ANNE BANCROFT BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:
Anne Bancroft was born on September 17th, 1931 in the Bronx, New York with the birth name Anna Maria Louise Italiano to parents Michael and Mildred. She had two sisters, Joanne and Phyllis.
After completing high school at Christopher Columbus in the Bronx in 1948 she went on to attend HB Studio, the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and the Actors Studio as well as the American Film Institute's Directing Workshop for Women at the University of California based in Los Angeles.
With all this acting education underneath her she was ready to put her skills to work. Anne began with her film debut on, "Don't Bother to Knock" (1952) starring Marilyn Monroe, Richard Widmark, Jim Backus, Don Beddoe, Willis Bouchey, Verna Felton, Jeanne Cagney, Donna Corcoran, Elisha Cook Jr. and Lurene Tuttle and also found other work as a contract player on a number of films. It was at his time that she chose to take on her stage name, Ann Bancroft and lose the surname, Marno. She then returned back to New York working as a stage actress on Broadway due to the lack of quality of films Hollywood was offering her.
As her career progressed she returned to Hollywood and starred in a number of films such as, "The Miracle Worker" (1962) co-starring Patty Duke as blind and deaf Helen Keller, for which she won an Academy Award for Best Actress in the film version and in the stage version she won a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play. She also appeared on, "The Pumpkin Eater" (1964), "The Graduate" (1967) starring with Dustin Hoffman, Katharine Ross, Murray Hamilton, William Daniels, Elizabeth Wilson, Ben Murphy, Richard Dreyfuss and Norman Fell, "The Turning Point" (1977) also starring Shirley MacLaine, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Leslie Browne, Tom Skerritt, Martha Scott, Anthony Zerbe, Marshall Thompson and James Mitchell and "Agnes of God" (1985) with Jane Fonda and Meg Tilly, for which all four of these films she received Academy Award nominations. "The Graduate" film is ranked #47 on Premier Magazines 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.
Alongside a highly successful stage and film career. Bancroft also managed to have a decent resume in television appearances. She appeared on the CBS special, "Annie: the Women in the Life of a Man" (1970) and won an Emmy Award for her singing and acting talents in the show. She again was successful with another television special, "Annie and the Hoods" (1974). In total, she received six Emmy Award nominations and won two of them. She was also nominated for eight Golden Globes and also won two.
As if her acting resume was not lengthy enough, Bancroft also decided she wanted to give screenwriting a try. Her debut project was as the screenwriter and director of, "Fatso" (1980). Anne Bancroft was highly talented and used her talents to the best of her advantage. Her career never slowed down and she continued to star in a number of films through the 80's and 90's. Some of her later career work included, "Love Potion No. 9" (1992), "Point of No Return" (1993), "Home for the Holiday's" (1995), "Keeping the Faith" (2000) and "Heartbreakers" (2001) to name just a few. Her final film project was in an animated feature called, "Delgo" (2008).
During Anne's lenghty career she appeared in several television shows such as "Suspense", "Climax!", "The Frank Sinatra Show", "Zane Grey Theatre" and "Playhouse 90" to name a few.
Anne Bancroft married twice, first to Martin May from July 1st, 1953 through February 13th, 1957. Her second marriage was to Mel Brooks from August 5th, 1964 through June 6th, 2005 when she passed away from uterine cancer in New York City, New York. The couple had one child together, Max Brooks born in 1972.
Bancroft was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contribution to the television industry. She is interred at Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, New York, near her parents, Mildred and Michael Italiano. She was survived by her husband Mel Brooks of forty years and their son Max Brooks.
Filmography
2008 Delgo
2003 The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone
2001 Heartbreakers
2001 Haven
2000 Up at the Villa
2000 Keeping the Faith
1999 Deep in My Heart
1998 Antz
1998 Great Expectations
1997 Critical Care
1997 G.I. Jane
1996 The Sunchaser
1996 Homecoming
1995 Dracula: Dead and Loving It
1995 Home for the Holidays
1995 How to Make an American Quilt
1994 The Simpsons
1994 Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All
1993 Mr. Jones
1993 Malice
1993 Point of No Return
1992 Love Potion No. 9
1992 Honeymoon in Vegas
1992 Mrs. Cage
1992 Broadway Bound
1990 Freddie and Max
1989 Bert Rigby, You're a Fool
1988 Torch Song Trilogy
1987 84 Charing Cross Road
1986 'night, Mother
1985 Agnes of God
1984 Garbo Talks
1983 To Be or Not to Be
1982 Marco Polo
1980 The Elephant Man
1980 I Shogun
1980 Fatso
1977 The Turning Point
1977 Jesus of Nazareth
1976 Lipstick
1975 The Hindenburg
1975 The Prisoner of Second Avenue
1974 Blazing Saddles
1972 Young Winston
1970 Annie, the Women in the Life of a Man
1967 The Graduate
1967 ABC Stage 67
1966 7 Women
1965 The Slender Thread
1964 Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
1964 The Pumpkin Eater
1962 The Miracle Worker
1958 The Frank Sinatra Show
1957 Zane Grey Theatre
1957 The Girl in Black Stockings
1956-1957 The Alcoa Hour
1957 The Restless Breed
1956-1957 Climax!
1954-1957 Lux Video Theatre
1957 Playhouse 90
1957 Nightfall
1956 Walk the Proud Land
1955 The Last Frontier
1955 The Naked Street
1955 A Life in the Balance
1955 New York Confidential
1954 The Raid
1954 Demetrius and the Gladiators
1954 Gorilla at Large
1953 Kraft Theatre
1953 Omnibus
1953 The Kid from Left Field
1953 Treasure of the Golden Condor
1953 Tonight We Sing
1952 Don't Bother to Knock
1951 Lights Out
1951 The Web
1951 Danger
1951 The Adventures of Ellery Queen
1950-1951 Studio One in Hollywood
1951 The Ford Theatre Hour
1951 Suspense
