, 2021 10:20 PM |
Somewhere in Los Angeles, Betty White is smiling.
| by Anonymous | reply 24 | January 27, 2021 10:20 PM |
A well deserved Oscar for the Last Picture Show. That's an excellent film full of good performances that hold up.
| by Anonymous | reply 26 | January 27, 2021 10:20 PM |
Are Rhoda and Mary invited to the funeral?
| by Anonymous | reply 27 | January 27, 2021 10:21 PM |
Are Betty and Ed the only surviving MTM cast members? Is Joyce Boulifant still with us?
| by Anonymous | reply 28 | January 27, 2021 10:21 PM |
Where’s that clip of her being a cunt to Pia Zadora?
| by Anonymous | reply 29 | January 27, 2021 10:21 PM |
Nurse Blucher, dead? Phyllis, too?
What a long, illustrious career Ms. Leachman enjoyed! Thanks for inviting us aboard the ride. Now rest. Peace.
| by Anonymous | reply 30 | January 27, 2021 10:21 PM |
"You may KILL Thorn-Dyke !!!"
| by Anonymous | reply 31 | January 27, 2021 10:21 PM |
"Stay CLOSE to ze candles...ze stairs CAN be treacherous !!"
| by Anonymous | reply 33 | January 27, 2021 10:23 PM |
R28, Gavin MacLeod is still living also.
| by Anonymous | reply 34 | January 27, 2021 10:24 PM |
The last I saw her, she did a funny guest turn in the "Mad About You" revival last year. RIP.
| by Anonymous | reply 35 | January 27, 2021 10:25 PM |
And yes, Joyce Bulifant is also still alive.
| by Anonymous | reply 36 | January 27, 2021 10:26 PM |
What about Carlton, our doorman?
| by Anonymous | reply 37 | January 27, 2021 10:27 PM |
I’ll never forget my friend claiming that in the Studio 54 days she was there once getting gang banged in one of the VIP Lounges.
| by Anonymous | reply 39 | January 27, 2021 10:29 PM |
I chose her, Asner and White in our death pool in (I think it was) December. So what do I win?
| by Anonymous | reply 40 | January 27, 2021 10:29 PM |
Joan Collins had a passionate affair with her husband, George Englund.
| by Anonymous | reply 41 | January 27, 2021 10:30 PM |
As Phyllis on The Mary Tyler Moore Show where it all really started for her.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 42 | January 27, 2021 10:30 PM |
She disdained fat people and could be quite mean about it.
| by Anonymous | reply 43 | January 27, 2021 10:31 PM |
R42, Cloris played the mother on "Lassie" before June Lockhart.
| by Anonymous | reply 44 | January 27, 2021 10:32 PM |
With her stance on fat people, she should be a DL legend if she isn't already.
| by Anonymous | reply 45 | January 27, 2021 10:33 PM |
r41 Yes, Joan does get around.
| by Anonymous | reply 47 | January 27, 2021 10:34 PM |
She won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in The Last Picture Show.
| by Anonymous | reply 48 | January 27, 2021 10:34 PM |
Serious revelation.... Glenn Close and Cloris Leachman are not the same person.
| by Anonymous | reply 49 | January 27, 2021 10:34 PM |
I would like to condole her son Morgan. With my mouth.
| by Anonymous | reply 50 | January 27, 2021 10:36 PM |
Lorna Luft said she was always looking out for Joey and her when they were kids and Judy and Cloris were neighbors in LA. Cloris took them in frequently and made sure they were well fed and taken care of.
According to Cloris, Lorna asked her to adopt them.
| by Anonymous | reply 51 | January 27, 2021 10:36 PM |
[quote]How did she die?
She was fighting an oil rig fire in the Gulf of Mexico.
She was 94, Rose!
| by Anonymous | reply 52 | January 27, 2021 10:37 PM |
R32 Juvenile Diabetes while fighting an oil rig fire in the Persian Gulf.
| by Anonymous | reply 53 | January 27, 2021 10:38 PM |
R48, That Oscar should have been mine.
| by Anonymous | reply 54 | January 27, 2021 10:38 PM |
Two DataLounge icons together in a CLASSIC scene from The Mary Tyler Moore Show:
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 55 | January 27, 2021 10:39 PM |
IIRC all of Cloris' five children turned out to be gay
But with a mother like Cloris, how could they be anything but fabulous!
| by Anonymous | reply 58 | January 27, 2021 10:40 PM |
She is fine and sends her love!
| by Anonymous | reply 59 | January 27, 2021 10:40 PM |
Isn’t ‘Cloris’ an unusual name?
| by Anonymous | reply 60 | January 27, 2021 10:40 PM |
R43 That cunt can kiss every part of my fat ass.
| by Anonymous | reply 61 | January 27, 2021 10:40 PM |
Cloris and Valerie were two of the best characters during the early years of the MTM series
| by Anonymous | reply 62 | January 27, 2021 10:41 PM |
[quote] Nurse Blucher, dead?
No, it was Frau Blucher, and Nurse Diesel.
If the funeral is by invite only they need to put on the invitations
"THOSE WHO ARE TARDY DO NOT GET FRUIT CUP"!
| by Anonymous | reply 63 | January 27, 2021 10:41 PM |
I remember it rhymes with a female body part....
| by Anonymous | reply 64 | January 27, 2021 10:42 PM |
Cloris may have been quirky and self-involved but she was wonderful - a real gay icon
| by Anonymous | reply 65 | January 27, 2021 10:42 PM |
Short form of "clitoris" R60
| by Anonymous | reply 66 | January 27, 2021 10:42 PM |
Cloris, Paul Lynde, and Charlotte Rae were friends at Northwestern. She and Charlotte were roommates in the West 70s when they left Chicago.
| by Anonymous | reply 67 | January 27, 2021 10:44 PM |
I always thought she probably engaged in a bit of on & off lesbianism.
| by Anonymous | reply 68 | January 27, 2021 10:44 PM |
She seems to have been... eccentric, to say the least. But she left behind a hell of a lot of wonderful performances.
| by Anonymous | reply 69 | January 27, 2021 10:45 PM |
I was MOLESTED!
P.S. But Cloris was a mother to us when Judy was unconscious
| by Anonymous | reply 70 | January 27, 2021 10:46 PM |
I saw her in the Hal Prince production of SHOWBOAT. She was a brilliant Parthy,.
| by Anonymous | reply 71 | January 27, 2021 10:46 PM |
No mention for her portrayal of Anthony Freemont’s mother in Twilight Zone’s “It’s a Good Life”?
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 72 | January 27, 2021 10:48 PM |
Phyllis: [to Mary and Rhoda] I thought I'd see how you swingin' singles spend your evenings!
Rhoda: They're not much different than yours. We sit around at night wondering what it'd be like to have a happy marriage.”
— Phyllis Lindstrom, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Season 2: . . . Is a Friend in Need
| by Anonymous | reply 73 | January 27, 2021 10:48 PM |
R28 at this moment I'm watching Joyce Bulifant in a 1964 "Perry Mason" on Family Entertainment TV. She's been accuses of murder, but didn't do it.
| by Anonymous | reply 74 | January 27, 2021 10:50 PM |
Someone used to post the story about Cloris and a child actor on set during a break. The kid actor had terrible acne and was eating pepperoni pizza. Cloris stormed over to the kid, picked up a slice of pizza and yelled in front of everyone "THIS is why you have THOSE!" pointing at the kids zits.
James Coco said she was the worst person he ever worked with.
| by Anonymous | reply 76 | January 27, 2021 10:50 PM |
I'll never forget that Cloris as Phyllis Lindstrom, saying in the early 1970s on national TV on hearing her brother was gay, "Oh thank God!"
| by Anonymous | reply 77 | January 27, 2021 10:50 PM |
Plus she played the grandmother to Billy Mumy’s daughter in the updated Twilight Zome ep “It’s Still a Good Life.”
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 78 | January 27, 2021 10:50 PM |
She was extremely talented and versatile in her performances -- she could do comedy and drama, bit parts and leads -- and she deserved every award she got.
| by Anonymous | reply 79 | January 27, 2021 10:50 PM |
[quote] Cast of The Facts Of Life must be devestated
I’m sure they would be if anyone knew what that was.
| by Anonymous | reply 80 | January 27, 2021 10:50 PM |
[quote]at this moment I'm watching Joyce Bulifant in a 1964 "Perry Mason" on Family Entertainment TV. She's been accuses of murder, but didn't do it.
But Buifant did shit in Della's purse
| by Anonymous | reply 81 | January 27, 2021 10:51 PM |
What did Helen Hayes think of Joyce Bulifant?
| by Anonymous | reply 82 | January 27, 2021 10:54 PM |
Cloris Leachman!!! Peace be Still, I love her! I had written a sitcom for us a few years back after the L Word. She and her family were was sooo wonderful. Our first meeting was sushi and Roses. She fed me dinner and was hilarious.
