Biography of Anne Bancroft

God bless you, Mrs. Robinson

17 September 1931 6 June 2005 on the screen was the sultry and wistful Mrs. Robinson, the role that has characterized more; in real life was the wife of that crazy author by the name of Mel Brooks. Two identities that "aficionados" of cinema fail to reconcile but she evidently lived with total nonchalance. On the other hand, what kind of actress would be otherwise? And it's not to say that a good girl Anne Bancroft is so detached from that infamous role, if it is true that today's youth remember mostly thanks to its diaphanous appearances in "the graduate", where he was losing his head to a callow, but mature and serious, Dustin Hoffman. Daughter of first generation Italian immigrants, Anna Maria Louisa was born on September 17, 1931 Italian in New York, in the Bronx. After a short training course in which it takes ballet lessons and recitation, in 1948 enters the NYC's American Academy of Dramatic Arts, where he took his first stage name Anne Marno. Afterwards, will assume the surname Bancroft to tip manufacturer Darril Zanuck. It is this period that is mostly involved with theatrical productions. When he makes his first appearance on TV in a serial, in 1950, his control on the art of acting is so ironclad that insiders are affected: the harsh wood planks of various theaters of New York have prepared the most difficult challenges. Paid my dues on television does not last long: not even four years later, a beautiful morning his phone rings, she answers and at the other end of the handset is a manufacturer of ready to bet on her. Of course the first roles are minor, but in 1962 comes the part of Annie Sullivan in "miracle worker", for which he won the Oscar for best actress. In 1964 Anne Bancroft plays "the pumpkin eater," and the same year after divorcing from Martin May with whom she had been married from 1953 to 1957, she married the actor and Director Mel Brooks. Their marriage lasts and is one of the few really successful partnerships in difficult and swampy world of cinema. In 1967 the Director Mike Nichols was chosen for the already mentioned role of Mrs. Robinson in "the graduate" which gives an Oscar nomination and a notoriety that it seems. The movie, like his character, are enshrined in film history thanks to the stunning soundtrack (including the song "Mrs. Robinson"), signed by Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel. In 1972 Anne gives birth to son Max Brooks. The list of the movies to which is long, but the most famous are "two lives, a turning point" (1977, with Shirley MacLaine), "The Elephant Man" (1980, by David Lynch, starring Anthony Hopkins), "to be or not to be" (1983, with her husband Mel Brooks) and "Agnes of God" (1985, with Jane Fonda). In 1980 with the film "Fatso", written and performed by herself, makes his debut behind the camera, after being perfected in directing at the American Film Institute. In the years ' 90 has continued acting, but it must be said that the roles have been entrusted mostly secondary. Among the films that stood out the most in recent years in particular the rude "G.i. Jane" (1997, directed by Ridley Scott, with Demi Moore and Viggo Mortensen), the drama "paradise lost" (1998, with Ethan Hawke and Gwyneth Paltrow). After a long and debilitating illness Anne Bancroft died at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Manhattan, New York, on June 6, 2005.
Article contributed by the team of collaborators.