Editing Imogene Coca

{{short description|American comic actress (1908–2001)}}
{{Infobox person
| name         = Imogene Coca
| image        = Imogene Coca.jpg
| caption      = Coca in 1952
| birth_name   = Emogeane Coca
| birth_date   = {{birth date|1908|11|18}}
| birth_place  = [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]], U.S.
| death_date   = {{death date and age|2001|06|02|1908|11|18}}
| death_place  = [[Westport, Connecticut]], U.S.
| occupation   = Actress
| years_active = 1925–1996
| spouse       = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Robert Burton|1935|1955|end=died}}
* {{marriage|[[King Donovan]]|1960|1987|end=died}}
}}
}}

'''Imogene Coca''' (born '''Emogeane Coca'''; November 18, 1908 – June 2, 2001) was an American comic actress best known for her role opposite [[Sid Caesar]] on ''[[Your Show of Shows]]''. Starting out in [[vaudeville]] as a child acrobat, she studied ballet and pursued a serious career in music and dance, graduating to decades of stage musical revues, cabaret, and summer stock. In her 40s, she began a celebrated career as a comedian on television, starring in six series and guest-starring on successful television programs from the 1940s to the 1990s.

She was nominated for five [[Emmy Award]]s for ''Your Show of Shows'', winning Best Actress in 1951 and singled out for a [[Peabody Award]] for excellence in broadcasting in 1953. Coca was also nominated for a [[Tony Award]] in 1978 for ''[[On the Twentieth Century]]'' and received a sixth Emmy nomination at the age of 80 for an episode of ''[[Moonlighting (TV series)|Moonlighting]]''.<ref name="imdbprofile"/>

She possessed a "rubbery" face capable of the broadest expressions — ''[[Life magazine|Life]]'' magazine compared her to [[Beatrice Lillie]] and [[Charlie Chaplin]] and described her characterizations as taking "people or situations suspended in their own precarious balance between dignity and absurdity, and push(ing) them over the cliff with one single, pointed gesture". The magazine noted a "particularly high-brow critic" as observing "The trouble with most comedians who try to do satire is that they are essentially brash, noisy, and indelicate people who have to use a sledge hammer to smash a butterfly. Miss Coca, on the other hand, is the timid woman who, when aroused, can beat a tiger to death with a feather."<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Havemann|first1=Ernest|title=Girl with a Rubber Face|journal=Life Magazine|volume=30|issue=6|pages=53+|date=February 5, 1951}}</ref> Aside from vaudeville, cabaret, film, theater, and television, she voiced children's [[cartoons]] and was even featured in the 1984 [[MTV]] music video "Bag Lady" by the band [[EBN-OZN]], ultimately working well into her 80s.  In a 1999 interview, [[Robert Ozn]] said that during the shoot, she was required to sit on the sidewalk in snow for hours during a blizzard with 15-degree (F) temperatures. "While the rest of us 20-somethings were moaning about the weather, warming ourselves by a heater, this little 75-year-old lady never once complained — put us all to shame. She was the most professional artist I've ever worked with."<ref>80s Music with Dawn Marie, 1999</ref>

==Early life==
Born Emogeane Coca{{cn|date=October 2023}} in [[Philadelphia]] in 1908 of Spanish descent, the only child of Joseph F. Coca Jr. (the family surname was originally Fernández y Coca), a violinist and vaudeville orchestra conductor, and Sarah "Sadie" Brady, a dancer and magician's assistant,<ref name="biodata">{{cite web|url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3433800030.html|title=Coca, Imogene: 1908–2001: Actress|author=Savitz, Ruth|publisher=Encyclopedia.com|year=2003|access-date=2013-03-03}}</ref> she took lessons in piano, dance, and voice as a child and while still a teenager moved from Philadelphia to New York City to become a dancer. In 1925, still aged 16, she landed her first job in the chorus of the Broadway musical ''When You Smile''. She became a headliner in Manhattan nightclubs with music arranged by her first husband, Bob Burton.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Thurber |first1=Jon |title=Imogene Coca; Emmy-Winning Comic Actress |url=https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-imogene-coca-20010603-20160601-snap-story.html |access-date=28 May 2021 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=2011-06-03}}</ref>

She gained prominence when she combined music with comedy; her first critical success was in ''New Faces of 1934''. A well-received part of her act was a comic striptease, during which Coca made sultry faces and gestures but would manage to remove only one glove. She committed this routine to film in the [[Educational Pictures]] comedy short ''The Bashful Ballerina'' (1937). She received excellent notices for her Educational short ''Dime a Dance.'' In a review headlined "Swell Comic Scores," ''Film Daily'' wrote: "A real comedienne who will wow the cash customers with her zany antics, Imogene Coca is in a class all by herself, and her style of comedy does not suggest that of any other funster on the screen."<ref>''Film Daily'', December 23, 1937, p. 7.</ref> Three other newcomers to films — [[Danny Kaye]], [[June Allyson]], and [[Barry Sullivan (American actor)|Barry Sullivan]] — were featured in the short, filmed at Educational's New York studio.

