Nancy Marchand

{{Infobox person

| name = Nancy Marchand

| image = Nancy Marchand in Lou Grant (1977).JPG

| caption = Marchand in Lou Grant (1977)

| birth_name = Nancy Lou Marchand{{cite news |title=WNY Girl in Play At Carnegie Tech |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/867196011/?match=1&terms=%22Nancy%20Lou%20Marchand%22 |access-date=August 14, 2024 |work=The Buffalo News |date=April 12, 1947 |page=16}}

| birth_date = {{birth date|1928|06|19|mf=y}}{{cite news |last1=Bergan |first1=Ronald |title=Nancy Marchand |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2000/jun/21/guardianobituaries2 |access-date=August 14, 2024 |work=The Guardian |date=June 21, 2000}}

| birth_place = Buffalo, New York, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|2000|06|18|1928|06|19|mf=y}}

| death_place = Stratford, Connecticut, U.S.

| occupation = Actress

| yearsactive = 1951–2000

| spouse = {{Marriage|Paul Sparer|1952|1999|end=died}}Massachusetts, U.S., Marriage Index, 1901–1955 and 1966–1970

| children = 3

| education = Carnegie Mellon University (BFA)

}}

Nancy Lou Marchand (June 19, 1928 – June 18, 2000) was an American actress. She began her career in theater in 1951. She was most famous for her being Margaret Pynchon on Lou Grant – for which she won 4 Emmy Awards – and Livia Soprano on The Sopranos, for which she won a Golden Globe Award.{{cite news |title=Actress Nancy Marchand, Buffalo Natives, Dies |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/878174431/?article=293859ec-f5ae-4dde-bd6e-429da18026a2&terms=nancy%20marchand |access-date=14 August 2024 |work=The Buffalo News |date=June 20, 2000 |page=7}}

Early life

Marchand was born in 1928 in Buffalo, New York, the only child of Dr. Raymond Louis Marchand, a dentist, and his wife, Marjorie Freeman, a piano teacher.{{cite news |title=Dr. Marchand |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/874003082/?article=3aacd0e5-6e0c-4cb7-8da9-07af410913ba&focus=0.5026465,0.7141926,0.61868584,0.8132451&xid=3355 |access-date=August 14, 2024 |work=The Buffalo News |date=March 28, 1981 |page=24}} Her great-grandfather Louis Marchand, a stone cutter, emigrated from France.1870 United States census, 1920 United States census She grew up in the adjacent hamlet of Eggertsville, New York. She attended Amherst High School, and studied acting at the Studio Theatre School in Buffalo, taking two buses to make the trip.{{cite news |title=Standing By Studio Arena, Nancy Marchand Credits Her Success to Her Hometown Theater |url=https://buffalonews.com/news/standing-by-studio-arena-nancy-marchand-credits-her-success-to-her-hometown-theater/article_6e1e730e-2f73-5215-949c-8886cd7f44c6.html |publisher=Buffalo News |date=June 2, 1997}}{{cite news |last1=Chase |first1=Anthony |date=April 30, 1991 |title=Nancy Marchand's Stage of Life |url=https://buffalonews.com/news/nancy-marchands-stage-of-life-the-buffalo-bred-actress-returns-for-role-in-gurneys-children/article_db337f31-49dd-5c62-b27d-781ed96dbb95.html |publisher=Buffalo News}} She graduated from the Carnegie Institute of Technology in 1949{{cite web |url=http://www.alumni.cmu.edu/s/1410/images/editor_documents/alumnirelations/about/notable/notable-alumni.pdf |title=Carnegie Mellon's Notable Alumni |website=Carnegie Mellon University |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131015173607/http://www.alumni.cmu.edu/s/1410/images/editor_documents/alumnirelations/about/notable/notable-alumni.pdf |archive-date=October 15, 2013}} and studied theater at the Herbert Berghof Studio{{cite web |url=https://hbstudio.org/about-hb-studio/alumni/ |title=Alumni |website=HB Studio}} in New York City.

