With a career that spanned a staggering six decades on stage and screen, actress Cloris Leachman was one of... (Learn more)
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Cloris Leachman’s Milestones
| Acted on Broadway in supporting roles in William Inge's "Come Back, Little Sheba" and Shakespeare's "As You Like It" | |
| Appeared as Parthy in a touring company of "Show Boat" | |
| Hosted an advice-to-homemakers radio program, while in her mid-teens | |
| Moved to NYC and was chosen by Elia Kazan to be a member of the original Actors Studio | |
| Played a nativist painter in an acclaimed touring stage production of "Grandma Moses"; appeared in play on and off for over a decade | |
| Won the title of Miss Chicago; later was one of the finalists in the 1946 Miss America Beauty Pageant | |
| 1948 - 1949 | Made TV debut as a semi-regular role on "Actors Studio" |
| 1949 | Cast in a regular role on the CBS series "Hold It Please" |
| 1950 - 1952 | Played secretary Effie Perrine on the NBC detective show, "Charlie Wild, Private Detective" |
| 1952 | Appeared regularly on NBC's "The Bob & Ray Show" |
| 1955 | Feature film acting debut, "Kiss Me Deadly" |
| 1957 - 1958 | Cast as Ruth Martin, Timmy's adoptive mom, on the fourth season of the CBS series, "Lassie" |
| 1969 | Had a brief role as a prostitute, opposite Paul Newman and Robert Redford in "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" |
| 1970 | Once again cast opposite Newman in "WUSA" |
| 1970 | Played the recurring role of Sandi Hollinger on the ABC series "That Girl" |
| 1970 - 1975 | Played the recurring role of landlady Phyllis Lindstrom on the CBS series, "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" |
| 1971 | Received acclaim as a high school gym teacher's wife who embarks on an affair with a teenager in Peter Bogdanovich's "The Last Picture Show" |
| 1972 | Co-starred with Carroll O'Connor in the CBS TV adaptation of the Gershwin musical "Of Thee I Sing" |
| 1973 | Gave an Emmy-winning performance as a middle-aged woman who discovers she's pregnant in the ABC movie "A Brand New Life" |
| 1974 | Delivered a strong dramatic turn in the CBS telefilm "The Migrants" |
| 1974 | Offered a brilliant comic turn as Frau Blucher in Mel Brooks' spoof "Young Frankenstein" |
| 1974 | Re-teamed with Bogdanovich for the period drama "Daisy Miller" |
| 1975 - 1977 | Played the title role in "Phyllis" (CBS), a spin-off of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" |
| 1975 | Starred in Jonathan Demme's low-budget gangster drama "Crazy Mama" |
| 1977 | Re-teamed with Mel Brooks for his spoof of Hitchcock films "High Anxiety" |
| 1979 | Appeared in "The Muppet Movie" as the secretary to a producing mogul (Orson Welles) |
| 1979 | Portrayed the unsinkable Molly Brown in the ABC movie "S.O.S. Titanic" |
| 1981 | Again collaborated with Brooks for the comedy "History of the World Part I" |
| 1982 | Co-hosted the short-lived CBS magazine program, "The Book of Lists" |
| 1982 | Played four roles (three sisters and their mother) in the TV adaptation of "Twigs" (aired on E!) |
| 1985 | Starred opposite Dick Van Dyke in the PBS production "Breakfast with Les and Bess" |
| 1986 - 1988 | Replaced Charlotte Rae's character as the den mother on the NBC sitcom, "The Facts of Life" for its final two seasons |
| 1989 | Played Ms. Frick on the short-lived NBC sitcom, "The Nutt House"; series created by Mel Brooks |
| 1990 | Reprised the role of Ruth Popper in Peter Bogdanovich's sequel film, "Texasville" |
| 1991 | Played Emily Collins on the short-lived NBC sitcom, "Walter and Emily" |
| 1993 | Stepped into Irene Ryan's shoes to play Granny in the feature film version of "The Beverly Hillbillies" |
| 1996 - 1997 | Had a recurring role as Aunt Mooster in the CBS series "Promised Land" |
| 1999 | Lent her voice to the animated feature "The Iron Giant" |
| 1999 | Played Meryl Streep's mother in Wes Craven's "Music of the Heart" |
| 2001 | Had a recurring guest role as Lois' mother on the FOX sitcom "Malcolm in the Middle"; earned Emmy (2001, 2003, 2004, 2005) nominations for Guest Actress in a Comedy Series |
| 2001 - 2002 | Returned to TV as Dot, the title character's eccentric mother, in the CBS sitcom, "The Ellen Show" |
| 2004 | Earned an Emmy nomination for her guest-starring role on "Joan of Arcadia" (CBS) |
| 2004 | Portrayed the boozy, former jazz singer and grandmother Evelyn in the feature "Spanglish"; earned a SAG nomination for Supporting Actress |
| 2006 | Earned Emmy and SAG nominations as Tarnower's adoring sister in the HBO movie, "Mrs. Harris" |
| 2008 | Joined the seventh season of ABC's reality competition, "Dancing With The Stars" |
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