==Television==
Imogene Coca was one of network television's first comics. She starred in an early [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] series, ''Buzzy Wuzzy'', which lasted four episodes in 1948.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0379087 ''Buzzy Wuzzy'' profile], imdb.com; accessed May 12, 2014.</ref> She played opposite [[Sid Caesar]] on ''[[The Admiral Broadway Revue]]'' (January to June 1949), and then in the sketch comedy program ''[[Your Show of Shows]]'' (1950 to 1954), which was immensely popular, winning the Emmy for Outstanding Variety Series in 1952 and 1953. The 90-minute show was aired live on NBC every Saturday night in prime time. In addition to performing with Caesar on this program, she frequently starred in parodies of classic ballets opposite dancer and choreographer [[James Starbuck]].<ref name="NYT">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/08/19/arts/james-starbuck-85-tv-dance-innovator.html|title=James Starbuck, 85, TV Dance Innovator|work=[[The New York Times]]|author=Jennifer Dunning|date=August 19, 1997}}</ref>  She won the second-ever [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series]] in 1951 and was nominated for four other Emmys for her work in the show. She won a 1953 [[Peabody Award]] for excellence in broadcasting.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Peabody_Awards/1954 1954 Peabody Award], imdb.com; accessed May 12, 2014.</ref> The Caesar-Coca partnership might have continued, but the network tried to generate more revenue by spinning off Coca into her own series. ''The Imogene Coca Show'' ran for one year (1954 to 1955).<ref name="imdbprofile"/>
[[File:Grindl Imogene Coca Billy Booth 1964.jpg|thumb|left|With [[Billy Booth (actor)|Billy Booth]] in the NBC comedy series ''[[Grindl]]'', circa 1964.]]
In the 1963–64 TV season, Coca portrayed a comic temporary helper in the NBC sitcom ''[[Grindl]]''. It competed with the second half of ''[[The Ed Sullivan Show]]'' and lasted only one season. Coca later starred as a cavewoman with [[Joe E. Ross]] in the 1966–67 time-travel satire sitcom ''[[It's About Time (TV series)|It's About Time]]''.<ref name="imdbprofile"/>

She continued to appear on comedy and variety series from the 1950s through the 1980s, including several appearances each on ''[[The Carol Burnett Show]]'', ''[[The George Gobel Show]]'', ''[[The Hollywood Palace]]'', [[Ed Sullivan]]'s ''[[Toast of the Town]]'', and [[Bob Hope]] specials. She appeared on other shows and specials by [[Dean Martin]], [[Jackie Gleason]], [[Jerry Lewis]], [[Dick Clark]], [[Danny Kaye]], and [[Andy Williams]]. ''The Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca, Carl Reiner, and Howard Morris Special'' won a 1967 Emmy for Outstanding Variety Special.<ref name="imdbprofile"/> She made memorable guest appearances on sitcoms, including appearances on ''[[Bewitched]]'', ''[[The Brady Bunch]]'', and ''[[Mama's Family]]''. She appeared with [[Milton Berle]] and ''Your Show of Shows'' co-star [[Howard Morris]] in "Curtain Call", a 1983 episode of ''[[Fantasy Island]]''.<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0577740 IMDb profile of ''Fantasy Island'' episode "Curtain Call"]; accessed May 12, 2014.</ref>

Coca appeared in a number of literary adaptations for children. In 1960, she was Miss Clavel in Sol Saks' adaptation of [[Ludwig Bemelmans]]' ''[[Madeline]]'' for ''[[Shirley Temple's Storybook]]''. In 1972, she voiced the character of Princess Jane Klockenlocher in ''[[The Enchanted World of Danny Kaye]]'', a [[Rankin/Bass]] version of [[Hans Christian Andersen]]'s ''[[The Emperor's New Clothes]]''. In 1978, she appeared in ''[[A Special Sesame Street Christmas]]''. In 1985, she played The Cook in ''[[Alice in Wonderland (1985 film)|Alice in Wonderland]]'', an all-star TV miniseries adaptation of the book by [[Lewis Carroll]]. Among her final roles was voicing characters in ''[[Garfield and Friends]]''.<ref name="imdbprofile">[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0168042/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1 Profile], imdb.com; accessed May 12, 2014.</ref>

