Anne Bancroft passes away

The Bronx-born beauty won an Oscar for her role in 'The Miracle Worker' but will be best remembered as Mrs Robinson in 'The Graduate'.

Jun  8 2005

'The Graduate' star Anne Bancroft has died after a battle with uterine cancer. She was 73.

The award-winning actress passed away on Monday night at Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, a spokesman for her husband Mel Brooks announced yesterday.

A remarkable and hugely versatile performer, Bancroft won an Oscar, two Golden Globes, two Tonys and an Emmy over the course of her glittering career, one of only eight actors to have achieved such a feat.

Born Anna Maria Louisa Italiano in the Bronx in 1931 (she changed her name because it was deemed 'too ethnic') Bancroft studied at New York's Academy of Dramatic Arts before moving to LA to make a series of low-budget B-pictures for 20th Century Fox.

She then returned to New York to appear on stage in 'Two for the Seesaw' opposite Henry Fonda, and 'The Miracle Worker', in which she played Annie Sullivan, the half-blind teacher of deaf-blind Helen Keller.

The role won her a Tony, and when it was made into a film (pictured above), the performance also won her a Best Actress Oscar.

Although far from prolific on the big screen, Bancroft was nevertheless nominated for a further four Academy Awards, for 'The Pumpkin Eater', 'The Turning Point', 'Agnes of God' and her most famous and iconic role, as seductress Mrs Robinson in 'The Graduate'.

In a statement released yesterday, 'Graduate' director Mike Nichols said: 'Her combination of brains, humour, frankness and sense were unlike any other artist. Her beauty was constantly shifting with her roles, and because she was a consummate actress, she changed radically for every part.'

As a tribute, the lights on Broadway will be dimmed tonight in her honour.

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