Fritzi Burr

Fritzi Burr (May 31, 1924 – January 17, 2003) was an American character/comedic actress who appeared as various foils to Fred Sanford on the sitcom Sanford and Son. She was the sister-in-law of Sanford and Son producer Saul Turteltaub.

Born in Philadelphia, Burr performed in little theater and in skits with the vaudeville comedy team of Smith and Dale. By the late 1950s, she was working on Broadway and appeared in I Can Get It for You Wholesale, the show in which Barbra Streisand first gained national attention.Later, Burr replaced Kaye Medford as the mother of Fanny Brice (played by Streisand) in Funny Girl (1968).

Burr worked regularly in small theaters and dinner theaters and in touring companies of such musicals as Fiddler on the Roof, in which she played, at different times, Yente and Tevye's long-suffering wife, Golde. Moving to Hollywood, she found steady work as a character actress in movies and on television.

Career

Burr appeared in the movies How Do I Love Thee? (1970), Frasier, The Senusous Lion (1973), Chinatown (1974), The New, Original Wonder Woman (1975), Mary Jane Harper Cried Last Night (1977), and 3 Ninjas (1992). Her television appearances include What's Happening!, The Nanny, Melrose Place, Hunter, The Golden Girls, The Incredible Hulk, NBC-TV's Sanford and Son, Seinfeld, Friends and The Odd Couple.

Burr died in Fort Myers, Florida of natural causes.

• How Do I Love Thee? (1970) as Mrs. Gromulka
• Frasier, The Sensuous Lion (1973) as Marvin's Mother
• Chinatown (1974) as Mulwray's Secretary
• The New, Original Wonder Woman (1975) as Saleslady
• Cover Girls (1977) as Seamstress #1
• Mary Jane Harper Cried Last Night (1977) as Nancy West
• Like Normal People (1979) as Mrs. Peterson
• The Star Chamber (1983) as Judge Alice McCardle (uncredited)
• Trabbi Goes to Hollywood (1991) as Mrs. Peugeot
• 3 Ninjas (1992) as Babysitter