Academy Award winning actress Anne Bancroft has died at the age of 73. A spokesman for Bancroft's husband, Mel Brooks, said that Bancroft passed away Monday night at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. Ms. Bancroft had been suffering from uterine cancer.
Bancroft won her Oscar for portraying Anne Sullivan, the teacher of young Helen Keller in the film 'The Miracle Worker' in 1962. She also won a Tony Award for portraying Sullivan on the Broadway stage in the play of the same name.
Despite her appearance in so many diverse roles over the course of her career, Bancroft remained best remembered for her role as Mrs. Robinson in the landmark film 'The Graduate' starring Dustin Hoffman.
In addition to winning the Oscar for 'The Miracle Worker,' Bancroft was nominated four more times for her work in 'The Pumpkin Eater' (1964); 'The Graduate' (1967); 'The Turning Point' (1977); 'Agnes of God' (1985).
Bancroft never quite felt comfortable being remembered primarily for playing the aging alcoholic wife who seduces her husband's partner's much younger son. In a 2003 interview, Bancroft explained, 'I am quite surprised that with all my work, and some of it is very, very good, that nobody talks about `The Miracle Worker.' We're talking about Mrs. Robinson. I understand the world. ... I'm just a little dismayed that people aren't beyond it yet.'
Mike Nichols, the director of 'The Graduate' was very impressed with Ms. Bancroft as an actress. 'Her combination of brains, humor, frankness and sense were unlike any other artist,' Nichols said in a statement. 'Her beauty was constantly shifting with her roles, and because she was a consummate actress she changed radically for every part.'
Bancroft was born Anna Maria Louise Italiano. She chose the stage name Bancroft when she signed a deal with Twentieth Century-Fox in 1952.
She was married for three years to builder Martin May before marrying Brooks in 1964. The two stayed together for nearly 41 years. The couple has one child, Maximilian, born in 1972.
The couple did work well together both on screen and off. Brooks and Bancroft co-starred in three films, 'Silent Movie,' a remake of 'To Be or Not to Be' and 'Dracula: Dead and Loving It.'
It was also Bancroft who suggested to Brooks that he make a Broadway musical out of his classic film 'The Producers.' The play, starred Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick became a critical and box office hit.
