Denise Nickerson
Denise Marie Nickerson (April 1, 1957 – July 10, 2019) was an American actress. At the age of 13 she starred as Violet Beauregarde in the 1971 film "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory". She later played Allison on "The Electric Company", and had recurring roles as Amy Jennings, Nora Collins, and Amy Collins in the soap opera "Dark Shadows". She retired from acting in 1978 and later worked as a receptionist and office manager. Early life. Nickerson was born on April 1, 1957, in New York City, to Flo, a clerical worker, and Fred Nickerson, a mail carrier. The  family, along with older sister Carol and her son, moved to Miami. Nickerson, at the age of two, appeared in a television commercial for a Florida heating company. At the age of four she was discovered at a fashion show by Broadway Theatre producer Zev Buffman of drama school the Neighborhood Playhouse. Theatre. In 1962, when she was five, she was in a play of "Peter Pan" as Wendy's daughter starring Betsy Palmer at Miami's Coconut Grove Playhouse. Buffman selected Nickerson to go on the road with the play, first to Washington, D.C. When Denise was nine, the  play ended. Her parents moved Carol and Nickerson back to New York City at 56th and Lexington in a studio apartment while they (and Shane, Carol's son), stayed with her grandmother in Massachusetts. Film and television. Nickerson made appearances in the 1960s on such shows as "The Doctors" as Kate Harris, opposite Bill Bixby in an unsold television pilot called "Rome Sweet Rome" and on "The New Phil Silvers Show". Nickerson's big break came in 1968 when she joined the cast of ABC Daytime's "Dark Shadows", appearing as recurring characters Amy Jennings, Nora Collins, and Amy Collins  from 1968 to 1970. Upon leaving "Dark Shadows", she appeared in the 1971 television movie "The Neon Ceiling". In 1971, Nickerson, aged 13, was cast as the nymphet Lolita in the ill-fated musical, "Lolita, My Love" during its run in Boston, which closed on the road. That year, she debuted in her signature role as gum-chewing Violet Beauregarde in the film "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory", based on Roald Dahl's novel "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". From 1972 to 1973, Nickerson joined the cast of "The Electric Company" as "Allison", a member of the Short Circus music  group. Producers saw the potential in her fresh face and had her sing lead on several songs, including "The Sweet Sweet Sway." She guest starred as Pamela, (one two dates Peter Brady had on one night), in a final-season episode of "The Brady Bunch" entitled "Two Petes in a Pod." She auditioned for the role of Regan MacNeil in "The Exorcist", losing to Linda Blair. Also in 1974, Nickerson was in the unsold television pilot "If I Love You, Am I Trapped Forever?" as Sophie Pennington based on M. E. Kerr's novel of the same name with Teddy  Eccles. TV series. Nickerson created the role of Liza Walton on the CBS Daytime soap opera, "Search for Tomorrow". She remained with the series until producers decided to age the character and make her one of the show's romantic heroines. Later films and TV. In 1973, Nickerson starred in the TV movie "The Man Who Could Talk to Kids", opposite Peter Boyle and Scott Jacoby. In 1975 she appeared in the satiric, beauty-pageant inspired motion picture "Smile", as Miss San Diego's Shirley Tolstoy also starring a young Melanie Griffith and Annette O'Toole. Nickerson appeared in the 1978  film "Zero to Sixty" opposite Darren McGavin and Sylvia Miles, and TV film "Child of Glass". Post-acting career. After turning 21 in 1978, Nickerson quit acting and subsequently discovered that her parents had squandered her prior savings from her television and film career. Nickerson began nursing school, but ultimately worked as a receptionist and later as an office manager/accountant in a doctor's office. Nickerson was a longtime attendee at fan conventions for both "Willy Wonka" and "Dark Shadows". In 2001, Nickerson appeared in the documentary "Pure Imagination: The Story of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" directed  by J.M. Kenny. In later years, Nickerson appeared on television sporadically, including an appearance on an episode of the 2000–2002 version of "To Tell the Truth", in which three of the four celebrity panelists correctly identified her as Violet, though a majority of the studio audience did not. In 2003, Nickerson and some of her "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" castmates appeared on an episode of the British television documentary series, "After They Were Famous", also directed by J. M. Kenny. In 2011, some of "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" key cast members, which included Nickerson, reunited for an episode  of "", which challenged the contestants to create an edible world of wonder. The partial "Wonka" cast reunited again in 2015 on the "Today show". Personal life. Nickerson was hit by a car in 1976 while crossing the street and left in a full leg cast for eight months. She was married twice. Her first marriage was to Rick Keller in 1981; he died two years later of a brain aneurysm. Her second marriage was to Mark Willard in 1995; they had one son, Joshua Nickerson, before divorcing in 1998. Illness and death. In June 2018, Nickerson suffered a severe stroke  and was hospitalized in intensive care. She was discharged to a rehabilitation center the following month. In August, she went home to live under her family's care. In September 2018, Julie Dawn Cole and Paris Themmen from "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" visited Nickerson after she was discharged from a rehabilitation center. On July 8, 2019, Nickerson took an overdose of prescription medicines while her son and daughter-in-law were out. Her son took her to a hospital in respiratory distress. While in intensive care, she developed pneumonia. She suffered a massive seizure the following day and slipped  into a coma. She had a do not resuscitate order in place, and on July 10, her family removed her from life support. She died later that day from pneumonia.