Brian Damage
09-18-2011, 09:43 PM
Cloris Leachman, whose first credits date back to the late 1940s, is perhaps best known for her work on the ’70s sitcom classic “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” She said the Emmys have been cause for a friendly competition between her and her “MTM” costars, fellow multiple winners Moore and Ed Asner.
“I remember Mary saying, ‘You have nine? I thought you had eight.’ ‘No, I have nine,’ ” Leachman noted, adding, “That was kind of a nice moment for me.”
For her first three decades in show business, Leachman was a go-to dramatic character actress, and won an Oscar for her performance in the 1971 classic “The Last Picture Show.” But “Mary Tyler Moore,” as well as appearances in a series of Mel Brooks films, put her on the comedy track, at least in terms of Hollywood casting directors.
“In fact, I do so much comedy, that I wonder what happened to all the other serious roles,” she said. “I’d really like to do a serious role again. I’d also like a bigger role, I mean something that demands more of me. There are lots of things that I haven’t done. And I’d like to be, not tested, but enlightened, you know to see what else I could do.”
As for the secret to her longevity and Emmy success?
“I think acting is partly being a detective, so it’s fun to sort it out and figure it out and see who all the people are and figure out what to do,” she said. “Great fun. I am very, very privileged.”
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20110917/ENT09/309179999
http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcReZe-1WnqQpMxbA7UmEvVh-qZW5bnV5bTBQrxwXJaKm73Iw9DQbg
“I remember Mary saying, ‘You have nine? I thought you had eight.’ ‘No, I have nine,’ ” Leachman noted, adding, “That was kind of a nice moment for me.”
For her first three decades in show business, Leachman was a go-to dramatic character actress, and won an Oscar for her performance in the 1971 classic “The Last Picture Show.” But “Mary Tyler Moore,” as well as appearances in a series of Mel Brooks films, put her on the comedy track, at least in terms of Hollywood casting directors.
“In fact, I do so much comedy, that I wonder what happened to all the other serious roles,” she said. “I’d really like to do a serious role again. I’d also like a bigger role, I mean something that demands more of me. There are lots of things that I haven’t done. And I’d like to be, not tested, but enlightened, you know to see what else I could do.”
As for the secret to her longevity and Emmy success?
“I think acting is partly being a detective, so it’s fun to sort it out and figure it out and see who all the people are and figure out what to do,” she said. “Great fun. I am very, very privileged.”
http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20110917/ENT09/309179999
http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcReZe-1WnqQpMxbA7UmEvVh-qZW5bnV5bTBQrxwXJaKm73Iw9DQbg