Lucille Benson | |
---|---|
Born |
Scottsboro, Alabama, U.S. |
July 17, 1914
Died | February 17, 1984 Scottsboro, Alabama, U.S. |
(aged 69)
Cause of death | Cancer |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1952–1983 |
Lucille Benson (July 17, 1914 – February 17, 1984) was an American actress known for her roles in commercials, television, and movies in the 1970s and 1980s.
Born in Scottsboro, Alabama, on July 17, 1914, Benson was adopted by her aunt, Mrs. John Benson, after her mother died of tuberculosis. She was valedictorian and president of her Jackson County High School class at Jackson County High School. She attended Huntingdon College, in Montgomery, and later attended Northwestern's School of Drama, in Evanston, Illinois. After a short career as a teacher, she went to New York in the 1930s.
Her career started in New York in the 1930s. She appeared on Broadway in several plays including, The Doughgirls, The Day Before Spring, Happy Birthday, As The Girls Go, Hotel Paradiso, Period of Adjustment and Walking Happy. She performed at the Coconut Grove Playhouse, in Miami, appearing in the Tennessee Williams play, Orpheus Descending.
Benson's break in motion pictures occurred while performing with Donald O'Connor in the play Little Me during a three-month run in Las Vegas. She said, "While I was in Las Vegas, a former agent in Hollywood called to ask me to come up Hollywood to tryout for a Paramount film. I went to Hollywood, tried out and was cast for the part in which I played opposite Robert Redford in Little Fauss and Big Halsy."