Elizabeth Wilson, who played Dustin Hoffman’s mother in The Graduate and won a Tony Award in 1972, has died at 94. Wilson’s friend, Elizabeth Morton, confirmed her death to the New York Times.
Wilson’s first role was an uncredited appearance in Alfred Hitchcock’s Notorious. She would later receive a proper credit for Hitchcock as Helen Carter in the 1963 thriller The Birds. In an interview with The Hartford Courantlast year, Wilson recalled how a bird actually flew into her back on her first day on set. “When I told Mr. Hitchcock, he said, ‘I am not at all surprised,’” she said.
Four years later, she would co-star in The Graduate, the first of four films she would make with director Mike Nichols. (The late director also cast her in his 1973 Broadway revival of Uncle Vanya, as Deadline.com noted.) Other notable movie roles included 9 to 5, The Addams Family and Quiz Show. Her last onscreen appearance came in 2012’s Hyde Park on Hudson, where she played the mother of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Wilson won her Tony Award for Stick and Bones, an anti-war drama written by David Rabe.
Dustin Hoffman: Early Photos of an Actor on the Rise
Dustin Hoffman, 1969.John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesDustin Hoffman with his stepdaughter Karina, 1969.John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesDustin Hoffman with his stepdaughter Karina, 1969.John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesDustin Hoffman with his stepdaughter Karina, 1969.John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesDustin Hoffman signs autographs outside the theater where he starred in the play (which he also directed), Jimmy Shine, New York City, 1969.John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesDustin Hoffman in his dressing room for the play (which he also directed), Jimmy Shine, New York City, 1969.John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesDustin Hoffman in his trailer during the filming of the movie, John and Mary, in which he starred with Mia Farrow, New York City, 1969.John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesDustin Hoffman with his wife Anne and daughter Karina, New York, 1969.John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesDustin Hoffman and family, New York, 1969.John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesDustin Hoffman and family, New York, 1969.John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesCaption from LIFE. Worn out from shooting bedroom scenes with Mia [Farrow], Dustin naps before the next take.John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesDustin Hoffman and wife, Anne, and their dog Ratso, New York, 1969.John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesDustin Hoffman with his dog Ratso, New York, 1969.John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesDustin Hoffman on the way to the theater with his dog, Ratso, New York, 1969.John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesDustin Hoffman and Mia Farrow on set of the film, John and Mary, New York, 1969.John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesDustin Hoffman plays tennis during filming of the movie, John and Mary, New York, 1969.John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesDustin Hoffman asleep on the set of the 1969 movie, John and Mary.John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesDustin Hoffman chases after his dog Ratso in New York's Riverside Park, 1969.John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesDustin Hoffman during filming of the 1969 movie, John and Mary.John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesCaption from LIFE. On a rare day away from work, Dustin Hoffman browsed in Greenwich Village shops with Anne and later kissed her in a taxi (above), New York, 1969.John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
