Katherine Helmond

Katherine Helmond
Helmond at the 41st Emmy Awards, 1989
Born	Katherine Marie Helmond July 5, 1929 Galveston, Texas, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, director
Years active	1955–present
Known for	Soap Who's the Boss?
Spouse(s)	George N. Martin (m. 1957; div. 1962) David Christian (m. 1962)

Katherine Marie Helmond (born July 5, 1929)^[1] is an American film, theater and television actress and director. In her five decades of television acting, she is known for playing Emily Dickinson on Meeting of Minds, but is best known for her starring role as the ditzy matriarch, Jessica Tate, on the ABC prime time soap opera sitcom, Soap (1977–1981), her co-starring role as feisty mother, Mona Robinson on Who's the Boss? (1984–1992), opposite Tony Danza's character. She also played more mothers, Doris Sherman on Coach, and Lois Whelan on Everybody Loves Raymond. She has also appeared as a guest on several talk and variety shows.

Career

After her stage debut in As You Like It, she began working in New York in 1955. She later ran a summer theatre in the Catskills for three seasons and taught acting in university theatre programs. She made her television debut in 1962, but would not achieve fame until the 1970s. She also acted on stage, earning a Tony nomination for her performance on Broadway in Eugene O'Neill's The Great God Brown (1973). Other Broadway productions include Private Lives, Don Juan and Mixed Emotions. ^[2]

Helmond appeared in such feature films as Family Plot (1976) and Brazil (1985), playing the mother of Jonathan Pryce's character. In 1983, she studied at the American Film Institute's Directing Workshop, and went on to direct four episodes of the television series Benson, as well as one episode of Who's the Boss? (1984). She picked up Emmy nominations for her role as Mona Robinson in Who's the Boss, and as Lois Whelan in Everybody Loves Raymond. She has continued working, receiving acclaim for her stage performance in Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues. (2001)

Helmond appeared in The Legend of Lizzie Borden (1975), as Emma Borden, the title character's sister. She appeared in an episode of the short-lived 1976 CBS adventure series, Spencer's Pilots, starring Gene Evans. Helmond gained prominence as Jessica Tate, the ditzy matriarch of the Tate family in Soap (1977–1981) on ABC. From 1984 to 1992 she played the role of Mona Robinson on the ABC sitcom Who's the Boss?. The show was a ratings success, running for eight seasons and finishing in the Nielsen 'Top 10' four straight years. In 1993, she appeared in one episode of the British version of Who's the Boss?, The Upper Hand.^[3] From 1995 to 1997, she starred in the ABC sitcom Coach as Doris Sherman, eccentric owner of the fictional Orlando Breakers professional football team. From 1996 to 2004, she had a recurring role on Everybody Loves Raymond as Lois Whelan (Ray Barone's mother-in-law). On July 25, 2010, she guest-starred on A&E's The Glades. She also guest starred as Caroline Bellefleur on "HBO"'s "True Blood".

Personal life

Helmond was born on July 5, 1929 in Galveston, Texas, the only child of Joseph P. (March 11, 1904 – January 31, 1983) and Thelma (née Malone) Helmond (May 13, 1910 – October 10, 1981). She was raised by her mother and grandmother, both devout Roman Catholics. She attended a Catholic primary school^[4] and appeared in numerous school plays.

In 1957, Helmond married George N. Martin. After their divorce she married her second husband, David Christian and the couple have been together since 1962. She has no children. They have owned homes in Los Angeles, New York City, Long Island and London. She and her husband have a history as students of Zen.^[5]

