Irma St. Paule
Irma St. Paule (March 23, 1926 – January 9, 2007) was a Ukrainian-born American character actress who appeared on stage, screen and television from 1985 to 2007. Often portraying elderly characters, she appeared in productions on Broadway and Off-Broadway, and in regional theatre productions across the United States during her career. Biography. Early life. Irma St. Paule was born on March 23, 1926 in Odessa in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. Her mother was from Russia and her father came from Turkey. At an early age, St. Paule and her family moved to New York City . She later moved to Chicago after she was married. There, St Paule enrolled at the Goodman School of Drama (now the Theatre School at DePaul University) to study as a ballerina. After she and her husband were granted a divorce, she returned to New York City and later said of her relocation to an interviewer, "By then, my family was mostly gone so I was able to do as I wished. And I did!". Career to death. Later in life, St. Paule began a career in acting, appearing in several films and television shows from 1985, often playing grandmothers of  Italian descent. Films in which she was credited in during the 1980s were "The Oracle" (1985), "Walls of Glass" (1985), "Psychos in Love" (1987) and "Rain" (1989). St. Paule made her debut in a television film by being cast in "The Bride in Black" in 1990, and portrayed Ya Ya Andros on the NBC soap opera "Guiding Light" from 1992 to 1994. In the meantime, she was cast in three films in 1993: St. Paule played Teresa in "The Cemetery Club", "Household Saints", and "The Saint of Fort Washington". She later was seen in "Who Do I Gotta Kill ?" (1994), "Party Girl", Mother Theresa in "Jeffrey," and "12 Monkeys" (the final three films were released in 1995). In 1995, St. Paule made her sole appearance on Broadway, portraying The Strega in a revival of "The Rose Tattoo". The following year, she was cast in the films "Caught", "Love is All There Is", "Trees Lounge", "The Big Bajoor," and "Thinner". For the remainder of the 1990s, St. Paule was in "Better Than Ever" (1997), "Kiss Me, Guido" (1997), Grandma Matilda in "Desecration" (1999), "Coming Soon" (1999), and "Fever" (1999). Throughout 2000 she appeared in the films "Wirey Spindell", "Things You  Can Tell Just by Looking at Her", "Where the Money Is", "Fast Food Fast Women", "Fear of Fiction", and "A Piece of Eden". St. Paule continued her acting career in 2001 to 2004, when she was cast in "Cat Lady" (2001), "Queenie in Love" (2001), "Errors, Freaks and Oddities" (2002), "Found Money" (2003), "Jersey Girl" (2004), "Second Best" (2004), and "The Amazing Floydini" (2004). Later career roles in films featuring St. Paule included "Homecoming" (2005), "Duane Hopwood" (2005), "Bittersweet Place" (2005), "Life on the Edge" (2005), Mrs. Leeds in "Satan's Playground" (2005), "9A" (2006), "The Last Request" (2006), "In  The Blood" (2006), and "Made in Brooklyn" (2006). Her final show on stage was in an Off-Broadway revival of "All the Way Home" in late 2006, in which had a non-speaking role as an elderly secluded woman residing at a rustic, rural home. St. Paule's performance was praised by the press. Earlier, she also had other Off-Broadway credits, such as the 1995 Classic Stage Company's production of "Endgame" in the part of Nell, she portrayed Maria Josefa in "Another Part of the Forest", "Owners", and the 2003 environmental theatre event "The Angel Project". St. Paule 's regional theatre credits include portraying the role of the ailing aunt in "Vigil" at Geva Theatre Center, "1933" at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, "Enchanted April" at the Hartford Stage, "Griller" at Goodman Theatre, and "The Dybbuk" at Pittsburgh Public Theater. Her other roles in television were episodes of "Kate & Allie", "Sex and the City", "", "", "Third Watch", "Wonderland", "Chapelle's Show", "", and "Law & Order". St. Paule died in New York City on January 9, 2007. At the time of her death, colleagues believed her to be the oldest working actress on New York City's Broadway stage