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Zoe Caldwell

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Zoe Caldwell
OBE
Born
Zoe Ada Caldwell

(1933-09-14)14 September 1933
Melbourne,Victoria,Australia
Died16 February 2020(2020-02-16)(aged 86)
Pound Ridge, New York,U.S.
Resting placePound Ridge Cemetery, Pound Ridge, New York, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1953–2018
Spouse
​
​
(m.1968; died 2002)​
Children2

Zoe Ada CaldwellOBE(14 September 1933 – 16 February 2020) was an Australian actress.[1]She was a four-timeTony Awardwinner, winningBest Featured Actress in a PlayforSlapstick Tragedy(1966), andBest Actress in a PlayforThe Prime of Miss Jean Brodie(1968),Medea(1982), andMaster Class(1996). Her film appearances includeThe Purple Rose of Cairo(1985),Birth(2004), andExtremely Loud & Incredibly Close(2011). She was also known for providing the voice of theGrand Councilwomanin theLilo & Stitchfranchiseand inKingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep.

Early life[edit]

Caldwell was born inMelbourne,and raised in the suburb ofBalwyn.Her father, Edgar, was a plumber.[2]Caldwell's mother often took some of the neighbourhood kids to the Elizabethan Theatre in Richmond where they could go backstage and watch rehearsals and performances.[3][4]

Career[edit]

Caldwell began her career in Melbourne in the 1950s and early 1960s, performing with the newly formedUnion Theatre Repertory Company(later the Melbourne Theatre Company).[5]

She emigrated to England upon being invited to join theRoyal Shakespeare Companyat a time whenCharles Laughtonwas attempting to reviveLear,andVanessa Redgrave,Eileen Atkins,Albert Finneywere among the other newcomers in the company. She played Bianca in the 1959 production ofOthello,starringPaul Robeson.Later she played the indomitable Helena, opposite DameEdith Evansin a production ofAll's Well That Ends Well.Her career later brought her to the United States, where she was one of the original company of actors under Guthrie's direction at theTyrone Guthrie TheatreinMinneapolis.At the Guthrie, she played parts such as Ophelia inHamletand Natasha inThree Sisters.[citation needed]

A life member of theActors Studio,[6]Caldwell won fourTony Awardsfor her performances onBroadwayinTennessee Williams'Slapstick Tragedy,The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie,MedeaandMaster Class.In the last she portrayed operadivaMaria Callas.InStratford, Ontarioshe appeared often, including her role asCleopatrainShakespeare'sAntony and CleopatraoppositeChristopher Plummer'sMark Antonyin 1967.[7]

Her other credits on Broadway includeArthur Miller'sThe Creation of the World and Other Businessin which she playedEve,a one-woman play byWilliam Lucebased on the life ofLillian Hellmanand a production ofMacbethwith Christopher Plummer as Macbeth andGlenda JacksonasLady Macbethunder Caldwell's direction. Caldwell directed,Off-Broadway,a two-woman play, created by Eileen Atkins,Vita and Virginia,based on the letters betweenVirginia WoolfandVita Sackville-West.Atkins played Virginia and Vanessa Redgrave played Vita. Caldwell directed the Broadway production ofOthelloin the late 1970s withJames Earl Jones,Christopher Plummer,andDianne Wiest.She helmed theAmerican Shakespeare TheatreinStratford, Connecticutfor two limited-run seasons as its Artistic Director in the mid-1980s.[citation needed]

Caldwell also performed on film, most notably as an imperious dowager inWoody Allen'sThe Purple Rose of Cairo.She voiced the character of the Grand Councilwoman in Disney'sLilo & Stitch,and continued voicing the character inthe franchise's later filmsand inLilo & Stitch: The Series,as well as inKingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep.[8]In 2011, she acted inExtremely Loud & Incredibly Close.[9]

Personal life[edit]

Caldwell graduated fromMethodist Ladies' College, Kewand, much later, received an honorary degree from theUniversity of Melbourne.[10]In 1968, she married Canadian-born Broadway producerRobert Whitehead,a cousin of actorHume Cronyn.They had two sons and were married until Whitehead's death in June 2002.[11]

Honours[edit]

In 1970, Caldwell was appointed anOfficer of the Order of the British Empireby The Queen.[9]

Death[edit]

Caldwell died inPound Ridge, New Yorkon 16 February 2020, aged 86, of complications fromParkinson's disease.[1]

Filmography[edit]