- Pam Grier
A picture from the last time I saw you. Always beautiful. Nothing I could say would top the enormity of my love for you. Until we meet again darling.
- Ed Asner
| by Anonymous | reply 83 | January 27, 2021 10:55 PM |
Phyllis Lindstrom: For the past two years I've been teaching a course, showing mothers how to relate to their children.
Mary Richards: Phyllis, isn't that a ceramics course you teach?
Phyllis Lindstrom: They [bold]think [/bold]it's a ceramics class.”
| by Anonymous | reply 84 | January 27, 2021 10:56 PM |
"James Coco said she was the worst person he ever worked with."
Worse than Rita Moreno?
| by Anonymous | reply 85 | January 27, 2021 10:57 PM |
Are you implying she was a Datalounger , r43 ?
| by Anonymous | reply 86 | January 27, 2021 10:57 PM |
R66, her younger sister Claiborne was known as Claiborne Cary on stage. . She died in the mid-2000s.
| by Anonymous | reply 87 | January 27, 2021 10:58 PM |
My father’s favourite movie was The Last Picture Show, so that’s where I know her from. She was very spry on Dancing With The Stars
| by Anonymous | reply 88 | January 27, 2021 10:59 PM |
So Betty's the last female standing from The Mary Tyler Moore show and the last Golden Girl standing as well.
Wow.
| by Anonymous | reply 89 | January 27, 2021 11:01 PM |
Phyllis: Believe it or not, I too once had a feeling of inadequacy.
Rhoda: Oh, no. We're not going to hear about your honeymoon again, are we?
| by Anonymous | reply 90 | January 27, 2021 11:03 PM |
I met her in the 80’s and she was “kooky” back then too. RIP.
| by Anonymous | reply 91 | January 27, 2021 11:10 PM |
Such sad news—Cloris was insanely talented. She could make you laugh or cry at the drop of a hat. Always such a pleasure to have on set. Every time I hear a horse whinny I will forever think of Cloris’ unforgettable Frau Blücher. She is irreplaceable, and will be greatly missed.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 94 | January 27, 2021 11:17 PM |
[quote] Wasn't she kind of a cunt?
[quote] She disdained fat people and could be quite mean about it.
I remember her giving Frank DeCaro a bad time for being overweight.
On his radio show, he was fawning all over her and trying to discuss her career and all she wanted to do was harangue him about being fat. I felt that, if she wanted to do that, she could've done it during a break or after the show, but to fat-shame him live, on his own show, especially when he was so obviously a big fan (no pun intended) was indeed very cunty of her.
| by Anonymous | reply 95 | January 27, 2021 11:19 PM |
I don't usually give much of a shit about celebrity deaths, but this one makes me sad. She was talented and hilarious. Ninety-four and still working until recently is a great run, though!
| by Anonymous | reply 96 | January 27, 2021 11:19 PM |
As a young faglet I thought she was the height of elegance as the church lady in North Avenue Irregulars, who wanted to fuck the Grandpa from The Gilmore Girls.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 97 | January 27, 2021 11:20 PM |
How did the OP know this before any media outlet reported it? Does the OP work at the morgue or is a cop who showed up on the scene? Her murderer?
| by Anonymous | reply 98 | January 27, 2021 11:22 PM |
Young Cloris, a wonderful actor. RIP
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 99 | January 27, 2021 11:22 PM |
[quote] She's been accuses of murder, but didn't do it.
Oh yes she did. Don’t believe those doe eyes.
| by Anonymous | reply 100 | January 27, 2021 11:22 PM |
I like the film they watch in The Office US where she's having a torrid affair with Jack Black and he says, "I don't care what my friends think... I don't care what your mom thinks!"
| by Anonymous | reply 101 | January 27, 2021 11:22 PM |
She was very talented, and often very entertaining to watch, but yeah, apparently not the nicest person.
| by Anonymous | reply 102 | January 27, 2021 11:23 PM |
Wikipedia says she was the witch in the My Little Pony movie
| by Anonymous | reply 103 | January 27, 2021 11:24 PM |
Just saw her featured in an FE-TV before they were stars Perry Mason from 1966. She was wonderful.
| by Anonymous | reply 104 | January 27, 2021 11:24 PM |
Her Oscar winning performance...
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 105 | January 27, 2021 11:25 PM |
I feel like I have a million of these stories from my days waiting tables all over LA. But Cloris' daughter used to perform at a bar I worked at for a brief second. Cloris (and Mindy Cohn of all people) would come in and watch the set. While the daughter was a fucking horrible human, Cloris (and Mindy) were absolutely wonderful.
| by Anonymous | reply 106 | January 27, 2021 11:26 PM |
RIP Cloris. It's weird, I really liked her as Phyllis when I was a young kid watching old MTM reruns. I thought she was hilarious. Recently, however, during lockdown, I watched a couple of episodes for old time's sake, one of which had her character in it. She was excruciating to watch. Really awful and not at all funny. Tastes change.
She was great in Last Picture Show however.
| by Anonymous | reply 107 | January 27, 2021 11:26 PM |
This is terrible. Worst news since Sam the Lion died.
| by Anonymous | reply 108 | January 27, 2021 11:29 PM |
[quote] She was excruciating to watch. Really awful and not at all funny. Tastes change.
Apparently for the worse.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 109 | January 27, 2021 11:29 PM |
She received widespread criticism in the 1970s after saying on a TV talk show (Gary Collins) that all fat people should be put to death. Her career survived only because Valerie Harper defended her, saying she was a good person and didn't mean what she said.
| by Anonymous | reply 111 | January 27, 2021 11:31 PM |
[quote]Are Betty and Ed the only surviving MTM cast members? Is Joyce Boulifant still with us?
I'm still alive, bitches!
| by Anonymous | reply 112 | January 27, 2021 11:36 PM |
[quote] I watched a couple of episodes for old time's sake, one of which had her character in it. She was excruciating to watch.
IMHO, the problem with those spinoffs were that anything more than a few minutes with characters like Rhoda and Phyllis began to grate on one's nerves. On MTM, Mary Richards was the kind of person you wanted to be friends with, to have , to have lunch with. Phyllis and Rhoda would've been exhausting to have as friends.
On The Mary Tyler Moore Show, her eccentric friends and co-workers would pop in, deliver a zinger or two and leave. The episodes that centered on Lou, Sue Ann, Ted, Rhoda, or Phyllis were interesting because we saw them through Mary's eyes. But a weekly diet of Rhoda and Phyllis weren't all that much fun.
Carl Reiner was smart never to have spun off a show called MILLIE or SALLY.
| by Anonymous | reply 113 | January 27, 2021 11:36 PM |
I was attending a film festival several years back with a film I'd made and Cloris was being feted there with some lifetime achievement award. I had become chummy with the organizers pretty quickly and they all tried to drag me over to meet her but I refused to. I didn't need her drunk cunt to point out in front of everyone that I was fat.
I don't know how Mindy Cohn could stand her..
| by Anonymous | reply 114 | January 27, 2021 11:36 PM |
If only she had eaten meat, she could have lived to be 95.
| by Anonymous | reply 115 | January 27, 2021 11:36 PM |
Probably the best character actress of all time. Rest In Peace Cloris. Thank you for many decades of entertainment. Btw did anyone call it in the 021 death thread?
| by Anonymous | reply 116 | January 27, 2021 11:37 PM |
She was also the original voice of Mrs Glick in The Simpsons
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 117 | January 27, 2021 11:37 PM |
Two questions: Was CL really booted out of an EST seminar for interrupting the trainer? And didn't Jimmy Coco say the same thing about Linda Lavin?
| by Anonymous | reply 118 | January 27, 2021 11:37 PM |
R111, Katharine Hepburn told Morley Safer on "60 Minutes" in 1979 that elderly patients in nursing homes would be better off if they were shot to death.
| by Anonymous | reply 119 | January 27, 2021 11:38 PM |
My brother always called her Clitoris Leachman. So sad she died. She was a good girl. RIP Clitoris.
| by Anonymous | reply 120 | January 27, 2021 11:39 PM |
Goodnight, sweet Cloris; may flights of gay angels sing thee to thy rest.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 121 | January 27, 2021 11:39 PM |
i really liked her but DID NOT like the Phyllis character at all!
| by Anonymous | reply 122 | January 27, 2021 11:40 PM |
R113, The funniest character on "Phyllis" was Mother Dexter.
| by Anonymous | reply 123 | January 27, 2021 11:40 PM |
Speaking of r121 -- didn't someone put together a "trailer" for DL accompanied by the "Phyllis" theme?
| by Anonymous | reply 124 | January 27, 2021 11:41 PM |
Um r43 she starred on the Facts of Life where there were all fat.
| by Anonymous | reply 125 | January 27, 2021 11:41 PM |
R120, My brother called her Clorox Bleachman.
| by Anonymous | reply 126 | January 27, 2021 11:41 PM |
I don't care if she was a bitch I'm going to miss her.
| by Anonymous | reply 127 | January 27, 2021 11:42 PM |
[quote]IMHO, the problem with those spinoffs were that anything more than a few minutes with characters like Rhoda and Phyllis began to grate on one's nerves.
