# Marcia Wallace

Marcia Karen Wallace (November 1, 1942 – October 25, 2013) was an American actress and comedian, primarily known for her roles on sitcoms. She is best known for her roles as receptionist Carol Kester on the 1970s sitcom The Bob Newhart Show, Mrs. Carruthers on Full House, and as the voice of elementary school teacher Edna Krabappel on the animated series The Simpsons, for which she won an Emmy in 1992. The character was retired after her death but sporadically appears through archive recording.
Wallace was known for her tall frame, red hair, and distinctive laugh. She had a career spanning five decades on TV, film, and stage. She was a frequent guest on The Merv Griffin Show, which led to her receiving a personal request to appear on The Bob Newhart Show in a role created especially for her. Diagnosed with breast cancer in 1985, she became a cancer activist, and remained so throughout her life.

## Early life

Wallace was born in Creston, Iowa, on November 1, 1942, the eldest of three children of Arthur "Poke" Wallace and wife Joann. Her father owned and operated Wallace Sundries, a general merchandise store in the typical small rural country Iowa town, where Marcia, her sister Sharon, and brother Jim would often help. While Wallace was in the local high school, a teacher encouraged her to consider a career in acting after she did well in a school play. Following her 1960 graduation from Creston High School, Wallace attended nearby Parsons College in Fairfield, Iowa, which had offered her a full scholarship. She was a member of the Delta Nu chapter of Delta Zeta sorority. At Parsons, she majored in English and Theater, graduating in 1964, and performing in several campus productions, including Brigadoon and The Music Man.

## Career

On the day she graduated from college at Parsons, Wallace moved from Iowa to New York with $148 in her pocket. To make ends meet, she typed scripts, performed in summer stock local theatre, did commercials, and worked as a substitute English teacher in The Bronx in the late 1960s. After performing for a year in a New York City / Greenwich Village nightclub, Wallace and four fellow entertainer friends formed an improvisational group called The Fourth Wall. In 1968, Wallace appeared for a year off-Broadway with the group. Afterwards, she made several other appearances in improvisational shows, and, after losing 100 pounds (45 kg) from her previous weight of 230, appeared in a nude production of Dark of the Moon at the avant-garde Mercer Arts Center in Greenwich Village (now known as The Kitchen - a performing arts institution relocated to the West Village area of Manhattan).
Wallace was a semiregular on The Merv Griffin Show long-running syndicated daytime talk / variety show, appearing over 75 times. When the show moved its production from New York to Los Angeles, Wallace moved with it at Griffin's request. One of these appearances in March 1972 led to a phone call from TV producer Grant Tinker (husband of comedic actress and fellow producer Mary Tyler Moore), who offered her a supporting role on their new The Bob Newhart Show on the recommendation of CBS-TV founder and longtime chairman William S. ("Bill") Paley. The role of "Carol Kester" (later "Carol Kester Bondurant"), the sarcastic and eccentric office receptionist to "Dr. Robert Hartley", Bob Newhart's central character, was written specifically for her. Newhart and Wallace later reprised their roles from The Bob Newhart Show to guest roles on "Anything but Cured", an episode of Murphy Brown (starring Candice Bergen).
When The Bob Newhart Show ended its six-season run in 1978, Wallace began three decades of television appearances on various game shows, including Match Game; Hollywood Squares; Password Plus and Super Password; Celebrity Whew!; Crosswits; Hot Potato; Body Language; The $25,000 Pyramid; Double Talk; Win, Lose or Draw; Tattletales; To Tell the Truth; and Acting Crazy. She was also on special celebrity episodes of the Ray Combs version of Family Feud and the Jim Perry version of Card Sharks. In April 2008, she appeared on the interactive show GSN Live on the cable TV channel Game Show Network (GSN).
Other brief television roles include: as Darrin's secretary in "Laugh, Clown, Laugh", a Bewitched episode in 1971; two appearances on The Brady Bunch (once as Marcia's teacher in "Getting Davy Jones" and once as the woman who sells Jan a mod wig in "Will the Real Jan Brady Please Stand Up?"); as school principal Mrs. Lyman in two episodes of ALF; and as Mrs. Carruthers in a few episodes of Full House. Wallace also had guest appearances on programs Charles in Charge; Murder, She Wrote; Magnum, P.I.; Columbo; and A Different World. On one of the last episodes of Taxi, she portrayed herself, chosen as the ideal date of Rev. Jim Ignatowski. Later, Wallace played the maid on the satirical series That's My Bush!, and, in 2009, appeared on the daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless, playing Annie Wilkes, an inefficient assistant kidnapper.
After The Simpsons animated series started in 1989, Wallace joined the voice acting cast as the voice of Edna Krabappel, whom she played until her death in 2013. In 1992, she received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance for the episode "Bart the Lover" on The Simpsons.
On film, Wallace appeared in such features as My Mom's a Werewolf, Teen Witch, and Ghoulies III: Ghoulies Go to College. In the 2008 film Tru Loved, she played a high school drama teacher who sponsors a gay–straight alliance.
Wallace's work onstage included An Almost Perfect Person in Los Angeles which she also produced; a tour of the female version of Neil Simon's The Odd Couple; Same Time, Next Year; Twigs; It Had to Be You; Supporting Cast; Prisoner of Second Avenue; and Plaza Suite. Wallace made her musical stage debut in the August 1983 California Musical Theatre's Sacramento Music Circus production of Gypsy: A Musical Fable in Sacramento. She returned the following season in the musical Promises, Promises. Other stage productions included Born Yesterday; You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown; Steel Magnolias; and Last of the Red Hot Lovers, in which she played all three female roles at various times. She performed in The Vagina Monologues production in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and San Diego. In 2013, shortly before her death, she voiced the character of the librarian in Monsters University, and in 2014 (posthumously) she portrayed herself in the movie Muffin Top: A Love Story.

