Rosemary Prinz

Rosemary Prinz (born January 4, 1931)<ref name="auto">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> is an American actress. She is known for playing the role of Penny Hughes on the CBS soap opera As the World Turns (1956–1968, 1985, 1986–1987, 1998, 2000). She also played Amy on First Love (1954–1955), Amy Tyler on All My Children (1970), and Dr. Julie Franklin on How to Survive a Marriage (1974–1975) . She has performed in many theatrical productions. She appeared on Broadway in The Grey-Eyed People (1952), Tonight in Samarkand (1955), Three Men on a Horse (1969), The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1971), and Tribute (1978). Prinz originated the role of M'Lynn Eatenton in Steel Magnolias during its first production Off-Broadway in 1987.

Early life

Prinz was born in The Bronx, New York.Template:Citation needed Her father was cellist Milton Prinz, who performed with the NBC Symphony Orchestra and was the founder of the New York String Quartet.<ref name="soapbook">Template:Cite book</ref> Prinz later taped How to Survive a Marriage in the same studio where her father had performed with Arturo Toscanini.Template:Citation needed

Career

1947-1955: Early work

In 1947, at age sixteen, Prinz made her professional acting debut in Dream Girl at the Craigsmoor Summer Theatre.<ref name="soapbook" /> Her father gave her permission to finish high school early.<ref name="advice" /> She was cast in a touring production of Joan of Lorraine, co-starring with Diana Barrymore.<ref name="advice" /><ref name="soapbook" /> She later joined touring productions of Kiss and Tell, Glad Tidings, and The Second Man.<ref name="soapbook" /> In 1948, she starred in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at the Flat Rock Playhouse in North Carolina.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

She made her Broadway debut as First Girl Scout in the original production of The Grey-Eyed People, opening on December 17, 1952 at the Martin Beck Theatre.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Prinz played Amy on the NBC soap opera First Love from 1954 to 1955.<ref name="soapbook" /> She guest starred on The Mickey Rooney Show.<ref name="soapbook" /> She appeared as Pandore in the original Broadway production of Tonight in Samarkand. The play opened at the Morosco Theatre on February 16, 1955.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

1956-1968: As the World Turns

She was cast in the contract role of Penny Hughes on the CBS soap opera As the World Turns, appearing in the show's first episode on April 2, 1956.<ref name="penny">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In the beginning, the show taped a half-hour episode live every day.<ref name="began" /> The character of Penny was paired romantically with Jeff Baker (Mark Rydell). They were daytime's first teen romance, breaking up and reuniting many times. The couple finally married and planned to adopt a child. Their storyline ended when Jeff was killed in a car crash and Penny suffered from amnesia.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="penny" />

Prinz as Penny Hughes on As the World Turns, 1958.

Prinz sparred with Irna Phillips, the creator and writer of As the World Turns.<ref name="mother">Template:Cite web</ref> She has said that Phillips would become angry when she took roles in theatrical productions. She also didn't want her to smoke or drink, because it was something that Penny wouldn't do. Prinz has said, "I was supposed to be Penny all the time."<ref name="began">Template:Cite web</ref>

After the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963, ATWT was preempted by news coverage for four days. When the show began airing again, Prinz asked if she could make a reference to it on the air. She was told not to, but she improvised a line anyway, saying "Grandpa, here we are talking about Tommy, and after all the country's been through for the last four days."<ref name="began" />

From December 1967 to January 1968, Prinz starred in A Girl Could Get Lucky at The Little Theatre on the Square.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The stress of working on ATWT and the conflicts with Irna Phillips caused her to have a nervous breakdown.<ref name="mother" /> She sought help from a psychoanalyst and decided to leave the show when her contract ended in 1968. Phillips' last revenge on her was to have the character of Penny steal her brother's child and go to England.<ref name="began" /> The role was briefly recast with actress Phoebe Dorin.<ref name="penny" />

