| Anne Ramsey | |
| Birth Date: | 27 March 1929[1] |
| Birth Place: | Omaha, Nebraska, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupation: | Actress |
| Years Active: | 1952–1988 |
Anne Ramsey-Mobley (March 27, 1929 – August 11, 1988) was an American actress. She was best known for her film roles as Mama Fratelli in The Goonies (1985) and as Mrs. Lift in Throw Momma from the Train (1987), the latter of which earned her nominations for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award.
Ramsey was born in Omaha, Nebraska, the daughter of Eleanor (née Smith), the former national treasurer of the Girl Scouts of the USA, and Nathan Mobley, an insurance executive.[2] [3] Her mother was a descendant of the Pilgrims (William Brewster), and her uncle was U.S. Ambassador David S. Smith.[2] [4] Ramsey was raised in Great Neck, New York and Greenwich, Connecticut.[2] She attended prestigious Rosemary Hall in Greenwich, CT and matriculated to Bennington College where she became interested in theatre. She performed in several Broadway productions in the 1950s and married actor Logan Ramsey in 1954.[5] They moved to Philadelphia where they formed the Theatre of the Living Arts.
In the 1970s, Ramsey began a successful Hollywood career in character roles and appeared in such television programs as Little House on the Prairie, Wonder Woman, Three's Company and Ironside. She appeared with her husband in seven films, including her first, The Sporting Club (1971), and her last, Meet the Hollowheads (1989). In 1988, Ramsey was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture for her performance in Throw Momma from the Train (1987), with Billy Crystal and Danny DeVito. The film also earned her a second Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress; she had received her first for The Goonies (1985). In February 1988, she guest-starred on an episode of ALF that aired six months before her death. Then she appeared in Scrooged where she and Logan Ramsey portrayed two homeless shelter inhabitants. The film was dedicated in memory of her as she had completed her parts in the film sometime before her passing.
She also appeared in six films released in the two years after her death upon having already completed her roles in them.
Ramsey's somewhat slurred speech, a trademark of her later performances, was caused in part from having had some of her tongue and her jaw removed during surgery for esophageal cancer in 1984.
In 1988, Ramsey's cancer returned. She died on August 11 at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California.[6] [7] Ramsey is buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery in North Omaha, Nebraska.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | The Sporting Club | Scott's wife | ||||||
| 1972 | The New Centurions | Wife of crazy man | Uncredited | |||||
| Up the Sandbox | Battleaxe | |||||||
| 1973 | The Third Girl from the Left | Madelaine | Television movie | |||||
| 1974 | Rhinoceros | Woman with cat | ||||||
| For Pete's Sake | Telephone lady | |||||||
| The Law | Eleanor Bleisch | Television movie | ||||||
| 1976 | From Noon till Three | Massive woman | ||||||
| Librarian | Television movie | |||||||
| The Boy in the Plastic Bubble | Rachel | |||||||
| 1977 | Fun with Dick and Jane | Employment Applicant | ||||||
| 1978 | Goin' South | Spinster #2 | ||||||
| The Gift of Love | Maeve O'Hollaran | Television movie | ||||||
| 1979 | When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder? | Rhea Childress | - | 1980 | White Mama | Heavy Charm | Television movie | |
| The Black Marble | Bessie Callahan | |||||||
| Any Which Way You Can | Loretta Quince | |||||||
| 1981 | Honky Tonk Freeway | TV Chef | Uncredited | |||||
| A Small Killing | Doris | Television movie | ||||||
| 1982 | Marian Rose White | Teacher | ||||||
| National Lampoon's Class Reunion | Mrs. Tabazooski | |||||||
| 1983 | I Want to Live! | Matron | Television movie | |||||
| Herndon | Miss Helter | |||||||
| 1984 | The Seduction of Gina | Woman on bus | ||||||
| Getting Physical | Lady at Police Station | |||||||
| The Killers | First Ragpicker | |||||||
| 1985 | The Goonies | Mama Fratelli | Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress | |||||
| 1986 | Say Yes | Major | ||||||
| Deadly Friend | Elvira Parker | |||||||
| 1987 | Love at Stake | Old Witch | ||||||
| Weeds | Mom Umstetter | |||||||
| Throw Momma from the Train | Momma | Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture | ||||||
| 1988 | Dr. Hackenstein | Ruby Rhodes | ||||||
| Good Old Boy: A Delta Boyhood | The Hag | Television movie Released posthumously | ||||||
| Scrooged | Woman in shelter | Released posthumously | ||||||
| 1989 | Meet the Hollowheads | Babbleaxe | ||||||
| Another Chance | Leadlady | |||||||
| Homer and Eddie | Edna |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Ironside | Motel Manager | Episode: "Riddle Me Death" | |
| Banyon | Mrs. Hendricks | Episode: "Just Once" | ||
| 1975 | Wonder Woman | Taxi Cab Driver | Episode: "The New Original Wonder Woman" | |
| [Starsky and Hutch (TV series)] | Evon/Gertrude | Episode: "Birds of a feather" | ||
| 1976 | Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman | Sister Bernadette | Episode: "1.24" | |
| Delvecchio | Mrs. Bellows | Episode: "The Silent Prey" | ||
| Charlie's Angels | Henry's wife | Episode: "Hellride" | ||
| 1977 | Wonder Woman | Connie | Episode: "Mind Stealers from Outer Space: Part 1" | |
| 1978 | Little House on the Prairie | Mrs. Schiller | Episode: "As Long As We're Together: Part 1" | |
| ABC Afterschool Specials | Nurse | Episode: "A Home Run for Love" | ||
| 1979 | Laverne & Shirley | Lady | Episode: "Fire Show" | |
| CHiPs | Nurse Betty Jo | Episode: "Hot Wheels" | ||
| 1982 | Laverne & Shirley | Killer | Episode: "Death Row: Part 2" | |
| 1983 | Three's Company | Woman at ATM | Episode: "The Money Machine" | |
| 1984 | Murder, She Wrote | Bag Lady | Episode: "The Murder of Sherlock Holmes" | |
| Family Ties | Mrs. Warfield | Episode: "Help Wanted" | ||
| 1985 | Hill Street Blues | Mrs. Scalisi | Episode: "Blues in the Night" | |
| Night Court | Edna Sneer | Episode: "Halloween, Too" | ||
| 1986 | Knight Rider | Crossing Guard | Episode: "Killer K.I.T.T." | |
| 1988 | ALF | Ethel Buttonwood | Episode: "You Ain't Nothin' but a Hound Dog" |