## Personal life

Wallace married hotelier Dennis Hawley on May 18, 1986, in a Buddhist ceremony. The couple adopted an infant son, Michael Wallace "Mikey" Hawley. Dennis died from pancreatic cancer in June 1992.
Before her marriage, Wallace was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1985, after which she became an activist and lecturer on the subject. On January 27, 2007, Wallace won the Gilda Radner Courage Award. It was annually given by the longtime nationally prominent institution in the medical fight against the disease of cancer, the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo, New York. It was given to her six years before her death for helping educate Americans about the importance of early cancer detection and inspiring others through her 20 years as a breast cancer survivor.
Wallace was a member of Delta Zeta sorority from her college years at Parsons College in Iowa, and was named the "Delta Zeta 2010 Woman of the Year" at their 2010 Biennial National Convention in Tucson, Arizona. Her autobiography, titled Don't Look Back, We're Not Going That Way, was published in 2004. Besides describing her film and TV career, the book importantly recounts the early detection of her breast cancer, the early loss of her husband Dennis, her nervous breakdown, her single motherhood, and other personal experiences such as a private history of bulimia. She credited the title of the book to her father, who used the phrase often during her childhood.
She was noted on a list of "Famous Iowans" by her important state capital daily newspaper, the Des Moines Register, in November 2013.

