Anne Bancroft, R.I.P.

R.I.P., Anne Bancroft. She died of uterine cancer today at the age of 73.

The death of the woman who was Mrs. Robinson on screen (and Mrs. Mel Brooks in real life) is truly a milestone date. She was only 35 when she portrayed the iconic older woman in The Graduate, a movie I've seen maybe 75 times.

The New York Times obit notes that The Graduate was Bancroft's most famous -- but hardly only notable -- performance.

"Ms. Bancroft worked hard to get beneath the surface, to inhabit a role as deeply as possible. While rehearsing for 'The Miracle Worker,' she put tape over her eyes to better understand what it was like to be blind like Helen Keller, learned sign language and spent time at a home for the visually impaired. Preparing for 'Golda,' she traveled to Israel and got to know and observe Prime Minister Meir. She was more interested in performance than theory, although she was a member of the Actors Studio early in her career. The actor Rod Steiger once gave her a copy of Stanislavsky's writings on acting. 'I still have it,' she said some years later, 'but I've never read it.' "

Here's to you, Mrs. Bancroft, Jesus loves you more than you will know.

Woe-oh-oh-oh.