I'm watching Special Delivery now and am just mesmerized by her beautiful and very expressive eyes.

She does indeed need a 'shout-out' - just watched her in "Special Delivery," an episode of Alfred Hitchcock presents - she reminded me of Jessica Tandy - would have been interesting to see those two together.
"In
my
case, self-absorption is
completely
justified."

Beatrice Straight was very good in Poltergeist(1982).

Was still a very sexy woman well into her 60's at least.

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Beatrice and Judy Dench had the shortest Oscar performances. As a matter of fact, I think Bea's acceptance speech lasted longer than her role. She went on and on In the copy I have her speech is severely shortened.
It is amazing that she only came into her own in films when she was in her early sixties (as we now know Bea 'shaved' 4 years off her age at some point. She gave her age as 58 when she did NETWORK. She felt she might not get the part if Sidney & Paddy knew she was a few years older than Bill Holden!). It is hard to believe that it took that long to be 'discovered'. But I say go back and look at her performances, however small. Her uncredited bit in THE NUN'S STORY, her work on 'Ben Casey', 'Naked City', and even a great episode of "Mission: Impossible" and you can't not see what a great talent Bea had. My one regret was never seeing her on stage. People who saw her on stage say she ranked with the greats (Kim Stanley, Geraldine Page). The Crucible was her finest hour.
I met Miss Straight (I called her Ms. once and she INSISTED she was MISS Straight in public; Mrs. Cookson in private) several times over the years and even got to work with her in her last film. What a joy! At a flea market, I found a Playbill from EVERYTHING IN THE GARDEN (Her last Broadway show. A flop) and I asked if she would sign. She laughed and told me a little about the ill-fated production.
Bea came from an old monied family (the Whitneys), she had a patrician air but was not a snob. She was a generous and intelligent woman who took joy and pleasure in her late blooming career. I gather from some mutual friends that Bea's last years were not that good health-wise (I certainly never thought DECEIVED would ber swan song. She seemed in remarkable health at the time). At any rate, she made an indelible mark and would probably be surprised that she is so fondly remembered by so many.
A final note: If you can, catch Bea in her Emmy nominated performane in THE DAIN CURSE. She's brilliant!

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I love Beatrice Straight, such a good character actress that never really got good roles in films with the exception of her excellent Oscar winning performance in Network and her role as the paranormal investigator in Poltergeist. But it was a shame that her other film work in such trash like Bloodline, Endless Love and The Formula never put her along some of the other great character actresses either. She really deserved better in her career, but whenever I see a film with her in it, I am pleased with her presence.