## Illness, death and funeral

Wallace died from pneumonia and sepsis on October 25, 2013, at age 70. Breast cancer was also listed as a significant condition on her death certificate. Wallace was cremated following a private funeral service.
Staff on The Simpsons had reportedly been aware of her ill health. Showrunner Al Jean said, "I was tremendously saddened to learn this morning of the passing of the brilliant and gracious Marcia Wallace." Yeardley Smith, who voices Lisa Simpson, tweeted, "Heaven is now a much funnier place b/c of you, Marcia." Former co-star Bob Newhart commented on his Facebook fan page, "Marcia's death came as quite a shock, she left us too early. She was a talented actress and dear friend[.]" Al Jean said that producers planned to retire her "irreplaceable" character Edna Krabappel. The Simpsons episode "Four Regrettings and a Funeral" was shown on November 3, 2013, and dedicated to her. Wallace had recorded lines for several upcoming episodes, and her final episode, "The Man Who Grew Too Much", aired on March 9, 2014. In February 2021, it was announced that archival recordings of Marcia Wallace's voice that she provided as Edna Krabappel would be making a final appearance on The Simpsons. The character is mentioned in a chalkboard gag and shown in flashback scenes in the show's 696th episode, entitled "Diary Queen". In an interview with Variety regarding the announcement, Al Jean remarked, "We never got the chance to give sort of a proper goodbye to her in the show, and this is a small attempt to do that."