This has happened so many times. Grady from "Sanford & Son" Florence from "The Jeffersons" Flo from "Alice" The Ropers from "Three's Company". The list of failed sidekick sitcoms is long.
| by Anonymous | reply 129 | January 27, 2021 11:42 PM |
R126 That's good. I totally wanna eat your ass.
| by Anonymous | reply 130 | January 27, 2021 11:43 PM |
I supposed it was noted somewhere in these pages, but last September was the FIFTIETH anniversary of the debut of THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW.
Can you think of one cultural touchstone from 1920 that was even remotely relevant in 1970? I certainly don't remember old people in 1970 sitting around fondly remembering the films of ZaSu Pitts and Vilma Bánky.
| by Anonymous | reply 131 | January 27, 2021 11:43 PM |
Cloris's Oscar win. She told Howard Stern that she and Gene Hackman hooked up after the show.
She was really beautiful and vivacious that night.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 132 | January 27, 2021 11:45 PM |
back in that era when i was a silly barfly, there was a regular gay there who reminded me of Cloris and another friend of mine concurred and we referred to him as Cloris for at least a decade. It was an uncanny resemblance if you can even imagine. I have long since lost track of that friend but i am certain upon hearing of her death he will reflect upon the gay doppelganger we so named!!
| by Anonymous | reply 133 | January 27, 2021 11:46 PM |
I can't picture Gene Hackman having sex.
| by Anonymous | reply 134 | January 27, 2021 11:47 PM |
[quote]Can you think of one cultural touchstone from 1920 that was even remotely relevant in 1970?
Hello!
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 135 | January 27, 2021 11:48 PM |
r133 It would be more interesting is she hooked up with Raquel.
| by Anonymous | reply 136 | January 27, 2021 11:49 PM |
Susan Dey is coming to the microphones 🎙 to read a statement from Beth. The only girl 👧🏼 in the world allowed to address adults by their first names.
| by Anonymous | reply 138 | January 27, 2021 11:50 PM |
Someone mentioned her performance in the ultimate film noir Kiss Me, Deadly where she has an interesting feminist conversation with Mike Hammer. She also appears in Cukor's The Chapman Report (1962) and is in Lovers and Other Strangers (1970) playing the bride's mother and Bea Arthur plays the groom's mother.
| by Anonymous | reply 139 | January 27, 2021 11:51 PM |
I don't know about the "fat people should be put to death" remark, which sounds a little hard to believe. But Leachman herself recounted in her autobiography how she once suggested on Johnny Carson that we should have fat catchers, kind of like dog catchers, to round up fat people on the streets and take them in for treatment. Of course, this caused quite a stir and friends even advised her to hire security in case an irate fat person tried to kill her. It's about the most DL-ish incident I've ever heard of.
Cloris also admitted that she'd become one of the fat people the catchers needed to round up. I think she actually believed her suggestion was not *totally* cunty, but could be a great public service. Obviously, that's nuts, but also hilarious.
| by Anonymous | reply 140 | January 27, 2021 11:51 PM |
I remember many years ago she was on some tribute show to the music of Richard Rodgers (she had been a replacement Nellie Forbush in "South Pacific" on Broadway), and her singing was really impressive. She also did a version of the Gershwin musical "Of Thee I Sing" opposite Carroll O'Connor on tv, too. Great character actress, could be comedy, drama -- she on old Hitchcock episodes, had a small part in "Butch Cassidy", MTM show, her own "Phyllis", some tv movies she won Emmys for, was a cutup and still a very good mover and dancer a few years ago on "Dancing With The Stars". Plus her wonderful Oscar-winning performance in "Last Picture Show"; I believe director Peter Bogdanovich said the last scene of that film was the reason he wanted to make the film in the first place. She really delivered there, as usual. Plus the Mel Brooks films! Frau Blucher (neigh!). RIP.
| by Anonymous | reply 142 | January 27, 2021 11:53 PM |
I really thought she was hilarious on Malcolm in the Middle. Disappointing to hear that she was a bitch in real life.
About her being a terrible mother, R23 - in this interview her daughter is raving about Cloris making a different vegetarian gourmet meal for each of her 5 kids at night. I'm guessing the son's version is probably closer to the truth though.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 143 | January 27, 2021 11:53 PM |
[quote] I can't picture Gene Hackman having sex.
For those of us who grew up with mandatory showers in high school, young Hackman looks like the geeky, scrawny guy who has an underdeveloped body but a big dick
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 144 | January 27, 2021 11:54 PM |
Phyllis (regarding Rhoda's Fabulous Ms. Hempel's regalia): Boy, they sure do make a fuss about second place!
Rhoda: [bold]I WON, COOKIE.[/bold]
| by Anonymous | reply 146 | January 27, 2021 11:57 PM |
[quote] Susan Dey is coming to the microphones 🎙 to read a statement from Beth. The only girl 👧🏼 in the world allowed to address adults by their first names.
Turn in your gay card, r137!
It's [bold]BESS[/bold] Lindstrom.
| by Anonymous | reply 147 | January 27, 2021 11:59 PM |
(Sorry, r137: I meant r138, not you!)
| by Anonymous | reply 148 | January 28, 2021 12:00 AM |
When she came back to Northwestern for the opening of the new Theatre building, one of the faculty, a lickspittle Uriah Heep of a Professor (he was known as Dr. Blob) came up to her and treated her like a long-lost friend (I think they may have been undergrads at the same time). After he left, she turned to her student escort and said, “Who was that odd little man?”
I hate her meanness towards fat people (yes, I am one), but I love her for that story.
She was a one-of-kind talent, both in comedy and drama. I wonder if Mary Martin coached her privately to prepare her For Bush?
| by Anonymous | reply 149 | January 28, 2021 12:03 AM |
Gene Hackman could clean up nicely when he wanted to. He was the 1970s version of a "daddy".
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 150 | January 28, 2021 12:03 AM |
Phyllis: Lars only married me because he couldn't get her. I was his second choice—his consolation prize. He wanted Miss America; he had to settle for Miss Runner-Up. He wanted filet mignon; he had to settle for ...
Audrey Dexter: Hamburger Helper?
| by Anonymous | reply 151 | January 28, 2021 12:04 AM |
It's Clitoris Leachman, people
| by Anonymous | reply 152 | January 28, 2021 12:06 AM |
I wonder what Joan Collins will have to say if anything. Joan tried her best to steal George Englund away from Cloris, even phoning her up and telling her George was in love with her and they see each other every day. But Englund stayed with Cloris, who besides Oscar level acting (something Joan also never had) was a good mother with a banging body and more interesting than most Hollywood folk.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 153 | January 28, 2021 12:09 AM |
When they announced the Redford-Farrow "The Great Gatsby" I had hoped that Cloris would have been cast as Myrtle.
| by Anonymous | reply 155 | January 28, 2021 12:11 AM |
Why did Joan Collins want Englund? She could have had any man. Englund wasn't that good looking.
| by Anonymous | reply 156 | January 28, 2021 12:13 AM |
Wow, I have never heard of this Cloris Leachman vs. fat people thing. Hilarious. A total DLer.
This article reads as satire!
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 157 | January 28, 2021 12:14 AM |
Cloris gives her opinion of celebrities.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 158 | January 28, 2021 12:25 AM |
She certainly had a long and varied career. Fun fact: She was the first Ruth Martin on "Lassie." She was canned after one season and replaced by June Lockhart.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 159 | January 28, 2021 12:30 AM |
Unless I missed something, are we really at 160 posts and no one has mentioned the tv movie *Someone I Touched* (1975), in which Cloris not only acted the role of the VD-ridden wife, but also sang the theme song??? DL is slipping.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 160 | January 28, 2021 12:31 AM |
Nobody could recoil with Cloris's style and verve.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 162 | January 28, 2021 12:33 AM |
R160 The only thing slipping is your whore of a mama's IUD that should have prevented the abomination of your birth.
| by Anonymous | reply 165 | January 28, 2021 12:37 AM |
From Ed Asner:
A picture from the last time I saw you. always beautiful. Nothing I could say would top the enormity of my love for you. Until we meet again darling.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 166 | January 28, 2021 12:43 AM |
[quote] It's Clitoris Leachman, people
Gosh, r152, I'm so glad you made that joke because the 20 or so times previous posters made it just weren't quite enough.
| by Anonymous | reply 168 | January 28, 2021 12:47 AM |
My mother grew up with Cloris in Des Moines. They were born 4 days apart. My mother never cared for her, but my mother is a difficult woman, so I never knew what to believe.
| by Anonymous | reply 169 | January 28, 2021 12:52 AM |
[quote]Fun fact: She was the first Ruth Martin on "Lassie." She was canned after one season and replaced by June Lockhart.
