Maureen Stapleton

She became an alcoholic after acting in a stressful character in the play ‘The Rose Tattoo’. She was under medical treatment for anxiety. She was also afraid of using elevators and airplanes.

She married Max Allentuck, a manager of a theatre producer. With Max, she had two children, Daniel and Katharine. After her divorce with Max, she developed a romantic relationship with David Rayfiel, a playwright whom she later married.

At that time, she used to drink heavily due to her guilt and anxiety over her divorce with Max. With David her married life lasted only for three years.

Born as Lois Maureen Stapleton in Troy, New York, United States, she was brought up in an orthodox Irish American Catholic family. His alcoholic father John P. Stapleton left her mother when Maureen was five.

She received her early education from Troy High School. After reaching New York at the age of eighteen, she took admission at Herbert Berghof’s acting school. Besides attending acting classes, she used to work as a waitress. For a brief period, she also worked as a nude model for artists.

Her first performance for Broadway was a revival of ‘The Playboy of the Western World’ in which she acted in a small role. Later, she performed in ‘Bird Cage’ under the direction of Harold Clurman.

She met several young actors like Marlon Brando and Montgomery Clift when she joined the Actors Studio in 1947. The year 1950 marks an important milestone for her acting career.

In that year, she was cast as the lead character of the play ‘The Rose Tattoo’ opposite Eli Wallach. In 1955, she acted in ’27 Wagons Full of Cotton’. In the next year, she performed in ‘Orpheus Descending’. Both of these plays were authored by Tennessee Williams.

Released in 1958, the film ‘Lonelyhearts’ was her first performance in Hollywood film.. She presented the emotional turmoil of a woman whose insane husband is planning to blow up a plane in the film 'Airport' , released in 1970. The film received huge success.

In 1975, her television film ‘Queen of the Stardust Ballroom’ shows her as an aged lonely widow in love with a postal worker whom she met at a local dance hall.

She skilfully portrayed the role of an Italian- American widow in the play ‘The Rose Tattoo’. The first performance of this play was organised in February of 1951. She earned instant fame as an actress for presenting the widow’s coarse nature and emotional upheaval with subtlety.