Frances Bay
Frances Bay's diminutive stature and doddering appearance certainly have her typecast. But the actress's tireless work ethic kept her incredibly active since she first appeared on screen in 1978 -- at the tender age of 60. Her bit part as the elderly Mrs. Russel in the comedic mystery "Foul Play," starring Chevy Chase and Goldie Hawn, led to more bit parts as the old woman in everything from the legendary TV comedy series "The Jeffersons" to the big-screen classic coming-of-age story "The Karate Kid." She is probably most identifiable for her role in the 1996 comedy "Happy Gilmore," in which former hockey player (Adam Sandler) takes up professional golf to rescue the house owned by his grandmother (played by Bay) from seizure by the IRS. Devotees of the NBC sitcom "Seinfeld," however, will always remember her as Mrs. Choate, the woman Jerry refers to as an "old bag" as he steals her marble rye. She returned in two more episodes, including the series' conclusion, but this wasn't her first show finale; she had previously appeared in the closing acts of both "Happy Days" and "Who's the Boss?" Bay's own finale came in 2011 when, at the age of 92, she passed away from complications caused by pneumonia, just shortly after completing her finale role, Aunt Ginny on the family sitcom "The Middle."
Photos
Frances Bay
Filmography
Movies
Credit | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Short on Time | Edith (Character) | - | 2010 |
No Score Yet |
|
Ring Around the Rosie | Nanna (Character) | - | 2006 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | In the Land of Milk and Money | Grandma Shallot (Character) | - | 2005 |
No Score Yet |
|
Annie's Point | Older Woman (Character) | - | 2005 |
No Score Yet |
|
The Movie Hero | Wise Old Woman (Character) | - | 2003 |
60% |
|
Finder's Fee | Mrs. Darmsetter (Character) | - | 2001 |
17% |
|
The Wedding Planner | Dottie (Character) | $60.4M | 2001 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Bratty Babies | Maggie Winchester (Character) | - | 2001 |
45% |
|
The Operator | Mrs. Sloan (Character) | - | 2000 |
No Score Yet |
|
The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn | Mrs. Lewis (Character) | - | 1999 |
20% |
|
Inspector Gadget | Thelma Burr (Character) | $97.4M | 1999 |
No Score Yet |
|
Forever Love | Dr. Berris (Character) | - | 1998 |
No Score Yet |
|
Changing Habits | Midge (Character) | - | 1997 |
62% |
|
Happy Gilmore | Grandma Gilmore (Character) | $38.8M | 1996 |
No Score Yet |
|
Rossini's Ghost | Unknown (Character) | - | 1996 |
59% |
|
In the Mouth of Madness | Mrs. Pickman (Character) | $8.9M | 1995 |
No Score Yet |
|
The Paperboy | Mrs. Rosemont (Character) | - | 1994 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Neighbour | Aunt Sylvia (Character) | - | 1993 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | By Way of the Stars | Annie Pyle (Character) | - | 1992 |
75% |
|
Inside Monkey Zetterland | Grandma (Character) | - | 1992 |
53% |
|
Single White Female | Elderly Neighbor (Character) | $46.2M | 1992 |
50% |
|
The Pit and the Pendulum | Esmeralda (Character) | - | 1991 |
15% |
|
The Karate Kid Part III | Mrs. Milo (Character) | $36.8M | 1989 |
95% |
|
Blue Velvet | Aunt Barbara (Character) | $8.6M | 1986 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Amos | Lydia (Character) | - | 1985 |
89% |
|
The Karate Kid | Lady with dog (Character) | - | 1984 |
No Score Yet |
|
Private School | Birdie Fallmouth (Character) | - | 1983 |
No Score Yet |
|
The Attic | Librarian (Character) | - | 1980 |
74% |
|
Foul Play | Mrs. Russel (Character) | - | 1978 |
TV
Credit | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
No Score Yet | 88% | The Middle | Aunt Ginny (Guest Star) | 2009-2011 |
No Score Yet | 88% | Hannah Montana | Cathy (Guest Star) | 2006 |
No Score Yet | 72% | My Wife and Kids | Unknown (Guest Star) | 2002 |
No Score Yet | 90% | Charmed | Unknown (Guest Star) | 2002 |
6% | No Score Yet | Bob Patterson | Unknown (Guest Star) | 2001 |
No Score Yet | 85% | ER | Georgia (Guest Star) | 2001 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Hughleys | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1998-2000 |
33% | No Score Yet | Style & Substance | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1998 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction? | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1998 |
43% | No Score Yet | C-16 | Miss Wilson (Guest Star) | 1998 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Diagnosis Murder | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1997 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Life With Roger | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1997 |
89% | 92% | Seinfeld | Mrs. Choate (Guest Star) | 1996 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Courthouse | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1995 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Commish | Ardith Cannon (Guest Star) | 1995 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Marshal | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1995 |
74% | 86% | The X-Files | Dorothy (Guest Star) | 1994 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Dave's World | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1994 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Who's the Boss? | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1992 |
0% | No Score Yet | Baby Talk | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1992 |
No Score Yet | 90% | Quantum Leap | Millie Reynolds (Guest Star) | 1992 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Matlock | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1991 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Hunter | Mrs. Laskey (Guest Star) | 1988 1991 |
78% | 92% | Twin Peaks | Mrs. Tremond (Guest Star) | 1990 |
No Score Yet | 79% | ALF | Virginia Russell (Guest Star) | 1990 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Newhart | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1989 |
No Score Yet | 94% | The Golden Girls | Claire (Guest Star) | 1988 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | My Sister Sam | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1987 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Last Precinct | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1986 |
97% | 85% | Hill Street Blues | Elizabeth Mies (Guest Star) | 1986 |
87% | 95% | Cheers | Mrs. Brubaker (Guest Star) | 1986 |
No Score Yet | 82% | Amazing Stories | Unknown (Character) | 1985 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Fame | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1985 |
68% | No Score Yet | E/R | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1984 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Alice | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1984 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Happy Days | Grandma Nussbaum (Guest Star) | 1982 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Dukes of Hazzard | Aunt Hortense (Guest Star) | 1981 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Jeffersons | Mrs. Wilson (Guest Star) | 1981 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | Hart to Hart | Unknown (Guest Star) | 1979-1980 |
No Score Yet | No Score Yet | The Mary Tyler Moore Show | Maid (Guest Star) | 1977 |