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Patty Duke, just 15 at the time the movie was made, went on to star in her own sitcom, The Patty Duke Show (1963-66). Bancroft, who up until that point had been cast in mediocre movies, such as Treasure of the Golden Condor (1953) and Gorilla at Large (1954) went on to starring roles in The Graduate (1967) and The Turning Point (1978). The Miracle Worker was responsible for launching the careers of both stars. As for Duke, she later admitted she dreaded the final wrap-up of the film because it meant her final separation from a role that had become such an important part of her life.
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In fact, Bancroft was hospitalized with pneumonia just after filming was complete. At one point during the filming, Bancroft started laughing from sheer exhaustion and her reaction was left in the film. For the famous dining room battle scene, which required three cameras for a nine-minute sequence and took five days to film, both actresses wore pads beneath their clothing. They remained committed to their original cast members and the studio acquiesced.ĭuring the filming of The Miracle Worker (1962), both Bancroft and Duke became so immersed in their roles, they put their health at risk. Reportedly, the studio made the following offer: " We'll give you $5 million if you do it with Liz Taylor, $500,000 if you make it with Bancroft." The choice to keep Bancroft in the leading role speaks to the way in which the creative team viewed Bancroft's performance. Patty Duke and Anne Bancroft, little known actresses at the time, played the leading roles of Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan and received rave reviews for their performances.ĭespite those positive reviews, United Artists made it clear to Penn and Gibson that they preferred bigger names in the proposed film version of the story. The Broadway production was directed by Arthur Penn and written by William Gibson. Helen Keller penned her autobiography titled, The Story of My Life in 1902, but it wasn't until 1959 that it was adapted for the stage. Finally, Annie identifies herself by spelling out "teacher." Wildly excited, Helen races about spelling the name of everything she touches-pump, tree, porch, bell, mother, father.
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As the water pours over her hands, the sudden realization that what she feels is w-a-t-e-r dawns on the child, and she grasps Annie's hand and spells out the word. Following an outburst at the dining room table, Annie drags the child to the pump on the front lawn and forces her to refill a pitcher from which she spilled the water. There, she attempts to revert to her former willful savagery, but Annie again opposes her. Annie asks for another week alone with Helen, but the parents, seeing the progress that has been made, insist on bringing the child back into the household. She is still unable, however, to comprehend that the words she spells are names for the objects she touches. At the end of the 2 weeks, however, Helen has learned to dress herself, eat with a fork, and understand the alphabet of touch. Though Annie succeeds in getting the family to allow her 2 weeks alone with Helen in a small garden house on the Keller property, the high-spirited and strong-willed child opposes her at every turn. Blind herself as a child and hardened by both her early years in institutions and the death of her younger, crippled brother, Annie realizes that if Helen is to be helped she must be removed from the pampering influence of her mother and the shouting domination of her father. Its director, Arthur Penn, recalls that when he was getting ready for his next production he had no doubt who he would cast in the role of Annie Sullivan in The Miracle Worker.īancroft's passionate performance won her another Tony and then an Oscar for her portrayal of Sullivan in the film version of the play.In 1887 Annie Sullivan arrives in Tuscumbia, Alabama, to undertake the seemingly impossible task of teaching deaf, blind, 7-year-old Helen Keller "language" through the sense of touch.
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She took the name Bancroft when she began acting in Hollywood but it was on Broadway that she first made her mark, in the 1957 production of Two for the Seesaw with Henry Fonda.īancroft won her first Tony for that play. Robinson, the sultry older woman who seduces Dustin Hoffman in The Graduate - a part the actress said she nearly didn't take.īefore she was Anne Bancroft, she was Anna Maria Louisa Italiano, a girl from the Bronx whose parents had immigrated to the United States from Italy. She is best known for two parts in her long and prolific career: Helen Keller's feisty teacher Annie Sullivan in The Miracle Worker and Mrs. Anne Bancroft and her husband Mel Brooks arrive for the 1986 Academy Awards in Los Angeles.Īnne Bancroft was one of the few performers to win all three major acting awards: the Oscar, two Tonys and an Emmy.