Shirley Knight, Oscar-nominated actress of ‘Sweet Bird of Youth’, dies aged 83
Actor Shirley Knight died on Wednesday, April 22, of natural causes at the home of her daughter, actress Kaitlin Hopkins, in San Marcos, Texas. She was 83.
Knight had a long acting career and has many memorable performances, even in smaller roles. She was nominated for the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress twice, first for ‘The Dark at the Top of the Stairs’, and then for ‘Sweet Bird of Youth’. She also won a Tony for her performance as an alcoholic actress channeling Marilyn Monroe in ‘Kennedy's Children’, and three Emmys.
In a long Facebook post, her daughter Hopkins wrote, “Dear Mom, Early this morning April 22nd you passed away, and your sweet soul left us for a better place. I was at your side and you went peacefully. To me, you were ‘just mom’, to some you were ‘Miss Knight’, ‘Miss Shirley’, ‘Mama Shirley’ (to my students), ‘Shirl the Girl’ (to your friends), and ‘Shirley Knight’ to your fans.”
“We had a good day last Wednesday, the hospice team of angels sent a music therapist to the house. He sat and played your favorite songs for over an hour, seamlessly going from one to the next. He set the tempos to match your rapid breathing until he was in sync with you, then he started to slow the tempo down until you started following his tempo. It was amazing to watch how it calmed you down and to see your breathing fall into step with his, calm and steady. I didn't have to give you any medication for several hours afterward. It was really amazing. Once again an example of music saving the world, our world anyway,” she further wrote.
Hopkins added that in her honor, she and others have created the Shirley Knight Memorial Fund. She said, “This endowment will honor my mom's legacy by providing young artists the opportunity to attend school and pursue their dreams. Rest In Peace, Shirley.”
Knight was born on July 5, 1936, in Goessel, Kansas. She studied acting at the Pasadena Theater School and with Jeff Corey and Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio. She was married to actor Eugene Persson from 1959 until their divorce in 1969 and to British playwright John Hopkins from 1969 until his death in 1998.
Her body of work includes films like ‘Dutchman’, ‘The Rain People’, ‘The Dark at the Top of the Stairs’, ‘Sweet Bird of Youth’, and more. Knight continued to work even in old age. She was in both parts of ‘Paul Blart: Mall Cop’, an episode of ‘House M.D.’, a recurring role in ‘Desperate Housewives’, and more.