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.
