Verna Bloom obit

Verna Bloom dies: 'Animal House' star Tim Matheson pays tribute to Mrs. Wormer

She was not on the list.

Verna Bloom, the actress who played debauched wife Marion Wormer in "Animal House" and later portrayed Jesus' mother in "The Last Temptation of Christ," has died at age 80.

Bloom died Wednesday due to complications from dementia in Bar Harbor, Maine, family spokesman Mike Kaplan tells USA TODAY. She was surrounded by family including her husband of 49 years, screenwriter Jack Cocks, 74, and their son, Sam.

While she played a variety of roles throughout her screen and television acting career – a career that included collaborations with Martin Scorsese and Clint Eastwood – Bloom was most famous for her scene-stealing role in the 1978 comedy "Animal House," playing the wife of Faber College's Dean Wormer.

As the dean obsessed with kicking the film's Delta Chi fraternity off campus, Marion had an affair with fraternity member Eric "Otter" Stratton (Tim Matheson).

In 2003, Verna Bloom and Winona Ryder arrive at a screening of the newly restored "The Hired Hand," marking the 1971 directorial debut of Peter Fonda,

In 2003, Verna Bloom and Winona Ryder arrive at a screening of the newly restored "The Hired Hand," marking the 1971 directorial debut of Peter Fonda, (Photo: Kevin Winter, Getty Images)

Matheson tells USA TODAY that Bloom was acting "nobility" working with the unknowns on the set of "Animal House." But she jumped in and captured the "mischievous, dangerous character." Bloom even pulled out a real flask while preparing to shoot their party seduction scene.

"She said that Bobby De Niro had told her that when doing a drunk scene, you have to have just the slightest bit of the feeling of what it’s really like, then exaggerate it," says Matheson. "She used the flask to help get her in the mood."

The scene was filled with improvisational moments, including Mrs. Wormer's jacket falling off the hanger. Bloom worked with it and capped the scene off by kicking each heel off dramatically before falling into bed. Director John Landis added the sound of glass breaking after the second shoe landed.

"She found the perfect button and final comedic laugh for the scene, kicking her shoe into the air," says Matheson. "She was a delight to work with and breathtakingly funny."

Bloom was "exhilarated" acting with the "crazy kids" on the movie, husband Cocks said in a statement to USA TODAY.

"Many of them stayed friends for years after, and the periodic 'Animal House' reunions were, even though everyone was older, equally exuberant," wrote Cocks. "Every movie was an adventure for her, but 'Animal House,' no contest, was by far the funniest.”

Bloom made her film debut in 1969, with writer/director Haskell Wexler’s "Medium Cool," playing a young Appalachian mother caught up in the street violence of Chicago's 1968 Democratic Convention. She was nominated as both best actress and best supporting actress by the National Society of Film Critics for the role.

She starred in the 1973 Western "High Plains Drifter" one of two films directed by and starring Eastwood. (The other was 1982's "Honkytonk Man.")

 Alongside Willem Dafoe's Jesus, Bloom starred as Mary in Scorsese's 1988 film "The Last Temptation of Christ." She appeared in two other films with her friend Scorsese, 1970's "Street Scenes" and 1985's "After Hours."

Bloom made appearances in TV's "The Equalizer," "Cagney & Lacey,"  "Kojak" and "Bonanaza." 

Her final appearance was on an 2003 episode of "The West Wing."

 

Actress (33 credits)

 2003 Where Are They Now?: A Delta Alumni Update (Video short)

Marion Wormer

 2003 The West Wing (TV Series)

Molly Lapham

- The Long Goodbye (2003) ... Molly Lapham

 1993 Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (TV Series)

Maude Bray

- Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (1993) ... Maude Bray

 1988-1989 The Equalizer (TV Series)

Ellen / Marian Grey

- Race Traitors (1989) ... Ellen

- Target of Choice (1988) ... Marian Grey

 1988 The Last Temptation of Christ

Mary, Mother of Jesus

 1987 Cagney & Lacey (TV Series)

Joan Torvec

- No Vacancy (1987) ... Joan Torvec

 1985 Promises to Keep (TV Movie) (uncredited)

 1985 The Journey of Natty Gann

Farm Woman

 1985/I After Hours

June

 1982 Honkytonk Man

Emmy

 1981 Rivkin: Bounty Hunter (TV Movie)

Bertha

 1980 Playing for Time (TV Movie)

Paulette

 1978 National Lampoon's Animal House

Marion Wormer

 1977 Gibbsville (TV Series)

- A Case History (1977)

 1977 Lou Grant (TV Series)

Emily

- Christmas (1977) ... Emily

 1977 Contract on Cherry Street (TV Movie)

Emily Hovannes

 1977 Visions (TV Series)

Nancy Doucette

- The Dancing Bear (1977) ... Nancy Doucette

 1973-1976 Police Story (TV Series)

Marge Connor / Elizabeth Shaner

- Payment Deferred (1976) ... Marge Connor

- The Ten Year Honeymoon (1973) ... Elizabeth Shaner

 1976 Kojak (TV Series)

Carrie Zachary

- On the Edge (1976) ... Carrie Zachary

 1975 The Blue Knight (TV Series)

Moody Larkin

- Pilot (1975) ... Moody Larkin

 1975 Sarah T. - Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic (TV Movie)

Jean Hodges

 1974 Where Have All the People Gone (TV Movie)

Jenny

 1973 Badge 373

Maureen

 1973 High Plains Drifter

Sarah Belding

 1973 Doc Elliot (TV Series)

Mary Beth Hickey

- Pilot (1973) ... Mary Beth Hickey

 1972 Particular Men (TV Movie)

Evelyn

 1971 The Hired Hand

Hannah Collings

 1969 Children's Games

The Girl

 1969 Medium Cool

Eileen

 1969 Bonanza (TV Series)

Ellen Masters

- The Fence (1969) ... Ellen Masters

 1968 Directions (TV Series)

- The Yiddish Theatre (1968)

 1967 N.Y.P.D. (TV Series)

Barbara Laney

- The Screaming Woman (1967) ... Barbara Laney

 1967 NBC Experiment in Television (TV Series)

- The Questions (1967)