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Ellen Rose Albertini Dow (November 16, 1913 – May 4, 2015) was an American film and television character actress and drama coach. She portrayed feisty old ladies and is best known as the rapping grandmother Rosie in The Wedding Singer (1998), performing "Rapper's Delight". Dow's other film roles include elderly lady Mary Cleary who "outs" her grandson in Wedding Crashers, Disco Dottie in 54, the recipient of Christopher Lloyd's character's slapstick in Radioland Murders and a choir nun in Sister Act. She was best known to small screen audiences for her guest appearances on sitcoms The Golden Girls (playing Lillian, a friend of Sophia's) and Will & Grace (as Karen Walker's mother-in-law Sylvia).
Ellen Albertini Dow | |
|---|---|
 Dow as Rosie in The Wedding Singer | |
| Born | Ellen Rose Albertini November 16, 1913 |
| Died | May 4, 2015 (aged 101) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Saint Peter's Cemetery |
| Alma mater | Cornell University (1935) |
| Occupation(s) | Actress, acting coach |
| Years active | 1985–2013 |
| Spouse |
Eugene Francis Dow Jr.
(m. 1951; died 2004) |
Early life
editAlbertini was born on November 16, 1913, in Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania,[1] the seventh and youngest child of Italian immigrant parents, Ellen and Oliver, from Non Valley, Trentino.[2][3] She studied dance and piano at age five and would later move to New York City, where she studied and worked with renowned dancers and choreographers Hanya Holm and Martha Graham.[4]
Secondary education
editDow earned a B.A. and M.A. in theatre from Cornell University, where she became a member of Kappa Delta sorority, graduating in 1935.[5] Dow studied acting with Michael Shurtleff and Uta Hagen, and worked with mimes Marcel Marceau and Jacques Lecoq in NYC.[4][citation needed]
Career
editEducator
editWhen Dow moved to Los Angeles with her husband, she taught drama at Los Angeles City College. She and her husband later taught at Los Angeles Pierce College.[6]
Acting
editAlbertini Dow did not start acting on screen until the 1980s, when she was in her seventies. Her television work includes appearances in such television series as Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Golden Girls, The Wonder Years, Family Matters, Newhart, Designing Women, Just Shoot Me, ER, Will & Grace, Seinfeld, Ned's Declassified, Hannah Montana, Scrubs, Sister, Sister, According to Jim, Six Feet Under, Wings, The Nanny and My Name Is Earl.
Her film appearances include Tough Guys, My Blue Heaven, Sister Act, Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit, Radioland Murders, The Wedding Singer, 54, Patch Adams, Road Trip and Wedding Crashers.
Personal life and death
editDow married Eugene Dow Jr. on June 27, 1951.[6] Eugene died on October 11, 2004. They had no children.[citation needed]
Dow died on May 4, 2015, at the age of 101 due to pneumonia.[7]
Dow was a practicing Roman Catholic and a lifelong Democrat.[8]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes | ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | American Drive-In | Allison | ||
| 1986 | Tough Guys | Old Lady | ||
| Body Slam | Organist | |||
| Munchies | Little Old Lady | |||
| Walk Like a Man | Organist | |||
| 1988 | Going to the Chapel | Grandma Haldane | ||
| 1990 | My Blue Heaven | Nun | ||
| Genuine Risk | Receptionist | |||
| 1991 | Blood and Concrete | Old Lady | ||
| 1992 | Memoirs of an Invisible Man | Mrs. Coulson | ||
| Sister Act | Choir Nun #1 | [9] | ||
| Twogether | Mrs. Norton | |||
| Space Case | Betsy | |||
| 1993 | Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit | Choir Nun #1 | ||
| 1994 | Radioland Murders | Organist | ||
| 1995 | Problem Child 3 | Lila Duvane | ||
| 1998 | The Wedding Singer | Rosie | [10] | |
| Carnival of Souls | Mrs. Meltzer | |||
| 54 | Disco Dottie | [11] | ||
| Patch Adams | Aggie Kennedy | |||
| 2000 | Ready to Rumble | Mrs. MacKenzie | ||
| Road Trip | Mrs. Manilow | |||
| 2001 | Longshot | Mrs. Fleisher | ||
| 2002 | Eight Crazy Nights | See's Candies Box | Voice | |
| 2005 | Wedding Crashers | Mary Cleary | [12] | |
| Halfway Decent | Mrs. Kahn | |||
| 2006 | Fat Girls | Mildred | ||
| 2007 | The Blue Hour | Anabella | ||
| 2008 | Lonely Street | Lydia the Librarian | ||
