Diana Mae Sowle ( Laumer; June 19, 1930 – October 19, 2018) was an American actress. She was best known for her role as Charlie Bucket's mother in the 1971 film ''
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
''Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory'' is a 1971 American musical fantasy film directed by Mel Stuart and starring Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka. It is an adaptation of the 1964 novel ''Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'' by Roald Dahl. The film ...
''.
Early life
Born as Diana Mae Laumer in
Chico, California
Chico ( ; Spanish for "little") is the most populous city in Butte County, California. Located in the Sacramento Valley region of Northern California, the city had a population of 101,475 in the 2020 census, reflecting an increase from 86,18 ...
, she was one of five siblings. She attended
Chico High School, and appeared in school plays, where she became interested in drama. She graduated in 1949, and attended the
University of Denver
The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univ ...
, after which she appeared in the play "
The Drunkard". She did voice-over for American plays and appeared in theater in Germany.
Career
Film roles
Diana is best known for playing
Mrs. Bucket, Charlie Bucket's mother, in the 1971 film ''
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
''Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory'' is a 1971 American musical fantasy film directed by Mel Stuart and starring Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka. It is an adaptation of the 1964 novel '' Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'' by Roald Dahl. The fi ...
'' and her performance of "Cheer Up Charlie" in that film, although her singing voice was dubbed by Diana Lee. Sowle joined the cast in Germany, where it was filmed.
Apart from ''Chocolate Factory'', her only other screen roles were cameos in ''
Clear and Present Danger
''Clear and Present Danger'' is a political thriller novel, written by Tom Clancy and published on August 17, 1989. A sequel to '' The Cardinal of the Kremlin'' (1988), main character Jack Ryan becomes acting Deputy Director of Intelligence in ...
'' and ''
Guarding Tess
''Guarding Tess'' is a 1994 American comedy-drama film starring Shirley MacLaine and Nicolas Cage, directed by Hugh Wilson. MacLaine plays a fictional former First Lady protected by an entourage of Secret Service agents led by one she continua ...
'', both in 1994.
Video game
Sowle also gave voice to "Agatha" and other characters in the 2008 video game ''
Fallout 3
''Fallout 3'' is a 2008 action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. The third major installment in the ''Fallout'' series, it is the first game to be developed by Bethesda after acquiring ...
''.
Theatre
She frequently performed in the long-running play ''
Shear Madness
''Shear Madness'' is an interactive whodunit play, and is one of the longest-running nonmusical plays in the world.[Love Letters
A love letter is an expression of love in written form. However delivered, the letter may be anything from a short and simple message of love to a lengthy explanation and description of feelings.
History
One of the oldest references to a l ...](_blank)
'', opposite actor
Larry Storch
Lawrence Samuel Storch (January 8, 1923 – July 8, 2022) was an American actor and comedian best known for his comic television roles, including voice-over work for cartoon shows such as Mr. Whoopee on ''Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales'' and hi ...
in
Farmville, Virginia, to benefit the Tom Mix Rangers.
Personal life
Sowle lived in Germany for about 20 years starting in 1960 and had other homes, including one in Maryland (in the
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, area). She was a mother of two and grandmother of four. Her husband Bill Sowle worked for the
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
and died in 2013. She ran a free tutoring program for underprivileged children in Washington D.C. for almost a quarter-century.
Death
Sowle died of natural causes on October 19, 2018. She was 88 years old.
Filmography
Film
Television
Video games
References
External links
*
Arlington National Cemetery
1930 births
2018 deaths
People from Chico, California
American film actresses
American stage actresses
20th-century American actresses
21st-century American actresses
Actresses from California
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