Cloris Leachman (born April , ) is an American actress and comedian.
In a career spanning over seven decades she has won eight Primetime
Emmy Awards, a Daytime Emmy Award, and an Academy Award for her role
in The Last Picture Show (). She was a part of Mel Brooks's ensemble
cast, appearing in iconic roles such as Frau Blücher in Young
Frankenstein () and Madame Defarge in History of the World, Part I ().
Her longest-running role was the nosy and cunning landlady Phyllis
Lindstrom in the CBS sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show and its
spin-off, Phyllis, in the s.Leachman was born in Des Moines, Iowa, the
eldest of three daughters. She attended Theodore Roosevelt High
School. Her parents were Cloris (née Wallace; â€") and Berkeley
Claiborne "Buck" Leachman (â€"). Her father worked at the family-owned
Leachman Lumber Company.The youngest sister, Mary, was not in show
business. Middle sister Claiborne Cary (â€") was an actress and
singer. Their maternal grandmother was of Bohemian (Czech) descent.As
a teenager, Leachman appeared in plays by local youth on weekends at
Drake University in Des Moines. After graduating from high school, she
enrolled at Northwestern University in the School of Education. At
Northwestern, she became a member of Gamma Phi Beta and was a
classmate of future comic actors Paul Lynde and Charlotte Rae. She
began appearing on television and in films shortly after competing in
Miss America in .
In a career spanning over seven decades she has won eight Primetime
Emmy Awards, a Daytime Emmy Award, and an Academy Award for her role
in The Last Picture Show (). She was a part of Mel Brooks's ensemble
cast, appearing in iconic roles such as Frau Blücher in Young
Frankenstein () and Madame Defarge in History of the World, Part I ().
Her longest-running role was the nosy and cunning landlady Phyllis
Lindstrom in the CBS sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show and its
spin-off, Phyllis, in the s.Leachman was born in Des Moines, Iowa, the
eldest of three daughters. She attended Theodore Roosevelt High
School. Her parents were Cloris (née Wallace; â€") and Berkeley
Claiborne "Buck" Leachman (â€"). Her father worked at the family-owned
Leachman Lumber Company.The youngest sister, Mary, was not in show
business. Middle sister Claiborne Cary (â€") was an actress and
singer. Their maternal grandmother was of Bohemian (Czech) descent.As
a teenager, Leachman appeared in plays by local youth on weekends at
Drake University in Des Moines. After graduating from high school, she
enrolled at Northwestern University in the School of Education. At
Northwestern, she became a member of Gamma Phi Beta and was a
classmate of future comic actors Paul Lynde and Charlotte Rae. She
began appearing on television and in films shortly after competing in
Miss America in .
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