Anne Bancroft, 1931-2005

I'm really sad about this. She was lovely on film, and lovely in person I'm sure. She and husband Mel Brooks were together 41 years. Everyone remembers her from The Graduate, when she was lethal and oily and smoking and sexual. Equally worthy of note is her compassionate, gentle work in The Miracle Worker, first on Broadway and then the 1962 film version (a Tony and an Oscar were earned; an Emmy followed in 1999 for Deep in My Heart, completing the rare acting triple crown). Click on the title of this entry for a nice Times obit.

"When Mel told his Jewish mother he was marrying an Italian girl, she said: 'Bring her over. I'll be in the kitchen - with my head in the oven.'"