1968-1982: All My Children

From 1968 to 1969, Prinz played Ella in a touring production of The Apple Tree, co-starring with Tom Ewell.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She played Audrey Trowbridge in a Broadway revival of Three Men on a Horse. The play opened at the Lyceum Theatre on October 16, 1969.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She returned to television, playing Amy Tyler on the ABC soap opera All My Children. She was an original cast member on the show, which premiered in January 1970. The character was a liberal peace activist.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Prinz only agreed to play the role for six months, on the condition that the show's creator, Agnes Nixon, have the character protest the Vietnam War and support Martin Luther King Jr.<ref name="advice">Template:Cite web</ref>

In the early 1970s, she appeared in a touring production of Last of the Red Hot Lovers.<ref name="soapbook" /> Prinz played Edna Edison in the original Broadway production of The Prisoner of Second Avenue. She replaced Barbara Barrie in the role.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1972, she co-starred with Robin Strasser in This Child is Mine, an episode of The ABC Afternoon Playbreak.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She played Dr. Julie Franklin on the NBC soap opera How to Survive a Marriage from 1974 to 1975.<ref name="soapbook" /> She starred in Mame at The Little Theatre on the Square in 1974.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1975, she starred in Gypsy at the same venue.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In December 1977, she starred as Doris in Same Time, Next Year at New York's Studio Arena Theater.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Prinz appeared as Maggie Stratton in the original Broadway production of Tribute, co-starring with Jack Lemmon.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The play opened at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on June 1, 1978.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She guest starred on Laverne & Shirley, Hart to Hart, and Archie Bunker's Place.<ref name="soapbook" /> Prinz had a recurring role on Knots Landing.<ref name="yonkers">Template:Cite web</ref> She played Maryanne in Amidst the Gladiolas at New York's Lion Theatre in December 1981.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1982, she played Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest at the Sharon Playhouse in Connecticut.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

1983-1997: Steel Magnolias

In September 1983, she starred as Amanda Wingfield in The Glass Menagerie for The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Throughout her career, Prinz has starred in five productions of The Glass Menagerie, including one in Japan.<ref name="soapbook" /> She returned to As the World Turns for a brief appearance in 1985. She then returned for a longer stint, airing from March 29, 1986 until April 1987.<ref name="penny" />

In July 1986, Prinz co-starred with Fannie Flagg in a female version of The Odd Couple at the Westport Country Playhouse.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1987, she played M'Lynn Eatenton in the original Off-Broadway production of Steel Magnolias.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The play had an extended run at the WP Theater and reopened at the Lucille Lortel Theatre during the summer of 1987.<ref name="nytimes1987">Template:Cite web</ref> In 1988, Prinz returned to television, playing the recurring role of Sister Mary Joel on the ABC soap opera Ryan's Hope.<ref name="soapbook" />

In the Fall of 1989, she co-starred with Ted Lange in a national tour of Driving Miss Daisy.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In April 1990, she played Evelyn in Tales of the Lost Formicans at New York's Apple Corps Theater.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Prinz starred in A Perfect Ganesh at Connecticut's TheaterWorks in October and November 1995.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

She played Virginia in Three Viewings at TheaterWorks in June 1996.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In October 1996, she appeared in Avow at New Jersey's George Street Playhouse.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In December 1996 and January 1997, Prinz played Evelyn in On Deaf Ears at the Martin R. Kaufman Theater in New York.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She starred as Lola in The Model Apartment at the La Jolla Playhouse in July 1997.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In October 1997, she starred as Agnes in A Delicate Balance at Virginia Stage Company in Norfolk, Virginia.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

1998-2005: Theater

Prinz starred in Last Lists of My Mad Mother at Connecticut's TheaterWorks in January and February 1998.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In June 1998, Prinz co-starred with Jon Farris in Love Letters at TheaterWorks.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She played Maria Callas in Master Class at Portland Stage Company in August and September 1998.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She returned to As the World Turns for a few episodes in August 1998.<ref name="penny" />

She played Maria Callas in Master Class at Connecticut's TheaterWorks in January 2000 and at Florida's Coconut Grove Playhouse in October 2000.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Prinz made her film debut in the romantic drama A Wedding for Bella (also titled The Bread, My Sweet), co-starring with Scott Baio.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She returned to As the World Turns again on December 26, 2000, making her last appearance before the show came to an end in 2010.<ref name="penny" />

