Sada Thompson

Sada Carolyn Thompson (September 27, 1927 – May 4, 2011) was an American actress whose career spanned stage, film, and television across more than five decades. Born in Des Moines, Iowa, to Hugh Woodruff Thompson and Corlyss (née Gibson) Thompson, she grew up in Fanwood, New Jersey, after her family relocated there during her early childhood. She graduated from Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School in 1945 and went on to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre from the Carnegie Institute of Technology, now Carnegie Mellon University. Her early professional training took place at the Pittsburgh Playhouse, where she appeared in numerous productions, and she subsequently built experience in regional theatre through plays including The Seagull, Pygmalion, Our Town, Arms and the Man, and Blithe Spirit.

Thompson made her Off-Broadway debut in a 1955 production of Under Milk Wood, and the following year she appeared on television in a Goodyear Television Playhouse production. Her Broadway debut came in 1959 with the musical Juno, launching a stage career that would continue through 1993. Her Broadway credits include Any Given Day, Emily, Johnny No-Trump, Saturday Sunday Monday, Happy Days, Tartuffe, The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds, and Twigs. Her stage work earned her an Obie Award, two Sarah Siddons Awards for outstanding performances in Chicago theatre, and election to the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2005. Among her most significant theatrical honors were a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play in 1972 for Twigs and Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Performance in both 1970 and 1972.

Following her success in Twigs, Thompson was cast as neighbor Irene Lorenzo on All in the Family, but after taping her first episode she was replaced by Betty Garrett due to creative differences with producer Norman Lear over the character's interpretation. She was subsequently cast as family matriarch Kate Lawrence on the television drama Family, which ran from 1976 to 1980. Her portrayal earned her the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 1978, along with three Golden Globe nominations for Best Actress in a Television Series Drama. She received nine Emmy nominations in total, among them a nomination for her portrayal of Carla's mother on Cheers. Her additional television work included Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law, The Love Boat, Father Dowling Mysteries, Andre's Mother, Indictment: The McMartin Trial, ER, and Law & Order. Her feature film credits included The Pursuit of Happiness, Desperate Characters, and Pollock.

Thompson married Donald E. Stewart on December 18, 1949, and remained married to him until her death. The couple lived in Southbury, Connecticut, and their daughter, Liza Stewart, is a costume designer. Thompson died on May 4, 2011, in Danbury, Connecticut, of lung disease at the age of 83.