How will you remember Cloris Leachman?
Image: Photo: Alberto E. Rodriguez TV Features Cloris Leachman
It really did seem like Cloris Leachman could do it all. The accolade-laden actress—who died Tuesday of natural causes at the age of 94—bounced from dramatic turns in project like Peter Bogdanovich’s 1972 drama The Last Picture Show (for which she won an Oscar) to playing for laughs on sitcoms The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Malcolm In The Middle (for which she won four of her eight Primetime Emmy Awards), to busting out an aria with the Muppets or a cha-cha on Dancing With The Stars. Leachman was the consummate performer—performing even the bawdiest of roles with class and grace. As we look back on her career, which spanned seven decades and includes two roles in films yet to be released, The A.V. Club asks ourselves and our readers: How will you remember Cloris Leachman?
The Last Picture Show
The Last Picture Show is a bleak, beautiful movie, depicting a tiny Texas town in decline. Director Peter Bogdanovich’s use of black and white, seen as artistic in 1971, only heightens the dramatic dreariness, but one of the film’s few actual bright spots is Cloris Leachman as Ruth Popper. The neglected dowdy wife of the football coach, Ruth springs to life through her affair with Sonny (Timothy Bottoms), who’s recently graduated from high school. Leachman launches her character, butterfly-like, from utterly forgettable to unforgettable, as Ruth is transformed by love—then equally devastated when it ends. Leachman later recalled that she’d memorized the heart-wrenching speech that ends the film—in which a destroyed Ruth somehow still manages to offer compassion to Sonny—on the way to the set that day. When she finished the shot, she asked to do it again, saying that she didn’t do it well. Bogdanovich refused, telling her, “You’re going to win the Academy Award.” He was right. The scene closes the film, showing that even in the pit of despair, human connection can save us, which Leachman’s performance personifies in aching detail. And, in a single take. [Gwen Ihnat]
Young Frankenstein
Not long ago, I wrote just a few sentences about Young Frankenstein and its importance in my family’s inside jokes. Now, there are no weak links in that particular ensemble, but even next to the likes of Gene Wilder and Madeline Kahn, Chloris Leachman’s Frau Blücher (Neeeeeeeigh!) stands out. Leachman enlists every part of her face—eyes, mouth, forehead, even her chin is acting in this movie—and pulls them as tight as the bun on top of her head, contorting them into absurd, rubbery shapes that make for a hilarious contrast to her reserved posture and husky, vaguely Eastern European accent. The interplay between Leachman and Wilder when Frau Blücher offers the good doctor some Ovaltine offers a master class in eye acting and comedic timing, but her skillfully controlled performance reaches its greatest heights when she throws open her arms and triumphantly shouts, “He was—my boyfriend!” [Katie Rife]
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
Cloris Leachman makes such an impact as landlady Phyllis Lindstrom on The Mary Tyler Moore Show that it’s easy to forget she was only ever a recurring presence on the series. But my how crucial she is to the calibration of the 1970s’ best sitcom ensemble: The splash of vinegar to the title star’s sweetness, casually insulting Mary Richards’ tastes and exchanging passive-aggressive barbs with Rhoda Morgenstern—a depiction of Midwestern nice that could only come from a native of Des Moines. It wasn’t the type of thing that could sustain a show of its own, but Leachman’s departure for Phyllis in 1975 required the full-time recruitment of no less a comic bruiser than Betty White to maintain Mary Tyler Moore’s delicate balance. Consider it a soufflé—like the one Phyllis aggressively flattens in the season-four premiere, “The Lars Affair,” just before Leachman is allowed to sling one of her character’s most unguarded gibes at White’s Sue Ann Nevins: “You’re bananas, you know that?” The face Leachman pulls when she delivers the line is something to behold. [Erik Adams]
Malcolm In The Middle
When faced with the problem of how to cast the mother of the show’s resident mom from hell, the producers of Malcolm In The Middle hit on an inspired answer: Cloris. Thickly accented, utterly unflappable, and rock-solid stubborn, Leachman’s Ida was a regular injection of mean-spirited energy into the Fox sitcom, the one force on earth capable of cowing her daughter, Jane Kaczmerak’s Lois. In a show where the meanest mind usually won, Leachman (who won two Emmys for the role) was the queen of carefully crafted cruelty, a perfect explanation for how Lois became the iron-willed woman she was, and regularly the funniest element of any episode in which she appeared. [William Hughes]