Career

Marchand made her first professional stage appearance in 1946 in The Late George Apley in Ogunquit, Maine.{{cite news |title=Standing By Studio Arena |url=https://buffalonews.com/news/standing-by-studio-arena-nancy-marchand-credits-her-success-to-her-hometown-theater/article_6e1e730e-2f73-5215-949c-8886cd7f44c6.html |publisher=Buffalo News |date=June 2, 1997}} She made her Broadway debut in The Taming of the Shrew in 1951. She won a Distinguished Performance Obie Award for The Balcony, and she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play for The White Liars & Black Comedy. She was nominated four times for the Drama Desk Award, winning for Morning's at Seven. She won a second Obie for her performance in A. R. Gurney's The Cocktail Hour.

Marchand originated the roles of Vinnie Phillips on the CBS soap opera Love of Life and Theresa Lamonte on the NBC soap opera Another World. She also starred as matriarch Edith Cushing on Lovers and Friends, a short-lived soap opera.

Marchand was renowned for her roles as patrician newspaper publisher Margaret Pynchon on Lou Grant, winning four Emmy Awards as Best Supporting Actress in a Dramatic Series, and as matriarch Livia Soprano, mother of Tony Soprano on the HBO series The Sopranos, which earned her a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series, as well as two Emmy Award nominations.

She appeared in many anthology series in the early days of television, including The Philco Television Playhouse (on which she starred in Marty opposite Rod Steiger), Kraft Television Theatre, Studio One, and Playhouse 90. Additional television credits include The Law and Mr. Jones, Spenser: For Hire, Law & Order, Homicide: Life on the Street, Coach, and Night Court.

Marchand's feature film credits included The Bachelor Party, Ladybug Ladybug, Me, Natalie, Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon, The Hospital, The Bostonians, From the Hip, Jefferson in Paris, Brain Donors, Reckless, The Naked Gun, Sabrina and Dear God.

Personal life

Marchand was married to actor Paul Sparer. He died in 1999 from cancer at age 75. The couple had three children: Katie, David, and Rachel and seven grandchildren.{{Cite news |title= 'Sopranos' mom loses her fight for life |url= https://nypost.com/2000/06/20/sopranos-mom-loses-her-fight-for-life/ |newspaper=New York Post |date= June 20, 2000 |access-date=June 30, 2020 |last=Kaplan |first=Don|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200703024638/https://nypost.com/2000/06/20/sopranos-mom-loses-her-fight-for-life/ |archive-date=July 3, 2020}}

Marchand suffered from lung cancer, emphysema, and COPD. She died on June 18, 2000, a day before her 72nd birthday, in Stratford, Connecticut.Gussow, Mel. (The New York Times). [https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ItNRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=yG8DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6728%2C8050884 "Obituaries: Nancy Marchand, Actress Known for 'Lou Grant,' 'Sopranos'"]. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. June 2, 2000. p. B7. Retrieved July 23, 2023. She was posthumously inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.{{cite news |url=http://old.post-gazette.com/magazine/20010201people3.asp |title=Theater family comes together to celebrate Hall of Fame honorees |first=Christopher |last= Rawson |date=February 1, 2001 |newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |access-date=February 12, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222024552/http://old.post-gazette.com/magazine/20010201people3.asp |archive-date=February 22, 2014}} Marchand's death occurred between Seasons 2 and 3 of The Sopranos, before a plot line prominently involving her character was resolved. Her death was written into the plot, and one final scene was created for her using computer-generated imagery, which was a new technology at the time, together with outtakes from previous seasons.{{cite news |last1=Johnson |first1=Allan |title=How Livia Was Able to Return This Season |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2001-03-04-0103040491-story.html |access-date=September 7, 2023 |publisher=Chicago Tribune |date=March 4, 2001}}

Filmography

=Film=

class="wikitable sortable"
Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable"\| Notes
1954 \|Three Steps to Start \| \|Producer, Julien Bryan International Film Foundation NYU
1957 \| The Bachelor Party \| Mrs. Julie Samson \|
1963 \| Ladybug Ladybug \| Mrs. Andrews \|
1969 \| Me, Natalie \| Edna Miller \|
1970 \| Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon \| Nurse Oxford \|
1971 \| The Hospital \| Mrs. Christie \|
1984 \| The Bostonians \| Mrs. Burrage \|
1987 \| From the Hip \| Roberta Winnaker \|
1988 \| The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! \| Mayor Barkley \|
1991 \| Regarding Henry \| Headmistress \| Uncredited
1992 \| Brain Donors \| Lillian Oglethorpe \|
1995 \| Jefferson in Paris \| Madame Abbesse \|
1995 \| Reckless \| Grandmother \|
1995 \| Sabrina \| Maude Larrabee \|
1996 \| Dear God \| Judge Kits Van Heynigan \|

class="wikitable sortable"