She was no Jan Clayton, that's for sure.
| by Anonymous | reply 170 | January 28, 2021 12:53 AM |
I made it all the way through to R166 without welling up.
It must be really shitty to be fortunate enough to live to be 91 like Asner, only to see your friends slip away by one by one
| by Anonymous | reply 171 | January 28, 2021 12:54 AM |
[quote] Isn’t ‘Cloris’ an unusual name?
It is, although it probably did not seem so much so when she was born and growing up.
The late 1910s and the 1920s were a time when ancient Greek women's names were very much in vogue, although I'm not clear why that was--but it was a big thing. The two most popular were "Doris" and "Phyllis" (and of course Doris Day, Doris Roberts, and Doris Lessing were all born during this period, as were Phyllis Schlafly and Phyllis Diller); and so "Cloris" probably fit in pretty well with those names--although she was actually named after her mother (in their cases, it's a Bohemian name rather than a Greek name).
| by Anonymous | reply 172 | January 28, 2021 12:55 AM |
I 'll miss her, too, although I think she didn't like me very much.
| by Anonymous | reply 173 | January 28, 2021 12:55 AM |
I don't regret never following Lassie to the well.
| by Anonymous | reply 174 | January 28, 2021 12:57 AM |
Awesome in Phyllis with Mother Dexter. I want to buy that series and can't find it. Sigh. Classic gold.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 175 | January 28, 2021 12:57 AM |
I haven't plowed through this whole thread, so I don't know if it has already been mentioned but she was great as "Maw Maw" in "Raising Hope." I don't know what she was like as a person, but she was a great actress. Good at both comedy and dramatic roles.
| by Anonymous | reply 176 | January 28, 2021 12:59 AM |
Sunday pass a little love around...
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 177 | January 28, 2021 1:00 AM |
Has Cybil Shepherd commented yet?
| by Anonymous | reply 178 | January 28, 2021 1:01 AM |
Tom Arnold pays tribute to his fellow Iowa native.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 179 | January 28, 2021 1:01 AM |
I loved her in Raising Hope too R176.
| by Anonymous | reply 180 | January 28, 2021 1:03 AM |
LOVED the episode of Wife Swap with Cloris Leachman and Pia Zadora!
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 181 | January 28, 2021 1:04 AM |
Oh my stars! I knew her when she was a baby!
RIH
| by Anonymous | reply 182 | January 28, 2021 1:04 AM |
Joyce Bulifant is not only alive, she looks GREAT, and sounds just the same as she always did.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 183 | January 28, 2021 1:04 AM |
She was great in Raising Hope. Until they did that episode where the family is watching the Mary Tyler Moore show and they comment on how Mamaw looks like Cloris Leachman. That was just poor writing.
| by Anonymous | reply 184 | January 28, 2021 1:05 AM |
R176, I loved Raising Hope. And she was hilarious in it
| by Anonymous | reply 185 | January 28, 2021 1:09 AM |
She got her start as a beauty queen. She won Miss Chicago, and in those days cities as well as states competed in the Miss America pageant--so she went to Atlantic City and was actually a finalist for Miss America.
| by Anonymous | reply 187 | January 28, 2021 1:19 AM |
I knew you bitches would be all over this and you did not disappoint.
Godspeed, Clo.
| by Anonymous | reply 189 | January 28, 2021 1:26 AM |
She’s dead and yet “Phyllis” STILL isn’t streaming anywhere!!!
| by Anonymous | reply 190 | January 28, 2021 1:28 AM |
No mention of her doing the Bard with Kate?
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 191 | January 28, 2021 1:33 AM |
Her episode of *One Step Beyond*...
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 192 | January 28, 2021 1:37 AM |
Mary, Rhoda and Phyllis are all gone.
MARY!
| by Anonymous | reply 193 | January 28, 2021 1:44 AM |
E147 at least he mentioned me, AT LEAST HE CARED!!
| by Anonymous | reply 194 | January 28, 2021 1:48 AM |
I adored her. Equally adept at comedy and drama.
She was the grand marshall of the San Francisco Pride Parade about 5 years ago, and I saw her gliding by in a little golf cart after the parade. I ran up to her and was a big gushing queen. She was so kind. She talked to me for a few minutes and before she glided off, she took my hand and said, "I'm so happy I got to talk to you."
What a sweetheart. I'll miss her.
| by Anonymous | reply 195 | January 28, 2021 1:52 AM |
R147 * I give up tonight & I’m sending my gay card to Murray.
| by Anonymous | reply 196 | January 28, 2021 1:55 AM |
Celebrities die in threes. My next three celebrity death predictions are Cicely Tyson, Marion Ross, and Shirley Jones,
| by Anonymous | reply 197 | January 28, 2021 1:59 AM |
R5 I saw "Kiss Me Deadly" on TCM last month. It was her first feature, and even though she was only in about the first 15 minutes, her performance was memorable.
The opening sequence of her running down the street in just her coat and bare feet was really amazing. And the torture scene where you only see her feet dangling off the floor as she screams in pain - yikes!
| by Anonymous | reply 198 | January 28, 2021 1:59 AM |
R197 As long as it's not Betty White.
| by Anonymous | reply 199 | January 28, 2021 2:00 AM |
She was on several of Perry Mason episodes in the early 60s. She looked stunning.
| by Anonymous | reply 200 | January 28, 2021 2:05 AM |
I'm surprised she was only 5'4". She struck me as tall and willowy.
| by Anonymous | reply 201 | January 28, 2021 2:05 AM |
I met her at a sparsely attended reading for one of her books. She was kind, funny, and receptive. When I presented her with a still from The Last Picture Show she said something like, “people still watch that shit?” A friend attended with me, and she jotted a line down the middle of the photo and said, “now, when you two break up, you can split things evenly.” She also got our names wrong. A nice day at the public library.
| by Anonymous | reply 202 | January 28, 2021 2:06 AM |
R198 Thanks for the spoiler.
| by Anonymous | reply 203 | January 28, 2021 2:10 AM |
R203 Sorry. Doesn't spoil the plot of the movie, though, and it's well worth watching.
| by Anonymous | reply 205 | January 28, 2021 2:31 AM |
[quote]her younger sister Claiborne was known as Claiborne Cary on stage. She died in the mid-2000s.
I saw Claiborne Cary play the Helen Gallagher role in a 1970s summer stock production of "No No, Nanette." Also in the cast: Nanette Fabray in the Ruby Keeler role and, as Nanette, DL icon Bonnie Franklin.
| by Anonymous | reply 206 | January 28, 2021 2:43 AM |
r189, she was an atheist.
| by Anonymous | reply 208 | January 28, 2021 2:58 AM |
[quote] She sure was ugly.
Are you blind or just tasteless? She was gorgeous.
I’ve loved her since I was a kid. I’ve been meaning to rewatch North Ave. Irregulars—you can rent it on Amazon. I haven’t seen it since the 80s. Of course I loved her in High Anxiety, which the Encore channel showed a lot in the early 90s. I now have the blu ray but haven’t spun it yet.
And recently I saw her in One Step Beyond, Kiss Me Deadly, and Somebody Touched Me, which really is as good as it sounds.
Her quotes about being an atheist were great, too. I can’t find my favorite, but here’s one of them: "I didn’t say there’s nothing out there, but there certainly isn’t any God. The stuff that’s made up about Jesus — that you have to go through Jesus to get to God and if you’re lucky, after you die, if you’ve done everything right, the reward is you get to sit on the right hand side of God. All that is made up by men. People made it up."
So sad she’s gone. I was surprised when I learned how old she was a couple years ago, but I thought, “Oh, she’ll still be around forever.”
| by Anonymous | reply 209 | January 28, 2021 3:06 AM |
Mabel Albertson - Mrs. Stephens on Bewitched - was her mother in law and Frank Albertson her brother in law.....or was it her mother/brother?
| by Anonymous | reply 210 | January 28, 2021 3:06 AM |
I guess she's been sent to the cornfield.
RIP Mrs. Fremont
| by Anonymous | reply 214 | January 28, 2021 3:24 AM |
Aw, shit! I went through the 216 posts, waiting to say "Ovaltine?" only to find it at the end?????
Fuck.
