Anne Bancroft

ActorDirectorWriter

Anne Bancroft (born Anna Maria Louisa Italiano; September 17, 1931 – June 6, 2005) was an American actress. Respected for her acting prowess and versatility, Bancroft received an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, two Tony Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Cannes Film Festival Award. She is one of only 24 thespians to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting. Bancroft was born Anna Maria Louisa (or Luisa) Italiano on September 17, 1931, in the Bronx, New York City, the middle of three daughters of Mildred (née Di Napoli), a telephone operator, and Michael G. Italiano, a dress pattern maker. Both of her parents' surnames were toponymic. Her parents were Italian immigrants from Southern Italy. In an interview, she stated that her family was originally from Muro Lucano, in the province of Potenza. She was raised in the Roman Catholic faith. Bancroft was raised in Little Italy, in the Belmont neighborhood of the Bronx, attended P.S. 12, later moving to 1580 Zerega Ave. Bancroft's Broadway debut in the two-character drama Two for the Seesaw (1958), brought her wide recognition for the depth of her talent and garnered her a Tony Award for best supporting actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance as Annie Sullivan in The Miracle Worker (1962), and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance as Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate (1967). Bancroft continued to have a successful career in film and television. She starred in a number of other films, including The Elephant Man (1980), 84 Charing Cross Road (1987), and Agnes of God (1985), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress. She also had a recurring role on the television series Modern Family. Bancroft was married to director Mel Brooks from 1964 until her death in 2005. They had one son, Max Brooks.

17-09-1931

Birthday

Virgo

Zodiac Sign

Genres

Total Films

Anna Maria Louisa Italiano

Also known as (female)

Bronx, New York, USA

Place of Birth

17-09-1931

Birthday

Virgo

Zodiac Sign

Genres

Total Films

Anna Maria Louisa Italiano

Also Known As (female)

Bronx, New York, USA

Place of Birth

Popular works

Media

Creative career

actor

74 Works

producer

0 Works

director

2 Works

writer

1 Works

other

0 Works

Mel Brooks: Unwrapped

At the age of 91, Mel Brooks is unstoppable, with his musical "Young Frankenstein" opening to great critical acclaim in London in late 2017. Alan Yentob visits Mel at home in Hollywood, at work and at play.

6.7

Year:

2018

And the Oscar Goes To...

The story of the gold-plated statuette that became the film industry's most coveted prize, AND THE OSCAR GOES TO... traces the history of the Academy itself, which began in 1927 when Louis B. Mayer, then head of MGM, led other prominent members of the industry in forming this professional honorary organization. Two years later the Academy began bestowing awards, which were nicknamed "Oscar," and quickly came to represent the pinnacle of cinematic achievement.

7.0

Year:

2014

Mel Brooks: Make a Noise

Mel Brooks: Make a Noise journeys through Brooks’ early years in the creative beginnings of live television — with Sid Caesar on Your Show of Shows — to the film genres he so successfully satirized in Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles, High Anxiety, and Spaceballs — to the groundbreaking Broadway musical version of his first film, The Producers. The documentary also delves into his professional and personal ups and downs — his childhood, his first wife and subsequent 41-year marriage to Anne Bancroft — capturing a never-before-heard sense of reflection and confession.

8.2

Year:

2013

Hollywood Singing & Dancing: A Musical History - 1980s, 1990s and 2000s

In the 1980s we got our MTV but seemed to have lost much of the musical film in the process. But the genre is resilient. A handful of masterpieces along with a few cult classics emerged from this decade. In the 1990s the Hollywood musical was largely animated, rather than live action. However, television had a surprising number of musical offerings, including “Gypsy” with Bette Midler and “Annie” which launched director Rob Marshall. In the 2000s musicals came back starting with “Moulin Rouge” and carrying on with “Chicago,” “Dreamgirls” and “Hairspray.” There are movies based on Broadway triumphs and once again there are teens singing and dancing.

