Elyse Donalson, Actress in ‘Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers,’ Dies at 78
The Texas native also graced the small screen on ‘St. Elsewhere,’ ‘The X-Files,’ ‘Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman’ and ‘The Practice.’
She was not on the list.
Elyse Donalson, who appeared in Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers and on such acclaimed shows as St. Elsewhere, The X-Files and Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman across more than two decades in Hollywood, has died. She was 78.
Donalson died unexpectedly Wednesday at her home in Studio City, her sister, Harriette Meyer, told The Hollywood Reporter.
The angelic Donalson came to Los Angeles from Texas in the early 1980s and would land parts on more than two dozen TV series, among them Doogie Howser, M.D., Anything But Love, Chicago Hope, The Practice and Beverly Hills, 90210.
In Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995), which marked the first starring turn for Paul Rudd, Donalson portrayed a woman in a sanitarium who startles Rudd’s Tommy Doyle after she’s stabbed by Myers (A. Michael Lerner).
She played a nun in 1986 on St. Elsewhere; a judge in 1988 on Matlock; a nurse in 1989 on Quantum Leap and on a couple of 2000 episodes of JAG; and an elderly woman in 2000 on The X-Files.
Fans of Dr. Quinn might remember her for the 1993 installment “Mike’s Dream: A Christmas Tale” when her character, Mrs. Marley, blames Dr. Mike (Jane Seymour) for the death of her husband.
Mary Elise Donalson was born on Oct. 5, 1947, in Victoria, Texas. Her father, Harry, worked as a manager at the family lumberyard, and her mother, Frances, was a church secretary and a bookkeeper.
She graduated from Victoria High School in 1965 and from Southwest Texas State University (now Texas State University), where she acted in plays. She met her future husband, Joe Houde, in college, and they moved to Arlington, Texas, and then to Los Angeles.
Donalson took acting classes in L.A. and in 1983 was hired for an episode of the CBS fantasy series Wizards and Warriors, created by Don Reo.
Her résumé also included the TV shows Our House, Starman, Hardball, Paradise and Medical Investigation and such telefilms as 1988’s Man Against the Mob, 1991’s Locked Up: A Mother’s Rage and 1994’s Children of the Dark.
A longtime member of SAG-AFTRA, Donalson made ends meet when she wasn’t acting by working at such law firms as De Castro, West, Chodorow, Mendler & Glickfeld in Westwood and Hahn & Hahn in Pasadena. She loved animals and watching movies.
In addition to her sister, survivors include her nieces, Kellie and Kate; her brother-in-law, Jimmie; her great-nieces, Madison, Macy and Piper; and her great-nephew, Clay.
Actress
Medical Investigation (2004)
Medical Investigation
7.0
TV Series
Dr. Eckhart
2004
Catherine Bell, David James Elliott, and Tracey Needham in JAG (1995)
JAG
6.7
TV Series
NurseNurse #2
2000
Luke Perry, Jason Priestley, Shannen Doherty, Jennie Garth, Tori Spelling, Brian Austin Green, Ian Ziering, and Gabrielle Carteris in Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990)
Beverly Hills, 90210
6.6
TV Series
Denise (as Elyse Donaldson)
2000
Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny in The X-Files (1993)
The X-Files
8.6
TV Series
Elderly Woman
2000
Lara Flynn Boyle, Dylan McDermott, Steve Harris, and Kelli Williams in The Practice (1997)
The Practice
7.7
TV Series
Clerk
1999
Lauren Holly, Hector Elizondo, Carla Gugino, Mark Harmon, Barbara Hershey, Mandy Patinkin, Adam Arkin, and Rocky Carroll in Chicago Hope (1994)
Chicago Hope
6.9
TV Series
Farm Woman
1998
Gary Busey, Rod Steiger, Esai Morales, Ashley Laurence, and James Russo in The Real Thing (1996)
The Real Thing
4.9
Nurse #1 (as Elise Donalson)
1996
George P. Wilbur in Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (1995)
Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers
4.7
Lunatic
1995
Children of the Dark (1994)
Children of the Dark
6.5
TV Movie
Mrs. Trask
1994
Jane Seymour, Chad Allen, Joe Lando, and Shawn Toovey in Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (1993)
Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman
6.8
TV Series
Mrs. Marley
1993
Anything But Love (1989)
Anything But Love
6.9
TV Series
1992
Cheryl Ladd in Locked Up: A Mother's Rage (1991)
Locked Up: A Mother's Rage
6.5
TV Movie
1991
Switched at Birth (1991)
Switched at Birth
6.8
TV Mini Series
Produce Clerk
1991
Neil Patrick Harris in Doogie Howser, M.D. (1989)
Doogie Howser, M.D.
6.5
TV Series
Prof. Laura Forrest
1990
ABC Afterschool Specials (1972)
ABC Afterschool Specials
7.2
TV Series
Sue
1990
Lee Horsley in Paradise (1988)
Paradise
8.0
TV Series
Mrs. Valentine
1989
Hardball (1989)
Hardball
7.2
TV Series
Barbara
1989
Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell in Quantum Leap (1989)
Quantum Leap
8.2
TV Series
Nurse Ethel
1989
Andy Griffith in Matlock (1986)
Matlock
7.2
TV Series
Judge Harper
1988
Man Against the Mob (1988)
Man Against the Mob
6.0
TV Movie
Shirley Veitor
1988
Robert Hays in Starman (1986)
Starman
6.7
TV Series
Mother
1986
Our House (1986)
Our House
7.2
TV Series
1986
Denzel Washington, Ed Begley Jr., David Morse, Howie Mandel, Cynthia Sikes Yorkin, Ellen Bry, William Daniels, and Ed Flanders in St. Elsewhere (1982)
St. Elsewhere
8.0
TV Series
Sister Agnes Claire
1986
Words by Heart (1985)
Words by Heart
7.1
TV Movie
1985
Melody Anderson in Policewoman Centerfold (1983)
Policewoman Centerfold
5.3
TV Movie
Linda
1983
Carpool (1983)
Carpool
5.2
TV Movie
Newscaster
1983
Wizards and Warriors (1983)
Wizards and Warriors
7.5
TV Series
Mother
1983
No comments:
Post a Comment