Guess all I can do is make some sandwiches.
| by Anonymous | reply 217 | January 28, 2021 3:40 AM |
I hate when that happens, r217. I'll give you a W/W anyway.
| by Anonymous | reply 218 | January 28, 2021 3:47 AM |
I guess it happens to all of us eventually. Thanks, R218. I'll save you a sandwich.
| by Anonymous | reply 219 | January 28, 2021 3:50 AM |
She started out as a Miss Chicago on the Miss America circuit.
I guess it was a slow year.
| by Anonymous | reply 220 | January 28, 2021 3:52 AM |
Cloris and I never crossed paths on the pageant circuit.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 221 | January 28, 2021 3:58 AM |
I think the last thing I heard her on. She did a voice over for Bob’s burgers. She was so cute.
| by Anonymous | reply 222 | January 28, 2021 3:58 AM |
IIRC she sold her house in Topanga Canyon about a year ago
Ah yes, here's the listing from March 2020 - the asking price was $3.4 millions and it was beautiful unpretentious place
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 223 | January 28, 2021 4:16 AM |
She was such a character and so talented. Even at 94 this makes me sad — I kind of thought she would live forever.
| by Anonymous | reply 225 | January 28, 2021 4:33 AM |
I worked with Morgan Englund briefly in the late 80s when he was strikingly beautiful. Although perfectly nice, he was one of the dumbest adults I'd ever met.
| by Anonymous | reply 226 | January 28, 2021 5:26 AM |
[quote]The stuff that’s made up about Jesus — that you have to go through Jesus to get to God and if you’re lucky, after you die, if you’ve done everything right, the reward is you get to sit on the right hand side of God. All that is made up by men. People made it up."
I guess we know who isn't sitting on the right hand side of God tonight.
| by Anonymous | reply 227 | January 28, 2021 5:55 AM |
All the stars and pro dancers used to line up in pairs backstage and would come down the stairs in duos as the show began; they would stand all in a row in the dark before the show began.
One night, Cloris said: "I wish somebody would hit me in the head with a mallet. (Beat.) I want to see some STARS!"
| by Anonymous | reply 228 | January 28, 2021 6:03 AM |
She must have been sick for a while. She sold off her LA house a while ago. I think there was a DL tasteful friends thread about.
| by Anonymous | reply 229 | January 28, 2021 6:28 AM |
Phyllis Lindstrom was comic genius.
So sad. I loved Cloris Leachman. RIP
| by Anonymous | reply 230 | January 28, 2021 6:55 AM |
Has Susan Dey sent her condolences?
| by Anonymous | reply 231 | January 28, 2021 6:56 AM |
Angela Lansbury would have been great in her part on "The Last Picture Show"
| by Anonymous | reply 232 | January 28, 2021 7:22 AM |
I wonder what happened with Georgia Engel. She was a Christian Scientist and refused to go to a doctor. It has never been revealed what she died from and if it could have been prevented.
| by Anonymous | reply 233 | January 28, 2021 7:25 AM |
R233, I kind of forgot Georgia Engel had died. She was only 70! Her Wikipedia has a quote from a friend confirming she never went to the doctor due to her Christian Scientist beliefs.
R153, you're totally right about Dame Joan trying to steal Cloris' husband. I thought it was exaggerated until I read about it in one of Joan's own books. She literally used to sit outside their house in her car and watch thru their bedroom window as he took Cloris to bed. (To Joan's credit, he'd allegedly promised to leave Cloris and the kids several times. But that hardly ever works out.)
RIP, Cloris! (Even Nancy McKeon did an IG tribute. I'll try to find it on my phone and link it.)
| by Anonymous | reply 234 | January 28, 2021 8:31 AM |
R178 she has!
Cybill Shepherd, who co-starred with Leachman in The Last Picture Show, said in a statement to Deadline: “I had the great privilege and honor of working with Cloris Leachman on my first film, The Last Picture Show. The advice and support that I received from both Cloris and Eileen Brennan has continued to serve me throughout my career. I will never forget her kindness and all the great performances she gave. May she rest in peace and may her memory be a blessing.”
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 236 | January 28, 2021 11:15 AM |
[quote] Isn’t ‘Cloris’ an unusual name?
I don’t think so.
| by Anonymous | reply 237 | January 28, 2021 12:36 PM |
She was let go from Lassie because she refused to promote the sponsor "Campbell's Soup" saying, "I make my own soup, why would I want to eat yours?"
| by Anonymous | reply 238 | January 28, 2021 12:45 PM |
"I don’t believe at all in God and I’m very relieved that I don’t."
—Leachman interview, Huffington Post (June 20, 2012)
| by Anonymous | reply 239 | January 28, 2021 1:27 PM |
[quote]Katharine Hepburn told Morley Safer on "60 Minutes" in 1979 that elderly patients in nursing homes would be better off if they were shot to death.
That doesn't exactly absolve Cloris of her cuntitude, you know.
| by Anonymous | reply 240 | January 28, 2021 1:58 PM |
[quote]Obviously, that's nuts, but also hilarious.
When you only see someone's mental illness in brief "hilarious" snippets, I'm sure it's a load of fun, but having worked with a woman just like Cloris -- screaming at kids for eating anything that wasn't celery, saying fat people should die, making work a living hell for co-workers -- it's not particularly charming.
| by Anonymous | reply 241 | January 28, 2021 2:01 PM |
Aww, always loved Cloris. Saw her interviewed once, and she came off whacky but completely sincere. And maybe a little drunk? A true original.
| by Anonymous | reply 242 | January 28, 2021 2:07 PM |
Was she really a mean bitch on sets or called a bitch because she was a female who exercised and requested professional work ethic from those she was working with? It's sad that in this day and time females who won't sit back and take bullshit from men are still considered nasty bitches.
| by Anonymous | reply 243 | January 28, 2021 2:07 PM |
Is our Angie Dickinson not far behind?
| by Anonymous | reply 244 | January 28, 2021 2:12 PM |
[quote]Was she really a mean bitch on sets or called a bitch because she was a female who exercised and requested professional work ethic from those she was working with?
Read the thread, for fuck's sake.
| by Anonymous | reply 245 | January 28, 2021 2:12 PM |
They had her introduce an outdoor screening of Young Frankenstein at Piedmont Park in Atlanta, one summer evening about 10 years ago. I didn't know about this, and had gone to restaurant near the park with some friends, we were eating on the patio just near sundown, and suddenly we heard her voice coming from nowhere over a PA system: "Zstay cloze to ze candles, ze stairs CAN be treacherous!!" It was the opening line of her introduction to the movie.
| by Anonymous | reply 246 | January 28, 2021 2:13 PM |
If Angie Lansbury had done her part on Malcolm In The Middle, would she have finally won an Emmy?
| by Anonymous | reply 247 | January 28, 2021 2:13 PM |
She was wonderful as Sister Mary Ignatius "(Explains It All For You)" on stage in San Francisco some years ago.
A very funny broad.
| by Anonymous | reply 248 | January 28, 2021 2:28 PM |
Oh, no more Cloris and Madeleine is gone as well. I would've loved any movie with these two in it. I could watch Mel Brooks movies with both of them in a continuous loop.
| by Anonymous | reply 249 | January 28, 2021 2:31 PM |
[quote]"Zstay cloze to ze candles, ze stairs CAN be treacherous!!"
It is actually "Zstay cloze to ze candles, ze staircase CAN be treacherous!!"
And, of course, the candles aren't lit.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 250 | January 28, 2021 2:37 PM |
[quote] Read the thread, for fuck's sake.
How bout you eat my ass, for fuck's sake. You smart mouthed schlemiel.
| by Anonymous | reply 251 | January 28, 2021 2:43 PM |
I remember about 10 years ago (hopeless with dates especially these days, but that feels about right) when she was one of the commentators for the SF Pride parade, along with the very fabulous Donna Sachet and the less fabulous, but nice guy, Jai Rodriguez from the first iteration of Queer Eye. I was looking forward to it, because CLORIS! But she was SUCH A FUCKING CUNT.
She couldn't make it any clearer that she would rather be anywhere else. She was rude, wouldn't make eye contact with either of them, which made her look like she was part senile and part asshole. They tried hard to engage her, asking questions about her career, vegetarianism/health, gay issues, and so on, but she acted like she was being drawn and quartered with each interaction. Donna shut that shit down as soon as she could, and booted Cloris for most of the rest of the show. She did look fantastic, but god, what. a. bitch. Seeing Donna and Jay give her death stares less than an hour into the telecast was a bit depressing but rather delicious.
| by Anonymous | reply 252 | January 28, 2021 3:00 PM |
Forgot to add, I think she was more comfortable being in a Grand Marshall position, where she got to do her pageant wave and look fabulous (she really did right up until the end). And only shake hands with non fatties. I get the feeling...hell, I SAW the feeling...that she was not comfortable (aka really shitty) being in a one on one situation having to speak extemporaneously.
