Jill Clayburgh Dies at 66; Starred in Feminist Roles

[babylonsister]

Jill Clayburgh Dies at 66; Starred in Feminist Roles


Suzanne DeChillo/The New York Times

Jill Clayburgh in 2002.

By MARGALIT FOX
Published: November 5, 2010


Jill Clayburgh, an Oscar-nominated actress known for portraying strong, independent women, died on Friday at her home in Lakeville, Conn. She was 66.

The cause was chronic leukemia, with which she had lived for 21 years, her husband, the playwright David Rabe, said.

Ms. Clayburgh, who began her career in films and on Broadway in the late 1960s, was among the first generation of young actresses — including Ellen Burstyn, Carrie Snodgress and Marsha Mason — who regularly portrayed characters sprung from the new feminist ethos: smart, capable and gritty, sometimes neurotic, but no less glamorous for all that.

“I guess people look at me and they think I’m a ladylike character,” Ms. Clayburgh told The New York Times in 1982. “But it’s not what I do best. I do best with characters who are coming apart at the seams.”

She was known in particular for her starring role in “An Unmarried Woman” (1978), directed by Paul Mazursky. For her performance as Erica, a New Yorker who must right herself after her husband leaves her for another woman, Ms. Clayburgh was nominated for an Academy Award. (The best-actress Oscar that year went to Jane Fonda in “Coming Home.”)

more...

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/06/arts/06clayburgh.html?hp

[Justitia]

1. OMG! She was just recently on TV in "Dirty Sexy Money". RIP -eom

[lunatica]

2. This is sad

66 is way too young nowadays!

[jemsan]

3. So sad. I had no idea.

[Ken Burch]

4. Jill Clayburgh was a great actress, whose career was probably damaged by cynical snickering

from male critics who couldn't handle the implications of her role in "An Unmarried Woman".

She maintained her integrity and her standards all the way through, even when she must have been in great physical and emotional pain due to her illness.

[northernlights]

19. doesn't seem likely....she made the movie 30+ years ago, but

had leukemia for 21 years according to the article.

[Ken Burch]

21. I didn't mean she made "An Unmarried Woman" WHEN she had leukemia

I meant it would have had to been something she contended with when she worked in the last two decades or so. Sorry for any confusion.

[northernlights]

30. sorry...I misunderstood

and yes, she would have had to contend with the disease during all her projects in the last couple of decades.

Great actress.

[LawnLover]

37. Oh, please

Seriously? You really think that?

Her career was damaged by the same thing that damages all female acting careers: age. It's unfortunate, but all too often true.

[MrScorpio]

5. Noooo

Oooh wow.

May she rest in power.

[cynatnite]

6. I loved her in It's My Turn...

RIP.

[sufrommich]

7. Aw, that's horrible. I loved her in "An Unmarried Woman".

[jillan]

That is so sad. She was wonderful. I didn't even know she was sick.

Rip!

[glinda]

8. That is sad....

[jillan]

9. I just added An Unmarried Woman to my Netflix queue.

:(

I loved that movie.

[proud2BlibKansan]

10. OMG I knew she was sick

This is just too sad. I really liked her.

[pacalo]

11. Aww!

What a lovely person she was. Fine actress.

[PhillyGurl]

12. Very sad

She was a great actress. RIP Jill. :grouphug:

[haifa lootin]

13. I loved it when she poured the drink down Ned Beatty's pants in Silver Streak

:D
"Let me cool you off..."

[ixion]

14. R.I.P. to a great actress

[WillyT]

15. Jill Was The Best...

Peace...

:grouphug:

[Scurrilous]

16. RIP n/t

[blogslut]

17. No!

Too soon. May her family find love and support.

[UTUSN]

18. oh shit, I've only got 3 more years to go?!1 n/t

[Booster]

23. I'm a year older than Jill and I have been going around my house

labeling things on who they should go to. Jill was a fabulous actress and a genuine person. RIP, Jill.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

20. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.

Shit.
Really liked her. For a big chunk of my adult life when someone asked me what my type was with women, I said "Jill Clayburgh."

[bullwinkle428]

22. I'll admit a boyhood crush when I saw her in "Silver Streak" with

Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor!

[Kind of Blue]

24. Class act through and through.

Well Done and thanks, Ms. Clayburgh :cry:

KnR

[Raine]

25. This really saddens me

I really like her. :cry: R-I-P Jill

[davekriss]

26. God bless, Jill :)

[TBF]

27. Sad news.

I always liked her. RIP, Ms. Clayburgh.

[Contrary1]

28. Damn...

Rest in peace, Ms. Clayburgh.

I have a friend who was diagnosed with chronic leukemia several years ago. It's just now starting to affect her. :cry:

[Dappleganger]

29. My mother died at 66

it was just too soon. I am sorry to hear of this lady's passing as I really enjoyed her movies.

[oswaldactedalone]

31. She also had the female lead in Semi-Tough

with Burt Reynolds and Kris Kristofferson. Pretty lady. RIP

[DeschutesRiver]

33. Am so sorry that you lost your mom so early:(

Dh lost his mom at 54, and it pains him to realize that he has now lived longer than she did (she had leukeimia as well, after a enduring a hellish existence as a young girl in Nazi Germany).

Makes no difference what takes us out, I guess... just that we keep alive the memory of the times we did share with our loved ones while they were here.

[blondeatlast]

32. So sad; one of the greats from the '70s and '80s that didn't need surgery and

makeup to the nines to exude sexay and smart.

Such beautiful eyes, too. Here I am, a straight woman, and I'm gushing--if I were gay, she'd be my type!

[devilgrrl]

34. Whoa!

:-(

[Melissa G]

35. Too sad! We were just talking about her the other day.

:cry: Semi Tough still has a lot of relevance, since the group forum it spoofed is still floating around.
RIP Jill :cry: :patriot:

[Warren Stupidity]

36. My generation starting to fa fa fa fade away...

Jill had a place in my heart.

[aikoaiko]

38. I always liked her work.

RIP