Frances Bay (
January 23, 1919-September 15,
2011) was a
U.S.-based
Canadian character actress, best known for playing quirky, elderly women on film and television
Bay did not appear in films until she was almost 60 years old, when she had a small part in "
Foul Play", the 1978 comedy starring
Goldie Hawn and
Chevy Chase. A year earlier, Bay appeared as
Mrs. Hamilton in the
Christmas television special Christmastime with
Mister Rogers. She went on to play small roles in films like "
The Karate Kid", "
Big Top Pee-wee" and "
Twins".
Her first major television appearance occurred playing the grandmother to the character of "
Arthur '
Fonzie'
Fonzarelli" on "
Happy Days".
Star Henry Winkler is "just a sweet guy. He lost his own grandmother in the
Holocaust, and he wrote me a letter saying I was his virtual grandmother". In
1983, she played the grandmother in "
Little Red Riding Hood" in
Faerie Tale Theatre for
Showtime. and in
1985 she played
Mrs. Santa Clause in
Steven Spielberg's "Amazing Stories", In
1994, she played Mrs.Pickman in
John Carpenter's "
In the Mouth of Madness"
In
1986, Bay appeared as the doddery aunt of
Kyle MacLachlan's character in
David Lynch's "
Blue Velvet". This role seems to have endeared the actress to
Lynch, who recast her in several subsequent works, including as a foul-mouthed madam in "
Wild at Heart", and as the eerie "Mrs. Tremond" on "
Twin Peaks" and its movie spin-off, "Twin Peaks:
Fire Walk with Me".
Bay may also be familiar from her performance in the music video for
Jimmy Fallon's comedy song,"
Idiot Boyfriend". However, Bay is perhaps best known today for her performance as the hapless but loving grandmother of
Adam Sandler's character in the
1996 film
Happy Gilmore".She had a recurring role as "Aunt
Ginny" on "
The Middle", albeit her character does not speak,In an earlier episode of "
Seinfeld", she played
Mabel Choate, a wealthy, irritable old woman from whom
Jerry steals a loaf of marbled rye bread. In that episode, entitled "
The Rye", Bay appeared with her former "Twin Peaks" co-stars
Grace Zabriskie and
Warren Frost. In a future episode, the consequences of Jerry's act set in motion a string of events which cause Seinfeld's father, Morty, to be impeached as president of his retirement community in
Florida. Her appearance in the final two episodes of Seinfeld also stem from this madcap scenario.
She appeared in an episode of"
Charmed" as an older version of the character
Phoebe Halliwell, and in an episode of "
Grey's Anatomy" as an elderly patient that "just wouldn't die" in 2009.
THIS
VIDEO IS FOR EDUCATIONAL VIEWING PURPOSES ONLY AND NOT FOR
SALE, UNDER THE
FAIR USE ACT.This video "
Compilation" is protected by copyright,
Title 17, Ch 1, section 103. The copyright in this Compilation extends only to the material assembled and arranged by the author, and does not imply any exclusive right in the preexisting material. Allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. This video may not be reproduced or sold.
Copyright Disclaimer Under
Section 107 of the
Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.
Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.
Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use
...
- published: 16 Sep 2011
- views: 12323