Cloris Leachman (April 30, 1926, Des Moines, Iowa, USA - January 27, 2021, Encinitas, California, USA) was an American actress of stage, film, and television. She won eight Primetime Emmy Awards (more than any other performer) and one Daytime Emmy Award. She co-starred in the 1971 film The Last Picture Show, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
As Miss Chicago, Leachman competed in the 20th Miss America pageant and placed in the Top 16 in 1946. Leachman's longest-running role was the nosy, self-centered, and manipulative landlady Phyllis Lindstrom on the 1970s TV series Mary Tyler Moore, and later on the spinoff series, Phyllis. She also appeared in three Mel Brooks films, including Young Frankenstein. She had a regular role in the last two seasons of The Facts of Life, portraying the character Beverly Ann Stickle. She also played the role of Daisy May "Granny" Moses in the 1993 film The Beverly Hillbillies, directed by Penelope Spheeris. In the 2000s, she had a recurring role as Ida Gorski on Malcolm in the Middle. She appeared as a roaster in the Comedy Central Roast of Bob Saget in 2008.
Leachman was a contestant on Season 7 (2008) of Dancing with the Stars, paired with Corky Ballas. She was 82 at the time and is the oldest contestant to have danced on the series. From 2010 to 2014, she starred as Maw Maw in the television comedy Raising Hope.
She was a voice actor in numerous animated films, including My Little Pony: The Movie (as the evil witch mother from the Volcano of Gloom), A Troll in Central Park (as Queen Gnorga), The Iron Giant, Gen¹³, and most notably as the voice of the cantankerous sky pirate Dola in Hayao Miyazaki's 1986 feature Castle in the Sky. Dubbed by Disney in 1998, Leachman's performance in this film received nearly unanimous praise.[citation needed] Leachman played embittered, greedy, Slavic Canadian "Grandma Ida" on the Fox sitcom Malcolm in the Middle, for which she won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series (2006). She was nominated for playing the character for six consecutive years.
| Year | Image | Character | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 
|
Mrs. Tensedge | The Iron Giant |
| 1997 | 
|
Aunt Agnes | Annabelle's Wish |
| 1987 | 
|
Queen Sirena | The Little Troll Prince |
| 1986 | 
|
Hydia | My Little Pony: The Movie |