Lynn Cartwright (born Doralyn E. Cartwright; February 27, 1927 – January 2, 2004) was an American

character actress A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to be ...

known for her performance as the older version of

Geena Davis Virginia Elizabeth "Geena" Davis (born January 21, 1956) is an American actor

' character, Dottie Hinson, in the 1992 film ''

A League of Their Own ''A League of Their Own'' is a 1992 American sports comedy-drama film directed by Penny Marshall that tells a fictionalized account of the real-life All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). The film stars Tom Hanks, Geena Dav ...

''.

Early years

Cartwright was born in

McAlester, Oklahoma McAlester is the county seat of Pittsburg County, Oklahoma, Pittsburg County, Oklahoma. The population was 18,363 at the time of the 2010 census, a 3.4 percent increase from 17,783 at the 2000 census,Shuller, Thurman"McAlester" profile ''Encyclop ...

, the daughter of

U.S. Congressman The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

Wilburn Cartwright Wilburn Cartwright (January 12, 1892 – March 14, 1979) was a lawyer, educator, U.S. Representative from Oklahoma, and United States Army officer in World War II. The town of Cartwright, Oklahoma is named after him. Early life Born on a fa ...

and his wife Carrie (née Staggs). She studied drama at

Stephens College Stephens College is a private women's college in Columbia, Missouri. It is the second-oldest women's educational establishment that is still a women's college in the United States. It was founded on August 24, 1833, as the Columbia Female Acade ...

and at American Academy in New York.

Career

Her acting career spanned from 1957 to 1992 and included smaller roles in films such as '' Black Patch'' (1957), ''

The Cry Baby Killer ''The Cry Baby Killer'' is a 1958 teen exploitation film produced by Roger Corman that marked Jack Nicholson's film debut. The film was out of print and difficult to find until 2006, when it was issued on DVD for the first time by Buena Vista Home ...

'' (1958), ''

The Wasp Woman ''The Wasp Woman'' (also known as ''The Bee Girl'' and ''Insect Woman'') is a 1959 American independent science-fiction horror film produced and directed by Roger Corman. Filmed in black-and-white, it stars Susan Cabot, Anthony Eisley, Mich ...

'' (1959), ''All the Loving Couples'' (1969), ''Son of Hitler'' (1978) and ''

Lovelines ''Lovelines'' is the posthumous thirteenth studio album by American music duo Carpenters, the second Carpenters album released after the death of Karen Carpenter. It was released in 1989 and is a compilation album assembled by Richard Carpenter ...

'' (1984). For 15 years, she was involved with the Group Repertory Theater in Los Angeles. Cartwright was chosen for the role in ''A League of Their Own'' not just because she closely resembled Geena Davis, but also because many of her mannerisms were similar.

Personal life

Cartwright was married to actor and screenwriter

Leo Gordon Leo Vincent Gordon (December 2, 1922 – December 26, 2000) was an American character actor and screenwriter. During more than 40 years in film and television he was most frequently cast as a supporting actor playing brutish bad guys but oc ...

from February 14, 1950, until his death on December 24, 2000. She had a daughter, Tara, and a stepdaughter.

Death

She died in her home from complications of

dementia Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...

on January 2, 2004, aged 76, after she fractured her hip. Her ashes and those of her husband are together in a memorial display in a

columbarium A columbarium (; pl. columbaria) is a structure for the reverential and usually public storage of funerary urns, holding cremated remains of the deceased. The term can also mean the nesting boxes of pigeons. The term comes from the Latin "'' colu ...

at the

Hollywood Forever Cemetery Hollywood Forever Cemetery is a full-service cemetery, funeral home, crematory, and cultural events center which regularly hosts community events such as live music and summer movie screenings. It is one of the oldest cemeteries in Los Angeles ...

in Los Angeles.

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cartwright, Lynn 1927 births 2004 deaths People from McAlester, Oklahoma American film actresses Actresses from Oklahoma Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery 20th-century American actresses Deaths from dementia in California 21st-century American women