So said Anne Bancroft's father when she said --at age 9-- that she wanted to be an actress. This is the only obit RC2 has seen so far that has mentioned her role as Mary in Zefferelli's Jesus of Nazareth. A terrific performance, albeit RC2 dislikes Zefferelli's style.
The obits of actors who live to old age (though she wasn't that old --73 only) give you a sense of the march of time and cultural changes, don't they? She originated The Miracle Worker on Broadway. Now it's been made and re-made at the movies and is a perennial high school favorite, along with You Can't Take It With You and The Music Man.
You can never know the inner life of stars, but I liked her. She always appeared more interested in the craft of acting than in preserving her celebrity --and therefore took a variety of roles, including unglamorous or bit parts, at a time when that was somewhat daring. She seemed to have moxie. RIP.
