Nancy Marchand
Born June 19, 1928, in Buffalo, New York
Died June 18, 2000 in Stratford, Connecticut
Actress
Born June 19, 1928, in Buffalo, New York,
Marchand was a reticent child, who was sent to
acting school at age 10 to overcome her shyness.
While studying drama at the Carnegie Institute of
Technology (now Carnegie-Mellon University) in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, she made her acting
debut in a summer stock production of The Late
George Apley (1946). Upon her graduation, in
1949, Marchand joined the Brattle Theatre in
Cambridge, Massachusetts, where she met and
married fellow actor Paul Sparer.
In 1950, Marchand moved to New York, where she
starred in the TV movies Little Women (1950) and
Marty (1953), before making her Broadway bow in
Miss Isobel (1957). She won her first feature
film role shortly thereafter in the Paddy
Chayefsky drama The Bachelor Party (1957).
Marchand continued to enjoy steady stage and
television work throughout the 1960s, offering a
stellar performance as an impassioned brothel
owner in an off-Broadway production of The
Balcony (1960), for which she earned an Obie
Award.
Memorable parts in some of TV's most popular
daytime dramas followed, including Another World
and Love of Life, which featured Marchand in the
recurring role of Vinnie Phillips from 1970-74.
In the mid-1970s, Marchand starred in the
short-lived drama Beacon Hill (1975), before she
won the role of autocratic newspaper publisher,
Margaret Pynchon, on the series Lou Grant
(1977-1982). A spin-off of the beloved The Mary
Tyler Moore Show, Lou Grant enjoyed six
successful seasons on the air, during which
Marchand received four Emmy Awards as Best
Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.
A distinguished character actress, Marchand's
projects during the 1980s ranged from period
dramas like The Bostonians (1984), starring
Christopher Reeve, to slapstick comedies like The
Naked Gun (1988), with Leslie Nielsen. In
addition to a prosperous film and television
career, Marchand continued to work on Broadway,
off-Broadway, and regional theatre. Throughout
the 1980s, she offered compelling performances in
the productions Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It
All for You, Awake and Sing, Elektra, and The
Cocktail Hour. For the latter production,
Marchand earned a 1988 Obie Award.
Marchand went on to appear in the films Regarding
Henry (1991) and Sabrina (1995), before landing
the scene-stealing role of Livia Soprano on the
acclaimed HBO series The Sopranos (1999-2000).
Receiving two Emmy nominations and a 1999 Golden
Globe Award for her compelling performance as the
domineering matriarch of a New Jersey mob family,
Marchand remained a cast member until her death
from lung cancer on June 18, 2000 (one day before
her 72nd birthday).
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