0.0

Year:

2009

Delgo

In a divided land, it takes a rebellious boy and his clandestine love for a Princess of an opposing race to stop a war orchestrated by a power hungry villain.

4.5

Year:

2008

The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone

An aging actress' husband dies of a heart attack en route to Rome, where they'd planned to holiday. There, she rents an apartment and, through the Contessa, she meets a young man, with whom she begins an affair.

6.3

Year:

2003

In Search of Peace

In Search of Peace: 1948-1967 chronicles Israel's first two decades, offering new insights on the origins of the Middle East conflict. Combining a rich tapestry of rare archival film and photos, the film offers a unique global perspective on one of the seminal events in the 3,500-year history of the Jewish people. Featuring the voices of Edward Asner, Anne Bancroft, Richard Dreyfuss, Miriam Margolyes and Michael York. "An unabashedly emotional and stirring inspirational history of Israel..."

6.5

Year:

2001

Heartbreakers

Max and Page are a brilliant mother/daughter con team who have their grift down to a fine science. Max targets wealthy, willing men and marries them. Page then seduces them, and Max catches her husband in the act. Then it's off to palimony city and the next easy mark.

6.1

Year:

2001

Haven

Based on the true story of a woman named Ruth Gruber who travels to Europe to help escort 1000 Jewish War victims to the United States. She comes to love and feel sorry for them all, and fights for their rights to live in America.

6.9

Year:

2001

Keeping the Faith

Best friends since they were kids, Rabbi Jacob Schram and Father Brian Finn are dynamic and popular young men living and working on New York's Upper West Side. When Anna Reilly, once their childhood friend and now grown into a beautiful corporate executive, suddenly returns to the city, she reenters Jake and Brian's lives and hearts with a vengeance. Sparks fly and an unusual and complicated love triangle ensues.

6.1

Year:

2000

Up at the Villa

Superficial people are revealed and drastically changed by circumstance or luck in this a tale of death, seduction, blackmail and theft among British and Americans in Florence in the turbulent days just before World War II.

5.3

Year:

2000

Deep in My Heart

A black woma is reunited with her white birth mother after being given up for adoption.

6.0

Year:

1999

Antz

A neurotic worker ant in love with a rebellious princess rises to unlikely stardom when he switches places with a soldier. Signing up to march in a parade, he ends up under the command of a bloodthirsty general. But he's actually been enlisted to fight against a termite army.

6.2

Year:

1998

Great Expectations

Loosely based on the Charles Dickens' classic novel, "Great Expectations" is a sensual tale of a young man's unforgettable passage into manhood, and the three individuals who will undeniably change his life forever. Through the surprising interactions of these vivid characters, "Great Expectations" takes a unique and contemporary look at life's great coincidences.

6.6

Year:

1998

Critical Care

Werner Ernst is a young hospital resident who becomes embroiled in a legal battle between two half-sisters who are fighting over the care of their comatose father. But are they really fighting over their father's care, or over his $10 million estate? Meanwhile, Werner must contend with his nutty supervisor, who insists that he only care for patients with full insurance. Can Werner sidestep the hospital's legal team and do what's best for the patient?

6.4

Year:

1997

G.I. Jane

In response to political pressure from Senator Lillian DeHaven, the U.S. Navy begins a program that would allow for the eventual integration of women into its combat services. The program begins with a single trial candidate, Lieutenant Jordan O'Neil, who is chosen specifically for her femininity. O'Neil enters the grueling Navy SEAL training program under the command of Master Chief John James Urgayle, who unfairly pushes O'Neil until her determination wins his respect.

6.5

Year:

1997

The Sunchaser

A young half-Navajo convict dying of cancer forces a yuppie doctor to drive him to a magic healing lake.

