Annie star Lois de Banzie dies aged 90

Lois de Banzie, best known for playing First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt in the 1982 film version of Annie, has died aged 90.

Her death was announced this week in the San Francisco Chronicle, with family confirming the star, born in Glasgow, died April 3 in California.

No cause of death was given.

A star of both stage and screen, de Banzie starred in films Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult, Tootsie, Sudden Impact, Sister Act, and Addams Family Values as well as 80s TV classics Who’s the Boss? and Cheers.

She played the First Lady of the United States in the iconic film adaptation of Annie, based on the 1977 Broadway musical of the same name. The film starred Albert Finney, Carol Burnett and Tim Curry, with Aileen Quinn as the titular orphan.

As well as film, de Banzie was known for her stage roles, with her most notable performance as fiancée Myrtle Brown in Mornings at Seven, for which she received a Drama Desk Award and a Tony Award nomination in 1980.

The revival ran for 564 performances on Broadway through August 1981 and also starred Maureen O’Sullivan, Teresa Wright, Nancy Marchand and Elizabeth Wilson.

De Banzie – whose aunt was noted British actress Brenda de Banzie – also starred on Broadway in the long-running 1978-80 comedy Da alongside Bernard Hughes, as well as 1972-73’s The Last of Mrs. Lincoln.

Her family wrote in her obituary: ‘Lois was proud to have made a career as an actress on stage, screen, and television.

‘Her wit and humor will be much missed.’

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