Film[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1962 Festival in Adelaide Saint Joan
1985 The Purple Rose of Cairo The Countess
2002 Lilo & Stitch Grand Councilwoman Voice
2003 Stitch! The Movie Voice, direct-to-video
2004 Birth Mrs. Hill
2004 Stitch's Great Escape! Grand Councilwoman Voice, short
2006 Leroy & Stitch Voice, direct-to-video
2011 Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close Oskar's Grandmother (final film role)

Television[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1959 A Midsummer Night's Dream Fairy TV movie
1960 BBC Sunday Night Play Ruth Honeywill Episode: "Twentieth Century Theatre: Justice"
1960 ITV Playhouse Louise Episode: "The Song of Louise in the Morning"
1960 Suspense Kathy Harrison Episode: "Flight 404"
1960 Theatre 70 Episode: "The Neighbour"
1961 Macbeth Lady Macbeth TV movie
1963 Festival Episode: "The Doctor's Dilemma"
1964 Playdate Streetwalker Episode: "A Night Out"
1964 Dear Liar Mrs. Patrick Campbell TV movie
1968 The Secret of Michelangelo Narrator TV movie
1971 Great Performances Sarah Bernhardt Episode: "Sarah... Sarah Bernhardt"
1978 Play of the Month Mme. Arkadina Episode: "The Seagull"
1983 Medea Medea TV movie
1986 American Masters Carlotta Monterey O'Neill Episode: "Eugene O'Neill: A Glory of Ghosts"
1989 Lantern Hill Mrs. Kennedy TV movie
1990 Road to Avonlea Old Lady Lloyd Episode: "Old Lady Lloyd"
2003 Lilo & Stitch: The Series Grand Councilwoman Voice, Episode: "Finder"

Theatre credits[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1965 The Devils Sister Jean of the Angels – replacement Broadway Theatre
1966 Slapstick Tragedy Polly Longacre Theater – Tony Award
1968 The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie Jean Brodie Helen Hayes Theater – Tony Award
1972 The Creation of the World and Other Business Eve Shubert Theater
1974 Dance of Death Alice Vivian Beaumont Theater
1977 An Almost Perfect Person Director Belasco Theater
1982 Medea Medea Cort Theater – Tony Award
1986 Lillian Lillian Ethel Barrymore Theater
1988 Macbeth Director Mark Hellinger Theatre
1991 Park Your Car In Harvard Yard Director Music Box Theater
1995–1997 Master Class Maria Callas John Golden Theater – Tony Award
2003 The Play What I Wrote Mystery Guest Star – replacement Lyceum Theater
2003 The Visit Claire Zachanassian Melbourne Theatre Company

Video games[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
2002 Disney's Stitch: Experiment 626 Grand Councilwoman Deleted role; credit only
2010 Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep Grand Councilwoman

Bibliography[edit]

  • Caldwell, Zoe (2002).I Will be Cleopatra: An Actress's Journey.New York: W. W. Norton.ISBN978-0393323603.

References[edit]

  1. ^abGenzlinger, Neil (18 February 2020)."Zoe Caldwell, Winner of Four Tony Awards, Is Dead at 86".The New York Times.Retrieved18 February2020.
  2. ^Nightingale, Benedict.Her Infinite Variety,The New York Times,21 October 2001; accessed 27 May 2008.
  3. ^"Ms Zoe Caldwell".University of Melbourne. 29 September 2003. Archived fromthe originalon 30 August 2006.Retrieved27 February2020.
  4. ^"New York State Writers Institute on Caldwell".State University of New York. Archived fromthe originalon 31 October 2006.Retrieved13 November2006.
  5. ^"Zoe Caldwell".AusStage.Retrieved25 July2017.
  6. ^Garfield, David (1980). "Appendix: Life Members of the Actors Studio as of January 1980".A Player's Place: The Story of the Actors Studio.New York: MacMillan Publishing. p.277.ISBN978-0025426504.
  7. ^"Zoe Caldwell".Stratford Festival.Retrieved27 February2020.
  8. ^"Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleepdetails ".IMDb.Retrieved14 January2015.
  9. ^abConevey, Michael (19 February 2020)."Zoe Caldwell obituary".The Guardian.London.Retrieved27 February2020.
  10. ^"Performing Arts at Pace University Presents An Evening with Zoe Caldwell, 4/23"(Press release).Pace University.13 April 2012.Retrieved27 February2020.
  11. ^Gussow, Mel(17 June 2002)."Robert Whitehead, Who Brought Top Playwrights to Broadway, Dies at 86"The New York Times.Retrieved 27 January 2014.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Zoe_Caldwell&oldid=1226351779"