6.2

Year:

1996

Shirley Maclaine: Kicking Up Her Heels

Shirley MacLaine was the product of a strict middle-class background from which she and her brother, the future actor Warren Beatty, escaped into the fantasy world of show-biz. Her ballet training and her long-legged pixie charm led to rapid success on Broadway in musical comedy. Inevitably, Hollywood called and by 1955 Shirley was cast in Hitchcock's "The Trouble With Harry." It wasn't too long before the fine dramatic roles also came to her opposite the most popular leading men of the time, like Fred MacMurray, Jack Lemmon, Frank Sinatra, Clint Eastwood and Robert Mitchum.

6.2

Year:

1996

Homecoming

When their mother disappears, a group of siblings are forced to fend for themselves, and make their way on their own. They eventually meet their grandmother, a loner who is reluctant to take them in.

7.0

Year:

1996

Dracula: Dead and Loving It

When a lawyer shows up at the vampire's doorstep, he falls prey to his charms and joins him in his search for fresh blood. Enter Professor Van Helsing, who may be the only one able to vanquish the Count.

6.1

Year:

1995

Home for the Holidays

After losing her job, making out with her soon-to-be former boss, and finding out that her daughter plans to spend Thanksgiving with her boyfriend, Claudia Larson faces spending the holiday with her unhinged family.

6.3

Year:

1995

How to Make an American Quilt

Soon-to-be-wed graduate student Finn Dodd develops cold feet when she suspects her fiancé is cheating on her. In order to clear her head, Finn visits her grandmother, Hy, and great aunt, Glady Joe Cleary, in Grasse, Calif. There, Finn learns that Hy and Glady Joe are members of a group of passionate quilters, and over the course of her visit she is regaled with tales of love and life by women who have collected rich experiences and much wisdom.

6.4

Year:

1995

The Mother

Paddy Chayefsky's 1954 play set in the Bronx tells the story of a recently widowed 66-year-old woman who seeks a job after 40 years of being a homemaker.

0.0

Year:

1994

Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All

Lucy married at the turn of the last century, when she was fifteen and her husband was fifty. If Colonel William Marsden was a veteran of the "War for Southern Independence", Lucy became a "veteran of the veteran" with a unique perspective on Southern history and Southern manhood. Her story encompasses everything from the tragic death of a Confederate boy soldier to the feisty narrator's daily battles in the Home--complete with visits from a mohawk-coiffed candy-striper.

5.4

Year:

1994

Mr. Jones

The story about the relationship between a manic depressive man, Mr Jones, and the female doctor who takes more than a professional interest in his treatment.

5.8

Year:

1993

Malice

A tale about a happily married couple who would like to have children. Tracy teaches infants, Andy's a college professor. Things are never the same after she is taken to hospital and operated upon by Jed, a "know all" doctor.

6.3

Year:

1993

Point of No Return

Hardened criminal Maggie Hayward's consistent violence, even in police custody, ends in the execution chamber. However, top-secret US government agent 'Bob' arranges a staged death, so Maggie can be elaborately trained as a phantom killer and subdued into obedience.

6.2

Year:

1993

Love Potion No. 9

Unlucky in love, chemist Paul Matthews visits gypsy Madame Rosa for help. Quickly realizing he is a hopeless nerd, she gifts him with Love Potion No. 8, which makes anyone who wears it irresistible to the opposite sex for four hours. Paul and animal psychologist coworker Diane Farrow decide to test it on themselves. The awkward pair suddenly find themselves alluring to anyone they approach, but soon realize they are most attracted to each other.

6.2

Year:

1992

Honeymoon in Vegas

On her deathbed, a mother makes her son promise never to get married, which scars him with psychological blocks to a commitment with his girlfriend. They finally decide to tie the knot in Vegas, but a wealthy gambler arranges for the man to lose $65K in a poker game and offers to clear the debt for a weekend with his fiancée.

5.6

Year:

1992

Mrs. Cage

A proper matron marches into a police station to announce that she has just shot a fellow shopper in a supermarket's parking lot.

6.0

Year:

1992

Broadway Bound

Eugene and Stanley Jerome try to break into show biz as comedy writers while their parents' marriage ends.

