Lucille Benson

Lucille Benson (July 17, 1914 – February 17, 1984) was an American character actress.

Lucille Benson
Born(1914-07-17)July 17, 1914
Scottsboro, Alabama, U.S.
DiedFebruary 17, 1984(1984-02-17) (aged 69)
Scottsboro, Alabama, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1952–1983

Biography

Personal life

Born in Scottsboro, Alabama, on July 17, 1914, Benson was adopted by her aunt, Mrs. John Benson, after her mother died of tuberculosis. She was valedictorian and president of her class at Jackson County High School. She attended Huntingdon College in Montgomery, and later attended Northwestern's School of Drama in Evanston, Illinois. After a short career as a teacher, she went to New York in the 1930s.

Acting career

Her career started in New York in the 1930s. She appeared on Broadway in several plays including Ladies Night in a Turkish Bath, Walking Happy, Hotel Paradiso, Good Night, Ladies,[1] The Doughgirls, The Day Before Spring, Happy Birthday, As The Girls Go, Hotel Paradiso, and Period of Adjustment. She performed at the Coconut Grove Playhouse in Miami, appearing in the Tennessee Williams play Orpheus Descending.

Benson's break in motion pictures occurred while performing with Donald O'Connor in the play Little Me during a three-month run in Las Vegas. She said "While I was in Las Vegas, a former agent in Hollywood called to ask me to come to Hollywood to tryout for a Paramount film. I went to Hollywood, tried out and was cast for the part in which I played opposite Robert Redford in Little Fauss and Big Halsy."

Benson played a lady running a roadside "Snakerama" exhibit in Steven Spielberg's 1971 movie Duel, starring Dennis Weaver. She later worked with Spielberg again in 1941 as a gas station owner whom Belushi orders to refuel his fighter plane.

Benson portrayed Birdie Huff in the crime drama Nashville 99 (1977).[2]:744 She had a recurring role on the sitcom The Ropers as Helen's mother.[2]:910 Her big commercial break was Bosom Buddies,[2] a situation comedy based on Some Like It Hot. During the show's first season (1980–1981), Benson played Lilly Sinclair, the manager of the female-only hotel where two young men (Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari) dress as women to take advantage of the inexpensive rent.

She may be the actress seen reciting the Lord's Prayer in the train holdup scene of the Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969). However, the actress is uncredited. She did work with the stars of that film in the following year: with Paul Newman in WUSA and with Robert Redford in Little Fauss and Big Halsy.

Benson played Mrs. Elrod in the 1981 John Carpenter horror movie Halloween II.

Death

Benson died on February 17, 1984, in a hospital in Scottsboro, Alabama,[3] aged 69, from liver cancer. She was cremated and her remains are buried under a modest bronze headstone, at Cedar Hill Cemetery, in her hometown.

Filmography

Television appearances

References
  1. "("Lucille Benson" search results)". Playbill Vault. Playbill. Archived from the original on 14 June 2017. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  2. Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. pp. 125–126. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7.
  3. "Versatile actress Lucille Benson dies at 69". The San Bernardino County Sun. California, San Bernardino. Associated Press. February 19, 1984. p. 3. Retrieved June 13, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
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