From LA Times:
Phyllis Love, 85, a stage, movie and television actress whose roles included Rosa Delle Rose in the 1951 Broadway production of Tennessee Williams' "The Rose Tattoo" and Mattie Birdwell in the 1956 Gary Cooper film "Friendly Persuasion," died Sunday at her home in Menifee, her family announced. She had Alzheimer's disease.
http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-passings-20111102,0,2515704.story
Broadway Actress Phyllis Love Dies at 85
By Robert Simonson
11 Nov 2011
Actress Phyllis Love, a stage and film actress who originated the role of Rosa Della Rose in The Rose Tattoo, died Oct. 30. She was 85.
Born in Des Moines, Ms. Love made her Broadway debut in The Member of the Wedding. She went from that show to a supporting role in another Broadway hit, Clifford Odets' The Country Girl. The Rose Tattoo came next, her co-stars including Maureen Stapleton and Eli Wallach. Brooks Atkinson wrote in The New York Times that she and Don Murray "attack their scenes as though no other young couple had ever been in love before." Ms. Love won a Clarence Derwent Award for her performance.
She returned to Broadway in 1953 in Burgess Meredith's comedy The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker, followed by William Inge's Bus Stop, in which she created the role of roadside waitress Elma Duckworth. After five winners in a row, Ms. Love picked her first losing horse in 1957's The Egghead. It lasted three weeks. Flowering Cherry (1959) and A Distant Bell (1960) both lasted five performances each.
In film, Ms. Love made her debut playing a juvenile delinquent in "So Young So Bad" in 1950. Her best-known role was as Gary Cooper’s daughter in "Friendly Persuasion" (1956), about a Quaker family during the Civil War.
On television, she appeared principally in guest roles from 1950 until her retirement in the early 1970s. She also taught English and drama at Morningside High School in Inglewood, CA.
Ms. Love married playwright James Vincent McGee in 1948 and they divorced in 1978; he died in 1985. She was married to her college sweetheart, Alan Paul Gooding from Jan. 22, 1983, until her death in Los Angeles, California, at age 85.
"Thank you, thank you--you're most kind. In fact you're every kind."
My Sister and I used to call each other "Mattie, Guard's wife" all the time growing up because of this movie. To us she was so crazy for flipping out over him, but we have an affection for her. We just watched the movie again this Thanksgiving with our families and we made everyone be quiet for the scene when she runs down the road after him when he leaves.
shareI love that scene. To me it's one of the most touching love scenes on film.
shareShe was @30 when she did this movie??? I am surprised that they used an actress so old, Disney was known for their child stars...
shareDisney had nothing whatsoever to do with this film. Love looked entirely age appropriate for this, and was perfect in the role.
"Thank you, thank you--you're most kind. In fact you're every kind."
Love was twenty-eight when she started the role, and turned twenty-nine during the production. I was amazed to find this out because while watching the movie I believed she was a teenager. Mark Richman, who played her fiance, seemed to be much older but was actually over a year and a half younger than Love.
shareI love it too. I thought they were great together. I love the whole movie and think the whole cast was wonderful. Gary Cooper, at his best, for me!
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