LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) – Piper Laurie, the actress known for portraying the religious mother in the movie Carrie and for playing Paul Newman’s depressed girlfriend in The Hustler, passed away Saturday (October 14). Her manager, Marion Rosenberg, confirmed her death in numerous media statements, stating that she died of old age and was a “superb talent and a wonderful human being.” She was 91.
Born Rosetta Jacobs in the Motor City in 1932, she changed her name to Piper Laurie at the request of her manager at the time she wrote in her memoir, Learning to Live Out Loud. At 17, she signed a contract with Universal-International (Universal Studios) and won roles alongside Rock Hudson, Tony Curtis, Ronald Reagan and more.
Her first role as the teenage daughter of Reagan’s character in Louisa in 1950 was an experience that prompted Laurie to quit Hollywood for a time, recalling in her memoir, “Every line and moment for a girl seemed like a cartoon … I kept trying to think of ways to make her real for myself, but it was a constant struggle on the set.”
Laurie walked away from her $ 2,000-a-week contract in 1955, The Guardian reported and moved to New York, where she worked in theater and live TV drama shows.
Performances in The Deaf Heart and The Road That Led After earning Laurie Emmy nominations, she eventually returned to La La Land.
She returned to movies in 1961 with a turn as Paul Newman’s troubled girlfriend in The Hustler before stepping back from Hollywood again, this time for over a decade. She married film critic Joseph Morgenstern (which eventually ended in divorce), welcomed a daughter, Ann Grace, and moved to a farmhouse in Woodstock, NY. She wrote in her book that the civil rights movement and the Vietnam War influenced her decision to change.
“I was disenchanted and looking for an existence more meaningful for me,” she recalled, adding that she never regretted the move.
She returned to the silver screen with force in 1976 with the haunting portrayal of Margaret White, the fanatically evangelical mother in Carrie alongside Sissy Spacek.
In speaking about the movie, she wrote in her memoir, “It was a very sweet and sentimental time for me. I felt so welcomed by the crew, a few of whom I had known before. I felt embraced by everyone and especially free to do the work.”
Other movie credits include Tim, Ruby, Return to Oz and others. Her television credits include appearances in Matlock, Murder, She Wrote, Frasier, ER (as George Clooney’s mother), Will and Grace, St. Elsewhere and more.
Laurie received Oscar nominations for her performances in The Hustler (1961) and Carrie (1976). Her third nomination was for portraying a remorseful mother in Children of a Lesser God (1986). She won a Golden Globe for her performance as a vengeful mill owner in television’s Twin Peaks, in addition to two Emmy nominations for The Bunker opposite Anthony Hopkins, The Thorn Birds and St. Elsewhere. She won an Emmy for supporting actress for her turn in 1986’s Promise.
Later in life, she became a baker, with her recipes appearing in numerous publications. She is survived by her daughter, Anne Grace Morgenstern.
RIP.
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