RIP Jean Stapleton, aka "Edith Bunker"
Posted: Mon Jun 03, 2013 2:18 pmhttp://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-et-cm-jean-stapleton-theater-20130602,0,5009300.story
Such a long successful life, but this one makes me a little more wistful, because I worked with Jean during an early run of the Eleanor Roosevelt show mentioned in the article.
I was the only crew member at that theater who lived near NYC, so in exchange for having use of the company van, I would pick up any talent in the city who needed a lift to the theater.
Eleanor being a one-woman show, it was usually just me and Jean commuting, for a few weeks.
So I got to know her a little bit. I resisted the temptation to go on and on about how funny and revolutionary her creation, Edith Bunker was... I generally assume, when working with celebs, that they've heard enough gushing. I hope she appreciated that we just talked about "stuff".
She was a total non-diva, 100% professional, a master of her craft, and very bright, funny, and generally sweet. There was a lot of her in Edith, but she was no dingbat by any means (neither was Edith, really).
Farewell to a brilliant actress!
Such a long successful life, but this one makes me a little more wistful, because I worked with Jean during an early run of the Eleanor Roosevelt show mentioned in the article.
I was the only crew member at that theater who lived near NYC, so in exchange for having use of the company van, I would pick up any talent in the city who needed a lift to the theater.
Eleanor being a one-woman show, it was usually just me and Jean commuting, for a few weeks.
So I got to know her a little bit. I resisted the temptation to go on and on about how funny and revolutionary her creation, Edith Bunker was... I generally assume, when working with celebs, that they've heard enough gushing. I hope she appreciated that we just talked about "stuff".
She was a total non-diva, 100% professional, a master of her craft, and very bright, funny, and generally sweet. There was a lot of her in Edith, but she was no dingbat by any means (neither was Edith, really).
Farewell to a brilliant actress!
