Carlin Glynn

Carlin Elizabeth Glynn (February 19, 1940 – July 13, 2023) was an American actress and singer born in Cleveland, Ohio, who later attended Mirabeau B. Lamar High School in Houston, Texas. A life member of the Actors Studio, she built a career across theater and film that spanned several decades and earned her recognition as one of the notable stage performers of her generation.

Glynn's Broadway career ran from 1978 to 1982 and centered on her role as Mona Stangley in the original production of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. The musical comedy was adapted by her husband, Peter Masterson, a fellow Actors Studio member, in collaboration with Larry L. King — the author of the Playboy article on which the show was based — and songwriter Carol Hall. The production was developed through workshop performances at the Actors Studio before reaching Broadway. For her performance, Glynn received both a Theatre World Award in 1978 and the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical in 1979. She returned to the role in the 1982 Broadway revival of the production.

Her screen career began with a supporting role as Mae Barber in Three Days of the Condor (1975). She went on to appear in Resurrection (1980), Continental Divide (1981), and The Escape Artist (1982). In 1984, she appeared in John Hughes's Sixteen Candles as the mother of Molly Ringwald's character, and in 1985 she played the daughter-in-law to Geraldine Page's character in The Trip to Bountiful, directed by Peter Masterson and based on Horton Foote's play of the same name. Additional film credits include Gardens of Stone (1987), in which her husband and daughter also appeared, Blood Red (1989), Night Game (1989), Convicts (1991), Judy Berlin (1999), and Whiskey School (2005).

Glynn was the mother of actress Mary Stuart Masterson. She died on July 13, 2023, at her home in upstate New York at the age of 83, having been diagnosed with lung cancer and dementia.