In September 2001, Prinz co-starred with Mia Dillon in Concertina's Rainbow for Connecticut's Fairfield Theatre Company. Performances began soon after the September 11 attacks.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> From July to August 2002, she co-starred with Laurie Metcalf in Purple Heart for Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Prinz starred in Driving Miss Daisy at the Pittsburgh Public Theater in November 2002.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In March 2003, she played the title role in Killing Louise at New York's CAP21 Theatre.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In February 2005, she starred as Kimberly Levaco in Kimberly Akimbo at Connecticut's TheaterWorks.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

2006-present

From February to April 2006, Prinz starred in Under the Bed for the Caldwell Theatre Company in Florida.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In November 2006, she performed in Romania. Kiss Me!, a collection of six short plays from Romania, at New York's 59E59 Theaters.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> From August to October 2007, she starred in Driving Miss Daisy at TheaterWorks in Connecticut.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She starred in Voices of Swords at Off-Broadway's Urban Stages in June 2008.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Prinz played Mrs. Bramson in Night Must Fall at Maryland's Olney Theatre Center in September and October 2009.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In February 2010, she starred as Grandma in Lost in Yonkers at New Jersey's Paper Mill Playhouse.<ref name="yonkers" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In July 2010, she played Sarah Bernhardt in Memoir for Louisiana's River City Repertory Theatre.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

She performed in A Little Journey at New York's Mint Theater Company in June 2011.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In May 2012, Prinz appeared Off-Broadway in She's of a Certain Age, co-starring with Robert Newman.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2014, she starred in 4000 Miles at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She appeared in The Waverly Gallery for the River City Repertory Theatre in 2015.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2017, she appeared in the comedy film Humor Me.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Prinz participated in a live streamed performance of Richard Wilbur's translation of Molière's Tartuffe in July 2020. The cast included Raúl Esparza and Samira Wiley.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Personal life

Prinz was married to actor Michael Thoma from 1951–57. (Thoma died in 1982 at the age of 55.) Her second marriage, to jazz drummer Joseph Patti in 1966, ended only upon his death from natural causes in 2014.Template:Citation needed A lifelong New Yorker, she is a resident of the Upper West Side.<ref name="auto"/>

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2001	A Wedding for Bella	Bella
2004	Extreme Mom	Grandma	Short film
2017	Humor Me	Gert

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1951	Studio One	Connie Nelson	Episode: "The Dangerous Years"
	Lights Out	Cora	Episode: "The Silent Supper"
1953	The Plainclothesman		Episode: "The Heavy Foot"
1954	Colonel Humphrey Flack		Episode: "Gambling Fever"
1954–1955	First Love	Amy	Contract role, 388 episodes
1955	Robert Montgomery Presents	Janet Colby	Episode: "Late Love"
1956–1968, 1985, 1986–1987, 1998, 2000	As the World Turns	Penny Hughes	Contract role: 1956–1968, Guest appearances: 1985, 1986–1987 1998, 2000
1970	All My Children	Amy Tyler	Special guest star: 6 months
1972	The ABC Afternoon Playbreak	Elizabeth Thatcher	Episode: "This Child is Mine"
1974–1975	How to Survive a Marriage	Dr. Julie Franklin	Contract role, 333 episodes
1979	Laverne & Shirley	Mrs. Latimer	Episode: "Fat City Holiday"
	Salvage 1	Flora	Episodes: "Hard Water: Part 1 & Part 2"
1980	Hart to Hart	Esther Goodman	Episode: "Cruise at Your Own Risk"
1981	Archie Bunker's Place	Gladys	Episode: "Weekend Away"
	ABC Afterschool Special	Mrs. Anderson	Episode: "Run, Don't Walk"
1981–1982	Knots Landing	Muriel Warren	3 episodes
1982	One of the Boys	Violet Shields	Episode: "Parents' Weekend"
1988–1989	Ryan's Hope	Sister Mary Joel	3 episodes

External links

• 2003 interview
• Template:IMDb name