Still loved watching her in pretty much everything. I like what Mel Brooks wrote.
| by Anonymous | reply 253 | January 28, 2021 3:27 PM |
Oh my. I am sobbing.
The last line....*bawling*
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 254 | January 28, 2021 4:08 PM |
Didn't see this before but they've said she died in her sleep.
Her son was on a Zoom thingy about 6 months ago and said she'd had a bad fall. Don't know if that contributed to her passing.
| by Anonymous | reply 255 | January 28, 2021 4:14 PM |
If she was such a horrible bitch and difficult to work with, she would not have had a flourishing career for over 7 decades...and yes, her career flourished up til the end...she was constantly working.
| by Anonymous | reply 257 | January 28, 2021 4:29 PM |
Cloris 1946 - Miss America pageant
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 258 | January 28, 2021 4:40 PM |
Cloris was featured in episode 10 /season 1 of The Nanny - "The Nanny-In-Law" as Nanny Mueller. She was Mr. Sheffield's nanny when he was a boy. Nothing special about her performance but she played it like a storm trooper!
Someone mentioned up thread about her spinoff show Phyllis - it ran for two seasons.
I had thought she was one of the 'guests' on that horrible show Roseanne's Nuts (she sure is!!) way back when but it turns out that was Phyllis Diller.
| by Anonymous | reply 259 | January 28, 2021 5:20 PM |
While working as an actor you spend a LOT of time sitting around doing nothing. A few of us were talking with the makeup/hair people asking who were the nicest/worst people they'd worked with. Cloris came up as THE worst. Always late for call and then yelling at the person doing hair/makeup that they were taking too long and she had to be ready on time.
Jus' sayin'.
| by Anonymous | reply 260 | January 28, 2021 5:33 PM |
287 IMDB credits in over 70 years. Her last 2 movies are still to be released.
| by Anonymous | reply 261 | January 28, 2021 7:10 PM |
I want to see this LGBT themed movie
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 262 | January 28, 2021 7:21 PM |
R258, That was the year after Bess Myerson won.
| by Anonymous | reply 263 | January 28, 2021 7:52 PM |
Even though she was 94 I still got a shock when I saw the headline. She seemed like the kind of person who would be another Betty White and live to 100.
I remember watching an interview with one of the MTM directors on the Televison Academy website and he said Cloris was eccentric as hell but full of talent. She would want to ad lib and make up bits of business even though sticking rigidly to the script was necessary in a sitcom. So he would sometimes just give her a take at the end to play and he said she would do something wonderful and kooky but with no regard for marking or lighting so it would have been unusable anyway.
I remember her from a TV movie with Suzanne Pleshette that was Sister Act without the music. Cloris was Mother Superior and Suzanne was the brothel owner sent to live in the convert in lieu of prison time. Fun movie and Cloris was great.
| by Anonymous | reply 264 | January 28, 2021 8:00 PM |
R260 Oh. The help are complaining. My heart bleeds for them.
| by Anonymous | reply 265 | January 28, 2021 8:17 PM |
I love her house. It's gorgeous and I love seeing the piano as Cloris played and it's nice to imagine her playing in those beautiful surroundings. I know LA gets a lot of hate here but if I was rich it's where I live, there are so many options to chose from - beach to city to canyon to 'Americana suburb'. The house is not nearly as kooky as you'd imagine Cloris Leachman's house to be though! The decking up amongst the treetops is worth the price tag alone
| by Anonymous | reply 266 | January 28, 2021 8:17 PM |
R223 posted it R267. Topanga Canyon.
| by Anonymous | reply 268 | January 28, 2021 8:48 PM |
R268 Thanks
Her son mentioned that she fell on a Zoom chat he did a few months back...I think he and his children lived on the property or an adjacent one because he mentioned her tripping on one of those pathways.
| by Anonymous | reply 269 | January 28, 2021 10:41 PM |
Wow. We didn’t know that, r269.
Should’ve made your post “BREAKING!!”
| by Anonymous | reply 270 | January 28, 2021 10:48 PM |
R270 I wrote R255 too, bitch.
So you aren't nearly as clever as you think you are.
Sorry to repeat a few words but I wanted to provide context for what I was sharing. Or in your case, cuntext.
| by Anonymous | reply 271 | January 28, 2021 10:57 PM |
[quote]Was she really a mean bitch on sets or called a bitch because she was a female who exercised and requested professional work ethic from those she was working with?
MARY!
You're not naive, or dumb enough to believe that bullshit, are you? EVERY woman who uses this excuse turns out to be a well-documented CUNT, starting with its Godmother, Debra Winger, who it turns out is really just a total cunt.
| by Anonymous | reply 272 | January 28, 2021 11:56 PM |
R256 I watched that GLAAD video and (how fucking embarrassing for me) I know that jacket Betty’s wearing! It’s from that GG episode where she’s up for and then loses that award (SHE’s on her mantle)! So she kept her wardrobe and is still wearing it 25 years later, lol.
That was actually one of the nicer GG looks, though.
| by Anonymous | reply 273 | January 29, 2021 12:28 AM |
Leachman could be brilliantly inventive, equally adept at comedy and drama. She is terrific on this episode, and her scene with Doris Roberts beginning at 14:05 is hilarious!
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 274 | January 29, 2021 12:50 AM |
I saw Leachman recently on an episode of “Night Gallery”, in which she and Broderick Crawford played a nasty couple terrorizing their robot maid, Lana Wood. Crawford didn’t seem the type who’d tolerate any shenanigans from Leachman.
| by Anonymous | reply 275 | January 29, 2021 12:53 AM |
In that clip Mary says "My monthly take-home pay after deductions is $680..."!
I do recall in another episode where she is considering moving that she's looking to pay no more than $200 a month rent, which is a third of her income. A number which is a recommended percentage as a housing cost goal when making a budget!
| by Anonymous | reply 276 | January 29, 2021 1:13 AM |
Very interesting to put the impact that Cloris Leachman had into perspective. Over the course of seven seasons, there were 168 episodes of the Mary Tyler Moore Show. Phyllis Lindstrom was a character on the show only through Seasons 1-5, and she was in a total of only 35 episodes. That's only about seven episodes per season. Betty White and Georgia Engel were in more episodes than Cloris was. She played only a recurring character but she was exceptionally memorable.
| by Anonymous | reply 277 | January 29, 2021 1:57 AM |
R272 You civilians are so funny. People keep 'popping' up on the thread to say how hard she was to work with, with few examples of this on sets.
You need to get the scene, that is all that matters. She would have focused on that.
| by Anonymous | reply 278 | January 29, 2021 2:18 AM |
[quote]Phyllis Lindstrom was a character on the show only through Seasons 1-5, and she was in a total of only 35 episodes.
And she was always .... ALWAYS billed as "Special Guest Star," unlike those other peons.
| by Anonymous | reply 280 | January 29, 2021 2:24 AM |
She was one of the rare actors who did movies and TV then.
| by Anonymous | reply 281 | January 29, 2021 2:25 AM |
Yeah, R277, people are always shocked to learn that Phyllis was on fewer than one-third of MTM episodes in any given season.
She made such a big impression it seemed like she was on every week.
| by Anonymous | reply 282 | January 29, 2021 2:53 AM |
Phyllis the spinoff actually got higher ratings than the MTM show ever did, and it outranked Rhoda the first season they ran together: It was #6 for the 1975-76 season. Then in 1976-77, viewing habits radically changed, and both Phyllis and Rhoda tanked in the ratings, falling into the 40s.
For some reason, people decided they were sick of the MTM comedies and everything Norman Lear (besides All in the Family and One Day at a Time) and just wanted to watch escapist shit like Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley.
It was too bad about Phyllis, because it was a very funny show. The writers were top-notch: David Lloyd (who wrote MTM's "Chuckles the Clown" episode) and the Charles brothers, who went on to create Cheers.
| by Anonymous | reply 283 | January 29, 2021 3:04 AM |
R284 Aurora finally does good.
| by Anonymous | reply 285 | January 29, 2021 3:21 AM |
Cloris on her husband & Brando.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 286 | January 29, 2021 3:24 AM |
Forever remembering her as she who made the sammiches for the chunky kid and Billy Bob in Bad Santa.
| by Anonymous | reply 287 | January 29, 2021 4:16 AM |
"I myself can probably fit in at least 9 inches."
