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Marlene Warfield

Marlene Warfield
Born
Marlene Ronetta Warfield

(1941-06-19)June 19, 1941
New York City, U.S.
DiedApril 6, 2025(2025-04-06) (aged 83)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1957–2011
Spouse
William Horsey
​
​
(m. 1967; died 1993)​
Children1

Marlene Ronetta Warfield (June 19, 1941 – April 6, 2025) was an American actress who worked in theatre, film, and television.

Background

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Warfield was born in Queens, New York, on June 19, 1941, and brought up in Brooklyn.[1] She attended the High School of Performing Arts and began acting on stage as a teenager, in 1957.[1] She later attended the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music and the American Institute of Theatre and TV Arts.[1]

Career

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Warfield began her career in New York, working on stage and screen.[1] She moved to Los Angeles in the late 1970s.[1] She portrayed the underground revolutionary Laureen Hobbs in the 1976 film Network[2] and played Victoria Butterfield on the television sitcom Maude (1977–1978).[3] Warfield starred in the play Janie Jones at the New Theatre, London (opened July 15, 1968).[4]

She won the Clarence Derwent Award in 1969 for Outstanding Broadway Debut Performance and a Theatre World Award for the role of Clara in The Great White Hope, which she reprised in the 1970 film version.[5]

Personal life and death

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In 1967, Warfield married William Horsey (died 1993); they had a son.[1] She died of lung cancer at a Los Angeles hospital on April 6, 2025, at the age of 83.[1]

Filmography

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Film and television
Year Title Role Notes
1970 Joe Bellevue Nurse Feature film
1970 The Great White Hope Clara Feature film
1970 The Name of the Game Sdhari Episode: "The Time Is Now"
1971 Goodbye, Raggedy Ann Louise Walters Television film
1972 Cutter Susan Macklin Television film
1972 Madigan Clara Episode: "The Midtown Beat"
1972 Across 110th Street Mrs. Jackson Feature film
1973 Pomroy's People School Teacher Television pilot
1976 Network Laureen Hobbs Feature film
1977–1978 Maude Victoria Butterfield Main cast (8 episodes)
1978 Lou Grant Joanne Bartlett Episode: "Hero"
1979 The Jeffersons Mrs. Owens Episode: "Me and Mr. G"
1981 The Sophisticated Gents Lil Joplin Television miniseries
1981 Little House on the Prairie Mattie Ledoux Episode: "Dark Sage"
1983 Hill Street Blues Ada Baxter Episode: "Moon Over Uranus: The Sequel"
1984 Cagney & Lacey Detective #2 Episode: "Old Debts"
1986 Child's Cry Maxine Television film
1986 Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling Sonja Feature film
1989 Perry Mason: The Case of the Lethal Lesson Prosecutor Television film
1989 How I Got Into College Librarian Feature film
1990 Freddy's Nightmares Helen Woodman Episode: "A Family Affair"
1990 Equal Justice Judge Evelyn Kass Episode: "Sugar Blues"
1996 In the House Grandma Hill Episode: "The Max Who Came to Dinner"
1997 ER Babs Chenovert Episode: "Tribes"
1999 The West Wing Ruth Episode: "Pilot"
2000 So Weird Mrs. Clemens Episode: "Blues"
2001 Dead Last Woman Episode: "The Crawford Touch"
2002 The Shield Dottie Cummings Episode: "Dawg Days"
2003 Cold Case Samuela Robbins Episode: "The Runner"
2011 Aurora Borealis Mrs. Parker Short film

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g Barnes, Mike. "Marlene Warfield, Actress in 'Network' and 'The Great White Hope,' Dies at 83". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 26, 2025.
  2. ^ Anderson, George (December 16, 1976). "'Network' Dares Enough To Be The Very Best" (Review). Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 19. Retrieved on May 30, 2013.
  3. ^ "America's Cup Saluted with Music". St. Petersburg Times. September 12, 1977. p. 7D. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
  4. ^ Drew, Bernard (October 17, 1970). "'Great White Hope' Made into Good Movie". The Evening News. Vol. 10, no. 217. Newburgh, NY. Gannett News Service. p. 6. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
  5. ^ "Marlene Warfield Biography". TV Guide. Retrieved 2021-01-08.
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