Louise Fletcher, Oscar-winning American film star, dies aged 88
Louise Fletcher, the Oscar-winning American actor who starred in iconic productions like ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, passed away at the age of 88.
Born in Alabama, Fletcher started her career in the domain of television with shows such as Lawman and Maverick because she found it easier to get parts in westerns. The actor once said: “I was 5 feet 10 inches tall, and no television producer thought a tall woman could be sexually attractive to anybody. I was able to get jobs on westerns because the actors were even taller than I was.”
Eventually, she graduated to film roles and collaborated with acclaimed filmmakers such as Robert Altman and Miloš Forman. Fletcher’s work with the latter led to the most iconic, Oscar-winning performance of her career in the celebrated psychological drama One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest where she starred alongside Jack Nicholson.
While talking about Fletcher’s approach to the role, Forman noted: “She was all wrong for the [Ratched] role, but there was something about her. I asked her to read with me, and suddenly, beneath the velvety exterior, I discovered a toughness and willpower that seemed tailored for the role.”
“I made the choice to stop working, but I didn’t see it as a choice,” she said of her hiatus from acting in 2004, “I felt compelled to stay at home.” According to the reports, the actor passed away in her sleep, surrounded by her family members, in her house in Montdurausse.
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