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 288 | January 29, 2021 4:21 AM |
Has Susan Dey sent her condolences?
| by Anonymous | reply 289 | January 29, 2021 5:12 AM |
[quote]Angela Lansbury would have been great in her part on "The Last Picture Show"
Then Cloris would have ended up as Miss Price in [italic]Bedknobs and Broomsticks[/italic]. Could she have handled an English accent?
| by Anonymous | reply 290 | January 29, 2021 5:19 AM |
Ironically, R290, she would have looked much more like the character in the original books.
| by Anonymous | reply 291 | January 29, 2021 5:26 AM |
She probably would have flayed you, r287, for using toddler talk like “sammiches.”
| by Anonymous | reply 292 | January 29, 2021 6:06 AM |
Total trivia, but to slightly correct something posted above: Cloris wasn't a replacement Nellie for Mary Martin in the original production of South Pacific nor was she Martin's understudy, which is also often said. What happened was that one and a half to two years into the run, I can't remember, Martin took a three week vacation. instead of having her understudy take over, R&H brought in Cloris to go on for her. She was otherwise never involved in that production.
I can only assume Cloris was fucking Richard Rodgers. That was the standard way for women to get cast in his shows. It was a notorious open secret. He was quite the lecher. You can ask Shirley Jones about that.
| by Anonymous | reply 293 | January 29, 2021 10:32 AM |
^ Of course, you had to be pretty, talented, have a good singing voice and some acting ability just to get an audition. There was plenty of that around. To get cast, you had to put your mouth where the money was.
| by Anonymous | reply 294 | January 29, 2021 11:29 AM |
I asked Shirley about that, r293, but all she wanted to talk about was Vaseline.
| by Anonymous | reply 295 | January 29, 2021 3:06 PM |
Even though they were divorced by the time she appeared on “Dancing with the Stars”, Cloris Leachman and George Englund remained devoted to each other. I remember seeing him in one of the pre-dance taped packages on the show, (yes, I watch — don’t judge, DL!) watching one of her rehearsals. Cloris was acting up, being “challenging” to her partner, and Englund sweetly but firmly told her to behave. And she did! By the way, he still looked great, and was in his eighties at the time!
| by Anonymous | reply 296 | January 29, 2021 3:32 PM |
[quote]Cloris was acting up, being “challenging” to her partner, and Englund sweetly but firmly told her to behave. And she did!
I recall reading about how, when Mary Tyler Moore, Valerie Harper, Cloris Leachman, Betty White and Georgia Engel reunited for one last time for an episode of "Hot in Cleveland," Cloris was acting up and was asked to behave. I think it was Valerie Harper who talked about it.
| by Anonymous | reply 298 | January 29, 2021 5:23 PM |
"I asked Shirley about that, [R293], but all she wanted to talk about was Vaseline."
Does that mean he did her in the ass??
| by Anonymous | reply 299 | January 30, 2021 3:15 AM |
Read her book r299. At the end she extolls its virtues.
| by Anonymous | reply 300 | January 30, 2021 3:21 AM |
I remember a TV Guide interview of hers in the 1970’s. Julie Harris told her that if she’d had Leachman’s bust she could have ruled the world!
| by Anonymous | reply 301 | January 30, 2021 3:34 AM |
This is interesting. Mary’s view on working with Cloris.
Excerpt from Mary’s 1986 interview with Dick Cavett on his USA cable talk show. 📺 💬 Dick: “Who had the most wicked sense of humor offscreen?”
Mary. “Oh, Betty White, Betty White. Wicked.”
Dick: “More so than Cloris Leachman?”
Mary: “Well, they’re different. They’re different in their approaches. Cloris is... I think, a genius. As much as she was sometimes difficult to work with, because Cloris is self-centered. She wants to be so good that everything revolves around her becoming good while you’re rehearsing, and sometimes you want to just haul off and belt her one. But you learn that it’s going to be good for you too, and it all works out fine. But some people think that Cloris is frivolous because she plays that sort of uncatchable... nymph. But she’s also so wise that if I were close to Cloris, I mean physically close, she’s the one I would turn to if I needed some advice or a really good sounding board for whatever problem I had. She’s a brilliant, loving woman.” • • • • • During this same interview, Dick Cavett tells a funny story about sitting next to Cloris during Mary’s 1983 wedding to Dr. Robert Levine. As they waited for the bride to arrive for the ceremony, “a woman of about 110 walked in,” Cavett recalled. “Cloris turned to her and said, ‘Hi, Mary! It’s been a long time, hasn’t it?’”
| by Anonymous | reply 302 | January 30, 2021 4:16 AM |
Her son Morgan called Cloris a cunt.
| by Anonymous | reply 303 | January 30, 2021 4:29 AM |
[Quote] She probably would have flayed you, [R287], for using toddler talk like “sammiches.”
R292 SHE used the word sammiches, dumbass. That's part of the hilarity of my comment
| by Anonymous | reply 304 | January 30, 2021 5:30 AM |
R302 is that interview anywhere? I’d love to see it!
| by Anonymous | reply 305 | January 30, 2021 5:30 AM |
She was an animal activist
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 306 | January 30, 2021 7:50 AM |
(((((Does anyone know what Cloris' go-to vegetarian dish was???)))))
| by Anonymous | reply 307 | January 30, 2021 8:37 AM |
R305 I’m not sure. I pulled it from a Mary Tyler Moore show Facebook group. It didn’t have a link to the video.
| by Anonymous | reply 310 | January 30, 2021 3:53 PM |
Did Cloris deserve her Oscar?
| by Anonymous | reply 311 | January 30, 2021 3:59 PM |
Buck would have NEVER won an Oscar.
| by Anonymous | reply 312 | January 30, 2021 4:13 PM |
YouTube has the first episode/pilot of Phyllis - I downloaded it and will watch later. I recall many years/decades ago I had a VHS of 2-3 episodes of her show and the Rhoda spinoff which are long gone. Having most seasons of MTM on DVD I can select the episodes where Phyllis is featured. Even though that show is over 40 years old it still is entertaining and certainly is better than the constant Covid/Political crap that MSNBC/CNN cover.
| by Anonymous | reply 313 | January 30, 2021 4:29 PM |
I used to love the opening of Phyllis when Cloris would jump on the trolley and kick her leg out. As a young gay in training, I used to want to take a trolley just so I could do that. It seemed much more glamourous than Mary tossing her hat in the air.
| by Anonymous | reply 314 | January 30, 2021 4:46 PM |
What about the *Doris-skip-across-the-street*, r314?
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 315 | January 30, 2021 5:31 PM |
Overrated, even June Lockhart called her a bitch.
| by Anonymous | reply 316 | January 30, 2021 5:33 PM |
Even late in life, Henry Jones was really funny on Phyllis. I love him in Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 317 | January 30, 2021 6:19 PM |
[quote]Overrated, even June Lockhart called her a bitch.
June Lockhart had a third-rate career and never got within spitting distance of an Oscar, so I'm sure there was no envy at all in her remarks about Cloris.
| by Anonymous | reply 319 | January 30, 2021 6:37 PM |
When did June and Cloris work together? At some Lassie reunion?
| by Anonymous | reply 320 | January 30, 2021 6:58 PM |
June and Cloris both played Ruth Martin, Timmy's mom on "Lassie." Cloris played her when the character was introduced but was fired after one season and replaced by June.
| by Anonymous | reply 321 | January 30, 2021 7:02 PM |
Season 8 “/Beverly Ann FoL opening linked below. Did Cloris really play the piano or did she “Betty White” play the piano?
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 322 | January 30, 2021 7:08 PM |
Cloris killed The Facts of Life.
| by Anonymous | reply 323 | January 30, 2021 7:13 PM |
She invented the cat 🐱.
| by Anonymous | reply 324 | January 30, 2021 7:16 PM |
Phyllis.....it SURE ISN'T YOU!
| by Anonymous | reply 325 | January 30, 2021 7:21 PM |
Aw, Mindy.
Mindy's great.....this makes me misty.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 326 | January 30, 2021 7:23 PM |
I kinda remember a talk show incident when Suzanne Pleshette told Cloris , I paraphrase "if you don't shaddup I'm going to knock your ass"
Cavett maybe?
| by Anonymous | reply 327 | January 30, 2021 7:24 PM |
R323 it was a change that made sense though (like Jack opening his bistro). They were all in their 20s and Jo and Blair were about to graduate college - they didn’t need a Mrs. Garrett they needed a “fun friend.”
It was also a much lighter show by that point and Charlotte Rae kind of fit in less and less (and I’m guessing she sensed that, which is why she phased herself out).
The very last season was awful, but I actually like the Over Our Heads/Saturday night seasons. They weren’t worse to me just different (well except for Jo, who got a lot worse and looked like she was just stomping around mad half the time).
| by Anonymous | reply 328 | January 30, 2021 7:31 PM |
Antenna TV is running a Facts of Life marathon, the Beverly Ann year, right now.
| by Anonymous | reply 329 | January 30, 2021 7:47 PM |
Did our beloved Cloris feel up Mindy Cohn’s big titties? Seems like something she’d do.
| by Anonymous | reply 330 | January 30, 2021 7:49 PM |
After the two part opening of Season 7, Charlotte was just kind of there and seemed to be used sparingly in most of the episodes (not including the several she wasn't in). Cloris injected a bit of zaniness which fit in with the tone at the time.
