A celebrated veteran of stage and screen, Ellen Burstyn is known to most moviegoers as Linda Blair's mom in the 1973 horror classic The Exorcist. Burstyn started out as a model and dancer in New York City, and her first audition as an actress brought a role on Broadway in Fair Game in 1957. She worked in television in Los Angeles in the early 1960s, then returned to New York to study acting with Lee Strasberg. Burstyn later earned six Oscar nominations, including four in the 1970s: for The Last Picture Show (1971, directed by Peter Bogdanovich); The Exorcist (1973, with Max Von Sydow); Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974, with Burstyn winning the Oscar as best actress); Same Time, Next Year (1978, opposite Alan Alda); Resurrection (1980); and Requiem for a Dream (2000, with Jared Leto). Her television work includes the series The Ellen Burstyn Show (1986-87) and That's Life (2000-02), and Emmy nominations for The People vs. Jean Harris (1981), Pack of Lies (1987) and Mrs. Harris (2005, starring Annette Bening). Burstyn has been a frequent performer on stage; she won a Tony award for Same Time, Next Year (1975), and her Broadway credits include 84 Charing Cross Road (1982-83) and the one-woman play Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All (2003).
Burstyn was the first woman president of the Actors' Equity Association (1982-85)... Early in her screen career Burstyn was credited as Ellen McRae... Burstyn took her name from her third husband, the actor Robert Burstyn, to whom she was married from 1960-71. She also was married to poet William Alexander (1950-55) and director Paul Roberts (1957-59).
Instrument: Voices, Performer, Speech/Speaker/Speaking Part
Biography
Actress Ellen Burstyn enjoyed her greatest prominence during the 1970s, a decade during which she was a virtual fixture of Academy Award voters' ballots. Born Edna Rae Gillooly in Detroit, Michigan on December 7, 1932, as a teen she studied dancing and performed in an acrobatic troupe; she later became a model for paperback book covers, subsequently dancing in a Montreal nightclub under the name "Keri Flynn." In 1954 she was tapped to appear as a Gleason Girl on television's Jackie Gleason Show, and in 1957 made her Broadway debut in Fair Game, again with a new stage name -- "Ellen McRae." While in New York, Burstyn studied acting under Stella Adler, and later married theatrical director Paul Roberts; she briefly relocated to Los Angeles for television work, but soon returned east to work at the Actors' Studio. She made her film debut in 1964's For Those Who Think Young, quickly followed by Goodbye Charlie; the cinema did not yet suit her, however, and she spent the remainder of the decade appearing on the daytime soap opera The Doctors.
It was after marrying her third husband, actor Paul Burstyn, that she adopted the name most familiar to audiences, and was so billed in 1969's film adaptation of Henry Miller's Tropic of Cancer; while the picture was unsuccessful, it did attract the notice of director Paul Mazursky, who cast her in his 1970 project Alex in Wonderland. Burstyn then began a string of high-profile films which established her among the preeminent actresses of the decade: the first, Peter Bogdanovich's 1971 masterpiece The Last Picture Show, earned her a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award nomination, but she lost out to co-star Cloris Leachman. Burstyn next appeared opposite Jack Nicholson in Bob Rafelson's acclaimed The King of Marvin Gardens before starring in William Friedkin's 1973 horror hit The Exorcist, a performance which earned her a Best Actress nomination. For Mazursky, she co-starred in the whimsical 1974 tale Harry and Tonto, and then appeared in a well-received TV feature, Thursday's Game.
However, it was 1974's Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore which truly launched Burstyn to stardom; Warners had purchased the screenplay at her insistence two years earlier, but her efforts to bring it to the screen were met with considerable resistance. Her first choice for director was Francis Ford Coppola, who declined, but he suggested she approach Martin Scorsese; in the wake of Mean Streets, Scorsese was eager to attempt a "woman's film," and agreed to take the project on. The result was a major critical and commercial success, and on her third attempt Burstyn finally won an Oscar; also that year, she won a Tony for her work on Broadway in the romantic drama Same Time, Next Year, the first actress to score both honors during the same awards season since Audrey Hepburn two decades prior. However, upon wrapping up her theatrical run Burstyn was not besieged by the offers so many expected her to receive; in fact, she did not appear on-screen for three years, finally resurfacing in Alain Resnais' Providence.