Blue Mountain State
Everyone has already shouted out the Leachman roles that made her an indelible part of my childhood—Frau Blücher and Phyllis Lindstrom—as well as her unforgettable turn in The Last Picture Show that I still think about at least once a month. So I thought I’d pay homage to the more mischievous side of the actor, by noting what is, hands down, one of the filthiest roles I’ve ever seen any actor take, let alone an Academy Award winner—and that is really saying something: Patricia Holmes, the mysterious mother of the professor failing every member of the football team on campy sitcom Blue Mountain State. The show is not without its problems (ironic or sexist? Maybe both?), but good god, what a force of nature Leachman was. In the season one episode, “Midterms,” Professor Holmes agrees to give Cs to the members of the team if they each take his aging mother out for a night at the movies, in order to get her off his hands now and then. Turns out, Patricia is a bit of a nympho; and the rest of the episode finds Leachman gleefully delivering vigorous and enthusiastic handjobs to every single player who escorts her to the cinema, often after convincing them it’ll be fun. It’s crass, and appalling, and you can tell Leachman is loving every minute of it. It’s the kind of vanity-free, go-for-broke commitment that made just about everyone who worked with Leachman fall in love with her; and it’s the kind of cringe-inducing image that you will never forget, even as you admire the gutsy actor who dove into the performance. It probably won’t make her In Memoriam reel at the Oscars this year, but it’s a damn sight more memorable, for good or ill. [Alex McLevy]
Raising Hope
Leachman was 84 years old when she made her debut as Maw Maw on Raising Hope, and even as the elder stateswoman on set, Leachman was often the most nimble—and funniest—actor on the Fox comedy. Playing a great-great-grandmother to the titular baby, Leachman’s Maw Maw suffered from dementia, a disease played for laughs in 2010 in a way that probably wouldn’t fly on network TV a decade later. Leachman was never afraid to look silly or get dirty for the sake of the comedy, and she proved that time and time again, as the clip above shows. But, as always, Leachman found way to make her character also the heart of the comedy—snapping her character back into reality to impart some essential wisdom (though it was even more impressive whens he pulled off that task during one of Maw Maw’s flights of fancy). I’ll also add: She looked damn good when playing decades younger in Hope’s frequent flashbacks. Maybe laughing does keep you young. If so, Leachman certainly added years to our lives. [Patrick Gomez]
American Gods
Throughout her 70-plus-year career, Leachman held her own against the likes of Paul Newman, Gene Wilder, and Gregory Hines; starred in her own TV series; and collaborated with directors like Peter Bogdanovich, Mel Brooks, and James L. Brooks. So the Oscar winner was the perfect choice to play Zorya Vechernyaya, an old god who’d seen it all (including the future), in Starz’s American Gods adaptation. A keeper of the stars, Zorya Vechernyaya was able to cut through all of Odin’s (Ian McShane) bullshit, leaving his flattery to wither on his tongue. Leachman exuded both world-weariness and a sense of otherworldiness as the Evening Star (as Zorya Vechernyaya was also known), who takes up with Odin’s camp for her own reasons; to relive her glory, not his. Leachman and McShane’s verbal sparring was as much a thrill to watch as their onscreen kiss, which has the rare honor of being one of the sexiest scenes in a Starz prestige drama, where getting it on is practically the order of the day. [Danette Chavez]
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Beerfest
R.I.P. Cloris. My favorite performance: Melba Stokes in Jonathan Demme’s fifties kitschfest road movie Crazy Mama from 1975. Just watch her take at 3:44 when her mother (Ann Sothern) asks, “How was he?”
I was just flicking through some old shows yesterday and had forgotten about Raising Hope. Watched the first episode again and recalled how enjoyable Cloris was in the show. Just one of those strange moments where I wouldn’t have even thought of her for 6 or 7 years and chose yesterday to stumble across that show.
It was for this role that I mostly remember her. She was a scene stealer and could turn any predictable joke into something that was was witty enough to make me laugh out loud.
Watching the clip above made me wanna watch it again too, Plimpton and Dillahunt were so funny together
“Let’s trade pants.” Maw Maw and Burt were great together.
One of the best episodes ever
BOYS LOVE CANDY!
