Marion Ross

Born Marian Ross (with an "a") on October 25, 1928, she grew up in her native state and, at one time, worked as a teenage au pair in order to earn money for drama lessons at the MacPhail Center in Minneapolis. The family eventually relocated to San Diego (she was in her late teens) and Marion attended and graduated from Point Loma High School. Changing her stage moniker to Marion (with an "o") Ross because it read classier to her, the young hopeful enrolled at San Diego University and appeared in the theater department's various productions.

Ross's family had moved to San Diego, California, in 1945, at age 17, because her father was working in the Navy at the Panama Canal, at the end of the World War II. This was after her family had sold everything, from their house in Albert Lea, Minnesota.

She graduated from Point Loma High School, in San Diego, California, in 1946, at age 17.

Graduating in 1950, Marion worked in summer theater in and around the San Diego area, including the Old Globe Theatre.

At the same time, she won a regular role as the Irish maid "Nora" in the Victorian-TV comedy Life with Father (1953) which ran a couple of seasons and was headed by Leon Ames and Lurene Tuttle. This program happened to be the first live color series for network Hollywood TV.

Marion managed to land a Paramount Studio contract with the assist of an old college professor and found a few unbilled parts to play as various actress, tourist and girlfriend types in a variety of films such as The Glenn Miller Story (1954), Secret of the Incas (1954), Sabrina (1954) and Pushover (1954).

Not your conventional leading lady type, Marion landed slightly larger parts in such movies as The Proud and Profane (1956), Lizzie (1957), Teacher's Pet (1958) and Operation Petticoat (1959), but any and all attempts to move further up the Hollywood film ladder proved a long-lasting frustration.

Marking her Broadway debut in 1958 with a role in "Edwin Booth" starring José Ferrer, Marion nevertheless continued to focus on TV work.

Throughout the 1960s, she appeared in a fairly steady amount of shows, both comedies and dramas, including Father Knows Best (1954), Rawhide (1959), Route 66 (1960), The Outer Limits (1963), The Felony Squad (1966) and The Brady Bunch (1969). By the end of the decade, however, Marion was still disillusioned, but now she was divorced from her husband of 18 years, Freeman Meskimen, and struggling to raise two children.

She has played the same character (Marion Cunningham) in four different series: Love, American Style (1969), Happy Days (1974), Joanie Loves Chachi (1982) and Family Guy (1999).

Other films over the years have included Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970); Grand Theft Auto (1977), which starred Happy Days (1974) son Ron Howard (who also made his directorial debut); and, more recently, Music Within (2007) and the silly spoof Superhero (2008). During her post-"Happy Days" years, Marion reinvigorated her career on the stage. As a result, she earned renewed acclaim and respect for her roles in "Arsenic and Old Lace" (which brought her back to Broadway), "Steel Magnolias", "Long Day's Journey Into Night", "The Glass Menagerie", "Pippin" and "Barefoot in the Park", among others. She also toured with her one-woman show as poet Edna St. Vincent Millay entitled "A Lovely Light".

In 1972, Marion was hired to play Marion Cunningham in an episode of the comedy series Love, American Style (1969) called "Love and the Happy Days". On the show, she was the mother of a teenager named Richie (played by Ron Howard) and the wife of Howard Cunningham (played by Harold Gould. Two years later, when the segment was developed into a television series called Happy Days (1974), Marion was invited back to play her part and so was Howard, while Gould was replaced by Tom Bosley.

The lovely, cheery, continuously upbeat All-American mom from the classic Happy Days (1974) TV sitcom had fervent desires of becoming an actress while growing up in her obscure Minnesota town.

Middle-aged stardom came to her (in her 46th year) with the nostalgic sitcom series Happy Days (1974), which arrived on a wave of 50s popularity triggered by the huge box-office reception to the film American Graffiti (1973). The show starred "Graffiti" lead Ron Howard and co-starred Henry Winkler as "The Fonz". Marion was ideally paired with Tom Bosley, who expertly played her beleaguered hubby. The series became a certifiable hit and Marion's ever-pleasant "Marion Cunningham" the new, slightly blended version of Lucille Ball's ditzy and Barbara Billingsley's pristine perfect moms. Two Emmy nominations came Marion's way during the show's long tenure (ten seasons). Following the demise of such an exalting hit, many actors often find themselves either resting on their laurels or witnessing a sad decline in their career. Not Marion. She continued to pursue her career assertively and challengingly and the critics kept taking notice.

She earned terrific reviews for her recurring The Love Boat (1977) role in 1986, and enjoyed standard guest turns on Night Court (1984), MacGyver (1985), Burke's Law (1963) and (the revived) "Superman".

She appeared on Broadway in 1987 with Jean Stapleton in a revival of "Arsenic and Old Lace".

One of Marion's finest hours on TV occurred with her role as the obstinate, iron-willed Jewish matriarch in the Brooklyn Bridge (1991) series, which neatly deflected any broad, daffy stereotype she might have incurred from her Happy Days (1974) role. Irritating yet ingratiating at the same time, Marion's fine interpretation garnered the veteran actress two more Emmy nominations. Sadly, a lack of viewership triggered an abrupt cancellation and deep disappointment in Marion.

Guest starred on the last 2 episodes of Touched by an Angel (1994).

Her brother and youngest sibling, Gordon Ross, passed away on August 16, 1995. He was 65.

While never making a strong dent in films, an excellent supporting turn for Marion came in the form of her moving portrayal of Shirley MacLaine's loyal housekeeper and confidante in The Evening Star (1996), the long-awaited sequel to the Oscar-winning Terms of Endearment (1983). Critics predicted an Academy Award nomination for the actress but, surprisingly, it did not pan out.

On TV, Marion found recurring flinty-like roles on That '70s Show (1998) (as Grandma Forman), Touched by an Angel (1994) (a fifth Emmy nomination), The Drew Carey Show (1995), Gilmore Girls (2000) (as Gloria Gilmore), and Brothers & Sisters (2006), as well as guest parts on "Nurse Jackie," "Grey's Anatomy," "Anger Management," "Two and a Half Men," "Hot in Cleveland," "Chasing Life" and "The Odd Couple.

" Primarily involved in voice work into the millennium, she as provided voices for such animated shows as "Family Guy," "King of the Hill," "Scooby-Doo!" and "Guardians of the Galaxy," while also voicing the recurring roles of Grandma SquarePants in Spongebob Squarepants (1999) and Mrs.

Her daughter Ellen Kreamer won an Emmy in 2002, for Outstanding Comedy Series, the show was Friends (1994). Ellen was asked to get both name plaques, especially the one for Ross.

Lopart in Handy Manny (2006).

Raised in Albert Lea, Minnesota, the Albert Lea Civic Theatre was renamed the Marion Ross Performing Arts Center on June 7, 2008 in honor of the veteran actress. Her life partner Paul Michael sang "The Impossible Dream" during the dedication ceremony and Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty signed a proclamation declaring June 7th "Marion Ross Day".

Before she was a successful actress, she used to work for the family, that summer in order to take care of the children, while taking drama lessons at the MacPhail Center for Music. Ross was in the 10th grade, this was before she would attend Southwest High School in Minneapolis, Minnesota, later.

In 2018, she officially announced her retirement from acting.