Phyllis Somerville

Phyllis Jeanne Somerville (December 12, 1943 – July 16, 2020) was an American actress who worked across stage, film, and television over a career spanning more than four decades. Born in Iowa City, Iowa, to Lefa Mary (née Pash) and the Reverend Paul Somerville, she grew up moving between towns as her father preached at different churches before the family settled in Cresco, Iowa, where her mother worked as a librarian. In high school, Somerville participated in cheerleading, drama, and music, playing clarinet in the All-State band. She had three brothers: Paul, Stephen, and Bruce.

Somerville attended Morningside College before transferring to the University of Northern Iowa, where she studied theatre and earned a degree in English in 1966. During her college years she appeared in productions including The Visit, Electra, and Macbeth, and her first paid performing work came at Buckskin Joe amusement park during a summer break. She subsequently pursued graduate training in classical roles at the Hilberry Theatre through Wayne State University in Detroit, where she played parts such as Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream, and later became a resident equity actress at the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C.

Somerville made her Broadway debut in 1974, originating the role of Wilma in the musical Over Here!, which received a Tony Award nomination for Best Musical. She returned to Broadway in 1978 in the play Once in a Lifetime, and in 1983 served as understudy to Kathy Bates in the Broadway production of Marsha Norman's 'night, Mother, subsequently touring in the role opposite Mercedes McCambridge. The following year, she originated the role of Glory in Norman's Traveler in the Dark at the American Repertory Theater. Decades later, Somerville appeared in the 2018 Broadway production of To Kill a Mockingbird, marking the final Broadway credit of her career.

Her off-Broadway work was equally substantial. In 1975 she played the Witch in The Journey of Snow White, and in 1990 she originated the role of Joyce in The Sum of Us by David Stevens. In 2001 she created the role of Hannah in the musical The Spitfire Grill, a character portrayed in the 1996 film by Ellen Burstyn. She performed in the musical Happiness at Lincoln Center Theatre in 2009, appeared in an experimental all-female production of I Remember Mama in 2014 alongside Rita Gardner, Heather MacRae, and Barbara Barrie, and worked extensively in regional theatre, including numerous productions with the Hartford Stage Company. She was also a member of the LAByrinth Theater Company.

On screen, Somerville became recognized for her work in the film Little Children (2006) and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008), as well as the feature Surviving Family (2012). Her television credits included the series The Big C, in which she appeared from 2010 to 2013, and Outsiders, in which she appeared from 2016 to 2017. Somerville died on July 16, 2020, in New York City, at the age of 76, of natural causes.