My dad’s favourite episode.Back in ‘66, when Australia had just switched over to decimal currency and the older population was still getting used to the dollars and sense instead of the weird-arse pounds, shillings, and pence, a “nice old lady” offered to pay him and my uncle “half a crown” to do some chores.Oh, sweet, they thought. And they went to work.The mowed her lawn, washed her windows, her car, cleaned her whole house. Even swept out her utterly heinous chook shed. And, as promised, they got half a crown to split between them.Turns out the new coin that best looked like, to elderly, cataract-filled eyes, was……20c. “So,” I asked dad, “was that a lot of money?”“Fuck no!” dad spat, “Not even in the sixties. Billy and I bought ourselves a fucken ice cream each on the way home, and that was it.”Also, as someone who spent his childhood building tin sheds all over NW NSW and SE Queensland, we was well familiar with the sting of iodine.
I hope they didn’t spend it all on rock candy and moon pie!
What on Earth….?
For me, it will be the opening moments of Kiss Me Deadly.I had grown up with Cloris Leachman. I had always knew her or, at least, I knew one kind of her. The kind that showed up in dozens of sitcoms and game shows and whatnot. I had always felt that she was the kinda corny leftover from the Baby Boomer shows who was always there when a show needed a body, especially one that could shovel out some corny jokes with conviction.
So imagine my surprise, being a late teen, and watching her as a young, scared, vulnerable young girl running down a road, naked except for a trench coat. It was the first time that I saw her massive range and realized that she could do it all.
It wouldn’t be the last time that I reconsidered some corny figure of my youth and realized that they were, in fact, awesome (see Carol Channing and Dolly Parton) but it was one of my first.
RIP Ms. Leachman. You were amazing.
Like you, I was surprised to notice the Leachman in the opening scene of that Film Noir. It was a reminder of how varied her talent was after seeing her mostly in comedy.
I was surprised to find her as the hooker in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. It’s a tiny part, but she makes an impression.
That’s a great movie and Cloris owns the screen for the few minutes she’s in it. Good puck.
Glad someone posted this!
Cloris Leachman always struck me as one of those wonderful people who aged physically not mentally. She had an incredible range as a performer, but I think equally important was her willingness to stretch and take some out-there roles, particularly in comedy. That’s a rare gift and one to be celebrated.
Her role in American Gods showed how sharp she was at 90.
I’ve met elderly Polish immigrants, which she obviously was not, but she did a great playing Zorya Vechernyaya, and the bit above is right how well she matched Ian McShane.
Warm-ish take: as rightly revered as Frau Blucher is, I consider Nurse Diesel (of High Anxiety) a funnier character. Pretty much everything about the character slays me: the way she slurps her fruit cup in front of Dr. Montague (“Thirty seconds. You’re so strict!”); her constant clenched-teeth line delivery…hell, pretty much every moment with Montague (an equally brilliant Harvey Korman), esp. “You live for bondage! You live for discipline!”. It always made me glad to see (or hear) Leachman, but Nurse Diesel holds a special place in my heart. RIP.
Leachman and Korman are the highlight of that movie. I love the scene where Korman is losing his shit (“Buy up all the papers!”) and Leachman tells him to sit down and he sits down immediately, on the floor.
“Perhaps that’s not the best plan?”“It sucks.”
“WEIRD NOISES. It was the TV. I’ve turned it DOWN.”
I know it sounds weird, but i actually enjoyed her on the facts of Life. That aside, what range. Such a loss.
I suppose it wasn’t on the level of her more celebrated work, but she did a yeoman’s job. R.I.P.
Yeah, she came into the series late, replacing Charlotte Rae (who had already cut her load down) and the girls were old enough to where they didnt -need- a guardian, but she was funny and different enough to work in the series. Pippa on the other hand…not so much.
How will you remember Cloris Leachman?As the brilliant bright spot in the ghastly, over-rated, hard-to-watch cringe-fest that was Spanglish.And of course as the brilliant but ghastly, hard-to-watch cringe-fest that was Ida in Malcolm in the Middle
Obviously for her wonderful performance in cinematic classic Oogie Loves, or Foodfight! Okay for real I’m gonna be cliche as all hell and say Frau Blucker. I mean the moment I heard the news I shouted he was my boyfriend in her honor. Nobody else could have played that role as well. The fact she stands out in a cast with people like Marty Feldman, Gene Wilder, Madeline Kahn, and Kenneth Mars speaks for itself. Farewell Cloris.