The film was not a success, nor was 1978's Jules Dassin-helmed A Dream of Passion. With co-star Alan Alda, Burstyn reprised her Broadway performance in a 1978 feature version of Same Time, Next Year, but it too failed to meet expectations, although she was again Oscar-nominated. After a two-year hiatus, she starred in Resurrection, followed in 1981 by Silence of the North, which went directly to cable television; for the networks, she starred in 1982's The People vs. Jean Harris, based on the notorious "Scarsdale diet" murder. After 1984's The Ambassador, Burstyn co-starred in the following year's Twice in a Lifetime, which was to be her last feature film for some years; she instead turned almost exclusively to television, appearing in a series of TV movies and starring in a disastrously short-lived 1986 sitcom, The Ellen Burstyn Show. Finally, in 1988 she returned to cinemas in Hanna's War, followed three years later by Dying Young; other notable projects of the decade included 1995's How to Make an American Quilt and, a year later, The Spitfire Grill. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide
Career Highlights: The Exorcist, The Last Picture Show, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore
First Major Screen Credit: Gunfight in Black Horse Canyon (1961)
Biography
Actress Ellen Burstyn enjoyed her greatest prominence during the '70s, a decade during which she was a virtual fixture of Academy Award voters' ballots. Born Edna Rae Gillooly in Detroit, MI, on December 7, 1932, as a teen she studied dancing and performed in an acrobatic troupe. She later became a model for paperback book covers, subsequently dancing in a Montréal nightclub under the name "Keri Flynn." In 1954, she was tapped to appear as a Gleason Girl on television's Jackie Gleason Show, and in 1957, she made her Broadway debut in Fair Game, again with a new stage name, "Ellen McRae." While in New York, Burstyn studied acting under Stella Adler, and later married theatrical director Paul Roberts. She briefly relocated to Los Angeles for television work but soon returned east to work at the Actors' Studio. She made her film debut in 1964's For Those Who Think Young, quickly followed by Goodbye Charlie. The cinema did not yet suit her, however, and she spent the remainder of the decade appearing on the daytime soap opera The Doctors.
It was after marrying her third husband, actor Neil Burstyn, that she adopted the name most familiar to audiences, and was so billed in 1969's film adaptation of Henry Miller's Tropic of Cancer. While the picture was unsuccessful, it did attract the notice of director Paul Mazursky, who cast her in his 1970 project Alex in Wonderland. Burstyn then began a string of high-profile films which established her among the preeminent actresses of the decade: The first, Peter Bogdanovich's 1971 masterpiece The Last Picture Show, earned her a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award nomination, but she lost out to co-star Cloris Leachman. Burstyn next appeared opposite Jack Nicholson in Bob Rafelson's acclaimed The King of Marvin Gardens before starring in William Friedkin's 1973 horror hit The Exorcist, a performance which earned her a Best Actress nomination. For Mazursky, she co-starred in the whimsical 1974 tale Harry and Tonto, and then appeared in a well-received TV feature, Thursday's Game.
However, it was 1974's Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore which truly launched Burstyn to stardom. Warner Bros. had purchased the screenplay at her insistence two years earlier, but her efforts to bring it to the screen were met with considerable resistance. Her first choice for director was Francis Ford Coppola, who declined, but he suggested she approach Martin Scorsese. In the wake of Mean Streets, Scorsese was eager to attempt a "woman's film," and agreed to take the project on. The result was a major critical and commercial success, and on her third attempt Burstyn finally won an Oscar. That same year, she won a Tony for her work on Broadway in the romantic drama Same Time, Next Year, the first actress to score both honors during the same awards season since Audrey Hepburn two decades prior. However, upon wrapping up her theatrical run, Burstyn was not besieged by the offers so many expected her to receive. In fact, she did not appear onscreen for three years, finally resurfacing in Alain Resnais' Providence.
The film was not a success, nor was 1978's Jules Dassin-helmed A Dream of Passion. With co-star Alan Alda, Burstyn reprised her Broadway performance in a 1978 feature version of Same Time, Next Year, but it too failed to meet expectations, although she was again Oscar-nominated. After a two-year hiatus, she starred in Resurrection, followed in 1981 by Silence of the North, which went directly to cable television. For the networks, she starred in 1981's The People vs. Jean Harris, based on the notorious "Scarsdale diet" murder. After 1984's The Ambassador, Burstyn co-starred in the following year's Twice in a Lifetime, which was to be her last feature film for some years. She instead turned almost exclusively to television, appearing in a series of TV movies and starring in a disastrously short-lived 1986 sitcom, The Ellen Burstyn Show. Finally, in 1988, she returned to cinemas in Hanna's War, followed three years later by Dying Young. Other notable projects of the decade included 1995's How to Make an American Quilt, The Spitfire Grill (1996), and the 1998 ensemble drama Playing by Heart, in which she played the mother of a young man dying of AIDS. If her success and talents had eluded younger audiences for the past decade all of that would change with Burstyn's role as the delusional mother of a heroin addict in Darren Aranofsky's grim addiction drama Requiem for a Dream. An adaptation of Hubert Selby, Jr.'s novel of the same name, Burstyn's heartbreaking performance as an abandoned mother whose dreams come shattering down around proved an Oscar nominated performance. She subsequently appeared in such made-for-television dramas as Dodson's Journey and Within These Walls (both 2001) and such films as Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood and Cross the Line (both 2002). Burstyn appeared in a variety of well-received television films including Mrs. Harris and The Five People You Meet in Heaven, and had a role in the short-lived series The Book of Daniel. She maintained her presence on the big screen by reteaming with Arronofsky in his big-budget tale The Fountain, and she appeared in Neil La Bute's remake of The Wicker Man. Burstyn was soon gearing up to reteam with Aranofsky for the time travel fantasy thriller The Fountain. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
Burstyn was born Edna Rae Gillooly in Detroit, Michigan, the daughter of Correine Marie (née Hamel) and John Austin Gillooly, who was a building contractor.[1] She describes herself as "Irish, French, Pennsylvania Dutch, a little Canadian Indian".[2][3] She was raised Catholic but is now known to practice Sufi Islam.[4][5] Her parents divorced when she was young. She would later refer to her mother as tough, violent and controlling. She left home at age 18.
