Graduated.

June 7, 2005 3:30 PM

And here's to you, Mrs Robinson! RIP
posted by Duug (68 comments total)

you love that you posted this first, eh?
posted by yonation at 3:30 PM on June 7, 2005

.
posted by WolfDaddy at 3:31 PM on June 7, 2005

.
posted by OmieWise at 3:36 PM on June 7, 2005

.
posted by Faint of Butt at 3:36 PM on June 7, 2005

I had no idea she was married to Mel Brooks.
posted by interrobang at 3:38 PM on June 7, 2005

I didn't know she was married to Mel Brooks. Cool.
posted by OmieWise at 3:38 PM on June 7, 2005

.
posted by jonmc at 3:41 PM on June 7, 2005

*
posted by I EAT TAPES at 3:42 PM on June 7, 2005

.
posted by C17H19NO3 at 3:50 PM on June 7, 2005

.
posted by alumshubby at 3:50 PM on June 7, 2005

She doesn't want to be remembered as Mrs. Robinson.
posted by brittney at 3:58 PM on June 7, 2005

Oh, and .
posted by brittney at 3:58 PM on June 7, 2005

.
posted by matteo at 3:59 PM on June 7, 2005

.
posted by orthogonality at 3:59 PM on June 7, 2005

She deserves a better memorial. As it says in the linked article, she disliked being associated solely with her role in The Graduate. Her filmography and stage history goes much deeper, as did her life. Her marriage to Mel Brooks lasted nearly 40 years, and they were as devoted and harmonious as two people could be. She remained a beautiful and versatile actor right up to the end of her life. A lot of people are going to miss her. So will I.
posted by melissa may at 4:02 PM on June 7, 2005

.
posted by trip and a half at 4:18 PM on June 7, 2005

.
posted by unrepentanthippie at 4:20 PM on June 7, 2005

.
posted by cali at 4:23 PM on June 7, 2005

Ditto on being unaware of her marriage to Mel Brooks. I would never have guessed that one. Incidentally, Katherine Ross, who played Elaine Robinson, is married to Sam Elliot... I find this to be an equally surprising match for some reason. This is not meant as a jab at either Sam Elliot or Mel Brooks.
posted by Tullius at 4:26 PM on June 7, 2005

She was hilarious in Mel Brooks' remake of To be or not to be (even if one might argue it shouldn't have been remade).
posted by Aknaton at 4:30 PM on June 7, 2005

.!
posted by Jikido at 4:38 PM on June 7, 2005

.
posted by fire&wings at 4:39 PM on June 7, 2005

Thanks for the (better than the link) links, melissa may.
posted by interrobang at 4:39 PM on June 7, 2005

she was wonderful--in everything. Rent 84 Charing Cross Rd. if you ever get a chance.
posted by amberglow at 4:41 PM on June 7, 2005

. She was wonderful. (And not to be disrespectful, but I happened to have watched the reissued dvd of The Graduate lately, and the character of Mrs Robinson had to be one of the original milfs.)
posted by R. Mutt at 4:43 PM on June 7, 2005

Welcome, interrobang. I should correct myself: Brooks and Bancroft were married in '64, so they did make it to 40 years. And yes, she was great in Charing Cross, and Heartbreakers, and The Elephant Man, and everything else I've ever seen her do.
posted by melissa may at 4:48 PM on June 7, 2005

.
posted by tzikeh at 4:49 PM on June 7, 2005

Melissa May - they were married in 64, and it's now 2005. And you don't think they made it to 40 years?
posted by tzikeh at 4:50 PM on June 7, 2005

.
posted by arse_hat at 4:51 PM on June 7, 2005

*headblue* Er - my incredible bad - I read that as "they didn't make it". NO idea why. Apologies, Melissa May
posted by tzikeh at 4:51 PM on June 7, 2005

.
posted by Smedleyman at 4:56 PM on June 7, 2005

.
posted by Staggering Jack at 4:56 PM on June 7, 2005

She was hilarious in Mel Brooks' remake of To be or not to be

"I don't mind my name below yours, I don't even mind it below the title, but in paretneses?"

" I like it, it sets your name apart."

"set your own name apart!"
posted by jonmc at 5:09 PM on June 7, 2005

.
posted by dobbs at 5:10 PM on June 7, 2005

Aw shit.

.
posted by Wulfgar! at 5:14 PM on June 7, 2005

I knew that she and Mel Brooks were married, for a very long time, and they were indeed great together in To Be or Not to Be.

.
posted by yhbc at 5:29 PM on June 7, 2005

Anne Bancroft was a class act.

.
posted by deborah at 5:41 PM on June 7, 2005

Very sad.

And sadder for good Sir Mel.
posted by grabbingsand at 5:42 PM on June 7, 2005

"We walk for about 40 minutes a day - and we keep our upper bodies in good shape by having a terrible fistfight every day" (Brooks and Bancroft in "The Obvious Diet")

any time I think of either of them, I think of that quote. They had a remarkable marriage.


.
posted by exlotuseater at 5:54 PM on June 7, 2005

.
I just want to say that my university German Professor (who is Swiss) looks exactly like Anne Bancroft.
posted by zardoz at 6:30 PM on June 7, 2005

.

She deserves a better memorial.