7.0

Year:

1992

Bert Rigby, You're a Fool

A musical about a miner who wants to break into show business.

5.6

Year:

1989

Torch Song Trilogy

Arnold is a gay man working as a drag queen in 1971 NYC. He meets a handsome bisexual man.

7.3

Year:

1988

84 Charing Cross Road

When a humorous script-reader in her New York apartment sees an ad in the Saturday Review of Literature for a bookstore in London that does mail order, she begins a very special correspondence and friendship with Frank Doel, the bookseller who works at Marks & Co., 84 Charing Cross Road.

7.1

Year:

1987

'night, Mother

A mother and daughter spend a night together after the daughter reveals that she will kill herself by the end of it.

7.4

Year:

1986

Agnes of God

When a dead newborn is found, wrapped in bloody sheets, in the bedroom wastebasket of a young novice, psychiatrist Martha Livingston is called in to determine if the seemingly innocent novice, who knows nothing of sex or birth, is competent enough to stand trial for the murder of the baby.

6.2

Year:

1985

Garbo Talks

When New York accountant Gilbert Rolfe finds out his mother has a brain tumor, he is devastated. His incorrigible mother, Estelle, has one last wish: to meet the great Greta Garbo. Gilbert, wanting to do this last thing for her, sets out on a wild goose chase through the streets of New York City to track down the iconic star, at the expense of his personal life and much to the chagrin of his wife, Lisa. Can he find Garbo before it's too late?

6.1

Year:

1984

An Audience with Mel Brooks

Mel Brooks delivers an enjoyable hour of comic diversion with his lovely actress-wife Anne Bancroft, writer comedian Ronny Graham and British Shakespearean actor Jonathan Pryce. Brooks Spontaneous humor, social commentaries and zany sketches leave the audience rolling in the aisles and will leave you wanting more of Mel!

6.5

Year:

1984

James Mason: The Star They Loved to Hate

Retrospective of the life and movie work of British actor James Mason. The documentary presents interview footage interspersed with some movie excerpts, mainly from his pre-hollywood period.

0.0

Year:

1984

To Be or Not to Be

A bad Polish actor is just trying to make a living when Poland is invaded by the Germans in World War II. His wife has the habit of entertaining young Polish officers while he's on stage, which is also a source of depression to him. When one of her officers comes back on a Secret Mission, the actor takes charge and comes up with a plan for them to escape.

6.8

Year:

1983

Women I Love: Beautiful But Funny

Bob Hope takes a look back at the beautiful and funny women he has worked with over the years. More than 60 of Bob's co-stars are here in television and film excerpts.

0.0

Year:

1982

The Elephant Man

A Victorian surgeon rescues a heavily disfigured man being mistreated by his "owner" as a side-show freak. Behind his monstrous façade, there is revealed a person of great intelligence and sensitivity. Based on the true story of Joseph Merrick (called John Merrick in the film), a severely deformed man in 19th century London.

8.0

Year:

1980

Fatso

Dominick DiNapoli is a man who loves food and is overweight as a result. After an obese cousin dies due to health problems, Dominick's sister Antoinette sets out to help him lose weight. Although he has a hard time trying to slim down, Dominick finds inspiration when he meets and falls for shop owner Lydia. Can he get up the courage to ask her out, or will he go back to the comfort of overeating?

5.7

Year:

1980

The Muppets Go Hollywood

Kermit the Frog throws a glamorous party at the Cocoanut Grove nightclub to celebrate the premiere of the Muppets' first feature film, The Muppet Movie. Hosts Dick van Dyke and Rita Moreno interview the wide array of celebrities and Muppets who attend the event. Gary Owens serves as off-camera announcer, and appears on-screen to introduce Miss Piggy.

6.3

Year:

1979

Mickey's 50

"Mickey's 50" is a 90-minute special that aired on The Wonderful World of Disney on November 19, 1978. The special was made to commemorate the 50th birthday of Mickey Mouse and highlights many moments in his career.

