Cloris Leachman | Biography, TV Shows, Movies, & Facts | Britannica (2024)

Cloris Leachman (born April 30, 1926, Des Moines, Iowa, U.S.—died January 26, 2021, Encinitas, California) was an American actress who was most widely known for her comic roles, perhaps most notably Phyllis Lindstrom on the TV show The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970–77).

Leachman took piano lessons as a small child and participated in community theatre as she was growing up. She briefly studied drama at Northwestern University. In 1946 she participated in the Miss America Pageant as Miss Chicago, and she was named one of the 16 semifinalists. The award led to her film debut as an unnamed extra in the movie Carnegie Hall (1947), shot in New York City. Also in 1947–48 Leachman served as an understudy for the female lead in the Broadway comedy John Loves Mary. She made her Broadway debut in 1948 in Sundown Beach, which closed after a week, and she later played the part of Celia in a successful revival of As You Like It (1950). She appeared in a number of short-lived Broadway shows over the next several years, the most notable of which were Arthur Miller’s The Crucible (1953) and King of Hearts (1954). In addition, from 1948 she acted in numerous live television dramas. She made her feature film debut as the young woman whose death is the catalyst for the plot in Kiss Me Deadly (1955), based on a novel by Mickey Spillane. Leachman played the mother in the 1957–58 season of the long-running TV series Lassie (1954–74). Outside of a small part in the movie The Chapman Report (1962), she spent most of the 1960s playing guest roles on TV shows.

Leachman won notice when she played the prostitute Agnes in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), and she appeared in another movie with Paul Newman, the political drama WUSA (1970). Her role as the homely, lonely wife of a high school football coach in Peter Bogdanovich’s The Last Picture Show (1971) brought her critical acclaim and an Academy Award for best supporting actress. Thereafter she appeared in a number of TV movies, notably Of Thee I Sing (1972) and The Migrants (1974). She was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her performance in the film comedy Charley and the Angel (1973).

It was her recurring role as Phyllis Lindstrom, the landlady of Mary Richards, in the immensely popular sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970–77), that brought her lasting fame. She won Emmy Awards in 1974 and 1975 for her performance as Phyllis, and she later starred in the spin-off sitcom Phyllis (1975–77). During that time Leachman also won an Emmy for the TV movie A Brand New Life (1973) and another Emmy for her performance in a 1975 episode of the variety show Cher. In addition, she turned in an indelible performance as Frau Blücher in Mel Brooks’s film Young Frankenstein (1974).

Leachman remained primarily a television actress thereafter. She was a cast member (1986–88) on the sitcom The Facts of Life and starred in the short-lived series The Nutt House (1989). She earned her fifth Emmy Award for her performance in Screen Actors Guild 50th Anniversary Celebration (1984) and her sixth Emmy for a 1997 guest role on the series Promised Land (1996–99). Leachman was a cast member on The Ellen Show (2001–02; starring Ellen DeGeneres) and had a recurring role on Touched by an Angel (1997–2003). From 2001 to 2006 she portrayed Grandma Ida on Malcolm in the Middle, earning Emmy Awards in 2002 and 2006. She later played Maw Maw on the series Raising Hope (2010–14) and was cast as a Slavic goddess in American Gods, which premiered in 2017. During this time she voiced characters on the animated series Creative Galaxy and Justice League Action.

Leachman occasionally appeared in films, and her movie credits from the early 21st century included The Comedian (2016), I Can Only Imagine (2018), and Jump, Darling (2020). She also provided the voice of a cavewoman in the animated family comedy The Croods (2013) and its sequel (2020).