Patience Cleveland

Patience Mather Cleveland (May 23, 1931 – May 27, 2004) was an American actress whose career spanned Broadway, film, and television. Born in New York City, she was the youngest of six children in a family with deep roots in New Hampshire, where she was raised. Her father, Dr. Mather Cleveland, authored New Hampshire and the Civil War and The Orthopedic Service at St. Luke's Hospital, New York City, 1859–1968. Her older brother was James Colgate Cleveland, and the family maintained longstanding ties to Colby-Sawyer College, where the family papers, including Cleveland's own, are held in the archives.

Cleveland's Broadway career took place between 1956 and 1957, during which she appeared in two productions of contrasting genres. She performed in the drama Look Homeward, Angel and the comedy The Apple Cart.

Beyond the stage, Cleveland built a substantial screen career. On television, she appeared in numerous series, among them Seinfeld, Everybody Loves Raymond, That's Life, The Drew Carey Show, Angel, and ER. She also contributed voice work to Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law and appeared in television commercials. In film, she took on several feature roles, most notably portraying the reclusive Roberta Sparrow, known as Grandma Death, in Donnie Darko. In 1963, she published a children's book titled The Lion Is Busy.

On October 24, 1965, Cleveland married French-born American character actor Peter Hobbs in Los Angeles. The marriage ended in divorce in 1968 and produced no children. Cleveland died of cancer in Santa Monica, California, on May 27, 2004, four days after her seventy-third birthday.