Patience Mather Cleveland (May 23, 1931 – May 27, 2004) was an American film and television actress.

Patience Cleveland
Publicity Photo of Patience Cleveland
Born
Patience Mather Cleveland

(1931-05-23)May 23, 1931
New York City, U.S.
DiedMay 27, 2004(2004-05-27) (aged 73)
Occupation(s)Actress, writer, diarist
RelativesJames Colgate Cleveland (brother)

Biography

edit

Cleveland was born in New York City, the youngest of six siblings, to an old established New Hampshire family, where she was raised. Her older brother was James Colgate Cleveland. Her parents were Dr. Mather Cleveland, M.D., and his wife, Susan Colgate Cleveland. Her father authored New Hampshire and the Civil War and The Orthopedic Service at St. Luke's Hospital, New York City, 1859–1968. Her family has longstanding ties to Colby-Sawyer College, where the family papers, including her own, are archived.[1][2]

A children's book that she wrote, The Lion Is Busy, was published in 1963.[3] She made appearances in many television shows, including Seinfeld, Everybody Loves Raymond, That's Life, The Drew Carey Show, Angel, ER, along with voice acting in other shows such as Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, as well as many television commercials. She acted in several feature films, including playing the reclusive Roberta Sparrow, also known as "Grandma Death", in the 2001 cult film Donnie Darko.

Cleveland married French-born American character actor Peter Hobbs on October 24, 1965, in Los Angeles, California. The union was apparently childless and ended in divorce in 1968.[4]

Cleveland died from cancer in Santa Monica, California, four days after her 73rd birthday.[citation needed]

Partial filmography

edit
Year Title Role Notes
1967 Fitzwilly Dolly n/a
1978 Rabbit Test First Dancing Lady n/a
1983 Lies Aunt Louise n/a
1986 Psycho III Sister Margaret n/a
1986 The Whoopee Boys Wedding Guest n/a
1989 Nowhere to Run Grandma Franklin n/a
2000 Get Your Stuff Lillian n/a
2001 Donnie Darko Roberta Sparrow / Grandma Death n/a
2002 Taking the Wheel The Mother n/a

References

edit
  1. ^ "Patience Cleveland archives at Colby-Sawyer College". Archived from the original on 2016-08-09. Retrieved 2012-08-07.
  2. ^ Cleveland's diaries ("A Day in the Life")
  3. ^ Cleveland, Patience (1963). The Lion Is Busy. New York: Atlantis Books. OCLC 003906665.
  4. ^ California, Marriage Index, 1960-1985 [available online at ancestry.com]. Provo, UT, US: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007. Original data: State of California. California Marriage Index, 1960-1985. Microfiche. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California.
edit