In 1988, Coca appeared as the mother of [[Allyce Beasley]]'s Agnes in the ''[[Moonlighting (TV series)|Moonlighting]]'' episode "Los Dos Dipestos", written by [[David Steinberg]]. She received her sixth Emmy nomination, as Outstanding Guest Performer in a Drama Series, for the role. The same year she was the female recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award in Comedy at the second annual [[American Comedy Awards]], alongside male recipient [[George Burns]].<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/American_Comedy_Awards_USA IMDb general profile]; accessed May 12, 2014.</ref>

Coca appeared only sporadically in films such as ''The Incredible Incident at Independence Square'', filmed in her hometown of Philadelphia, as well as ''[[Under the Yum Yum Tree]]'' (1963), ''[[Nothing Lasts Forever (film)|Nothing Lasts Forever]]'', ''[[Papa Was a Preacher (film)|Papa Was a Preacher]]'', ''[[Buy & Cell]]'', and ''[[National Lampoon's Vacation]]'' (1983), as "Aunt Edna".<ref name="imdbprofile"/>

After having appeared in several Broadway musical comedy revues and plays between the 1930s and the 1950s, Coca returned to Broadway at the age of 70 with a [[Tony Award]]-nominated performance as religious zealot Letitia Primrose in ''[[On the Twentieth Century]]'', a 1978 stage musical adapted from the film ''[[Twentieth Century (film)|Twentieth Century]]'' (1934). Her role, that of a religious fanatic who plasters decals onto every available surface, had been a male in both the film and the original stage production, and was rewritten specifically as a vehicle for Coca. {{citation needed|date=May 2014}} She appeared in the Broadway run with [[Kevin Kline]] and [[Madeline Kahn]], continued with the national tour starring [[Rock Hudson]] and [[Judy Kaye]], and returned for a later tour revival in the mid-1980s with Kaye and [[Frank Gorshin]]. She also co-starred with singer [[Maxine Sullivan]] in ''[[My Old Friends]]'' and touring productions, including musicals such as ''[[Once Upon a Mattress]]'' and ''[[Bells Are Ringing (musical)|Bells Are Ringing]]'' and plays such as ''[[The Prisoner of Second Avenue]]'' and ''[[Luv (play)|Luv]]''.<ref name="ibdbprofile"/> She rejoined [[Sid Caesar]] in 1961–62, 1977, and 1990–91 for a traveling stage revue and made an appearance with Caesar and [[Howard Morris]] at ''Comic Relief VI'' in 1994. {{citation needed|date=May 2014}}

One of Coca's early stock characters on the Caesar series blended comedy with socially conscious pathos as a [[homelessness|bag lady]] and she was frequently asked to reprise the role, including by [[Carol Burnett]] for her '60s series and by [[Red Skelton]] as love interest to one of his own familiar characters in the 1981 TV special ''Freddie the Freeloader's Christmas Dinner''. [[New wave music|New wave]] group [[Ebn Ozn|Ēbn-Ōzn]] featured Coca as the title character in the music video to their song "Bag Lady (I Wonder)", which was a top-40 dance hit in 1984.<ref>{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p17230|pure_url=yes}}</ref>

==Personal life and legacy==
[[File:Imogene Coca (handprints in cement).jpg|right|thumb|The handprints of Coca in front of [[Hollywood Hills Amphitheater]] at [[Walt Disney World]]'s [[Disney's Hollywood Studios]] theme park.]]
Coca had no children, but was married twice: for 20 years to Bob Burton, from 1935 until his death in 1955, and later for 27 years to [[King Donovan]], from 1960 until his death in 1987. Burton's death came only one month after her mother had died. Coca was a practicing [[Roman Catholic]].{{citation needed|date=August 2022}}

Coca was a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] who supported the campaign of [[Adlai Stevenson II|Adlai Stevenson]] in the [[1952 United States presidential election|1952 presidential election]].<ref>''Motion Picture and Television Magazine'', November 1952, page 33, Ideal Publishers</ref>