0.0

Year:

1978

The Turning Point

As young dancers, they were best friends and fierce rivals. Deedee left the stage for marriage and motherhood, while Emma would become an international ballet icon. But when Deedee's teenage daughter is invited to join Emma's dance company and begins an affair with a young Russian star, the two women are forced to confront the choices they've made, the resentments they've hidden and the emotional truths they must face at the turning point.

6.6

Year:

1977

Silent Movie

Aspiring filmmakers Mel Funn, Marty Eggs and Dom Bell go to a financially troubled studio with an idea for a silent movie. In an effort to make the movie more marketable, they attempt to recruit a number of big name stars to appear, while the studio's creditors attempt to thwart them.

6.5

Year:

1976

Lipstick

An aspiring avant-garde composer rapes a fashion model. When she takes him to court, she's slut-shamed by the defense and the man is exonerated. But justice will be served.

5.3

Year:

1976

The Hindenburg

Colonel Franz Ritter, a former hero pilot now working for military intelligence, is assigned to the great Hindenburg airship as its chief of security. As he races against the clock to uncover a possible saboteur aboard the doomed zeppelin he finds that any of the passengers and crew could be the culprit.

6.3

Year:

1975

The Prisoner of Second Avenue

Mel Edison has just lost his job after many years and now has to cope with being unemployed at middle age during an intense NYC heat wave.

6.7

Year:

1975

Young Winston

This historical drama is an account of the early life of British politician Winston Churchill, including his childhood years, his time as a war correspondent in Africa, and culminating with his first election to Parliament.

6.2

Year:

1972

Annie: the Women in the Life of a Man

A CBS television special, renowned for its legendary "Yma, Ava....Yma, Uta... Yma, Oona" sequence. Annie: the Women in the Life of a Man (1970), won Anne Bancroft her only Emmy for her portrayal of 14 different woman in 14 musical and comedy sketches. Bancroft's husband Mel Brooks contributed to the script and also appears onscreen.

0.0

Year:

1970

The Graduate

Benjamin, a recent college graduate very worried about his future, finds himself in a love triangle with an older woman and her daughter.

7.6

Year:

1967

The Slender Thread

Alan is a Seattle college student volunteering at a crisis center. One night when at the clinic alone, a woman calls up the number and tells Alan that she needs to talk to someone. She informs Alan she took a load of pills, and he secretly tries to get help. During this time, he learns more about the woman, her family life, and why she wants to die. Can Alan get the cavalry to save her in time before it's too late?

7.1

Year:

1965

7 Women

In a mission in China in 1935, a group of women are preyed on by Mongolian bandits, led by Warlord chief Tunga Khan.

6.5

Year:

1965

The Pumpkin Eater

Jo, the mother of seven children, divorces her second husband in order to marry Jake, a successful but promiscuous screenwriter. Though they are physically and emotionally compatible, they are slowly torn apart.

6.7

Year:

1964

The Miracle Worker

The true story of the frightening, lonely world of silence and darkness of 7-year-old Helen Keller who, since infancy, has never seen the sky, heard her mother's voice or expressed her innermost feelings. Then Annie Sullivan, a 20-year-old teacher from Boston, arrives. Having just recently regained her own sight, the no-nonsense Annie reaches out to Helen through the power of touch, the only tool they have in common, and leads her bold pupil on a miraculous journey from fear and isolation to happiness and light.

7.9

Year:

1962

The Girl in Black Stockings

Residents at a posh Utah hotel become suspects when a girl is found murdered during a pool party. Local sheriff Jess Holmes takes charge of the investigation and must discover who among the terrified guests and staff -- including bodacious vixen Harriet Ames, the hotel's bitter, crippled proprietor, visiting lawyer David Hewson and his secretary, Beth -- is the culprit, even as murders continue to take place.