Career
Burstyn debuted on Broadway in 1957 and joined Lee Strasberg's The Actor's Studio in 1967. In 1975, she won a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performance in Same Time, Next Year (a role she would reprise in the film version, three years later). In 1990 she won the Sarah Siddons Award for her work in Chicago theatre. Until 1970, she was credited as "Ellen McRae" in nearly all her film and TV appearances.
Recently, Burstyn appeared in The Fountain, directed by Darren Aronofsky, with whom she worked in Requiem for a Dream. She also appeared on a 2007 episode of the HBO series Big Love, playing the mother of polygamist wife Barbara Henrickson. She provides a supporting role as the mother of two sons in the The Elephant King. The movie originally premiered at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival but did not open in U.S. theaters until October 2008. At the time, it was credited as receiving the highest per-screen opening gross as any movie in the country.
Burstyn was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Actress in a Miniseries or Special, for the TV movie The People vs. Jean Harris (1981) and again for another TV movie, Pack of Lies (1987).
In 2006, she was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Special for HBO's Mrs. Harris as Dr. Tarnower's "Ex-Lover #3." (She had played the title character in The People vs Mrs Jean Harris). She was nominated for a performance that consisted of 14 seconds of screen time, two lines of dialogue and a total of 38 words. This is the shortest nominated performance in the history of the Emmy Awards.
Soon after the nominations were announced, an outcry ensued from the press and the public regarding the worthiness of the nomination. One explanation for the nomination was that people were honoring Burstyn for her nominated but non-winning performance from the first Harris telefilm. A more popular accusation was that the nominating committee was either confused in their recollection, or merely "threw in" her name from sheer recognition, assuming a worthy performance without actually seeing it.
The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences initially insisted that "based on the popular vote, this is a legitimate nomination." Meanwhile, HBO deflected the blame for submitting the nomination to the movie production company. Burstyn's own reaction ranged from initial silence to comments such as, "I thought it was fabulous. My next ambition is to get nominated for seven seconds, and ultimately I want to be nominated for a picture in which I don't even appear," and "This doesn't have anything to do with me. I don't even want to know about this. You people work it out yourself."[6]
Ultimately, Kelly Macdonald, who starred in The Girl in the Cafe, won the award. In March 2007, the Academy officially announced that eligibility for a Primetime Emmy Award in any long-form supporting-actor category required nominees to appear on-screen in at least 10 percent of the project (9 minutes in a typical 90-minute telefilm).
Many critics still cite this incident to criticize the Emmy nomination process, claiming that name recognition has played an increasingly visible role over the years.[7]
Other activities
During the 1970s Burstyn was active in the movement to free convicted boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter from jail.
In 1981, Burstyn recorded "The Ballad of the Nazi Soldier's Wife" (Kurt Weill's musical setting of Bertolt Brecht's text "Und was bekam des Soldaten Weib?") for Ben Bagley's album Kurt Weill Revisited, Vol. 2. Burstyn served as president of the Actors' Equity Association from 1982 to 1985.
In 1950, she married Bill Alexander, but they divorced in 1957. The following year, she married Paul Roberts, with whom she adopted a boy named Jefferson in 1962. They divorced the same year.[8] She then married fellow actor Neil Burstyn, but the union was turbulent. Neil Burstyn was schizophrenic, he would have episodes of violence, and eventually left her. He attempted to come back to her, but she rejected him, ultimately divorcing him in 1972. In her autobiography Lessons in Becoming Myself, Burstyn revealed that he stalked her over a period of 6 years after she divorced him. He eventually forced sex with her somehow, but was not arrested, as forced sex in marriage was not yet considered a crime.[9] He committed suicide in 1978, upon which his parents sent Burstyn a telegram stating "Congratulations, you've won another Oscar; Neil killed himself".[10]
During the 1970s Burstyn began to question her Catholic faith. After studying the religions of Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam, she then became committed to the mystical form of Islam, and converted as a Sufi Muslim.[11] She is currently unmarried.
