Actress Anne Bancroft Dies
“And here’s to you, Mrs. Robinson;” one of the most famous lyrics of all time, inspired by “Mrs. Robinson,” Anne Bancroft.
Bancroft played Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate, where she so famously seduced Dustin Hoffman’s character, a scene where the between-the-legs camera angle was created, and later duplicated over and over.
She died Monday in New York of uterine cancer at age 73.
She had been married to Mel Brooks since 1964 when they met on the Perry Como show.
Bancroft is also survived by her son, mother, two sisters, grandson, and daughter-in-law.
She was born as Anna Maria Louise Italiano, but later changed it to Anne Marno for early television work, before changing it again to Anne Bancroft.
After several B pictures, she won a Tony on Broadway in 1958 for her role in “Two for the Seesaw.”
She most recently appeared in “Heartbreakers” in 2001, and before that with Demi Moore in “G.I. Jane.”
Even more recently, Bancroft returned to Broadway. In 2002, she acted in “Occupant,” 21 years after she left the stage.
But to many, she will always be remembered for Mrs. Robinson, or as MTV called her, the first Desperate Housewife.