Fritzi Burr

Fritzi Burr (May 31, 1924 – January 17, 2003) was an American character actress born Freda Berr in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Pauline Berr (née Devore) and David Berr, both of whom were Russian Jews whose families originated from the city of Berdichev. Her father's original surname, Berdichevsky, was itself derived from that city's name before being shortened to Berr. Following her parents' divorce, Burr was raised by her mother and maternal grandparents, Harry and Rose Devore. Her mother later remarried Benjamin Steinberg and had two additional daughters, Shirley and Thelma. Steinberg eventually adopted Freda, making her legal name Freda Steinberg, though she retained a modified form of her birth name as her professional stage name. In the late 1930s, the family relocated from Philadelphia to Newark, New Jersey, placing Burr in close proximity to the New York theater world during her formative years.

Burr began her performing career in small theaters and in comedy skits alongside the vaudeville team Smith and Dale. By the late 1950s she had transitioned to Broadway, where she appeared in productions spanning from 1960 to 1983. Her Broadway credits include I Can Get It for You Wholesale, the show in which Barbra Streisand first gained widespread national attention. Burr later joined the cast of Funny Girl, replacing Kaye Medford in the role of the mother of Fanny Brice, a character played by Streisand. Additional Broadway credits include The Family, Once Upon a Mattress, and a role as Sylvia Goldman in The Family Way in 1965. Outside of Broadway, Burr performed in touring productions of Fiddler on the Roof, in which she played both Yente and Golde, Tevye's wife, at different points during the run.

After relocating to Hollywood, Burr established herself as a working character actress in both film and television. Her film appearances include How Do I Love Thee? (1970), Chinatown (1974), The New, Original Wonder Woman (1975), Mary Jane Harper Cried Last Night (1977), and 3 Ninjas (1992). On television, she became particularly recognized for recurring roles, including Miss Collins, a high school teacher she portrayed across seven episodes of the sitcom What's Happening!!, and a series of comedic foil characters she played in ten episodes of Sanford and Son. She was the sister-in-law of Saul Turteltaub, who produced both of those series. Burr also appeared in six different roles across six episodes of The Rockford Files, as well as in episodes of Starsky and Hutch, Quincy M.E., The Golden Girls, The Incredible Hulk, Seinfeld, Friends, and The Nanny, among many other television programs.

Burr was married to Aaron Heyman until his death in 1995. She died on January 17, 2003, in Fort Myers, Florida, of natural causes at the age of 78.