Claire Wilbur, also known as Catt Wilbur (June 8, 1933 – May 20, 2004) was an American actress of stage and screen as well as an Academy Award-winning producer of short films. Arguably, she is best known for her performance as the seductive, swinging housewife Elvira in the

Radley Metzger Radley Metzger (also known as Radley Henry Metzger, Radley H. Metzger and by the pseudonyms, "Jake Barnes", "Erich Farina" and "Henry Paris") (January 21, 1929 – March 31, 2017) was an American pioneering filmmaker and film distributor, most ...

film '' Score'' (1974). Wilbur was a member of the original

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

cast of ''Score'', which was later adapted into Metzger's film. She played Elvira for 23 performances from October 28 to November 15, 1970, at the Martinique Theatre in New York City, and was the sole performer to make the transition from the stage play to the film. After ''Score'', Wilbur appeared in the

sexploitation A sexploitation film (or sex-exploitation film) is a class of independently produced, low-budget feature film that is generally associated with the 1960s and early 1970s, and that serves largely as a vehicle for the exhibition of non-explicit s ...

film ''Teenage Hitchhikers''. According to newspaper articles published by Margaret Caldwell, Wilbur's longtime close friend, the actress only accepted the part in the film version of ''Score'' to make enough money to produce a documentary short written and directed by her friend Robin Lehman. Wilbur also co-produced Lehman's shorts '' The End of the Game'' (1975) and ''Nightlife'' (1976), earning an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

nomination for the latter and winning an Oscar for the former in 1976. In later years, she worked as a dedicated animal rights activist and wrote two unpublished books of verse about the

Maneki Neko The ''maneki-neko'' (招き猫, ) is a common Japanese figurine which is often believed to bring good luck to the owner. In modern times, they are usually made of ceramic or plastic. The figurine depicts a cat, traditionally a calico Japanese Bo ...

, a porcelain Japanese feline commonly known as "The Beckoning Cat": ''Maneki Neko: The Japanese Legend Of The Beckoning Cat'' and ''The Japanese Legend of the Cat and the Crone''. Wilbur was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2003 and died peacefully in her Upper East Side apartment in Manhattan on May 20, 2004.

References

External links

*
Score Off-Broadway database listing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilbur, Claire 1933 births 2004 deaths Deaths from lung cancer in New York (state) American film producers