Elaine Stritch
Elaine Stritch was born on February 2, 1925, in Detroit, a city that formed the geographic starting point of her life as an American citizen. She pursued formal training at several institutions, including The New School, the Dramatic Workshop, the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, and HB Studio, building an educational foundation that prepared her for work across multiple performance disciplines.
As a stage actor and singer, Stritch earned a Drama League Award for her theater work, while her career also extended into film and television. Her notable television credits include the drama series Law & Order and the comedy series 30 Rock, and she received Primetime Emmy Awards across distinct categories: Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series, Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series, and Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program.
Her one-woman show Elaine Stritch at Liberty brought her the Primetime Emmy for Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program, demonstrating her capacity to carry a solo performance format. The Emmy recognition she received for 30 Rock as Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series made her one of the few performers to earn Emmy Awards across drama, comedy, and variety categories, reflecting the breadth of her work in the English language across American television.
Elaine Stritch died on July 17, 2014, in Birmingham. Her Drama League Award for stage work and her multiple Primetime Emmy Awards together mark the range of a career that moved between theater, television, and solo performance over many decades.
Quotes by Elaine Stritch
Elaine Stritch's insights on:
I love holidays in New York. I love 'em. I want to celebrate something all the time, and New York has holidays for every day of the week, practically. I like holidays in New York City.
I think taking care of yourself, health-wise, in every way, is a 100 percent winner.
I think I have more humour in me than anger. But those two things are great bed-fellows, performance-wise.
I loved being on Broadway, but performing has become exhausting, and I just don't want to live in New York anymore. I'm just sick of the competition in New York, the feeling that I always have to rehearse to keep up my performance. I don't feel like rehearsing, even though it should be my favorite thing in the world to do.
I love New York. I went to New York to become an actress, and I did it. And I won all the awards known to man. And I'm happy. And I came home. I came, I saw, I conquered. And it feels great.
When the hospital sends for me, when the ambulance comes and I ease my way out of the world, I'd rather be in Detroit, Michigan, than Lenox Hill.
I like glasses so I can go out without my makeup. Just grab your coat and get your hat and go.