Another stalwart of Mel Brooks’ comedies but also a heavy hitter when it came to drama since Cloris won an Oscar® for The Last Picture Show, a movie keep trying to see but put off. TCM’s 30 Days of Ocsars is coming up, maybe it will be listed.
I grew up Cloris thanks to my parents loving The Mary Tyler Moore Show which then spunoff with her character Phyllis getting her own show set in San Francisco. It didn’t last, I guess when Mary ended, there was little incentive to be invested in her character. I only remember how funny the theme song was because I wasn’t familiar with the expressions used in the song.
She was always great in Mel’s stuff. Frau Blücher in Young Frankenstein…horse brays!; Nurse Diesel, the mastermind villain in High Anxiety and Madame DeFarge in History of the World Part 1. Before I was old enough to enough the toilet humor, I saw in Disney material: The North Avenue Irregulars, Charley and the Angel and The Muppet Movie. The weirdest thing I ever saw her in Foolin’ Around on HBO. It was this so-so RomCom vehicle for Gary Busey and an unknown Annette O’Toole but Cloris and Tony Randall stole the movie.
Lastly, Cloris was perfectly cast as the bitter, grudge-holding Russian (now Canadian) grandmother for Malcolm in the Middle. Her crappy attitude probably explained why Lois was such a control freak in a chaotic family.
Oh wait, how can I forget her as Mrs. Glick in “Three Men and a Comic Book”! The torture her character put Bart through just to earn 50 cents.
Thank you for everything Cloris! You were a superb actress with great range. Drama, kid-friendly comedy, bawdy comedy and voice acting. Thanks to your talents, the world became a better place and you are already greatly missed.