Michael Learned

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Michael Learned
Born	April 9, 1939 (1939-04-09) (age 69) Washington, D.C.
Spouse(s)	William Parker (1979-present) Glenn Chadwick (1974-1977) Peter Donat (1956-1972)
Awards won Emmy Awards Outstanding Lead Actress - Drama Series 1973 The Waltons 1974 The Waltons 1976 The Waltons 1982 Nurse

Michael Learned (born April 9, 1939) is a four-time Emmy-winning and Golden Globe-nominated American actress known for her role as Olivia Walton on The Waltons.

Contents 1 Career 1.1 The Waltons 1.2 Nurse 1.3 Other television credits 1.4 Theater 1.5 Personal life 2 Filmography 2.1 1960s 2.2 1970s 2.3 1980s 2.4 1990s 2.5 2000s 3 External links

[edit] Career

[edit] The Waltons

She was billed as "Miss Michael Learned" on The Waltons because she was relatively unknown at the time, and producers did not want confusion among viewers about her gender. She was nominated for six Emmy Awards and won three for her role of Olivia Walton. In 1979, her contract was not renewed; some sources indicate that she opted not to re-sign with the show. Her seminal character's abrupt disappearance was explained by Olivia's developing tuberculosis and entering a sanitarium. For continuity's sake, she did make occasional guest appearances until the show's cancellation. She was also nominated for four Golden Globe Awards.

[edit] Nurse

She later starred as Nurse Mary Benjamin in the hospital drama Nurse, which ran on CBS during the 1981-82 season. Though the series was well received critically, it was not a ratings success and lasted only two seasons. She was, however, nominated for two Emmy Awards for "Outstanding Lead Actress" and won yet another Emmy for her role in 1982.

[edit] Other television credits

She had a starring role in the unsuccessful 1989 sitcom Living Dolls and reprised her Waltons role for a number of TV movies and reunions in the 1990s.

She played "Judge Helen Turner" on the ABC soap operas All My Children and One Life to Live as part of the "baby switch" storyline on both shows.

She guest-starred in Scrubs as Mrs. Wilk in episodes "My Missed Perception", "My Buddy's Booty", "My Cabbage", and "My Five Stages" from Season 5.

[edit] Theater

In the late 60's, Ms. Learned and her husband (Peter Donat) appeared in various roles with the American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) in San Francisco. She has appeared in many stage productions on Broadway, Off Broadway, and elsewhere, including most recently in the 2006-2007 national touring production of On Golden Pond.

[edit] Personal life

Learned was born in Washington, D.C., but lived on a farm with her five sisters for the first ten years of her life.

She has been married three times. Her first husband was Canadian-American actor Peter Donat, from 1956-1972. She had three children by this marriage (which ended in divorce): Caleb, Christopher and Lucas. Her second marriage, to Glenn Chadwick, lasted from 1975-1977, again ending in divorce. In 1979, she married actor/screenwriter William Parker IV.

[edit] Filmography

[edit] 1960s

• The Other Man (1963)
• Wojeck (1968)

[edit] 1970s

• The Waltons (1972-1979) (as Miss Michael Learned)
• Gunsmoke (1973)
• Match Game 73 (1973)
• Hurricane (1974)
• It Couldn't Happen to a Nicer Guy (1974)
• Police Story (1974)
• Widow (1976)
• CBS: On the Air (1978)
• Little Mo (1978)
• The 30th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1978)
• The Television Annual: 1978/1979 (1979)

[edit] 1980s

• Nurse (1980)
• Touched by Love (1980)
• A Christmas Without Snow (1980)
• Nurse (1981)
• Politics of Poison (1982)
• Night of 100 Stars (1982)
• Mother's Day on Waltons Mountain (1982)
• The Parade (1984)
• St. Elsewhere (1984)
• Power (1986)
• All My Sons (1986)
• A Deadly Business (1986)
• Picnic (1986)
• Mercy or Murder? (1987)
• Hothouse (1988)
• Roots: The Gift (1988)
• Living Dolls (1989)
• Murder, She Wrote (1989)
• Who's the Boss? (1989)

[edit] 1990s

• Gunsmoke: The Last Apache (1990)
• Wiseguy (1990)
• Aftermath: A Test of Love (1991)
• Murder in New Hampshire: The Pamela Wojas Smart Story (1991)
• Keeping Secrets (1991)
• Mattie's Waltz (1992)
• Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (1993)
• A Walton Thanksgiving Reunion (1993)
• The American Revolution (1994)
• Reading Rainbow (1994)
• The Secret World of Alex Mack (1995)
• A Walton Wedding (1995)
• A Walton Easter (1997)
• Life During Wartime (1997)
• A Father for Brittany (1998)
• Profiler (1998)
• Promised Land (1998)

[edit] 2000s

• For the Love of May (2000)
• Pensacola: Wings of Gold (2000)
• So Graham Norton (2000)
• The Best of So Graham Norton (2000)
• CBS at 75 (2003)
• Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2003)
• TV total (2004)
• All My Children (2005)
• Lethal Eviction (2005)
• Loggerheads (2005)
• One Life to Live (2005)
• Scrubs (2006)
• The Killer (2007)

[edit] External links

• Michael Learned at the Internet Movie Database

v • d • e Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress - Drama Series Helen Hayes (1952) · Loretta Young (1954) · Loretta Young (1956) · Loretta Young (1959) · Barbara Stanwyck (1961) · Barbara Stanwyck (1966) · Barbara Bain (1967) · Barbara Bain (1968) · Barbara Bain (1969) · Susan Hampshire (1970) · Susan Hampshire (1971) · Glenda Jackson (1972) · Michael Learned (1973) · Michael Learned (1974) · Jean Marsh (1975) Complete list: (1952-1975) · (1976-2000) · (2001-present)

v • d • e Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress - Drama Series Michael Learned (1976) · Lindsay Wagner (1977) · Sada Thompson (1978) · Mariette Hartley (1979) · Barbara Bel Geddes (1980) · Barbara Babcock (1981) · Michael Learned (1982) · Tyne Daly (1983) · Tyne Daly (1984) · Tyne Daly (1985) · Sharon Gless (1986) · Sharon Gless (1987) · Tyne Daly (1988) · Dana Delany (1989) · Patricia Wettig (1990) · Patricia Wettig (1991) · Dana Delany (1992) · Kathy Baker (1993) · Sela Ward (1994) · Kathy Baker (1995) · Kathy Baker (1996) · Gillian Anderson (1997) · Christine Lahti (1998) · Edie Falco (1999) · Sela Ward (2000) Complete list: (1952-1975) · (1976-2000) · (2001-present)