Cloris Leachman returns to the NDI Stage in A Celebration of John Lennon
June, 2009
Emmy and Oscar-winning actress Cloris Leachman, along with her son, saxophonist George Englund, Jr., were guest stars in NDI's 2009 Event of the Year: A Celebration of John Lennon. Leachman (pictured with NDI Founder Jacques d'Amboise, Mary Tyler Moore, and NDI dancers) will lead a tap-dancing chorus line in an original work choreographed by Jacques entitled "A Cloris Line." The piece also features senior citizens and First Team dancers.
Leachman first graced the NDI stage in the 1980’s in such productions as the 1984 Event of the Year: The Knack and the 1986 Event of the Year: China Dig.
Cloris Leachman is best known for her roles as the self-involved neighbor, Phyllis, on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," and as Frau Blücher in Mel Brooks' "Young Frankenstein." She was recently paired with professional dancer Corky Ballas, as a contestant on season seven of "Dancing With the Stars." Her list of awards is record-setting, with eight Primetime Emmy Awards-more than any other female performer- and one Daytime Emmy Award; she has been nominated more than 20 times. She also won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in the 1971 film "The Last Picture Show."
Leachman began her career in television and films shortly after competing in the Miss America Pageant as Miss Chicago in 1946. Prior to that, she was very active in theatre starring in many productions at the Des Moines play house. She made her feature film debut in Robert Aldrich's film "Kiss Me Deadly," and one year later appeared opposite Paul Newman and Lee Marvin in "The Rack."
She continued her career, mainly working in television on shows such as "The Twilight Zone," "Rawhide," "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" and "Lassie" in which she played Ruth Martin, Timmy's adoptive mom in the last half of season 4. Throughout the seventies, Leachman played her most notable character, the nosy neighbor/landlady Phyllis Lindstrom on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show." The character was a fixture on the program for five years and later featured in a spinoff series, "Phyllis," for which Leachman won a Golden Globe award.
Some of her more recent work includes the role of Grandma Ida on "Malcolm in the Middle," and wine-soaked, former jazz singer and grandmother, Evelyn, in the feature film "Spanglish" opposite Adam Sandler and Téa Leoni. She earned an Emmy nomination and SAG Award nomination for her performance in the HBO special "Mrs. Harris." She has also staked her claim in the world of comedy with her many television roles and appearances. She recently "stole the show" at the Comedy Central "Roast of Bob Saget" with her sassy comebacks and unbeatable wit with which she outshined the other comedians.
Most recently Cloris appeared on the hit show "Dancing with the Stars" and lasted seven weeks before being voted off, she was Grand Marshal at the world famous Rose Parade and did the coin toss at the Rose Bowl game between, Penn Sate and USC. If all this wasn’t enough she managed to travel to Berlin to shoot the new Quentin Tarantino film, "Inglourious Basterds" also staring Brad Pitt.
