Eileen Heckart

About

Eileen Heckart was an American actress of stage, screen, and television. Born Anna Eileen Herbert, her career spanned nearly 60 years. She first became known for her role as schoolteacher Rosemary Sydney in the original 1953 cast of William Inge's play Picnic on Broadway. She won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as the overprotective mother of a blind adult son in Butterflies Are Free, a role she originated on Broadway before playing it in the film. She often played mothers, including Rocky Graziano's mother in Somebody Up There Likes Me; the mother of a murdered child in The Bad Seed; the elderly mother of an estranged son in the PBS production of the one-act play Save Me a Place at Forest Law; the overbearing mother of the detective portrayed by George Segal in No Way to Treat a Lady; the mother of reporter Jack Stein on the 1990s television sitcom...

Known for

Hawaii Five-OSeries • 1969The FugitiveSeries • 1963Home ImprovementSeries • 1991Little House on the PrairieSeries • 1974The Cosby ShowSeries • 1984Dr. KildareSeries • 1961Studio OneSeries • 1948AliceSeries • 1976Highway to HeavenSeries • 1984The Philco Television PlayhouseSeries • 1948Naked CitySeries • 1958The F.B.I.Series • 1965The Mary Tyler Moore ShowSeries • 1970Lou GrantSeries • 1977Ben CaseySeries • 1961Barnaby JonesSeries • 1973Tales from the DarksideSeries • 1984EllenSeries • 1994SuspenseSeries • 1949Trapper John, M.D.Series • 1979Alfred Hitchcock PresentsSeries • 1955SwitchSeries • 1975RhodaSeries • 1974CybillSeries • 1995