Year

! Title

! Role

! class="unsortable"| Notes

1954

|Three Steps to Start

|Producer, Julien Bryan International Film Foundation NYU

1957

| The Bachelor Party

| Mrs. Julie Samson

1963

| Ladybug Ladybug

| Mrs. Andrews

1969

| Me, Natalie

| Edna Miller

1970

| Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon

| Nurse Oxford

1971

| The Hospital

| Mrs. Christie

1984

| The Bostonians

| Mrs. Burrage

1987

| From the Hip

| Roberta Winnaker

1988

| The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!

| Mayor Barkley

1991

| Regarding Henry

| Headmistress

| Uncredited

1992

| Brain Donors

| Lillian Oglethorpe

1995

| Jefferson in Paris

| Madame Abbesse

1995

| Reckless

| Grandmother

1995

| Sabrina

| Maude Larrabee

1996

| Dear God

| Judge Kits Van Heynigan

=Television=

class="wikitable sortable"
Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable"\| Notes
1950 \| Westinghouse Studio One \| Jo March \| 2 episodes
1951 \| Lux Video Theatre \| Joan \| Episode: "Forever Walk Free"
1951–1958 \| Kraft Theatre \| Abby \| 9 episodes
1953 \| Studio One in Hollywood \| Miss Marmon \| Episode: "The Hospital"
1953 \| The Philco Television Playhouse \| Clara \| Episode: "Marty"
1953 \| Lux Video Theatre \| Phyllis \| Episode: "Two for Tea"
1954 \| Pond's Theater \| Charlotte \| 4 episodes
1957 \| Studio One in Hollywood \| Eleanor \| Episode: "Rudy"
1957 \| The United States Steel Hour \| Gen Arnold \| Episode: "Windfall"
1957 \| Shirley Temple's Storybook \| Queen \| Episode: "The Sleeping Beauty"
1958 \| Playhouse 90 \| Sylvia Sands \| Episode: "Free Weekend"
1959 \| Armstrong Circle Theatre \| Mrs. Howard Jones \| Episode: "Miracle at Spring Hill"
1959 \| Playhouse 90 \| Mrs. Yarbrough \| Episode: "The Hidden Image"
1959 \| NBC Sunday Showcase \| Mrs. Clegg \| Episode: "The Indestructible Mr. Gore"
1959 \| R.C.M.P. \| Gerta Boyd \| Episode: "Little Girl Lost"
1959 \| The Bells of St. Mary's \| Sister Michael \| TV movie
1960 \| Play of the Week \| Margaret \| 2 episodes
1960 \| The Law and Mr. Jones \| Dorothy \| Episode: "The Long Echo"
1961 \| The Defenders \| Mrs. Crile \| Episode: "The Attack"
1962 \| Naked City \| Esther Lindall \| Episode: "The Multiplicity of Herbert Konish"
1964 \| The Defenders \| Rhoda Banter \| Episode: "Hollow Triumph"
1972 \| Look Homeward, Angel \| Madame Elizabeth \| TV movie
1975 \| Beacon Hill \| Mary Lassiter \| 13 episodes
1976 \| Another World \| Theresa Lamonte \| Unknown episodes
1977–1982 \| Lou Grant \| Margaret Pynchon \| 99 episodes
1977 \| Soldier's Home \| Mrs. Krebs \| TV movie
1983 \| Sparkling Cyanide \| Lucilla Drake \| TV movie
1984 \| Cheers \| Dr. Hester Crane \| Episode: "Diane Meets Mom"
1986 \| Spenser: For Hire \| Emily Garden \| Episode: "In a Safe Place"
1986 \| North and South, Book II \| Dorothea Dix \| 6 episodes
1990–1992 \| Coach \| Marlene Watkins \| 2 episodes
1992 \| Law & Order \| Mrs. Barbara Ryder \| Episode: "Blood Is Thicker"
1992 \| Night Court \| Louise Cahill \| 2 episodes
1993 \| Crossroads \| Aunt Dorothy \| Episode: "The Nickel Curve"
1994 \| Homicide: Life on the Street \| Lorraine Freeman \| Episode: "All Through the House"
1999–2000 \| The Sopranos \| Livia Soprano \| 21 episodes

class="wikitable sortable"

