JamesG
03-28-2017, 01:08 PM
What's Eating Gilbert Grape? Star Darlene Cates Dies at 69
by Jodi Guglielmi
March 28, 2017
What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? star Darlene Cates has died. The actress died Sunday morning in her sleep. She was 69.
Cates famously played Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio’s obese, housebound mother in the iconic film.
Cates sister, Sheri Cates Morgan, shared the news on Facebook:
"It is with a bitter-sweet heart that we share that our precious wife, mother, and Gaga, Darlene Guthrie Cates, was called Home, somewhat unexpectedly, peacefully in her sleep Sunday morning, March 26th.
We take comfort in knowing that she is no longer in pain and is in the arms of our Heavenly Father, breaking away only to dance with our Savior, Jesus. (Dancing was something she talked about loving to do "back in the day"!)
For those who have already sent your love, texts and prayers, thank you.
(Life Celebration arrangements are pending.)"
Gilbert Grape author and screenwriter Peter Hedges discovered Cates after seeing a tape of the actress on a 1985 episode of Sally Jessy Raphael titled “Too Heavy to Leave Their House.” On the show, Cates spoke candidly about her battle with obesity and the pelvic infection that caused her to gain nearly 150 lbs.
After the seeing the show, Hedges reached out to Cates and offered her the role, for which she earned critical acclaim.
After years of health problems, Cates dropped nearly 250 lbs. with the hope of acting again.
“I can do moms real well. I don’t have to delve very deep to find Mom in there,” the Forney, Texas, resident told the Dallas Morning News in an interview.
While Gilbert Grape is her best-known performance, Cates went on to appear in several TV shows including "Picket Fences" in 1994 and "Touched by an Angel" in 1996. She also had a small role in the 2001 film Wolf Girl.
http://ew.com/movies/2017/03/28/darlene-cates-dead-whats-eating-gilbert-grape-star-dies/
by Jodi Guglielmi
March 28, 2017
What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? star Darlene Cates has died. The actress died Sunday morning in her sleep. She was 69.
Cates famously played Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio’s obese, housebound mother in the iconic film.
Cates sister, Sheri Cates Morgan, shared the news on Facebook:
"It is with a bitter-sweet heart that we share that our precious wife, mother, and Gaga, Darlene Guthrie Cates, was called Home, somewhat unexpectedly, peacefully in her sleep Sunday morning, March 26th.
We take comfort in knowing that she is no longer in pain and is in the arms of our Heavenly Father, breaking away only to dance with our Savior, Jesus. (Dancing was something she talked about loving to do "back in the day"!)
For those who have already sent your love, texts and prayers, thank you.
(Life Celebration arrangements are pending.)"
Gilbert Grape author and screenwriter Peter Hedges discovered Cates after seeing a tape of the actress on a 1985 episode of Sally Jessy Raphael titled “Too Heavy to Leave Their House.” On the show, Cates spoke candidly about her battle with obesity and the pelvic infection that caused her to gain nearly 150 lbs.
After the seeing the show, Hedges reached out to Cates and offered her the role, for which she earned critical acclaim.
After years of health problems, Cates dropped nearly 250 lbs. with the hope of acting again.
“I can do moms real well. I don’t have to delve very deep to find Mom in there,” the Forney, Texas, resident told the Dallas Morning News in an interview.
While Gilbert Grape is her best-known performance, Cates went on to appear in several TV shows including "Picket Fences" in 1994 and "Touched by an Angel" in 1996. She also had a small role in the 2001 film Wolf Girl.
http://ew.com/movies/2017/03/28/darlene-cates-dead-whats-eating-gilbert-grape-star-dies/