In May 2019 when actor Ed Asner came to Pittsburgh to perform in the “The Soap Myth” at Rodef Shalom, he spoke to the Tribune-Review about a number of topics including, of course, his time as Lou Grant on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.”
As a list of the show’s ensemble cast members was mentioned by the interviewer, Asner noticed a name was omitted. He immediately and emphatically interjected, “Cloris Leachman.”
He hadn’t forgotten Leachman, who played the show’s full-of-herself Phyllis Lindstrom, and didn’t want anyone else to.
As if anyone could.
Leachman, who died Wednesday at the age of 94, won an Academy Award and multiple Emmys. But even those accolades do not fully convey the versatility and depth of character she brought to both the big and small screen.
Here are five memorable Cloris Leachman screen appearances:
One of the many times ‘Phyllis’ stole the show
Might as well start with an episode from “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” in which Leachman plays Mary’s egocentric landlady, Phylllis. In one particular episode, Phyllis is hired to sell Lou Grant’s house, which Lou is clearly depressed about having to sell.
At one point, Phyllis walks over to Grant, a gruff, stocky, no-nonsense newsman, tickles his stoic chin and says, “C’mon Lou, give me a smile.” After Mary reminds Lou that he doesn’t have to sell if he doesn’t want to, he changes his mind and walks over to a dejected Phyllis, tickles her chin and says, “Oh c’mon Phyllis, I want to see you smile.” The look on Leachman’s face is priceless.
One of the most disturbing “Twilight Zone” episodes ever
In a 1961 episode of “The Twilight Zone” called “It’s a Good Life,” Leachman plays the mother of a 6-year-old child monster named Anthony Fremont, played by Billy Mumy. Her young son has extraordinary mental powers that allow him to read minds and exact horrible revenge on those who don’t go along with his ideas.
Leachman brilliantly channels the insecurity of a woman too paralyzed with fear to lift a finger to stop her son’s reign of terror.
The nearly naked scene in “Kiss Me Deadly”
The first big-screen appearance of Cloris Leachman is a memorable one: Her character is running for her life, barefoot — with nothing on but a trench coat.
It’s the opening scene of the 1955 film noir “Kiss Me Deadly,” starring Ralph Meeker as private investigator Mike Hammer. The chemistry between Leachman’s frantic lady on the run and the always-understated Meeker is delicious.
Too bad her character got killed off early. But it left audiences wanting more.
Frau Blucher of ‘Young Frankenstein’
Every time Leachman’s character, Frau Blucher, is mentioned in Mel Brooks’ “Young Frankenstein,” horses rear up with fear. Why? Because Leachman’s comically rigid German character is a hilarious send-up of movie villainesses.
With this performance, Leachman proved she can be funny on the big screen as well. And she absolutely steals the whole movie with her show-stopping line about Frederick Fronkensteen’s grandfather. “Yes! Say it! He … vuz … my … BOYFRIEND!!”
‘The Last Picture Show’
Perhaps Leachman’s most indelible performance, an Oscar winner, was as the unhappily married Ruth Popper in “The Last Picture Show,” the 1971 breakout hit for director Peter Bogdanovich. She digs deep to paint a portrait of a woman so starved for attention and meaning in her life that she has an affair with one of her football coach husband’s players. The boy, Sonny Crawford, played by Timothy Bottoms, is fed up with shallow high school girls and is seemingly as lost as Ruth. He ends up disappearing on her only to find himself needing her again.
The way Leachman plays that final scene between the two characters is a powerful acting statement.