Amen. In some ways *the* classic American Jewish actress, Bancroft has been one of my favorite screen faces since I was a kid. Her performance in 84 Charing Cross Road is poignant and beautiful; it's a great little film, like amberglow says, but after The Graduate my fave would be Prisoner of Second Avenue, a classic mid-70's Neil Simon comedy with Jack Lemmon. Worth watching for Bancroft's performance alone, if you've never seen it. I had no idea she was set to play sculptor Louise Nevelson (!) in an Albee play (!!) a couple of years back. Too bad she got sick; sounds like it would have been great.

May she rest in peace.

(Hey, Duug, next time you make an obituary post, try putting a little thought and just a tad more effort into it.)
posted by mediareport at 6:58 PM on June 7, 2005

Too bad for her that no one gets to pick how she's remembered in this world. She'll always be Mrs. Robinson to me.
posted by ChrisTN at 6:58 PM on June 7, 2005

In some ways *the* classic American Jewish actress,

Oops. Got carried away there. She sure plays Jewish well, but she's Italian, not Jewish. Damn, but she looks like my aunt, too.

/sheepish
posted by mediareport at 7:01 PM on June 7, 2005

She defined 'sexy' when its definition was still infant.

Here's to older women.
posted by mudpuppie at 7:32 PM on June 7, 2005

.

I'm having a hard time imagining Mel Brooks in mourning.
posted by PlusDistance at 7:35 PM on June 7, 2005

I didn't make the connection that she was married to Mel Brooks until the last season finale of Curb Your Enthusiasm, which had some nice moments between them at the end.
posted by docpops at 7:36 PM on June 7, 2005

.
posted by gaspode at 7:39 PM on June 7, 2005

While I knew of their marriage I didn't know this,

She also was the one who suggested that he make a stage musical of his movie "The Producers." She explained that when he was afraid of writing a full-blown musical, including the music, "I sent him to an analyst." cnn

We owe our thanks for that.

.
posted by geekyguy at 7:43 PM on June 7, 2005

.
posted by Busithoth at 7:45 PM on June 7, 2005

.
posted by StrangeTikiGod at 8:01 PM on June 7, 2005

.

it was always a joy to catch her in those small, secondary rolls too. They were always so real.
posted by pointilist at 9:36 PM on June 7, 2005

.

Except that I can't help but pay tribute to her talent by noting that she was only 35 when she acted in The Graduate, opposite Dustin Hoffman, then aged -- not a misprint -- 29 and getting his first big film break after years of theater. Yes, they were barely six years apart. Takes a lot more guts to play the "much older" woman under those circumstances.
posted by dhartung at 9:41 PM on June 7, 2005

I remember her most in the role of Harvey Fierstein's mother in "Torchsong Trilogy" (my favorite film). She was, of course, perfect. Funny she's Italian, I always thought of her as Jewish also, especially being married to Mel Brooks.

I'm shocked to hear of her demise, and my sympathy goes out to her husband.
posted by Goofyy at 9:48 PM on June 7, 2005

She was always more attractive than all my parents' friends.

.
posted by sellout at 10:47 PM on June 7, 2005

.
posted by cookie-k at 11:21 PM on June 7, 2005

zardoz, my mother looked exactly like Anne Bancroft twenty years ago, but not so much now. And speaking of lookalikes, I came across a traffic court judge in Santa Barbara that was Glenn Close's doppelganger.

Oh, and RIP Ms. Italiano.
posted by Devils Slide at 11:28 PM on June 7, 2005

mediareport - nope. Won't do any more obituary posts. Not really interested. It's just that I was on the BBC site when the news came up and thought I'd post it. Sorry to all the offended, didn't realise there was some sort of 'policy'.
posted by Duug at 12:31 AM on June 8, 2005

.
posted by peacay at 1:42 AM on June 8, 2005

A tremendous actress and a wonderful woman. She and Mel Brooks are really the Hollywood couple that set the standard for all other Hollywood couples. So sad for Mr. Brooks. Rest in Peace, Ms. Bancroft.
posted by Joey Michaels at 2:37 AM on June 8, 2005

.
posted by paddbear at 2:46 AM on June 8, 2005

.
posted by nj_subgenius at 3:47 AM on June 8, 2005

Duug - there isn't one. Just pretentions pricks who like to dog other peoples' posts. Ignore them.
posted by Irontom at 5:56 AM on June 8, 2005

Annnnnd, I can't even spell "pretentious" properly. So much for my snark.
posted by Irontom at 5:57 AM on June 8, 2005

.
posted by moonbird at 7:45 AM on June 8, 2005

. (I liked her in "The Miracle Worker" and "'night, Mother.")
posted by cass at 12:47 PM on June 8, 2005

.
posted by dejah420 at 12:47 PM on June 8, 2005

So much for my snark.

Funny how that works, isn't it?

Duug - of course there's no "policy;" you know how this place works (or should, at least). The only thing keeping it together is respect for the community. One way that respect frequently manifests itself is when users put some thought and effort into posting to the front page.

Won't do any more obituary posts. Not really interested.

If you really cared about Bancroft, you would have given the community something substantial to honor her death. If you didnn't really care about Bancroft, then why the hell are you posting about her death to Mefi's front page? Just trust that someone who actually gives a fuck about her will handle it.
posted by mediareport at 3:13 PM on June 8, 2005

It was a fine post.

.
posted by puddinghead at 9:35 PM on June 8, 2005