Alice Nunn

Alice Elizabeth Nunn (October 10, 1927 – July 1, 1988) was an American actress born in Jacksonville, Florida, to N.G. Nunn and Alice Bush. She trained at Wesleyan University and took classes with the American Theater Wing, and her early career included radio work before she transitioned to stage performance.

Nunn's Broadway career spanned from 1956 to 1964 and encompassed five productions. Her stage credits began with New Faces of 1943 and the musical Copper and Brass, followed by Oh Captain!, A Family Affair, and Little Me. During her theatrical work she performed alongside Shelley Berman and Nancy Walker, and her early stage experience included a school production of My Sister Eileen.

Her television work was extensive, encompassing more than 50 films and series over a 31-year career. She appeared in multiple episodes of Petticoat Junction, including "Shoplifter at the Shady Rest" (1967) as Mrs. Benson, "Mae's Helping Hand" (1968), "The Other Woman" (1969) as Mrs. Birdwell, and "Kathy Joe's First Birthday Party" (1969) as a character identified as "Lady with wallet." She also had appearances on Ironside and The Wild Wild West. In the sitcom Camp Runamuck, Nunn played Mahala May Gruenecker, the head counselor of Camp Divine and chief opponent of Commander Wivenhoe, played by Arch Johnson. She was also a regular cast member of the Tony Orlando and Dawn variety show.

Her film career began with Johnny Got His Gun (1971), in which she played a nurse. Subsequent film roles included the "Fat Lady" in Mame (1974), a part in Airport 1975, Mrs. Callahan in Brian De Palma's The Fury (1978), Duffy the Cook in Delusion (1980) alongside Patricia Pearcy and Joseph Cotten, and the maid Helga in Mommie Dearest (1981).

Nunn is most widely remembered for portraying Large Marge, the ghost of a truck driver, in Tim Burton's Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985). The role earned her a cult following, and the scene ranks fifth on the IFC list of the 25 scariest moments in non-horror film history. Her subsequent credits included Mrs. Sylvia Cavell in Trick or Treat (1986), an appearance in Who's That Girl (1987) with Madonna, and the role of Nurse Palmer in Three O'Clock High (1987), which was her final screen performance.

Nunn died on July 1, 1988, of a heart attack at her apartment in West Hollywood, California, at the age of 60.