Do you remember the movie “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest? This movie is a cult classic. Oscar winning actress Louise Fletcher, who played the cruel Nurse Ratched in “One Flew Over The Cuckoo”s Nest.” has died. She was 88. Her role in this iconic movie set the path for screen villains to follow.
The actress died in her sleep at her home in Montdurausse, France on Friday (September 23, 2022). Her family was with her. No cause of death was provided.
Louise Fletcher won an Academy Award for her portrayal of Nurse Ratched. You can see why in this clip:
After raising her children, Ms. Fletcher (in her early 40s), Fletcher was selected for this role of Nurse Ratched in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. She was a co-star with Jack Nicholson. This was considered being a “late-bloomer” in Hollywood.
“One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” became the first movie since 1934′s “It Happened One Night” to win best picture, best director, best actor, best actress and best screenplay. Holding her Oscar, Fletcher told the audience, “It looks as though you all hated me.”
Due to her age, she had trouble finding major roles in Hollywood. However, she continued to work for the rest of her life. Some of the movie and TV roles she held included roles in “Mama Dracula”, “Dead Kids, “ the “The Boy Who Could Fly,” “ER,” “Picket Fences,” “A Perfect Man,” “Shameless” and “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.”
Estelle Fletcher was born on July 22, 1934 in Birmingham Alabama. She had three siblings. Both of her parents were deaf. Reflecting on her early years, in 1982 she said, “It was like having parents who are immigrants who don’t speak your language.”
Their aunt helped the Fletcher children. She taught them reading, writing, and speaking. Also, they learned to sing and dance.
These latter studies persuaded Fletcher she wanted to act. After seeing the movie “Lady in the Dark” with Ginger Rogers she knew acting was her calling.
That and other movies, Fletcher said, taught her “your dream could become real life if you wanted it bad enough.”
“I knew from the movies,” she used to say, “that I wouldn’t have to stay in Birmingham and be like everyone else.”
[Image credit: Wikipedia]
