Actress Colleen Dewhurst (1926-1991) is best remembered for her seminal characterizations in the plays of Eugene O'Neill, which highlighted a career on stage, screen, and television that spanned forty years and earned her two Tony awards and four Emmys. Writing about her Broadway triumph as Josie Hogan in A Moon for the Misbegotten (1973), critic Clive Barnes said she spoke O'Neill as if it were being spoken for the first time–and not for the first time in a theater … but for the first time in a certain New England farm, on a certain September night in 1923. Though known for her portrayals of tragic heroines, Dewhurst also played comic roles and played Murphy Brown’s mother for three seasons in that television series. At her death, she left an indelible mark in American theater, but, curiously, little written commentary beyond reviews and journalistic articles.

This study documents her diverse performance and directing careers, with information also on her personal life and her participation in political and philanthropic causes, including two terms as president of Actors’ Equity. An extensive productions section provides data on her major and minor roles in all media, including credits, runs, synopses, and review citations. This is supplemented by an annotated bibliography of major reviews and other writings, a list of awards, a biographical study, and a chronology of her life and career, all carefully cross-referenced and indexed. This book adds to the growing number of studies that organize essential resources on performance for effective research use.