Elizabeth Wilson

A lady of stage and screen, award-winning actress Elizabeth Wilson had a long career in which she frequently played mothers and wives on television and the big screen. Many filmgoers will remember her best for her performance as Dustin Hoffman's mother in Mike Nichols' classic comedy/drama "The Graduate" (1967) and from her role as Ralph Fiennes' mother in Robert Redford's true-life drama "Quiz Show" (1994). She also had a prominent and memorable comedic role in the 1980 blockbuster comedy "Nine to Five," playing bad boss Dabney Coleman's assistant opposite stars Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton. She also co-starred in the big-screen adaptation of "The Addams Family" (1991), playing Abigail Craven, and had a late-career turn starring alongside Bill Murray in the drama "Hyde Park on Hudson" (2012), playing Sara Ann Delano Roosevelt, mother of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Like many stage-trained actors, Wilson balanced her career between her first love-theater-and feature films and television. Hollywood typically typecast her in matronly roles, but like any gifted actress, the dependable Wilson always found a way to heighten the role to her best advantage. Elizabeth WIlson died May 9, 2015, at the age of 94.