Colleen Rose Dewhurst (3 June 1924 â€" 22 August 1991) was a
Canadian-American actress mostly known for theatre roles. She was a
renowned interpreter of the works of Eugene O'Neill on the stage, and
her career also encompassed film, early dramas on live television, and
Joseph Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival. One of her last roles was
playing Marilla Cuthbert in the Kevin Sullivan television adaptations
of the Anne of Green Gables series, and her reprisal of the role in
the subsequent TV series Road to Avonlea (marketed as Avonlea in the
US). Dewhurst won two Tony Awards and four Emmy Awards for her stage
and television work.Dewhurst was born 3 June 1924, in Montreal, Quebec
to housewife Frances Marie (nee Woods) and Ferdinand Augustus "Fred"
Dewhurst. She had no siblings. Fred Dewhurst was the owner of a chain
of confectionery stores, and had been a celebrated athlete in Canada,
where he had played football with the Ottawa Rough Riders. The family
became naturalized as U.S. citizens before 1940. Colleen's mother was
a Christian Scientist, a faith Colleen also embraced.The Dewhursts
moved to Massachusetts in 1928 or 1929, staying in Boston, Dorchester,
Auburndale, and West Newton. Later they moved to New York City, and
then to Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin. She attended Whitefish Bay High
School for her first two years of high school, moved to Shorewood High
School for her junior year, and graduated from Riverside High School
in Milwaukee in 1942. Around this time, her parents separated.
Dewhurst attended Milwaukee-Downer College for two years, then moved
to New York City to pursue an acting career.
Canadian-American actress mostly known for theatre roles. She was a
renowned interpreter of the works of Eugene O'Neill on the stage, and
her career also encompassed film, early dramas on live television, and
Joseph Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival. One of her last roles was
playing Marilla Cuthbert in the Kevin Sullivan television adaptations
of the Anne of Green Gables series, and her reprisal of the role in
the subsequent TV series Road to Avonlea (marketed as Avonlea in the
US). Dewhurst won two Tony Awards and four Emmy Awards for her stage
and television work.Dewhurst was born 3 June 1924, in Montreal, Quebec
to housewife Frances Marie (nee Woods) and Ferdinand Augustus "Fred"
Dewhurst. She had no siblings. Fred Dewhurst was the owner of a chain
of confectionery stores, and had been a celebrated athlete in Canada,
where he had played football with the Ottawa Rough Riders. The family
became naturalized as U.S. citizens before 1940. Colleen's mother was
a Christian Scientist, a faith Colleen also embraced.The Dewhursts
moved to Massachusetts in 1928 or 1929, staying in Boston, Dorchester,
Auburndale, and West Newton. Later they moved to New York City, and
then to Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin. She attended Whitefish Bay High
School for her first two years of high school, moved to Shorewood High
School for her junior year, and graduated from Riverside High School
in Milwaukee in 1942. Around this time, her parents separated.
Dewhurst attended Milwaukee-Downer College for two years, then moved
to New York City to pursue an acting career.
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