Full name, Lois Maureen Stapleton; born June 21, 1925, in Troy, NY; died of Chronic pulmonary disease, March 13, 2006, in Lenox, MA. Actress. Award-winning, respected actress Stapleton began her long career on the stage, making herBroadway debut in 1946 in a production of The Playboy of the Western World. She won her first Antoinette Perry Award in 1951 for her portrayal ofSerafina Delle Rose in Tennessee Williams' The Rose Tattoo. Stapletonmade her film debut in the United Artists' film Lonelyhearts in 1959,and her performance gained her an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress. She tirelessly worked in theatre and films as well as television throughout her long career. Among her best-known films are Airport, Woody Allen's Interiors, Warren Beatty's Reds, and Cocoon.She received Academy Award nominations for best supporting actress for her work in Airport and Interiors and finally won the award in 1982 with her performance in Reds. On stage Stapleton appeared in several other Tennessee Williams' plays, including Twenty-Seven Wagons Full of Cotton and Orpheus Descending. Over the years she also worked with NeilSimon, and she won an Antoinette Perry Award for The Gingerbread Ladyin a role written for her. Stapleton's television appearances ranged from episodic guest roles to lead roles in movies, such as Beatrice Asher in Queen of the Stardust Ballroom and Kate Thornton in The Gathering.
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