About Ann Wedgeworth
Ann Wedgeworth was a U.S. "character actress" best remembered for her roles as the horny older upstairs neighbor, Lana Shields, in THREE'S COMPANY, but remembered by some others as Hilda Henley in SWEET DREAMS, and Merleen Elldridge in EVENING SHADE. She also won the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play for her work in CHAPTER TWO, in 1978.
Born Elizabeth Ann Wedgeworth in the Godforsaken little podunk village of Abilene, TX (more power to her!), Ann somehow managed to graduate Highland Park High School in University Park, TX despite some very sketchy grades; while there, she was a high school classmate and childhood friend of Jayne Mansfield (!)--whom you've probably never heard of. Think Marilyn Monroe on steroids. She dropped her first name after graduating the University of Texas in 1957 and moved to New York City, both of which were considered important rites of passage during that time. After auditioning several times, she was finally admitted to the Actors Studio at a time when James Lipton was known to be out of town. (Yes, those two were known to cross swords many a time!)
"Ann Wedgeworth" made her Broadway debut in the play Make a Million in 1958, and later had many roles in both Broadway and off-Broadway productions, including PERIOD OF ADJUSTMENT, BLUES FOR MR. CHARLIE, THE LAST ANALYSIS, THE FIRST ANALYSIS, THE MIDDLE ANALYSIS, and THIEVES. In 1978, she got that precious Tony, as already mentioned.
It is a tribute, I think, to both Ann's acting ability and general hotness, that John Ritter went to THREE'S COMPANY's producers often, asking why his character was resisting her advances. In this, I think he had a far firmer grasp of his character's basics than they did. "Jack" was a well-known horn-dog, so I think he would certainly have seen the advances of a hot older woman such as Lana as nothing but a flattering turn-on; he was also constrained to live with two very luscious females he couldn't touch, so of course any outlet... well, never mind. I haven't seen it recorded how Ann herself felt about the situation, but one hopes she agreed with Mr. Ritter. And God knows Don Knotts certainly wasn't in the picture at that point. But I digress.
In any case, she added a certain spice to the show, as did all the ridiculously overheated femmes who made plays for Jack over the years, and I was truly sorry to hear she left us, even at the age of 83. Ave atque vale, Ann. You will continue to be missed.