I’ll remember Leachman at the holidays:Young Frankenstein at HalloweenBad Santa at ChristmasRIP to such a talented performer.
Growing up with a liberated mother, MTM, Rhoda and Phyllis were some of that era’s must-see-TV around our house (along with the Norman Lear shows), but a Cloris Leachman role which stands out for me isn’t so much for what she did — though it certainly kept with that strong woman thing — but more for a WTF were they doing.In the pilot movie of what became Lynda Carter’s Wonder Woman, Ms. Leachman played Queen Hippolyta, Diana’s mother. I can only assume they played it for camp, with it also starring Red Buttons, but it certainly made an impression first-run and I enjoyed it again when I caught the show streaming via AOL-TV, a dozen years ago. I’m sure the series is streaming somewhere now, if anyone wants to catch the pilot episode.
From the first episode Phyllis appeared in, shaming her own daughter for revealing gossip she had been smugging about (“Bess, that was Mother’s news…”), she was an absolute wonder to watch. Cloris was expert at playing a character who was insufferable but somehow still making you enjoy her, and at times even sympathize with her. There are so many little scenes I remember, like her singing a French song in her old fur coat, her joy at learning her brother was gay and not actually dating Rhoda, her impression of her in-laws, watching her and muttering judgmentally in Swedish. That’s not even getting into the terrific showcase episodes Phyllis got in seasons 4 and 5 (the Lars affair episode gets more attention but the one where she is cut off financially and ends up trying to work at WJM is my favorite).
I will remember her as someone that is all in every role every time. She was fearlessly committed to her characters. TV work from 1948-now. WOW! Just look at everything from Spanglish to Young Frankenstein.
I don’t think any show had as great an ensemble cast as “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and Cloris held her own with an uncomfortably abrasive performance as the loathsome Phyllis, a character you could at best only pity. She was a great foil for Mary but how anyone thought her character could headline her own series remains a mystery.As monstrous as Phyllis was, Leachman created an even more heinous she-bitch in an early “Night Gallery” episode opposite Broderick Crawford.Curiously, I remember her best for her small but memorable part in this 1975 ABC “Movie of the Week” (based on the infamous 1964 Catherine Genovese murder) where she once again held her own beside the likes ofRaul Julia and Ed Asner.
First mention for the movie within “The Office”! Of course, she steals the scene from Jack Black.
Samwiches. RIP Cloris.
In Young Frankenstein, after the third “Blücher,” as she turns away, the hurt face she makes is one of the funniest and saddest thing I ever seen combined into one second.
She was fearless. She could do it all. She did it with grace. She will be missed.
I did not know her from movies.Being of a certain age, I remember as Mrs. Fremont as Billy Mumy’s mother on the Twilight Zone episode, “It’s a Good Life.” Secondly, watching Phyllis on TV, I was upset when it was cancelled. Thirdly, seeing Facts of Life when she was Edna’s sister and replacement.It seems like I’ve got a few movies to catch up on. RIP Cloris.
“I’ll make ya some sandwiches…”
with my brain, I guess.
“Stay close to the candles, the staircase can be treacherous.” looks so innocuous on ‘paper’, but was possibly the best line in a movie absolutely filled with great lines. The candles being unlit was the obvious gag, but it was her delivery and timing…that barely-there pause in the middle and tiny inflection on the ‘can’…so perfect.She was also great as Madame DeFarge (sp?) in History of the World Pt 1. Hell, she was great as the grandmother in Beerfest (again, comedy is about delivery and timing, she was perfect, as usual). Any movie she was in was better because she was in it.
“Bon jour, scum.”
“We are so poor, we don’t even have a language…just a stupid accent!”
Good God, I didn’t realize how much I missed The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
Anecdotal, but a friend of mine posted the following on FB which I thought was pretty great.
“i was in line at a coffee shop in Santa Fe with a guy i was dating back in 1993. the place was packed so i made a comment to him about how crowded it was. then all of a sudden this woman said something like “but we like it that way!” while turning around in a circle and grabbing my nether regions (and i believe his) as she squeezed by us. we looked at each other and exclaimed, “was that Chloris Leachman?!” her daughter looked mortified and gave us an apologetic glance.”