Year

! Title

! Role

! class="unsortable"| Notes

1950

| Westinghouse Studio One

| Jo March

| 2 episodes

1951

| Lux Video Theatre

| Joan

| Episode: "Forever Walk Free"

1951–1958

| Kraft Theatre

| Abby

| 9 episodes

1953

| Studio One in Hollywood

| Miss Marmon

| Episode: "The Hospital"

1953

| The Philco Television Playhouse

| Clara

| Episode: "Marty"

1953

| Lux Video Theatre

| Phyllis

| Episode: "Two for Tea"

1954

| Pond's Theater

| Charlotte

| 4 episodes

1957

| Studio One in Hollywood

| Eleanor

| Episode: "Rudy"

1957

| The United States Steel Hour

| Gen Arnold

| Episode: "Windfall"

1957

| Shirley Temple's Storybook

| Queen

| Episode: "The Sleeping Beauty"

1958

| Playhouse 90

| Sylvia Sands

| Episode: "Free Weekend"

1959

| Armstrong Circle Theatre

| Mrs. Howard Jones

| Episode: "Miracle at Spring Hill"

1959

| Playhouse 90

| Mrs. Yarbrough

| Episode: "The Hidden Image"

1959

| NBC Sunday Showcase

| Mrs. Clegg

| Episode: "The Indestructible Mr. Gore"

1959

| R.C.M.P.

| Gerta Boyd

| Episode: "Little Girl Lost"

1959

| The Bells of St. Mary's

| Sister Michael

| TV movie

1960

| Play of the Week

| Margaret

| 2 episodes

1960

| The Law and Mr. Jones

| Dorothy

| Episode: "The Long Echo"

1961

| The Defenders

| Mrs. Crile

| Episode: "The Attack"

1962

| Naked City

| Esther Lindall

| Episode: "The Multiplicity of Herbert Konish"

1964

| The Defenders

| Rhoda Banter

| Episode: "Hollow Triumph"

1972

| Look Homeward, Angel

| Madame Elizabeth

| TV movie

1975

| Beacon Hill

| Mary Lassiter

| 13 episodes

1976

| Another World

| Theresa Lamonte

| Unknown episodes

1977–1982

| Lou Grant

| Margaret Pynchon

| 99 episodes

1977

| Soldier's Home

| Mrs. Krebs

| TV movie

1983

| Sparkling Cyanide

| Lucilla Drake

| TV movie

1984

| Cheers

| Dr. Hester Crane

| Episode: "Diane Meets Mom"

1986

| Spenser: For Hire

| Emily Garden

| Episode: "In a Safe Place"

1986

| North and South, Book II

| Dorothea Dix

| 6 episodes

1990–1992

| Coach

| Marlene Watkins

| 2 episodes

1992

| Law & Order

| Mrs. Barbara Ryder

| Episode: "Blood Is Thicker"

1992

| Night Court

| Louise Cahill

| 2 episodes

1993

| Crossroads

| Aunt Dorothy

| Episode: "The Nickel Curve"

1994

| Homicide: Life on the Street

| Lorraine Freeman

| Episode: "All Through the House"

