Anne Ramsey

Biography

American character actress Anne Ramsey was quite busy in the 1980s despite being in her later years. She hadn't pursued an acting career in motion pictures until late in her life. Ramsey was born Anne Mobley in Omaha, Nebraska to Eleanor (Smith), a national treasurer of the Girl Scouts, and Nathan Mobley, an insurance executive. Her uncle was U.S. Ambassador David S. Smith. She attended Bennington College and was active in numerous on- and off-Broadway productions. After she married actor Logan Ramsey, the couple formed Philadelphia's Theatre of the Living Arts. In the early 1970s she began her lengthy film career. In 1971 she starred opposite her husband in The Sporting Club (1971), then settled into bit parts. Eventually she was noticed for her trademark brusque, gruff womanly roles, after which she received more film offers, notably Goin' South (1978), Any Which Way You Can (1980), The Goonies (1985), and Deadly Friend (1986). Unfortunately, in the mid-1980s she discovered she was suffering from throat cancer and was forced to have parts of both her tongue and jawbone removed. Showing no sign that her cancer was slowing her down, she received an Academy Award nomination in 1987 for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Danny DeVito's mean mother in the film Throw Momma from the Train (1987). She continued to work until just months before her death in 1988.