6.1

Year:

1957

The Restless Breed

Texas-border gunrunners kill a federal agent, whose son comes looking for revenge.

5.7

Year:

1957

Nightfall

An innocent man turns fugitive as he reconstructs events that implicate him for a murder and robbery he did not commit.

6.8

Year:

1956

Walk the Proud Land

Indian Agent sent to try new approach to peace with Apaches based on respect for automomy rather than submission to Army. Wins over reservation chiefs and the Indian widow (Bancroft) given to him as housekeeper. Through use of diplomacy and demonstrations of faith in Apache leaders, reservation is put on the road to automomy. Conflicts arise between Apache widow and Eastern wife but latter has a lot to learn.

6.1

Year:

1956

The Last Frontier

Three trappers become scouts for a cavalry captain who loses his fort to a hated colonel.

6.1

Year:

1955

The Naked Street

To make an honest woman of his pregnant sister, Rosalie, callous New York mobster Phil Regal intimidates witnesses and bribes a store clerk to get Rosalie’s condemned boyfriend, Nicky Bradna, out of prison. But Regal’s meddling deeds soon backfire.

6.0

Year:

1955

A Life in the Balance

A widower's young son leads the police to a killer of sinners in Mexico City.

5.9

Year:

1955

New York Confidential

Story follows the rise and subsequent fall of the notorious head of a New York crime family, who decides to testify against his pals in order to avoid being killed by his fellow cohorts.

5.8

Year:

1955

The Raid

A group of confederate prisoners escape to Canada and plan to rob the banks and set fire to the small town of Saint Albans in Vermont. To get the lie of the land, their leader spends a few days in the town and finds he is getting drawn into its life and especially into that of an attractive widow and her son.

6.5

Year:

1954

Demetrius and the Gladiators

The story picks up at the point where "The Robe" ends, following the martyrdom of Diana and Marcellus. Christ's robe is conveyed to Peter for safe-keeping, but the emperor Caligula wants it back to benefit from its powers. Marcellus' former slave Demetrius seeks to prevent this, and catches the eye of Messalina, wife to Caligula's uncle Claudius. Messalina tempts Demetrius, he winds up fighting in the arena, and wavers in his faith.

6.5

Year:

1954

Gorilla at Large

At a carnival called the Garden of Evil, a man is murdered, apparently by a gorilla...or someone in a gorilla suit.

5.6

Year:

1954

The Kid from Left Field

Coop's an ex-ballplayer is now a peanut vendor, who takes too much of an interest in the game. But he's passed on his craze for baseball to his son, Christie. When his dad gets fired, Chris makes friends with the former team owner's niece (and her boyfriend Pete), and not only gets his dad's job back, but a batboy position for himself. With his dad's help, Christie begins to make a few suggestions here and there. And as a publicity stunt, the team makes him their youngest manager on record. But when Chris gets sick, Coop has to come to the rescue.

7.2

Year:

1953

Treasure of the Golden Condor

A nobleman searches for a hidden treasure in Guatemala.

6.2

Year:

1953

Tonight We Sing

Tonight We Sing is a 1953 musical biopic film, directed by Mitchell Leisen, based on the life and career of the celebrated impresario Sol Hurok. It stars David Wayne and Ezio Pinza.

10.0

Year:

1953

Don't Bother to Knock

An airline pilot pursues a live-in babysitter at his hotel and gradually realizes she is not as stable as perhaps she should be.

6.6

Year:

1952

Mel Brooks: The Genius Entertainer

With a career spanning nine decades, EGOT winner Mel Brooks is the master of parody and comedy. From Brooklyn, live TV (with Sid Caesar) and Broadway, to going all the way to Hollywood, Mel Brooks tells us with his unflinching Jewish humor about his prolific career and becoming a world-famous entertainer.

9.0

Year:

The Man Who Had Influence

Business mogul's son David Grant uses his father's power to extricate himself from problems - until implication in a woman's death tests David's willingness to avoid responsibility.

8.0

Year:

1950