Rose Gregorio, Tony Nominee for ‘The Shadow Box’ and Actress on ‘ER,’ Dies at 97

Rose Gregorio, who received a Tony nomination for her performance as the embittered daughter of Geraldine Fitzgerald’s decaying old woman in the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama The Shadow Box, has passed away. She was 97.

Gregorio died of natural causes at her Greenwich Village home on August 17, her cousin Robert Grosbard said The Hollywood Reporter.

Gregorio was married to Belgian-born stage and film director Ulu Grosbard from 1965 until his death in 2012, and she appeared before him as the ex-wife of Dustin Hoffman’s character in Who is Harry Kellerman and why does he say those horrible things about me? (1971); as a local lady True confessions (1981); and as the mother of Treat Williams’ character The deep end of the ocean (1999).

On television, she had a recurring role on NBC’s ER as the mother of nurse Carol Hathaway (Julianna Margulies) from 1996-99.

Gregorio also received a Drama Desk nomination and a Clarence Derwent Award in 1977 for her portrayal of Agnes in Michael Cristofer’s The Shadow Box, winner of the Tony for best game. In his review for The New York TimesClive Barnes noted her “eyes dimly lit by the pain of the rejected and the martyrdom of the brave.”

The family drama also starred Mandy Patinkin and Laurence Luckinbill.

Born in Chicago on October 17, 1925, to Italian immigrants, Gregorio attended Steinmetz High School in her hometown, the School of Speech at Northwestern and the School of Drama at Yale University, where she earned a master’s degree and Grosbard for met for the first time.

She moved to New York and in the early 1960s appeared in TV shows such as Naked city, East side/west side And Route 66 and played the title character opposite Robert Duvall in the off-Broadway drama The days and nights of Beebee Fenstermakerdirected by Grosbard.

On Broadway, Gregorio served as a standby for Diana Sands in the original 1964-65 production The Owl and the Kittenas an understudy in 1966 The research (also directed by Grosbard) and again as a standby in 1967 Daphne in Cottage D.

She performed alongside Raul Julia, Rip Torn and Conrad Bain The Cuban thingwhich closed on opening night in 1968, went on to collaborate with Hoffman and Cleavon Little Jimmy Shinewhich lasted four months until April 1969.

Also in 1968, she made her film debut as an irritated woman at a public swimming pool in Frank Perry’s The swimmerstarring Burt Lancaster.

Including Gregorio’s resume on the big screen Desperate characters (1971), Mr. Ricco (1975), Eyes of Laura Mars (1978), Five corners (1987), John Sayles’ City of hope (1991), Tarantella (1995), Maze (2000) and Good time (2017).

She had a regular appearance on the NBC soap opera The doctors in 1972 and appeared in episodes of The Bob Newhart Show, The Rookies, Maria Hartman, Maria Hartman, The Rockford Files, Falcon Crest, Doogie Howser, MD, She wrote murder And The exercise.

She returned to Broadway as Beatrice in a revival of A view from the bridge in 1983 and as Helga in the original production of M. Butterfly in 1988.

She and Grosbard had no children. Her survivors include another nephew, John, and a niece, Lisa.