Filmography

Film
Year	Film	Role	Notes
1971	Believe in Me	Saleslady
	The Hospital	Mrs. Marilyn Mead
1975	The Hindenburg	Mrs. Mildred Breslau
1976	Family Plot	Mrs. Maloney
	Baby Blue Marine	Mrs. Hudkins
1981	Time Bandits	Mrs. Ogre
1985	Brazil	Mrs. Ida Lowry
	Shadey	Lady Constance Landau	British film
1987	Overboard	Edith Mintz
1988	Lady in White	Amanda Harper	Nominated — Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress (1990)
1992	Inside Monkey Zetterland	Honor Zetterland
1993	Amore!	Mildred Schwartz
1994	The Flight of the Dove	Dr. Pamela Schilling	a.k.a. The Spy Within
1998	Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas	Desk Clerk at Mint Hotel
2000	The Perfect Nanny	Mrs. McBride
2001	Living in Fear	Mrs. Ford
2002	Black Hole	Martha Truesdale
2003	Beethoven's 5th	Crazy Cora Wilkens	Direct-to-video film
2006	Cars	Lizzie	Voice role
2007	The Strand	Isabelle	Direct-to-video film
2011	Cars 2	Lizzie	Voice role
	Collaborator	Irene Longfellow
Television
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1962	Car 54, Where Are You?	Betty Lou Creco (uncredited)	1 episode
1972	Gunsmoke	Ena Spratt	1 episode
1973	Adam's Rib	Martha Layne	1 episode
	The Bob Newhart Show	Dr. Webster	1 episode
	The ABC Afternoon Playbreak	Liz Cunningham	1 episode
1974	The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman	Lady at House	TV film
	The Snoop Sisters	Cissy Prine	1 episode
	Dr. Max	Libby Oppel	TV film
	Hec Ramsey	Emily	1 episode
	Larry	Maureen Whitten	TV film
	Mannix	Martha Cole	1 episode
	Locusts	Claire Fletcher	TV film
	Medical Center	Rachel	1 episode
1974–75	The Rookies	Joyce Lanson / Molly Phillips	2 episodes
1975	The Legend of Lizzie Borden	Emma Borden	TV film
	The Family Nobody Wanted	Mrs. Bittner	TV film
	Cage Without a Key	Mrs. Little	TV film
	The First 36 Hours of Dr. Durant	Nurse Katherine Gunther	TV pilot
	Barnaby Jones	Edna Morrison	1 episode
	Harry O	Anne Kershaw	1 episode
	The Six Million Dollar Man	Middy	1 episode
1976	The Blue Knight		1 episode
	James Dean	Claire Folger	TV film
	Petrocelli	Nancy Berwick	1 episode
	Joe Forrester		1 episode
	Wanted: The Sundance Woman	Mattie Riley	TV film a.k.a. Mrs. Sundance Rides Again
	Visions	Aunt Sara	1 episode
	Spencer's Pilots	Elly	1 episode
1977	Little Ladies of the Night	Miss Colby	TV film a.k.a. Diamond Alley
	The Bionic Woman	Dr. Harkens	2 episodes
	Meeting of Minds	Emily Dickinson	2 episodes
1978	Getting Married	Vera Lesser	TV film
	Pearl	Mrs. Sally Colton, Madam	TV miniseries
1979	$weepstake$	Lynn	1 episode
	Diary of a Teenage Hitchhiker	Elaine Thurston	TV film
1980	Scout's Honor	Pearl Bartlett	TV film
1977–81	Soap	Jessica Tate	85 episodes Won — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy (1980) Nominated — Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series (1978) Nominated — Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series (1979) Nominated — Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series (1980) Nominated — Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series (1981)
1982	World War III	Dorothy Longworth	TV miniseries
	For Lovers Only	Bea Winchell	TV film
	Rosie: The Rosemary Clooney Story	Frances Clooney	TV film
1979–83	Benson	Jessica Tate	2 episodes also as director
1983	Faerie Tale Theatre	Jack's mother	1 episode
	Fantasy Island	Laura Walters / George Walters	1 episode
1984	Not in Front of the Kids	Millie Rosen	TV film
1985	Comedy Factory	Mildred Deegan	1 episode
1981–86	The Love Boat	Vivian / Harriet Darnell Stevens	3 episodes
1986	Charmed Lives	Mona Robinson	1 episode
	Girls on Top	Goldie DuPont	1 episode
	Christmas Snow	Widow Mutterance	TV film
1988	Save the Dog!		TV film a.k.a. Go for Broke
1990	When Will I Be Loved?	Barbara Patterson	TV film
1991	The Perfect Tribute	Farm Woman	TV film
	Deception: A Mother's Secret	Geena Milner	TV film a.k.a. Tell Me No Lies
1984–92	Who's the Boss?	Mona Robinson	196 episodes Won — Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film (1989) Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film (1986) Nominated — Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (1988) Nominated — Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (1989) Nominated — TV Land Award for Favorite Mother-in-Law (2005)
1992	Grass Roots	Emma Carr	TV film
	Batman: The Animated Series	Connie Stromwell	1 episode Voice role
1993	The Elvira Show	Aunt Minerva	Unknown episodes
	The Upper Hand	Madame Alexandra	1 episode
1995	Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story	Hedda Hopper	TV film
1995–97	Coach	Doris Sherman	11 episodes
1997	Ms. Scrooge	Maude Marley	TV film
1999	The Wild Thornberrys	Dugong	1 episode Voice role
	Providence	Rose Bidwell	2 episodes
2000	Strong Medicine	Cicely Nordeco	1 episode
	How to Marry a Billionaire: A Christmas Tale	Shatzie	TV film
2002	Mr. St. Nick	Queen Carlotta	TV film
1996–2004	Everybody Loves Raymond	Lois Whelan	14 episodes Nominated — Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series (2002)
2007	A Grandpa for Christmas	Roxie Famosa	TV film
2010	The Glades	Evelyn	1 episode
	Melissa & Joey	Mrs. Geller	1 episode
2011	True Blood	Caroline Bellefleur	1 episode
2011	Harry's Law	Mrs. Gold	1 episode
2012	Cars Toons: Mater's Tall Tales	Lizzie	1 episode ("Time Travel Mater")

Award nominations

She was nominated for Broadway's 1973 Tony Award as Best Supporting or Featured Actress (Dramatic) for Eugene O'Neill's The Great God Brown. She was nominated for an Emmy for her role on Soap four times in a row (1978–1981) as Best Actress in a Comedy Series. In 1988 and 1989, she was nominated as Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role on Who's the Boss?. In 2002, she was nominated as Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her role in Everybody Loves Raymond.

References

1. "khelmond". Retrieved 22 July 2016.
2. League, The Broadway. "Katherine Helmond – Broadway Cast & Staff - IBDB". Retrieved 22 July 2016.
3. "The Upper Hand Tunnel of Love (1993)". IMDb.com. 1993-02-22. Retrieved 2009-04-20.
4. Katherine Helmond profile at movies.yahoo.com
5. "The Victoria Advocate - Google News Archive Search". Retrieved 22 July 2016.

External links

• Katherine Helmond at the Internet Movie Database
• Katherine Helmond at the Internet Broadway Database
  
• Katherine Helmond interview video at the Archive of American Television