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1980 | Pray TV | Alice Kidd | |
| 1989 | Teen Witch | Ms. Edith Malloy | |
| 1989 | My Mom's a Werewolf | Peggy | |
| 1990 | Ghoulies III: Ghoulies Go to College | Miss Boggs | Video |
| 1998 | The Christmas Path | Mrs. Claus | |
| 2001 | You Never Know | | Short |
| 2004 | Forever for Now | Ellie | |
| 2007 | The Simpsons Movie | Mrs. Edna Krabappel | (voice, scenes deleted) |
| 2007 | Big Stan | Alma | |
| 2008 | Tru Loved | Mrs. Lewis | |
| 2013 | Monsters University | Additional Voices (voice) | |
| 2014 | Muffin Top: A Love Story | Marcia Wallace | Released posthumously in November 2014 |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1967 | The Invaders | Courtroom Spectator (uncredited) | Season 2 Episode 6: "The Trial" |
| 1971 | Bewitched | Betty | Season 7 Episode 27: "Laugh, Clown, Laugh" |
| 1971 | The Brady Bunch | Saleswoman / Mrs. Robbins | 2 episodes |
| 1972 | Columbo | Woman / Woman in Inquest (uncredited) | 2 episodes |
| 1972 | Love, American Style | Bertha | Season 3 Episode 16: "segment: Love and the Topless Policy" |
| 1972–1978 | The Bob Newhart Show | Carol Kester Bondurant | Series regular |
| 1978 | Insight | Augusta | Season 1 Episode 417: "Second Chorus" |
| 1978 | The Love Boat | Mrs. O'Roarke | Season 1 Episode 23: "Musical Cabins" |
| 1978 | Flying High | Connie Martin | Season 1 Episode 0: "Flying High" |
| 1979 | The Castaways on Gilligan's Island | Myra Elliott | TV Movie |
| 1979 | Fantasy Island | Martha Meeks | Season 3 Episode 13: "The Inventor/On the Other Side" |
| 1980 | Gridlock | Boom Boom Shavelson | TV Movie |
| 1980 | Characters | Leila Flynn | TV Movie |
| 1980 | CHiPs | Marcia Wallace (uncredited) | Season 4 Episode 6: "The Great 5K Star Race and Boulder Wrap Party: Part 2" |
| 1981 | Magnum, P.I. | Barbara Terranova | Season 1 Episode 18: "Beauty Knows No Pain" |
| 1982 | Taxi | Marcia Wallace | Season 5 Episode 1: "Love Un-American Style" |
| 1983 | Gimme a Break! | Hilda | Season 2 Episode 20: "Glenlawn Street Blues" |
| 1984 | Finder of Lost Loves | Daisy and Cary's Friend | Season 1 Episode 1: "Maxwell Ltd: Finder of Lost Loves Pilot" |
| 1985 | Down to Earth | Grace | Season 4 Episode 17: "The Bag Lady" |
| 1986 | Murder, She Wrote | Polly Barth | Season 3 Episode 5: "Corned Beef and Carnage" |
| 1987 | ALF | Mrs. Lyman | 2 episodes |
| 1988 | Night Court | Miss Phillips | Season 5 Episode 16: "Another Day in the Life" |
| 1988 | Mathnet | Mrs. Wynn | Season 2 Episode 4: "The View from the Rear Terrace" |
| 1988 | Small Wonder | Miss Cratchit | Season 4 Episode 12: "Tag, You're It" |
| 1989–1990 | Charles in Charge | Dodo | 2 episodes |
| 1990 | What a Dummy | | Season 1 Episode 10: "The Substitute" |
| 1990–2014 | The Simpsons | Edna Krabappel / Various | Series regular |
| 1991 | The Munsters Today | Dr. Susan Evans | Season 3 Episode 22: "Diary of a Mad Munsterwife" |
| 1991–1992 | Darkwing Duck | Clovis / Mrs. Cavanaugh (voice) / Didi Lovelost (voice) | 4 episodes |
| 1992 | Hearts Are Wild | Agnes Biederbeck | Season 1 Episode 8: "Coming Home" |
| 1992 | Raw Toonage | Female Tourist (voice) | Season 1 Episode 8: "Dogzapoppin'/The Hairy Ape/A Fear of Kites" |
| 1992 | A Different World | Waitress | Season 6 Episode 13: "White Christmas" |
| 1992 | Camp Candy | (voice) | Season 3 Episode 6: "When It Rains... It Snows" |
| 1992–1993 | The Addams Family | Mrs. Blossom (voice) | 21 episodes |
| 1993 | Batman: The Animated Series | 'Dark Interlude' Actress (voice) | Season 2 Episode 3: "Mudslide" |
| 1993 | Captain Planet and the Planeteers | Mrs. Wheeler (voice) | Season 4 Episode 10: "Talkin' Trash" |
| 1993–1995 | Full House | Mrs. Carruthers | 4 episodes |
| 1994 | Aladdin | Oopa (voice) | Season 2 Episode 37: "The Game" |
| 1994–1998 | Murphy Brown | Carol - Secretary #66 / Molly | 2 episodes |
| 1995 | Kirk | Lamerle | Season 1 Episode 7: "The Crush" |
| 1996 | The Bold and the Beautiful | Librarian | Episode 2386: "Episode #1.2386" |
| 1997 | Teen Angel | Angela | Season 1 Episode 1: "Marty Buys the Farm" |
| 1997 | George and Leo | Marcia | Season 1 Episode 8: "The Cameo Episode" |
| 1998 | I Am Weasel | Woman - Old Woman (voice) | Season 3 Episode 9: "Driver's Sped" |
| 1998 | Cow and Chicken | Woman - Old Woman (voice) | Season 3 Episode 9: "The Day I Was Born/Factory Follies/I.M. Weasel: Driver's Sped" |
| 1998 | The Angry Beavers | Mrs. Beaver (voice) | Season 2 Episode 11: "If You Insisters/Alley Oops!" |
| 1999 | Maggie | Head Nurse | Season 1 Episode 22: "Uh-Oh Baby" |
| 2001 | That's My Bush! | Maggie Hawley | 8 episodes |
| 2002 | Providence | Glenda | Season 4 Episode 21: "Smoke and Mirrors" |
| 2002 | Rugrats | Mrs. Rapple (voice) | Season 9 Episode 9: "They Came from the Backyard/Lil's Phil of Trash" |
| 2003 | 7th Heaven | Nurse | 3 episodes |
| 2004 | Triple Play | Waitress | TV Short |
| 2009 | The Young and the Restless | Annie Wilkes | 14 episodes (Recurring role) |
| 2010 | Vampire Mob | Virginia Jones (2010) | |

### Video games

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1997 | The Simpsons: Virtual Springfield | Edna Krabappel (voice) | (uncredited) |
| 2001 | The Simpsons: Road Rage | Edna Krabappel (voice) | |
| 2007 | The Simpsons Game | Edna Krabappel (voice) | |

### Music videos

| Year | Title | Role |
| 1990 | Bart Simpson: Do the Bartman | Edna Krabappel (voice) |