Elizabeth Kerr (August 15, 1912 – January 13, 2000) played the part of Cora Hudson, Mindy's Grandmother and Fred's mother in law in Mork and Mindy.
Biography[]
Kerr was born in Kansas City, Missouri, the daughter of John and Anna Kerr. She attended Northwestern University and the University of Kansas, where she did her first and for a long time, only, theatrical production. As a girl, she dreamed of being an actress, but family responsibilities prevented her from doing so until she was a grandmother. [1]
Married in 1935 she and her husband had two sons. After she married, she wrote reviews of books and plays for the newspaper that she and her husband owned. She also read book reviews at meetings of women's clubs, which she said helped to prepare her for acting. Back on the East coast in the 1950s she started to land roles on Broadway.
After her husband passed away in 1970, she left for England expecting only to stay a few months but instead toured the continent for 3 years before returning home to help with a family illness on the West Coast that rectified itself. Having busied herself during the 40s and 50s with amateur productions, her family and friends encouraged her to seek out an agent, which she did, and to her surprise from 1974 on began to get parts in lots of shows, TV Movies and Movies Leading up to her stint as Cora on Mork & Mindy. [2]
Career[]
Stage[]
Kerr's acting career began at the Pasadena Playhouse. She was selected for a role there, after her first audition, and in two years she became a professional.
Along with acting Elizabeth Kerr also produced plays. She founded the Glendale Civic Theater in 1947 and launched the Resident Theater in North Hollywood in 1952, directing there too.
Kerr's Broadway debut came in Angel in the Pawnshop (1951). Her other Broadway credits included The Conquering Hero (1961), Redhead (1959), and The Righteous Are Bold (1955). She also made national tours of a similar number of plays, besides performing in regional theatrical productions.
TV & Film[]
She got her first on screen credit in 1947 in the Movie Messenger of Peace. Then appearing, often uncredited, in Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948) Six Bridges to Cross (1955) The Love God (1969), Dogs (1976), Matilda (1978), The One Man Jury (1978) Spree (1979) Why Would I Lie? (1980) Going Berserk (1983)
Her first TV credit came in 1954s TV Movie The St. Cloud Storm. 20 years after she appeared in another TV Movie 1974's Hitchhike! Other TV Movies included, Mother and Daughter: The Loving War (1980), Dennis the Menace in Mayday for Mother (1981), Pleasures (1986), and Something in Common (1986)
From around 1974 she began showing up in TV Series in earnest, starting with The Walton's (1974), Police Woman (1974) Police Story (1974) Adam-12 (1973 -1974), The Bob Crane Show (1975), The Bob Newhart Show (1975-1977), Emergency! (1976), Holmes and Yoyo (1976) The Six Million Dollar Man (1977), The Betty White Show (1977), Carter Country (1977), Szysznyk (1977-1978), Rhoda (1978) Hizzonner (1979) The White Shadow (1980) House Calls (1981) One Day at a Time (1981) The Dukes of Hazard ( (1981), Gimme a Break! (1982), St. Elsewhere (1983), Trauma Center (1983), AfterMASH (1983 - 84), Double Trouble (1984), Punky Brewster (1984), Highway to Heaven (1984), The Facts of Life (1984) Mr. Belvedere (1988)
The movie Frankie & Johnny (1991) was her last screen credit.
Mork & Mindy[]
Elizabeth appeared in 32 Episodes across all 4 Seasons
- Pilot
- Mork Moves In
- Mork Runs Away
- Mork in Love
- Mork's Seduction
- Mork Goes Public
- To Tell the Truth
- Mork the Gullible
- A Mommy for Morky
- Mork's Greatest Hits
- Old Fears
- Mork's First Christmas
- Mork and the Immigrant
- Mork the Tolerant (credit only)
- Young Love
- Skyflakes Keep Falling on My Head
- Mork Goes Erk
- Yes Sir, That's My Baby
- Mork's Mixed Emotions
- Mork's Night Out
- In Mork We Trust
- Mork Runs Down
- It's a Wonderful Mork
- Mork's Best Friend (credit only)
- Old Muggable Mork
- Limited Engagement
- The Wedding
- The Honeymoon
- Long Before We Met
- Rich Mork, Poor Mork
- I Don't Remember Mama
- The Mork Report
Behind The Scenes[]
Robin[]
The story about Robin Williams goosing Elizabeth Kerr with his stick while playing her 'beau' Bill Hohner in the episode Old Fears, is quite legendary among fans of the show, as is the fact that he could get away with it, while, as Howard Storm said, anyone else would've felt the full force of the anger of the crew who were quite protective of Elizabeth Kerr, and would've hauled off and punched that other person.
But as with Pam Dawber, his behavior was simply playful with the intention of making the person laugh, and indeed Elizabeth Kerr's quiet chuckle and 'Oh Robin' was what it was elicited. By all reports they enjoyed a mutual respect, wherein Robin Williams used to call her 'Miss Elizabeth' during their first season together, and she proclaimed herself 'flabbergasted' by his talent, and thought him a 'wonderful person'.[2]
"Robin had the least ego of any actor I've ever worked with. He never threw his weight around. Oh he might turn the earth blue with a choice word, but he'd always say, 'Sorry, Mom'." "He had so much energy, so creative. I think the network never appreciated what he did."[1]
The Show[]
"The magic and innocence of the show originally had were the things any family could relate to. What father would want his daughter to come home with somebody like Mork?! But then you become charmed by him."
"(The program) had a great philosophy. People did not fight on Ork. The Orkan's may not have understood what love was, either, but they were kind. That might have been corny, but people loved it."[1]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30804184/elizabeth-kerr/ "Elizabeth Kerr: The Stage Was Her School", 'The L.A. Times by Hilliard Harper. The Los Angeles Times. California, Los Angeles. p. Part II 7 Retrieved May, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30807252/elizabeth-kerr/ "Even Mork Respects Elizabeth Kerr", 'The Newark Advocate. Ohio, Newark. Copley News Service. August 4, 1979. p. 13. Retrieved April 21, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
