Connie Sawyer facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Connie Sawyer
Sawyer, around the 1940s
Born	Rosie Cohen (1912-11-27)November 27, 1912 Pueblo, Colorado, U.S.
Died	January 21, 2018(2018-01-21) (aged 105) Woodland Hills, California, U.S.
Resting place	Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1920s–2014
Spouse(s)	Marshall Schacker
Children	2

Connie Sawyer (born Rosie Cohen; November 27, 1912 – January 21, 2018) was an American actress who worked in theater, movies, and TV shows. People often called her "The Clown Princess of Comedy" because she was so funny. She appeared in over 140 films and TV shows. Some of her most famous roles were in Pineapple Express, Dumb and Dumber, and When Harry Met Sally....

Connie Sawyer lived to be 105 years old. When she passed away, she was the oldest working actress in Hollywood! Her career lasted an amazing 85 years. She was also the oldest member of the Screen Actors Guild (a group for actors) and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (the people who give out the Oscars).

Early Life and First Steps in Showbiz

Connie Sawyer was born as Rosie Cohen on November 27, 1912, in Pueblo, Colorado. Her parents were Jewish and came from Romania. When she was 7, her family moved to Oakland, where her dad opened a store.

Connie's mom loved show business and encouraged her to sing and dance. Connie started entering talent shows as a child. In her very first competition at age 8, she won third prize! After high school, Connie won a radio contest. This led to her performing on a radio show in San Francisco called “Al Pearce and His Gang.” This show helped her create her own funny comedy acts.

A Long and Busy Career

When Connie was 19, she moved to New York City. She performed in nightclubs and vaudeville theaters, which were popular places for variety shows. She even traveled across the country, performing in different cities along the way. In New York, she met famous singer Sophie Tucker, who helped Connie connect with a comedy writer. Connie then started touring with Sophie Tucker's show.

In the 1950s, Connie began appearing on television. She was on popular shows like The Milton Berle Show and The Jackie Gleason Show.

From Broadway to Hollywood

In the late 1950s, a talent agent who worked for Frank Sinatra saw Connie in a Broadway play called A Hole in the Head. Frank Sinatra liked the play so much that he decided to make it into a movie. He hired Connie to play the same role in the 1959 film version, which also starred Frank Sinatra. This was a big step for her career!

Connie continued to appear regularly on many TV series. Some of these include The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Laverne & Shirley, Seinfeld, Will & Grace, ER, and How I Met Your Mother. She kept working even when she was very old! In 2012, when she turned 100, she appeared on 2 Broke Girls and was a guest on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. After turning 100, she also appeared in NCIS: Los Angeles (2013) and New Girl (2014), where she played "the Oldest Woman in the World."

Her Own Story

In 2017, Connie Sawyer wrote a book about her life called I Never Wanted to Be a Star — and I Wasn't. It shared her experiences in Hollywood.

Later Life and Family

For 12 years, Connie lived at a special place in Los Angeles for retired people from the entertainment industry. It's called the Motion Picture & Television Fund’s residential complex. She stayed active there, watching all the movies nominated for the Oscars and voting for her favorites each year.

Connie was married to a film distributor named Marshall Schacker for ten years. They later separated but had two daughters together, Lisa and Julie.

Connie Sawyer passed away at her home in Woodland Hills, California, on January 21, 2018, at the age of 105. She had a heart attack.

Filmography Highlights

Connie Sawyer appeared in many films and TV shows during her long career. Here are some of them:

See also

In Spanish: Connie Sawyer para niños

• List of centenarians (actors, filmmakers and entertainers)