Marion Ross |
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Marion Ross (born October 25, 1928) is a Golden Globe-nominated American actress, best known for her role as Marion Cunningham on the TV series Happy Days from 1974 to 1984.
Born Marian Ross in Watertown, Minnesota, she later moved to nearby Waconia and then to Willmar, and eventually to Albert Lea, Minnesota. At the age of 13, she changed the spelling of her name from "Marian" to "Marion" because she thought it would look better on a marquee. After completing her sophomore year in high school, she moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, and worked as an au pair while studying drama at the MacPhail Center for the Arts, and attending Southwest High School. A year later, her family moved to San Diego, California.[1] She graduated from Point Loma High School in San Diego.[2] Ross enrolled in San Diego State University,[3] where she was named the school`s most outstanding actress. After graduation in 1950, she performed in summer theater in La Jolla, California. The director was impressed by her talent, and recommended that she try for work in cinema. Career Ross made her 1953 film debut in Forever Female, starring Ginger Rogers and William Holden. She found steady work in film, appearing in The Glenn Miller Story (1954), Sabrina (1954), and Operation Petticoat (1959). Her career on television also began in 1953, when she played the Irish maid on the series Life With Father for two years. Her list of credits spans the history of classic TV, from The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, Brady Bunch, Love Boat and Night Court. In the 1961-1962 season, she played Gertrude Berg`s 33-year-old daughter, Susan Green, in CBS`s sitcom Mrs. G. Goes to College. Ross` most famous role was in the long-running series Happy Days from 1974 to 1984, in which she played Marion Cunningham, mother of Ritchie, Chuck and Joanie. She later starred in the short-lived but critically acclaimed drama Brooklyn Bridge, which ran on CBS in the early 1990s. She also played a part in CBS` Touched by an Angel as a homeless lady who talked about the JFK conspiracy, and was in the final two episodes that closed out the series. In 1996, Ross starred as Rosie Dunlop opposite Shirley MacLaine in the Terms of Endearment sequel, The Evening Star. Ross has acted on Broadway and on film, but she prefers doing TV. In recent years, she played recurring roles as Drew Carey`s mother on The Drew Carey Show; as evil Bernice Forman on That `70s Show; and as Lorelai "Trix" Gilmore on The Gilmore Girls. She also frequently appears on Hollywood Squares, and did voiceover work as "Grandma SquarePants" on SpongeBob SquarePants. In an episode of the ABC drama Brothers & Sisters that aired on January 21, 2007, she guest-starred as Ida, the not-so-loving mother of Nora and Saul, making an unwelcome visit to celebrate a milestone in her daughter`s life. Ross lives in Los Angeles, California with actor Paul Michael. Her two adult children also work in entertainment: Jim Meskimen`s credits include How the Grinch Stole Christmas and appearances on Whose Line Is It Anyway?, and Ellen Plummer was a writer/producer on Friends. On Saturday, June 7, 2008, the Albert Lea Civic Theater in Albert Lea, Minnesota changed its name to the Marion Ross Performing Arts Center. Biography Credit: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marion_Ross |
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BiographyFriends and FamilyDrake Bell [Friend]Trivia and QuotesQuotes Happy Days, which we did for 11 years, we did with three cameras in front of a live audience. Very special. We had a party every Friday night. The boys, Ron, Henry, they grew up on that show. I was born not too far from Minneapolis, so it`s nice to come back and visit. I learned a great deal doing Brooklyn Bridge. I was able to take a giant step into the terrible reality that was then. We saw the cattle cars that took folks away. Just knowing it was real, it would be impossible not to feel. Happy Days was a wonderful, wonderful experience and I would not have traded it for the world. I think in Mrs. C, I certainly played myself. A very compulsive, sweet person. But if you don`t watch me, I will try and sneak in some humor. I see humor everywhere in life around me. Prague is the Paris of the `90s. Hearing loss very often is such a gradual phenomenon that the person is in denial. You really have to be patient with them in getting them to come forward to get help. I really wanted to go onstage. Not movies. But I ended up under contract to Paramount. Now I adore film work. I have to constantly remind myself that I am communicating with a person with hearing loss. The thing about hearing loss is that no one can see it. Most people are so impatient; they just assume that the person with hearing loss is being rude, or slow-witted. Rule number one is, make sure that you face the person with hearing loss when you are speaking to them. Shouting does not help if you are talking to someone who has a hearing loss, especially if they wear hearing aids. Shouting just makes things worse. The great classics that, as a professional you don`t get to do, you do as a student, when you don`t know any better. I have tremendous faith in theuniverse. I feel at home on this planet. Even though it`s a very big world out there, I plan on walking right through the middle of it unharmed.Trivia Mother of actor Jim Meskimen. Best remembered by the public for her role as "Marian Cunningham" in the television series "Happy Days" (1974). Older sister, Alicia, and younger brother, Gordon. She is the Associate Artist for the Old Globe Theater in San Diego, California. Mother-in-law of Tamra Meskimen. Mother of actor Jim Meskimen and actress Ellen Plummer. She lives in the San Fernando Valley, California in a country-style home which she calls "Happy Days farm" At the age of 13, she changed the spelling of her name from "Marian" to "Marion" because she thought it would look better on a marquee. She appeared on Broadway in 1987 with Jean Stapleton in a revival of "Arsenic and Old Lace." Lives with Paul Michael Spouse, Freeman Meskiman (1951 - 1969) (divorced) 2 children
Born in Albert Lea, Minnesota, USA | ||
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