Cloris Leachman was born in Des Moines, Iowa April 30. 1926. As a teenager she started acting in local plays and after high school went to Northwestern University where she was classmates with Paul Lynde and Charlotte Rae. She competed in 1he 1946 Miss America contest, placing in the top 16, and after that started getting offers for television and film parts. Her movie debut was in the film noir Kiss Me Deadly in 1955.
She was in the Paul Newman movies The Rack 1956 and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 1969, with Eli Wallach in the 1970 The People Next Door, The Last Picture Show 1971, with Fred MacMurray in Charley and the Angel 1973, Dillinger 1973, Happy Mother’s Day Love George 1973, with Cybill Shepherd in Daisy Miller 1974, played Frau Blücher in Young Frankenstein 1974, Crazy Mama 1975, in Mel Brooks High Anxiety 1977, in the Disney film The North Avenue Irregulars 1979, and finished the 1970’s in two 1979 comedies The Muppet Movie and Scavenger Hunt.
Her 1980’s movies start with Disney’s Herbie Goes Bananas 1980, Mel Brook’s History of the World, Part I 1981, the supernatural Shadow Play 1986, Hansel and Gretel 1987, with Howie Mandell in Walk Like a Man 1987 and the Christmas movie Prancer 1989.
The 1990’s movies start appearing with Jeff Bridges in Texasville 1990, Love Hurts 1991, My Boyfriends Back 1993, Granny in The Beverly Hillbillies 1993, Now and Then 1995, Never Too Late 1997 and Music of the Heart 1999. The the 2000’s there is Hanging Up 2000, The Amati Girls 2001, Manna From Heaven 2002, Alex & Emma 2003, the hilarious Bad Santa 2003, with Adam Sandler in Spanglish 2004 and The Longest Yard 2005,
Sky High 2005, The Californians 2005, Scary Movie 4 2006, Beerfest 2006, with Meg Ryan in The Women 2008, American Cowslip 2009, Inglourious Basterds 2009, Expecting Mary 2010, The Fields 2011, with Colin Firth in Gambit 2012, Adult World 2012, The Bronx Bull 2013, The Wedding Ringer 2015, This is Happening 2015, Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse 2015, So B. It 2016, The Comedian 2016, I Can Only Imagine 2018, Lez Bomb 2018 and Jump Darling 2020.
And then there is another whole career in television! Here are some shows that she appeared in 4 or less episodes; Charlie Wild Private Detective 1950-1952, Dick Powell’s Zane Grey Theatre 1956, Alfred Hitchcock Presents 1955-1958, Gunsmoke 1956 & 1961, Rawhide 1960,
Thriller 1960, Wanted Dead or Alive 1960, The Donna Reed Show 1961, Twilight Zone 1961, The Untouchables 1961, 77 Sunset Strip 1962, Route 66 1962, Laramie 1962, Wagon Train 1962, Perry Mason 1966, The Big Valley 1967, The Virginian 1967 & 1969, Adam-12 1968, Mannix 1969, That Girl 1970, Night Gallery 1972, Wonder Woman 1975, The Love Boat 1976, The Simpsons 1991, The Nanny 1994, Touched by an Angel 1997-2003,
Family Guy 2005, Two and a Half Men 2005, The Office 2009 and Hot in Cleveland 2013. She appeared in 28 episodes of Lassie 1957-1958, 5 episodes of Dr. Kildare 1965, 34 episodes as Phyllis Lindstrom in the Mary Tyler Moore Show 1970-1975, again as Phyllis in Rhoda – “Rhoda’s Wedding -Parts 1 &2” 1974, 48 episodes of Phyllis 1975-1977, 112 episodes in Rosie 1981-1990, 48 episodes of the Facts of Life, 10 episodes of the Nutt House 1989, 13 episodes of Walter & Emily 1991-1992, 11 episodes of Malcolm in the Middle, 18 episodes of The Ellen Show 2001-2002,
17 episodes in Dancing with the Stars 2008 and 83 episodes of Raising Hope 2010-2014. She had a busy career which also included stage work and spanned all the way to 2021. She died in her sleep, from natural causes, at her home in Encinitas, California on January 27, 2021. She was 94 years old.
