Remembering Older Actress Patricia Neal

Gina Wilhelm Actress - Remembering Older Actress Patricia Neal

Oscar-, Tony- and Golden Globe-winning actress Patricia Neal passed away Sunday of lung cancer at the age of 84.

Neal won a Tony in 1946 for her work in Lillian Hellman's "Another Part of the Forest," which drew the attention of Hollywood.

After appearing in "John Loves Mary" with Ronald Reagan, her second film was "The Fountainhead" opposite Gary Cooper.

Barbara Stanwyck had helped champion the movie to Warner Brothers, but the role eventually went to Neal.

Neal went back to Broadway in the '50s, originating the role of Helen's mother in "The Miracle Worker," and occasionally appeared on television, as in Elia Kazan's "A Face in the Crowd."

She came back to film in 1963 in "Hud," for which she won an Oscar for best actress in a leading role.

Neal suffered a series of debilitating strokes in 1965 requiring lengthy rehabilitation. Two years later she was offered the part of Mrs. Robinson in "The Graduate," which she turned down, feeling it was too soon after her stroke.

A year later she starred in "The Subject was Roses," receiving an Oscar nomination for her comeback role.

"The Subject was Roses" was her last film role, but Neal appeared on television after that. Her last role was in "Flying By" in 2009.

Gina Wilhelm Actress