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IMDbPro

Nancy Walker(1922-1992)

  • Actress
  • Director
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank
Nancy Walker
Mcmillan & Wife: Season 1
Play trailer1:10
McMillan & Wife (1971–1977)
1 Video
12 Photos
They say big things often come in small packages, and never was that saying more true than when sizing up the talents of that diminutive dynamo Nancy Walker. Born Anna Myrtle Swoyer in Philadelphia on May 10, 1922, she lived a born-in-a-trunk existence as the daughter of vaudevillian Dewey Barto (né Stewart Steven Swoyer). At the time of his run of Broadway's "Hellzapoppin", Barto was part of the comedy team of Barto & Mann (George Mann). Her younger sister, Betty Lou Barto (born 1930), had a less impressive and briefer performing career. Although she had designs on becoming a legit singer, it was hard for others to take Nancy seriously with her naturally aggressive manner backed up by this tiny frame. Comedy became her forte.

Broadway legend George Abbott picked up on her innate comic abilities immediately and set her up as his blind date in the Broadway musical smash "Best Foot Forward" in 1941. The show, starring June Allyson, was a certifiable hit, and when MGM turned Best Foot Forward (1943) into a musical film, Nancy, as well as June, went right along with it. Nancy continued giving top support for MGM in the Judy Garland/Mickey Rooney starrer Girl Crazy (1943) and in Broadway Rhythm (1944). Back on Broadway, Nancy all but stole the proceedings as the hoydenish cabbie Hildy Esterhazy, who pursues a sailor on leave, in "On the Town" (1944). After a brief first marriage, she met vocal coach David Craig during the 1948 run of "Look, Ma, I'm Dancing", when she was plagued by vocal problems. They married a few years later and had a daughter, Miranda. When Nancy left the show, she was replaced by her sister, Betty Lou Barto. Other musical plaudit came her way, including Tony nominations for the revue "Phoenix '55" and for her lead role in "Do Re Mi" with Phil Silvers.

Nancy experienced some tough, lean years in the late 1950s and 1960s until she found TV an accepting medium. She became popular all over again, and a household name to boot, as Rosie the waitress in a series of Bounty paper-towel commercials. At around the same time, she won a regular role as Mildred, the sardonic maid on McMillan & Wife (1971). Her prototypical wisecracking role, however, came as the outlandish Jewish mom Ida Morgenstern, mother of Valerie Harper's "Rhoda" character on The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970).

When Harper spun off into her own series--Rhoda (1974)--interfering Ida was right alongside her still-unmarried daughter, wreaking havoc. Alas, nominated for eight Emmys and four Golden Globe Awards for her collective work on series TV, she never won. Her renewed popularity, however, led to a couple of TV star vehicles that plainly didn't suit her second-banana talents. Neither lasted very long. She eventually moved into stage and film directing. Nancy made her final regular TV-series appearance on the sitcom True Colors (1990), playing another of her long line of delightfully brash buttinskys. During the run of the show, she was diagnosed with lung cancer and died about six weeks before her 70th birthday in 1992. She was survived by her husband, daughter, and sister.
BornMay 10, 1922
DiedMarch 25, 1992(69)
BornMay 10, 1922
DiedMarch 25, 1992(69)
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank
  • Nominated for 8 Primetime Emmys

Photos12

June Allyson, Gloria DeHaven, and Nancy Walker in Best Foot Forward (1943)
Valerie Harper, Julie Kavner, Harold Gould, David Groh, and Nancy Walker in Rhoda (1974)
Gloria DeHaven, Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson, Ben Blue, Tommy Dorsey, George Murphy, Ginny Simms, and Nancy Walker in Broadway Rhythm (1944)
Estelle Getty, Bea Arthur, and Nancy Walker in The Golden Girls (1985)
Estelle Getty and Nancy Walker in The Golden Girls (1985)
Valerie Harper and Nancy Walker in The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970)
Mary Tyler Moore and Nancy Walker in The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970)
"Rhoda" Valerie Harper, Nancy Walker, Julie Kavner 1974 CBS
Doris Day, Angie Dickinson, Dolores Dorn, Eddie Foy Jr., Lucy Marlow, Phil Silvers, and Nancy Walker in Lucky Me (1954)
Doris Day, Robert Cummings, Eddie Foy Jr., Phil Silvers, and Nancy Walker in Lucky Me (1954)
Doris Day, Robert Cummings, Marcel Dalio, Eddie Foy Jr., Phil Silvers, and Nancy Walker in Lucky Me (1954)

Known for

Valerie Harper in Rhoda (1974)
Rhoda
6.8
TV Series
  • Ida Morgenstern
Rock Hudson and Susan Saint James in McMillan & Wife (1971)
McMillan & Wife
7.2
TV Series
  • Mildred
Estelle Getty, Rue McClanahan, Bea Arthur, and Betty White in The Golden Girls (1985)
The Golden Girls
8.1
TV Series
  • Angela
Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, and Tommy Dorsey in Girl Crazy (1943)
Girl Crazy
6.8
  • Polly Williams
  • 1943