| 2010 | The Invited | Natalie Shaw | ||
| 2011 | Not Another Not Another Movie | Older Rose | ||
| 2012 | She Wants Me | Grandma Elma | ||
| 2013 | Frank the Bastard | Dora | Final film role |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes | ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | The Twilight Zone | Mrs. Hotchkiss | Episode: "Need to Know" | |
| Mr. Belvedere | Old Lady | Episode: "Grandma" | ||
| The Twilight Zone | Old Woman | Episode: "The Storyteller" | ||
| 1987 | Beauty and the Beast | Anna Lausch | Episode: "Nor Iron Bars a Cage" | |
| 1988 | Moonlighting | Mrs. Baer | Episode: "Los Dos DiPestos" | |
| Mr. Belvedere | Old Lady | Episode: "The Trip: Part 1" | ||
| Webster | Mrs. Crane | Episode: "Papa's Big Romance" | ||
| The Golden Girls | Mrs. Leonard | Episode: "The Days and Nights of Sophia Petrillo" | ||
| Lillian | Episode: "Sophia's Choice" | |||
| 1991 | Sarah | Episode: "Older and Wiser" | ||
| 1992 | The Wonder Years | Mrs. Tambora | Episode: "Kevin Delivers" | |
| Down the Shore | The Old Woman | Episode: "Atlantic City" | ||
| Wings | Debbie | Episode: "The Customer's Usually Right" | ||
| 1993 | Star Trek: The Next Generation | Felisa Howard | Episode: "Sub Rosa" | |
| 1993 | Family Matters | Elderly Lady | Episode: "Scenes From The Mall" | |
| 1994 | Family Matters | Mrs. Ostendorf | Episode: "That's What Friends Are For" | |
| 1995 | ER | Mrs. Riblet | Episode: "Hell & High Water" | |
| Seinfeld | Peterman's mother | Episode: "The Secret Code" | ||
| 1997 | Beyond Belief - Fact or Fiction | Aunt Connie | Segment: "Mystery Lock" | |
| Sabrina the Teenage Witch | Homeowner | Episode: "A River of Candy Corn Runs Through It" | ||
| 1999 | Just Shoot Me! | Mrs. Gallo | Episode: "Jack Vents" | |
| 2001 | Will & Grace | Sylvia Walker | Episode: "The Young and the Tactless" | |
| 2005 | Scrubs | Betty | Episode: "My Faith in Humanity" | |
| Six Feet Under | Roberta | Episode: "Time Flies" | ||
| My Name Is Earl | Gertrude Balboa | Episode: "Broke Joy's Fancy Figurine" | ||
| 2006 | Hannah Montana | Katherine McCord | Episode: "Debt It Be" | |
| Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide | Miss Knapp | Episode: "Social Studies/Embarrassment" | ||
| The Emperor's New School | Azma | Voice, episode: "The Bride of Kuzco" | ||
| 2007 | Cold Case | Audrey Abruzzi | Episode: "Torn" | |
| 2011 | Shameless | The Real Aunt Ginger | Episode: "Aunt Ginger" | |
| 2012 | Family Guy | Aunt Helen | Voice, episode: "Jesus, Mary and Joseph!" | |
| 2013 | New Girl | Aunt Ruthie | Episode: "Chicago" |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Reference to Ellen Albertini Dow's 100th birthday, businessinsider.com; accessed November 17, 2014.
- ^ The father Oliverio Albertini was born on March 21, 1875, in Brez, Trentino and the mother Arcangela Stancher on May 29, 1882, in Tavon, Trentino.
- ^ Census 1920
- ^ a b Parker, Ryan (May 5, 2015). "Ellen Albertini Dow, 'Wedding Singer's' rapping granny, dies at 101". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
- ^ Ellen Rose Albertini, Cornell University alumna (class of 1935), e-yearbook.com; accessed June 23, 2014.
- ^ a b Slotnik, Daniel E. (May 5, 2015). "Ellen Albertini Dow, Actress, Dies at 101; Rapping Granny in 'Wedding Singer'". The New York Times. Retrieved March 23, 2020.
- ^ Pedersen, Erik (May 4, 2015). "'Wedding Singer' Rapping Granny Dead; Ellen Albertini Dow Was 101". Deadline Hollywood. United States. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
- ^ An Interview with Ellen Albertini Dow, Skip E. Lowe, 1998
- ^ "Sister Act". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
- ^ "The Wedding Singer". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
- ^ Jordan, Louis (February 16, 2015). "54 Bombed in 1998. Now It's Been Resurrected as a Cult Gay Classic". vulture.com. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
- ^ Castillo, Monica (May 5, 2015). "'Wedding Crashers' Grandma Ellen Albertini Dow Dies at 101; Watch Her Best Performances [VIDEOS]". International Business Times. IBT Media. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
External links
edit- Ellen Albertini Dow at IMDb
- Ellen Albertini Dow at TV Guide
- Ellen Albertini Dow Archived May 19, 2017, at the Wayback Machine
- Ellen Albertini Dow at Find a Grave