1999–2000

| The Sopranos

| Livia Soprano

| 21 episodes

=Theatre=

class="wikitable sortable"
Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable"\| Notes
1951 \| The Taming of the Shrew{{cite web \|url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/nancy-marchand-51377 \|title=Nancy Marchand \|website=Broadway Internet Database \|access-date=September 5, 2023}} \|Hostess / Curtis \|
1953 \| Love's Labour's Lost \|Princess of France \|
1953 \| The Merchant of Venice \|Nerissa \|
1956 \| The Good Woman of Setzuan \|Mrs. Mi Tzu \|
1957 \| Miss Isobel \|Miriam Ackroyd \|
1959 \| Much Ado About Nothing \|Ursula \|
1962 \| Tchin-Tchin \| Pamela Pew Pickett (understudy) \|
1963 \| Strange Interlude \|Nina Leeds \|
1966 \| 3 Bags Full \|Genevieve \|
1966 \| The Alchemist \|Performer \|
1966 \| Yerma \|Dolores \|
1967 \| After the Rain \|Gertrude Forbes-Cooper \|
1968 \| Cyrano de Bergerac \|Roxane's Duenna / Sister Claire \|
1968 \| Forty Carats \|Mrs. Latham \|
1971 \| And Miss Reardon Drinks A Little \|Ceil Adams \|
1971 \| Mary Stuart \|Queen Elizabeth \|
1972 \| Enemies \|Tatiana \|
1973 \| The Plough and the Stars \|Mrs. Gogan \|
1973 \| Veronica's Room \| The Woman (standby) \|
1975 \| The Glass Menagerie \| Amanda Wingfield (standby) \|
1980 \| Morning's at Seven \|Ida Bolton \|
1984 \| Awake and Sing! \|Bessie Berger \|
1985 \| The Octette Bridge Club \|Connie \|
1988 \| The Cocktail Hour \|Ann \|
1989 \| Love Letters \|Melissa Gardner (replacement) \|
1993 \| The White Liars & Black Comedy \|Miss Furnival / Sophie, Baroness Lemberg \|

class="wikitable sortable"

Year

! Title

! Role

! class="unsortable"| Notes

1951

| The Taming of the Shrew{{cite web |url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/nancy-marchand-51377 |title=Nancy Marchand |website=Broadway Internet Database |access-date=September 5, 2023}}

|Hostess / Curtis

1953

| Love's Labour's Lost

|Princess of France

1953

| The Merchant of Venice

|Nerissa

1956

| The Good Woman of Setzuan

|Mrs. Mi Tzu

1957

| Miss Isobel

|Miriam Ackroyd

1959

| Much Ado About Nothing

|Ursula

1962

| Tchin-Tchin

| Pamela Pew Pickett (understudy)

1963

| Strange Interlude

|Nina Leeds

1966

| 3 Bags Full

|Genevieve

1966

| The Alchemist

|Performer

1966

| Yerma

|Dolores

1967

| After the Rain

|Gertrude Forbes-Cooper

1968

| Cyrano de Bergerac

|Roxane's Duenna / Sister Claire

1968

| Forty Carats

|Mrs. Latham

1971

| And Miss Reardon Drinks A Little

|Ceil Adams

1971

| Mary Stuart

|Queen Elizabeth

1972

| Enemies

|Tatiana

1973

| The Plough and the Stars

|Mrs. Gogan

1973

| Veronica's Room

| The Woman (standby)

1975

| The Glass Menagerie

| Amanda Wingfield (standby)

1980

| Morning's at Seven

|Ida Bolton

1984

| Awake and Sing!

|Bessie Berger

1985

| The Octette Bridge Club

|Connie

1988

| The Cocktail Hour

|Ann

1989

| Love Letters

|Melissa Gardner (replacement)

1993

| The White Liars & Black Comedy

|Miss Furnival / Sophie, Baroness Lemberg

Awards and nominations

class="wikitable sortable"
Year ! Organization ! Category ! Series ! Result
1978 \| rowspan="5" \| Primetime Emmy Awards \| rowspan="5" \| Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series \| rowspan="5" \| Lou Grant \| {{won}}
1979 \| {{nom}}
1980 \| {{won}}
1981 \| {{won}}
1982 \| {{won}}
1994 \| Tony Awards \| Best Actress in a Play \| The White Liars & Black Comedy \| {{nom}}
1999 \| Primetime Emmy Awards \| Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series \| rowspan="7" \| The Sopranos \| {{nom}}
1999 \| Viewers for Quality Televisions \| Best Supporting Actress in a Quality Drama Series \| {{nom}}
rowspan="4" \| 2000 \| Golden Globe Awards \| Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries, or Television Film \| {{won}}
Primetime Emmy Awards \| Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series \| {{nom}}
rowspan="3" \| Screen Actors Guild Awards \| Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series \| {{nom}}
rowspan="2" \| Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series \| {{won}}
2001 \| {{nom}}

class="wikitable sortable"

Year

! Organization

! Category

! Series

! Result

1978

| rowspan="5" | Primetime Emmy Awards

| rowspan="5" | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

| rowspan="5" | Lou Grant

| {{won}}

1979