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actress

  • Claude Brooks, Frankie Faison, Stephanie Faracy, Adam Jeffries, Nancy Walker, and Brigid Brannagh in True Colors (1990)
    True Colors
  • Columbo (1971)
    Columbo
  • Mary Frann, Jennifer Holmes, Steven Kampmann, Bob Newhart, and Tom Poston in Newhart (1982)
    Newhart
  • Mama's Boy
  • Estelle Getty, Rue McClanahan, Bea Arthur, and Betty White in The Golden Girls (1985)
    The Golden Girls
  • John Rubinstein and Jack Warden in Crazy Like a Fox (1984)
    Crazy Like a Fox
  • ABC Weekend Specials (1977)
    ABC Weekend Specials
  • Debbie Allen in Fame (1982)
    Fame
  • Fred Grandy, Bernie Kopell, Ted Lange, Gavin MacLeod, and Lauren Tewes in The Love Boat (1977)
    The Love Boat
  • Pernell Roberts in Trapper John, M.D. (1979)
    Trapper John, M.D.
  • The Mary Tyler Moore Hour (1979)
    The Mary Tyler Moore Hour
  • Valerie Harper in Rhoda (1974)
    Rhoda
  • Human Feelings (1978)
    Human Feelings
  • Ricardo Montalban and Hervé Villechaize in Fantasy Island (1977)
    Fantasy Island
  • The Nancy Walker Show (1976)
    The Nancy Walker Show

Director

  • Polly Holliday, Beth Howland, and Linda Lavin in Alice (1976)
    Alice
  • Steve Guttenberg, Alex Briley, David Hodo, Glenn Hughes, Caitlyn Jenner, Randy Jones, Valerie Perrine, Felipe Rose, and Ray Simpson in Can't Stop the Music (1980)
    Can't Stop the Music
  • Magic Night
  • 13 Queens Boulevard (1979)
    13 Queens Boulevard
  • Madam Sheriff
  • Valerie Harper in Rhoda (1974)
    Rhoda
  • Edward Asner, Valerie Harper, and Mary Tyler Moore in The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970)
    The Mary Tyler Moore Show

Soundtrack

  • The Plot Against America (2020)
    The Plot Against America
    • (uncredited)
  • That's Entertainment! III (1994)
    That's Entertainment! III
    • (uncredited)
  • Debbie Allen in Fame (1982)
    Fame
    • (uncredited)
  • The Great Gonzo, Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, and Fozzie Bear in The Muppet Show (1976)
    The Muppet Show
  • Valerie Harper in Rhoda (1974)
    Rhoda
    • (uncredited)
  • The 28th Annual Tony Awards
  • The Garry Moore Show (1958)
    The Garry Moore Show
    • (uncredited)
  • Doris Day, Robert Cummings, and Phil Silvers in Lucky Me (1954)
    Lucky Me
  • The Frank Sinatra Show (1950)
    The Frank Sinatra Show
  • Broadway Rhythm (1944)
    Broadway Rhythm
  • Lucille Ball and Harry James in Best Foot Forward (1943)
    Best Foot Forward

Videos1

Mcmillan & Wife: Season 1
Trailer 1:10
Mcmillan & Wife: Season 1

Personal details

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    • May 10, 1922
    • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
    • March 25, 1992
    • Studio City, California, USA(lung cancer)
    • David CraigJanuary 29, 1951 - March 25, 1992 (her death, 1 child)
    • Dewey Barto
  • Other works
    Stage: Appeared (as "Blind Date"; Broadway debut) in "Best Foot Forward" on Broadway. Musical. Book by John Cecil Holm. Music / lyrics by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane. Music orchestrated by Don Walker and Hans Spialek. Overture by Robert Russell Bennett. Scenic Design / Lighting Design by Jo Mielziner. Costume Design by Miles White. Choreographed by Gene Kelly. Directed / produced by George Abbott. Ethel Barrymore Theatre: 1 Oct 1941-4 Jul 1942 (326 performances). Cast: Buddy Allen, June Allyson (as "Minerva"), Van Atkins, John Balian, Wilbur Baron, Eileen Barton, Kenny Bowers, Frances Bryan, Kenneth Buffett, Maureen Cannon, Marianne Cude, Danny Daniels, Richard Dick, 'Tommy Dix' (qv_, Stanley Donen (as "Ensemble" / "Dancing Boy"), Dorothy Eden, Peggy Anne Ellis, Bee Farnum, Mary Ganley, Harvey Gould, Barbara Grant, Robert Griffith, Ann Guier, Kay Guier, Bobby Harrell, Roger Hewlett, Rhoda Hoffman, Carol Horton, Beverly Hosier, Gil Johnson, Jack Jordan Jr., Perry Jubelirer, Terry Kelly, Rosemary Lane (as "Gale Joy"; only Broadway role), Stuart Langley, Norma Lehn, Eugene Martin, Marty May, Betty McCloskey, Elaine Miller, Betty Anne Nyman, Billy Parsons, Kaye Popp, Penny Porter, Lee Roberts, Renee Rochelle, Marilyn Ross, Rosemary Schaefer, Rose Marie Schiller, Victoria Schools, Audrey Sperling, George Staisey, Gil Stratton, Buddy Styles, Lenore Thomas, Elmer Vernon, Fleming Ward (as "Dr. Reeber"), Art Williams, Lou Wills Jr., Doris York, Vincent York.

Did you know

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  • Trivia
    Appeared in multiple commercials as a spokesperson for Bounty Paper Towels as the lovable Rosie the Waitress in the 1970s and 1980s.

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