Anne Wedgeworth obit

Ann Wedgeworth, ‘Three’s Company’ Actress, Dies at 83

She was not on the list.

Ann Wedgeworth, known for her role as Lana Shields in ABC’s “Three’s Company,” died Thursday in New York after a long illness. She was 83.

Wedgeworth’s career began in Broadway, with her debut in “Make a Million” in 1958. She continued to perform in off-Broadway and Broadway productions over the next few decades, winning a Tony Award for best performance by a featured actress in a play for her work in “Chapter Two.”

The actress enjoyed a successful career in film, with roles as the leading lady in films like “Scarecrow,” opposite Gene Hackman, and “Bang the Drum Slowly” with Robert De Niro. Throughout the 1980s, she took on supporting roles, such as Patsy Cline’s mother in “Sweet Dreams,” with Jessica Lange and Ed Harris. The role earned her a National Society of Film Critics Award.

Wedgeworth became best known for her role as divorcee Lana Shields in “Three’s Company,” after performing in numerous soap operas like “The Edge of Night” and “Another World.” Shields was written out of “Three’s Company” after only nine episodes with little explanation; Wedgeworth claimed she asked to be released from her contract after Shields’ role began to wind down.

After “Three’s Company,” Wedgeworth went on to star in CBS’s “Evening Shade” starting in 1989, which was her longest role. She played Merleen Eldridge, the wife of small town doctor Harlan Eldrige. The couple was best friends with Burt Reynolds and Marilu Henner’s Wood and Ava Newton, who move back to the small town of Evening Shade, Ark. after Wood quits professional football due to an injury.

Wedgeworth was married to actor and voice artist Rip Torn from 1955 to 1961, with whom she has one daughter. In 1970, she married acting coach Ernest Martin, with whom she had another daughter and stepson.

She survived by Martin, her two daughters, and her stepson.

Filmography

Film

Year       Title       Role       Notes

1965      Andy      Margie

1973      Scarecrow           Frenchy               

1973      Bang the Drum Slowly    Katie     

1974      Law and Disorder             Sally      

1974      The Catamount Killing [fr]             Kit Loring            

1976      One Summer Love           Pearlie

1976      Birch Interval     Marie   

1977      Thieves                 Nancy   

1977      Handle with Care              Dallas Angel        National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress

1977      The War Between the Tates        Danielle Zimmerman      TV movie

1980      Bogie     Mayo Methot    TV movie

1981      Elvis and the Beauty Queen         Aunt Betty           TV movie

1981      Soggy Bottom, U.S.A.      Dusty Wheeler

1981      Killjoy    Rosie     TV movie

1984      No Small Affair Joan Cummings                

1985      Right to Kill?       Eve Whitcomb   TV movie

1985      My Science Project          Dolores                

1985      Sweet Dreams   Hilda Hensley     Nominated—National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress

1986      The Men's Club Jo           

1987      A Stranger Waits              Susan Berger      TV movie

1987      A Tiger's Tale      Claudine              

1987      Made in Heaven               Annette Shea    

1988      Far North             Amy      

1989      Miss Firecracker                Miss Blue            

1989      Steel Magnolias                Aunt Fern           

1990      Green Card         Party Guest #1  

1991      Hard Promises   Chris's Mom      

1993      Cooperstown     Lila Kunznick      TV movie

1994      Love and a .45   Thaylene Cheatham       

1994      A Burning Passion: The Margaret Mitchell Story Mrs. O'Flaherty TV movie

1995      Fight for Justice: The Nancy Conn Story Mary Howell       TV movie

1996      The Whole Wide World Mrs. Howard     

1999      The Hunter's Moon         Borlene               

2006      The Hawk Is Dying            Ma Gattling        (final film role)

Television

Year       Title       Role       Notes

1957      Kraft Theatre      Ruth Cashel        Episode: "Vengeance"

1964      The Defenders Sally Bernard      Episode: "Hero of the People"

1966–1967          The Edge of Night             Angela 'Angie' Talbot      Unknown episodes

1966      Hawk     Helen Rainey      Episode: "Death Comes Full Circle"

1967–1970          Another World Lahoma Vane Lucas         Unknown episodes

1970      Somerset             Lahoma Vane Lucas         Episode: "#1.1"

1975      Bronk    Kate       Episode: "The Gauntlet"

1979      Three's Company             Lana Sheilds       9 episodes

1980      When the Whistle Blows               Sheila Norris       Episode: "Wildcatters"

1982–1983          Filthy Rich           Bootsie Weschester        15 episodes

1985      One Life to Live Charlie Barnes   Unknown episodes

1986      The Twilight Zone             Clerk      Episode: "The After Hours"

1987      The Equalizer     Irene Baylor        Episode: "Suspicion of Innocence"

1989      Roseanne            Audrey Conner Episode: "We Gather Together"

1990–1994          Evening Shade   Merleen Elldridge            98 episodes

Nominated—Viewers for Quality Television Award for Best Specialty Player