Hours after Coca and Donovan completed their New Year's Eve 1972 performance of  "Fourposter" at the Showboat Dinner Theater in  [[St. Petersburg, Florida]], they were involved in a serious auto accident.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/01/02/archives/miss-coca-injures-an-eye-in-crash.html|title=Miss Coca Injures an Eye in Crash|work=[[The New York Times]]|page=44|date=1973-01-02|access-date=2018-11-19}}</ref> They had been driving in foggy weather to their home in [[Clearwater, Florida]], when Donovan collided with another car driven by 19-year-old Cheryl Lynn Rice. Rice was unharmed, but Donovan sustained a slight leg injury, and the rear-view mirror entered Coca's right eye, smashing her cheekbone. Transported to the Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital, Coca underwent plastic surgery and a cosmetic lens covered her now-blind eye for the rest of her career, which resumed with her long stint in Broadway's ''[[On the Twentieth Century]]'' beginning in 1978.<ref>Gliato, T, ''Sweet Imogene'', [http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20134691,00.html ''People Magazine''], June 18, 2001; accessed May 11, 2014.</ref>

Performers citing Coca as an influence include [[Carol Burnett]], [[Lily Tomlin]], [[Whoopi Goldberg]], and [[Tracey Ullman]]. ''Your Show of Shows'' is considered a television classic and was the basis for a well-received 1982 film, ''[[My Favorite Year]]''. A 1992 musical version of the film made its way to Broadway, in which comedic actress [[Andrea Martin]] won a [[Tony Award]] for her portrayal of Alice Miller.<ref name="ibdbprofile">{{IBDB name|67112}}</ref>

In 1995, Coca was honored with the second annual [[Women in Film Los Angeles|Women in Film]] [[Women in Film Crystal + Lucy Awards#Past Lucy Award Winners|Lucy Award]],<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Women_in_Film_Lucy_Awards Women In Film Lucy Award], imdb.com; accessed May 12, 2014.</ref> honoring women's achievements in television and named after [[Lucille Ball]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wif.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=67&Itemid=82|title=Women In Film|website=www.wif.org}}</ref>

==Death==
On June 2, 2001, Coca died at her home in [[Westport, Connecticut]], aged 92, from natural causes incidental to [[Alzheimer's disease]].<ref>[http://archives.cnn.com/2001/SHOWBIZ/News/06/02/obit.coca.02 Actress Imogene Coca dead at 92] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071223101858/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/SHOWBIZ/News/06/02/obit.coca.02/ |date=2007-12-23 }}, archives.cnn.com; accessed May 12, 2014.</ref> She was [[cremated]] and her ashes scattered.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FOHgDAAAQBAJ&q=Imogene+Coca+cremated&pg=PA476|title=Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed.|first=Scott|last=Wilson|date=19 August 2016|publisher=McFarland|via=Google Books|isbn=9781476625997}}</ref>

==Filmography==
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===Television===
* ''[[Buzzy Wuzzy]]'' (1948; ran for four weeks)
* ''[[The Admiral Broadway Revue]]'' (1949–1950)
* ''[[Your Show of Shows]]'' (139 episodes 1950–1954)
* ''The Imogene Coca Show'' (1954–1955)
* ''[[Playhouse 90]]'' ("Made in Heaven" 1956)
* ''[[General Electric Theater]]'' ("Cab Driver" 1957)
* ''Sid Caesar Invites You'' (1958, U.S.)
* ''Sid Caesar Invites You'' (1958, UK [BBC])
* ''[[The George Gobel Show]]'' (4 episodes 1959–1960)
* ''[[Shirley Temple's Storybook]]'': ''[[Madeline]]'' (1960)
* ''[[Grindl]]'' (32 episodes 1963–1964)
* ''[[It's About Time (TV series)|It's About Time]]'' (18 episodes 1966–1967)
* ''The Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca, Carl Reiner, Howard Morris Special'' (1967)
* ''[[The Carol Burnett Show]]'' (4 episodes 1967–1969)
* ''[[Love, American Style]]'' (2 episodes 1970, 1972)
* ''[[Bewitched]]'' (2 episodes 1971)
*''[[Night Gallery|Rod Serling's Night Gallery]]'' (The Merciful)- with husband, ''[[King Donovan]]''.
* ''[[The Enchanted World of Danny Kaye|The Enchanted World of Danny Kaye: The Emperor's New Clothes]]'' (1972)
* ''[[The Brady Bunch]]'' ("Aunt Jenny" - 1972)
* ''The Incredible Incident at Independence Square''
* ''[[Trapper John, M.D.]]'' ("Quarantine" 1980)
* ''[[Freddie the Freeloader's Christmas Dinner]]'' (1981)
* ''[[Return of the Beverly Hillbillies]]'' (1981)
* ''[[Fantasy Island]]'' ("Curtain Call" 1983)
* ''[[Mama's Family]]'' ("Aunt Gert Rides Again" 1983)
* ''[[One Life to Live]]'' (cast member from 1983–1984)
* ''[[As the World Turns]]'' (cast member in 1983)
* ''[[Alice in Wonderland (1985 film)|Alice in Wonderland]]'' (1985)
* ''[[Moonlighting (TV series)|Moonlighting]]'' ("Los Dos Dipestos" 1988)
* ''[[Monsters (American TV series)|Monsters]]'' ("The Face" 1989)
* ''[[Garfield and Friends]]'' (Voice, 14 episodes 1994)
* ''[[Comic Relief#Similar events outside the United Kingdom|Comic Relief VI]]'' (1994)

