CLORIS LEACHMAN (Nurse Spex)

CLORIS LEACHMAN (Nurse Spex) has been acting for five decades, garnering eight Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, an English Academy Award® and an Oscar®. She has taken roles in over 45 motion pictures, 7 television series, 35 films for television, a dozen TV specials and two dozen theatrical productions. She is currently continuing her recurring role on “Malcolm in the Middle” as well as guest starring on the hit television series “Joan of Arcadia” and was recently seen on the big screen as Teo Leoni’s mother in “Spanglish,” for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe, and in “The Longest Yard” with Adam Sandler. She will next be seen with Annette Bening and Ben Kingsley in the thriller “Mrs. Harris.”

Her brief, yet memorable scene as a lady of the evening in “Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid” with Paul Newman in 1969 led to as many as four feature film roles a year for Leachman. Soon after came her portrayal of the lonely Ruth Popper in “The Last Picture Show” for which she won an Academy Award®. Some of her most memorable big screen performances include three Mel Brooks films: “Young Frankenstein,” “High Anxiety” and “History of the World, Part I,” as well as the Walt Disney Picture “The North Avenue Irregulars,” “Shadow Play,” “Crazy Mama” and “The Beverly Hillbillies.” Her recent film credits include “Music of My Heart,” in which she played the grandmother to a character played by Michael Angarano, “Hanging Up,” and “The Iron Giant.” Other recent feature films include “The Amati Girls,” “Manna From Heaven,” “Bad Santa” and “The Californians.”

As the beloved Phyllis Lindstrom on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” from 1970 to 1975, Leachman won two Emmy Awards. In 1976, she won another Emmy nomination as well as a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in her own spin-off series, “Phyllis.” These were added to her collection of awards which included her 1971 Emmy for the ABC movie of the week, “A Brand New Life,” and another Emmy for a 1974 Cher Special. She also garnered an Emmy in 1983 for “A Woman Who Willed A Miracle” and her sixth the following year for an eight minute soliloquy for “The Screen Actors Guild 50th Anniversary Celebration.” Her guest-starring role in “Malcolm in the Middle” earned her an eighth Emmy, making her the first actor in history to win for seven different productions.

Leachman has also starred in numerous films for network television. Some notable performances include: “In Broad Daylight,” “Honor Bright,” “Fine Things,” “Love Is Never Silent,” “The Demon Murder Case,” “Dixie: Changing Habits,” “A Girl Named Sooner,” “Backstairs at the White House,” and Emmy-nominated performances in “The Migrants,” “It Happened One Christmas” and “Ernie Kovacs: Between the Laughter.”