Matinee Classics - Michael Learned Biography & Filmography

Michael Learned ACTOR

MICHAEL LEARNED BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:

Michael Learned is an American television and film actress mostly recognized for her role as Olivia Walton in “The Waltons”, as well as for her involvement in many TV movies. She was born on April 9, 1939, in Washington D.C., but grew up on a farm in Connecticut. Her father was a U.S. State Department employee, and when she was eleven, her family was relocated to Austria. While attending a boarding school in England, Learned realized her love of the theater and thus decided to become an actress. She appeared in a number of theater productions, but didn’t appear on the screen until 1961, on the TV show “Festival”. She was in a few more television episodes before she was seen performing in another play, “Private Lives”, by producer Lee Rich. He liked her so much, he chose her to play the mother in the CBS drama, “The Waltons” (1972-81). The show was about a rural family’s daily problems and life during the Depression. Learned was perfect for the part, for she was already a mother of three by the age of twenty five and had previously lived on a farm.

Although due to her more masculine name, she was credited as ‘Miss Michael Learned’, as to not confuse the audience who were not familiar with the uprising actress. In 1979, she did not renew her contract and only appeared on the show a few times before its cancellation in 1981. For her involvement in the show, she earned six Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. She won the award three times- in 1973, 1974, and 1976. Learned not only received Emmy nominations, but was a nominee for four separate Golden Globes as well.

While working on “The Waltons”, she made also some TV appearances, like on “Gunsmoke” in 1973 and “Insight” in 1974. She moreover acted in some small screen movies, such as “Hurricane” (1974) and “It Couldn’t Happen to a Nicer Guy” (1974). Her next television feat was the TV film “Nurse” (1980), which turned into a series also called “Nurse” (1981-82) closely followed by "A Christmas Without Snow" (1980). Learned received an additional Emmy nomination for her role as Mary Benjamin in the drama, which she did win. She returned shortly as Olivia Walton for the special Walton reunion in the TV movie “Mother’s Day on Walton’s Mountain” (1982). She then performed in another medical themed show called “Hothouse” (1988), which only lasted seven episodes. In 1989, Learned nabbed the starring role in the unsuccessful “Living Dolls”, which was a spin off from another television series, “Who’s the Boss” (1989). During this decade, the actress additionally appeared in her first feature films: “Touched by Love” (1980) as Dr. Bell and “Power” (1986) as Governor Andrea Stannard. In the 1980's, she also acted in numerous made for TV movies, not limited to “A Deadly Business” (1986), “Picnic” (1986), “Mercy or Murder?” (1987), and “Roots: The Gift” (1989).

In the 1990's, Learned was again seen as her most notable role, Olivia Walton, in a collection of “The Waltons” television movies, including “A Walton Thanksgiving Reunion” (1993), “A Walton Wedding” (1995), and “A Walton Easter” (1997). She as well appeared in a large number of TV movies during this decade. They include: “Aftermath: A Test of Love” (1991), “Keeping Secrets” (1991), “Murder in New Hampshire: The Pamela Smart Story” (1991), “Mattie’s Waltz” (1992), and “A Father for Brittany” (1998). Learned was also a character in the large screen films “Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story” (1993) as Vivian Emery and “The Alarmist” (1997) as Beth Hudler. She did not appear in another non-television movie until 2005, when she performed in both “Loggerheads” and “Lethal Eviction”. However, she did act in a few TV series such as “Profiler” (1997) for three episodes, “One Life to Live” (2005) for two episodes, and “Scrubs” (2006-09) for eight episodes. Learned also made several guest appearances on other TV shows, like “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (2003), “All My Children” (2005), and “Cold Case” (2009).

Currently, the actress is involved in the award winning daytime drama “General Hospital” (2010) as character Shirley Smith. Furthermore, a movie that Learned is acting in, called “Algonquin”, is in the works and set to release in 2011.