Tony-Nominated Character Actress Anne Pitoniak Dies at 85

The New York Times reports that two-time Tony Award-nominee Anne Pitoniak died of cancer last Sunday in Manhattan at the age of 85.  She received Tony nominations role her roles in 1983's night, Mother and in the 1994 revival of William Inge's Picnic.

Born in Westfield, MA, Pitoniak acted TV and radio commercials before studying at the Lee Strasberg Theater Institute while in her mid-50's, and was soon appearing in plays at the Actors Theater of Louisville, including Marsha Norman's Getting Out and Jane Martin's Talking With, which was soon moved to Off-Broadway and won her a Theatre World Award.

Her role in Norman's night, Mother as a mother struggling with her suicidal daughter (played by Kathy Bates) gained rave reviews. The play opened at the American Repertory Theater In Cambridge, MA, and transferred to Broadway in 1983. Other Broadway credits included 1985's The Octette Bridge Club, for which she received a Drama Desk nomination, William Inge's Picnic in 1994, and David Hare's Amy's View in 1999.  Other Broadway credits included Imaginary Friends, Dance of Death and Uncle Vanya, while Off-Broadway, she was seen in The Last of the Thorntons, Pygmalion, Steel Magnolias and All the Way Home, among others. She also appeared in films Unfaithful and Where the Money Is, as well as on TV shows such as "Third Watch" and "Law & Order: SVU."

Anne Pitoniak married once, to Jerome Milord, a soldier whom she met in Japan. The couple divorced in 1968. She is survived by two children, one grandson, two sisters and a brother.