The big crime was not having Charlotte come back for Jo's wedding, which should have been the real finale of the show. Not two back door pilots.
| by Anonymous | reply 331 | January 30, 2021 7:51 PM |
TCM is running a "TCM Remembers" segment on Cicely Tyson, but nothing for OSCAR winner Cloris?
| by Anonymous | reply 332 | January 30, 2021 7:54 PM |
CBS should really have a Friday or Saturday night spot where they play old shows. When they've done it a few times - when Carl Reiner died - it was great.
If Carl and MTM get a play, certainly Cloris should.
| by Anonymous | reply 333 | January 30, 2021 7:56 PM |
I don’t all the “sadness” when a 94 year-old person dies. You didn’t think they would live forever, did you? People should learn to celebrate life more. The “sadness” just seems phoney. It’s not easy being 94. Sometimes people are ready to die. It’s part of the cycle of life, y’know? She lived well, she had an incredible life. Celebrate it. I don’t get the “this makes me SO sad.” Everybody dies. She wasn’t a child. Her life wasn’t cut short. People die. What’s to be “sad” about?
| by Anonymous | reply 334 | January 30, 2021 8:51 PM |
It's sad that the person is gone forever.
| by Anonymous | reply 335 | January 30, 2021 9:05 PM |
The Facts of Life was actually still going strong in season 9. It won its time slot and ranked #38 for the year.
NBC wanted to renew for two more years, but Lisa Whelchel and Nancy McKeon said no.
| by Anonymous | reply 336 | January 30, 2021 9:54 PM |
They did say no, Gary talked them out of it.
| by Anonymous | reply 337 | January 31, 2021 1:49 AM |
I think you meant Mindy Cohn who said no.
Lisa agreed to do the spin off which almost came close to getting on the schedule, but was cut at the eleventh hour for Empty Nest.
Lisa would have followed The Golden Girls on Saturday night, which would have been an odd time for such a family oriented show.
| by Anonymous | reply 338 | January 31, 2021 1:55 AM |
[quote]Mindy's great.....this makes me misty.
But wasn't Cloris always getting on Mindy's case for "polluting the aesthetic environment" by being fat?
| by Anonymous | reply 339 | January 31, 2021 1:59 AM |
[quote] Everybody dies. She wasn’t a child. Her life wasn’t cut short. People die. What’s to be “sad” about?
Are you being intentionally obtuse or are you just genuinely stupid? It's not about being "sad." It's about appreciating and remembering a life that has come to an end. It's about saying goodbye. It's about paying tribute to someone who provided us with some happy moments. "Oh, well, she was 94, so who gives a fuck?" That's your attitude?
| by Anonymous | reply 340 | January 31, 2021 2:05 AM |
R339 she might have been the original celebrity to just “say things because they were outrageous.” She seems to genuinely get along with all the girls, and it was called The Fats of Life after all.
I agree with what someone said above, if she really had been difficult, she wouldn’t have worked nonstop for six (or whatever) decades. It’s not like she was a Julia Roberts level star (or a man). Certainly eccentric but a nightmare diva type I highly doubt.
| by Anonymous | reply 341 | January 31, 2021 2:25 AM |
When I was a kid I loved her in the Disney movie "North Avenue Irregulars."
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 342 | January 31, 2021 2:50 AM |
I read that Leachman took the Facts of Life gig because her agent told her she had to improve her Q rating. This was something that was used to measure an audiences familiarity with a performer. Producers would use these ratings in casting an actor. I think a lot of movies were being cast with TV performers in those days,
| by Anonymous | reply 343 | February 1, 2021 4:39 AM |
Q ratings are partly familiarity based but are more about likeability and popularity.
The public doesn't seem to know much about them anymore but they're still around.
| by Anonymous | reply 344 | February 1, 2021 4:53 AM |
Cloris Leachman was obsessed with Q?
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 345 | February 1, 2021 7:32 AM |
Her own son Morgan hated her!
| by Anonymous | reply 346 | February 1, 2021 1:41 PM |
Cloris, Cicely, and Screech?
| by Anonymous | reply 348 | February 1, 2021 11:20 PM |
Who’s next? It cums in threes.
| by Anonymous | reply 349 | February 2, 2021 12:18 AM |
Hal Holbrook. 2021 may be in fours instead of threes. Damn January has been tough for the entertainment industry.
| by Anonymous | reply 350 | February 2, 2021 8:08 AM |
So much to comment on...
1) I love Cloris and she was immensely talented but if you watch her appearances on talk shows or where she's playing "herself" it's very obvious she's a manic personality who is always "on" and being "funny" and that very quickly gets tiresome if you have to be around it all the time. She seemed very manic and quite exhausting.
2) It is sad when celebs die but some of the grief expressed on social media by people is really over the top, especially when it's someone who has lead a VERY long and productive life. I mean, yes, it's sad Cloris has passed away but the woman was over 90. It's not like we were gonna get another 10 years of brilliant work out of her. And, stars DO live on...that's what reruns are for.
3) Screech is not the "third"; that would be Hal Holbrooke. You need to be an actual name to warrant being included in these Death Trios and Mr. Diamond wasn't quite in the same class.
| by Anonymous | reply 352 | February 2, 2021 8:50 AM |
Larry King, Cloris, Cicely. Hal Holbrook was one of our most respected and praised actors but he never became a household name like the others.
| by Anonymous | reply 353 | February 2, 2021 5:35 PM |
So if death comes in threes, no one else is going to die, right? We’ve reached the maximum of three.
| by Anonymous | reply 354 | February 2, 2021 5:41 PM |
[quote]So if death comes in threes, no one else is going to die, right? We’ve reached the maximum of three.
Hal Holbrook died before both Cloris and Cicely, on Jan. 23, even though his death wasn't announced until early today. Larry King died Jan. 24. So that would make Cloris the third. Cicely would be the first in a new group of three.
| by Anonymous | reply 355 | February 2, 2021 6:22 PM |
"Death comes in threes" is a stupid superstition not worth talking about.
| by Anonymous | reply 356 | February 2, 2021 6:35 PM |
On what planet is Cicely Tyson more famous than Hal Holbrook?
I'd argue they're about the same level of fame...respected award winning actors of stage, TV and film who were stars but not STARS.
| by Anonymous | reply 357 | February 3, 2021 6:51 AM |
She will be missed. I know I was hard on poor, poor Phyllis. I was always just jealous she got to get loaded with Jack Elam in the park. Oh, well. I’ll just keep thinking of Charles Bronson stripped from the waist up!
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 358 | February 4, 2021 5:03 PM |
Was Clitoris ever a vagaterian? Did she eat snatch? That is what everyone needs to know.
| by Anonymous | reply 359 | February 4, 2021 10:18 PM |
[quote] I read that Leachman took the Facts of Life gig because her agent told her she had to improve her Q rating. This was something that was used to measure an audiences familiarity with a performer. Producers would use these ratings in casting an actor. I think a lot of movies were being cast with TV performers in those days,
If it was anybody but her, then what would have been the point?
| by Anonymous | reply 360 | February 4, 2021 11:42 PM |
Apparently Cloris had COVID at the time of her death.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 361 | February 20, 2021 6:49 AM |
How does that work? Did covid cause the stroke or did she just less able to recover from the stroke because of covid?
| by Anonymous | reply 362 | February 20, 2021 7:14 AM |
to answer my own question at r362
First, infections and inflammation increase the risk of stroke. COVID-19 is an infection that produces a strong inflammatory reaction from the body. Second, COVID-19 seems to trigger cardiac events: heart attack, dangerous heart rhythms, etc. All of these factors can lead to a stroke
| by Anonymous | reply 363 | February 20, 2021 7:22 AM |
Poor Clo. Has Morgan Englund commented yet?
| by Anonymous | reply 364 | February 20, 2021 11:32 AM |
Recent “Raising Hope” reunion in which they share stories about Cloris’ crazy behavior on the set...including coming up behind Hilary Duff while she was sitting for makeup and cutting off a lock of her hair!
Lucas Neff looks hot.
Offsite Link| by Anonymous | reply 365 | March 30, 2021 7:44 PM |
RIP Clitoris. She was a doll.
| by Anonymous | reply 366 | March 30, 2021 7:51 PM |
Is she still dead? I always like to give celebrities a bit of time, and not just because it's Easter.
| by Anonymous | reply 367 | March 30, 2021 8:01 PM |
She showed her titties to the cast also.
| by Anonymous | reply 368 | March 30, 2021 8:36 PM |
