Jill Clayburgh Dies at 66; Starred in Feminist Roles

[alp227]

Source: The New York Times

Jill Clayburgh, an Oscar-nominated actress known for portraying strong, independent women, died on Friday at her home in Lakeville, Conn. She was 66.

The cause was chronic leukemia, with which she had lived for 21 years, her husband, the playwright David Rabe, said.

Ms. Clayburgh, who began her career in films and on Broadway in the late 1960s, was among the first generation of young actresses — including Ellen Burstyn, Carrie Snodgress and Marsha Mason — who regularly portrayed characters sprung from the new feminist ethos: smart, capable and gritty, sometimes neurotic, but no less glamorous for all that.

“I guess people look at me and they think I’m a ladylike character,” Ms. Clayburgh told The New York Times in 1982. “But it’s not what I do best. I do best with characters who are coming apart at the seams.”

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/06/arts/06clayburgh.html

[calimary]

1. OMG! I loved her in "An Unmarried Woman."

I thought she was wonderful and that she should have won the Oscar that year.

Truly a shame. Rest in peace, dear lady.

[BrklynLiberal]

9. I agree...on all points.

[tclambert]

27. I agree.

I almost said, "Ditto," but the word made me squirm.

[undeterred]

30. She was awesome.

[greatauntoftriplets]

2. Oh my God, that's a shocker.

She was just five years older than I am. I had no idea she had lived with leukemia for so long.

Farewell to a great actress and a terrific person.

[Janice325]

11. WORD!!!

She was just six years older than I am. I had no idea she'd been ill so long either. Aw, jeez....I really liked her. :cry:

RIP, Ms. Clayburgh. You will be missed.

[Botany]

3. a really great actress

[greatauntoftriplets]

4. That's a great photo of her.

Thanks for posting it.

[bemildred]

5. RIP.

One of the best.

[Ilsa]

6. First Monday in October. She played a new, conservative SCOTUS Justice

opposite Walter Mathau. I thoroughly enjoyed that movie.

I hope she passed peacefully.

[Faygo Kid]

12. I remember that one well.

RIP.

[onehandle]

7. Wonderful actress...

She was So sexy.

[BrklynLiberal]

8. Awwww. I am very saddened to read this....I always admired her..

[WheelWalker]

10. IMO,

she was hot... :nuke:

[mudplanet]

13. She was a great actress and major babe up to the end.

[CBHagman]

14. Sorry to see her go.

I think the last thing I saw her in was Rich in Love.

[PlanetBev]

15. For those of you who remember

She hosted the debut show of Saturday Night Live in 1975.

A fond farewell, Jill.

[alp227]

24. Actually George Carlin hosted the debut of SNL.

Clayburgh hosted eps in '76 and '78. Source: Google search

[demwing]

16. I had a childhood crush on Clayburgh

after seeing her in a terrible movie called "Gable and Lombard." I don't remember much about the movie, but I do remember Clayburgh's quirky smile and obvious intelligence, which showed through despite the sappy film.

[CakeGrrl]

19. One of my guilty pleasure flicks

RIP, Jill.

[Doctor_J]

32. Starting Over - another good bad movie

Blessings to her family

[applegrove]

17. I'm sorry to hear she died. I cannot think of one film I've seen her in.

[CLANG]

20. Ever see The Silver Streak?

[jmondine]

23. As a young man, I fantasized about her talking to me about gardening.

[tclambert]

28. TMI! TMI!

Let's just keep what you do in your garden to yourself.

[applegrove]

38. LOL!

[applegrove]

37. Nope. I was a kid in the 1970s. I didn't see that many movies.

[The abyss]

40. This has been a nerve shattering experience.....

One of the best movie lines,

[tclambert]

29. She was nominated for an Oscar for "An Unmarried Woman"

and won the best actress award at the Cannes Film Festival for that film.

She played Letitia Darling in the TV series "Dirty Sexy Money."

And I think she played Ally McBeal's mom, too.

[CountAllVotes]

18. rest in peace Jill

[SkepticAll]

36. Great Photo

The movie was a dog, but I thought she was funny in Fools Rush In.

Salma Hayek was the best thing that movie had to offer!

[applegrove]

39. Yes great shot. What a gorgeous woman.

[Mimosa]

21. Loved her in "Rich In Love." n/t

[Bluebear]

22. Catherine in the original "Pippin" :(

I'm your average ordinary kind of woman
Competent and neat
Making life a treat
Others as nice
You meet often I know
At least once or twice
Every decade or so

I'm your everyday, customary kind of woman
Practical as salt
Modest to a fault
Conservative with a budget
Liberal with a meal
Just your average ideal

My telling you this
May seem sudden and strange
It may not interest you much at all right now
But things change
Things change
Still I'll understand if I'm not your kind of woman
Anyone can make
One terrible mistake
But I've no special glamour
No bait I can twirl
For I'm just a plain, everyday
Commonplace, come-what-may
Average, ordinary
wonderful girl!

[Window]

25. Safe journey. RIP Jill. n/t

.

[ayak9]

26. Very impressive in person

I was mingling in the crowd at the Austin Film Society Hall of Fame induction ceremonies some years back (Ann Richards was emcee.) and Jill Clayburgh happened to brush past me. She seemed to float rather than walk. I figured it was a stage actors thing. Very impressive in person. RIP

[xchrom]

31. a lovely actress gone too soon. nt

[tabasco]

33. She was terriffic.

Might still be, somewhere else.

[JitterbugPerfume]

34. that is so sad

she was a great lady and a cool actress. 66 is way to young to die.

[JustAnotherGen]

35. Gaaah

So sad - I do remember Silver Streak and then a few years ago I caught An Unmarried Woman on one out of the old movie channels. An Unmarried Woman to me is MORE what it's like to be single in your 30's or 40's as a woman than Sex and the City will ever be. And that was made in what? 78? 79? Anyways, RIP Jill - thanks for the tears and laughter and reality.

[defendandprotect]

41. Sad -- terrific talent . . . . and why the hell do so many have leukemia.....

Capitalism has created an environment making us all ill --

And killing the planet --

If we're unwilling to fight for Nature and the planet --

what will we fight for -- ourselves? Our children?

Nature and the planet come first!!

[Vidar]

42. RIP, Ms. Clayburgh.