===Film===
* ''Bashful Ballerina'' (1937)
* ''Dime a Dance'' (1937)
* ''They Meet Again'' (1941)
* ''[[Promises! Promises!]]'' (1963)
* ''[[Under the Yum Yum Tree]]'' (1963)
* ''10 from Your Show of Shows'' (1973)
* ''[[Rabbit Test (film)|Rabbit Test]]'' (1978)
* ''[[National Lampoon's Vacation]]'' (1983)
* ''[[Nothing Lasts Forever (film)|Nothing Lasts Forever]]'' (1984)
* ''[[Papa Was a Preacher (film)|Papa Was a Preacher]]'' (1985)
* ''[[Buy & Cell]]'' (1987)
* ''Hollywood: The Movie'' (1996)
* ''Her Alibi'' (1989) uncredited in court room

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===Broadway===
* ''When You Smile'' (1925) Imogene
* ''Garrick Gaieties'' (1930)
* ''Shoot the Works'' (1931)
* ''Flying Colors'' (1932–1933) Jo-Jo, Miss Maris
* ''New Faces of 1934'' (1934, with [[Henry Fonda]])
* ''Fools Rush In'' (1934–1935)
* ''New Faces of 1936'' (1936)
* ''Who's Who'' (1938)
* ''[[The Straw Hat Revue]]'' (1939, with [[Danny Kaye]], [[Jerome Robbins]])
* ''All In Fun'' (1940) Dancer, Esther, Mrs. Burton, Nymph, The Derelict
* ''Concert Varieties'' (1945)
* ''Janus'' (1955–1956) Jessica
* ''The Girls in 509'' (1958–1959) Mimsy
* ''[[On The Twentieth Century]]'' (1978–1979) Letitia Primrose

===Music video===
* ''Bag Lady'' (1984 [[EBN-OZN]])) The Bag Lady

===Selected regional theater, national tours===
* ''Bubbling Over'' (1926)
* ''[[Queen High]]'' (1928)
* ''Up to the Stars'' (1935)
* ''Calling All Men'' (1937)
* ''A Night at the Folies Bergere'' (1940)
* ''[[Happy Birthday (play)|Happy Birthday]]'' (1948)
* ''[[Wonderful Town]]'' (1954) Ruth
* ''The Great Sebastians'' (1957)
* ''[[Once Upon a Mattress]]'' (1960–61)
* ''[[A Thurber Carnival]]'' (1961–62)
* ''Caesar-Coca Revue'' (1961–62)
* ''[[Bells Are Ringing (musical)|Bells Are Ringing]]'' (1962)
* ''[[Luv (play)|Luv]]'' (1967)
* ''[[You Know I Can't Hear You When the Water's Running]]'' (1968–69)
* ''Why I Went Crazy'' (1969)
* ''A Girl Could Get Lucky'' (1970)
* ''[[The Rivals]]'' (1972) Mrs. Malaprop
* ''[[The Prisoner of Second Avenue]]'' (1973–74, with husband King Donovan)
* "[[Plaza Suite]]" ( c. 1976 Tidewater Dinner Theatre of The Stars, with King Donovan)
* ''[[Makin' Whoopee]]'' (1981, with [[Mamie Van Doren]])
* ''[[The Gin Game]]'' (1984)
* ''My Old Friends'' (1985)
* ''[[On the Twentieth Century]]'' (1986–87) Letitia Primrose
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==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite journal|title=Imogene Coca|journal=Current Biography Yearbook|date=1951|oclc=948815801}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb name}}
* {{IBDB name}}
* {{Discogs artist}}

{{EmmyAward ComedyLeadActress 1950-1975}}
{{Subject bar|auto=1|Biography|Pennsylvania|New York (state)|California|Connecticut|Theatre|Comedy|Film|Television}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Coca, Imogene}}
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[[Category:20th-century American actresses]]
[[Category:20th-century American comedians]]
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[[Category:American film actresses]]
[[Category:American people of Spanish descent]]
[[Category:American Roman Catholics]]
[[Category:American sketch comedians]]
[[Category:American stage actresses]]
[[Category:American television actresses]]
[[Category:American voice actresses]]
[[Category:American women comedians]]
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[[Category:Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in Connecticut]]
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