Quick Facts
Biography
Ellen Rose Albertini Dow (November 16, 1913 – May 4, 2015) was an American film and television character actress and drama coach. She portrayed feisty old ladies and may be best known as the rapping grandmother Rosie in The Wedding Singer (1998), performing "Rappers Delight". Dow's other film roles include elderly lady Mary Cleary who "outs" her grandson in Wedding Crashers, Disco Dottie in 54, the recipient of Christopher Lloyd's character's slapstick in Radioland Murders and a choir nun in Sister Act. She was best known to small screen audiences for her guest appearances on sitcom The Golden Girls.
Early life
Albertini was born on November 16, 1913, in Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania, the seventh and youngest child of Italian immigrant parents, Ellen and Oliver, from South Tyrol. Oliver was a car dealership owner. She studied dance and piano at age five and would later move to New York, where she studied and worked with renowned dancers and choreographer's Hanya Holm and Martha Graham.
Secondary education
Dow earned a B.A. and M.A. in theatre from Cornell University, where she became a member of Kappa Delta Sorority, graduating in 1935. Dow studied acting with Michael Shurtleff and Uta Hagen, and worked with mimes Marcel Marceau and Jacques Lecoq in Paris.
Career
Dow performed comedy in the Borscht Belt and at the Second Avenue Theatre in New York with Menasha Skulnik and Molly Picon. She performed in summer stock companies on Long Island, New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina, and directed and choreographed stage productions such as The Beggar's Opera at Carnegie Recital Hall, The Magic Flute, and Julius Caesar with German musical director Hugo Strelitzer. She founded the Albertini Mime Players and was its producer for 19 years.
Her television work includes appearances in such television series as Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Golden Girls, Designing Women, Just Shoot Me, Will & Grace, Seinfeld, Ned's Declassified, Hannah Montana, Scrubs, Sister, Sister, According to Jim, Six Feet Under, Wings and My Name is Earl.
Personal life
Dow married Eugene Dow, Jr. on June 27, 1951. Ellen described herself as an avid hat collector. Eugene died on October 11, 2004.
Death
She died on May 4, 2015, at the age of 101 due to pneumonia.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Sister Act | Choir Nun | American comedy film | |
| 1998 | 54 | Disco Dottie | American drama film written and directed by Mark Christopher | |
| Patch Adams | Aggie Kennedy | American semi-biographical comedy-drama film directed by Tom Shadyac | ||
| The Wedding Singer | Rapping grandmother Rosie | American romantic comedy film written by Tim Herlihy and directed by Frank Coraci | ||
| 2005 | Wedding Crashers | Mary Cleary | American comedy film directed by David Dobkin |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | The Twilight Zone | Mrs. Hotchkiss | Episode: "Need to Know" (S1: Ep 51) | |
| Mr. Belvedere | Old Lady | Episode: "Grandma" (S3: Ep 2) | ||
| The Twilight Zone | Old Woman | Episode: "The Storyteller" (S2: Ep 5) | ||
| 1987 | Beauty and the Beast | Anna Lausch | Episode: "Nor Iron Bars a Cage" (S1: Ep 7) | |
| 1988 | Moonlighting | Mrs. Baer | Episode: "Los Dos DiPestos" (S4: Ep 8) | |
| Mr. Belvedere | Old Lady | Episode: "The Trip, part 1" (S4: Ep 13) | ||
| Webster | Mrs. Crane | Episode: "Papa's Big Romance" (S6: Ep 4) | ||
| The Golden Girls | Mrs. Leonard | Episode: "The Days and Nights of Sophia Petrillo" (S4: Ep 2) | ||
| The Golden Girls | Lillian | Episode: "Sophia's Choice" (S4: Ep 22) | ||
| 1991 | The Golden Girls | Sarah | Episode: "Older and Wiser" (S6: Ep 18) | |
| 1994 | Family Matters | Mrs. Ostendorf | Episode: "That's What Friends Are For" (S5: Ep 3) | |
| 1995 | Seinfeld | Peterman's mother | Episode: "The Secret Code" (S7: Ep 7) | |
| 2001 | Will & Grace | Sylvia Walker | Episode: "The Young and the Tactless" (S3: Ep 21) | |
| 2005 | Scrubs | Betty | Episode: "My Faith in Humanity" (S4: Ep 23) |