Louise Fletcher: 5 Things About Oscar Winner For ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ Dead At 88

Hollywood has sadly mislaid different 1 of its greats. Louise Fletcher died astatine her location successful Montdurausse, France astatine the property of 88 connected Saturday (September 24). The histrion was a rarity successful Tinseltown, uncovering fame overmuch aboriginal successful beingness aft putting her vocation connected intermission to rise a family. When she did instrumentality to the surface for 1975’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest — successful her aboriginal 40s and small known — it was with a bang, however: Louise walked distant with the Best Actress Oscar for her unthinkable crook arsenic the despicable Nurse Ratched, who made the beingness of Jack Nicholson’s Randle McMurphy a surviving hellhole successful a intelligence institution.

Louise Fletcher died astatine the property of 88 connected September 24, 2022. (Chris Pizzello/AP/Shutterstock)

Keep speechmaking to find retired each astir the precocious actress, below!

1. Where did Louise get her start?

Born connected July 22, 1934, successful Birmingham, Alabama, Louise would spell connected to survey play astatine North Carolina State University. She past moved to Los Angeles to commencement her acting career, moving arsenic a receptionist by time and studying her trade astatine nighttime until she got tiny roles successful television, according to NPR.

2. Her parents were deaf.

Louise Fletcher got her commencement successful Hollywood precocious successful life. (Alex Berliner/BEI/Shutterstock)

Louise’s parent was calved deaf and her preacher begetter mislaid his proceeding erstwhile helium was struck by lightening astatine the property of 4, per the outlet. “It was similar having parents who are immigrants who don’t talk your language,” Louise said successful 1982.

3. Who primitively turned down Louise’s Nurse Ratched role?

Set and filmed successful the Oregon State Hospital, a psychiatric hospital, successful Oregon successful 1974, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest was directed by Milos Forman and based connected Ken Kesey’s 1962 caller of the aforesaid name. It would spell connected to go the archetypal movie since 1934′s It Happened One Night to triumph champion picture, champion director, champion actor, champion histrion and champion screenplay. The past movie to bash truthful was Silence of the Lambs successful 1991.

Milos had seen Louise’s enactment the twelvemonth earlier successful manager Robert Altman’s Thieves Like Us and thought she’d beryllium bully for the relation of Nurse Ratched. Lucky for Louise, arsenic the relation had already been offered to immoderate large sanction stars of that day, including Anne Bancroft, Ellen Burstyn and Angela Lansbury, per the outlet.

“I was the past idiosyncratic cast,” she recalled successful a 2004 interview, per NPR. “It wasn’t until we were halfway done shooting that I realized the portion had been offered to different actresses who didn’t privation to look truthful horrible connected the screen.”

Louise Fletcher won Best Actress successful 1975 for ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’. (United Artists/Fantasy Films/Kobal/Shutterstock)

4. Who did Louise convey during her Oscar speech?

After she took the signifier to judge the Oscar, Louise addressed her deaf parents utilizing motion language: “I privation to convey you for teaching maine to person a dream. You are seeing my imagination travel true,” she told them.

5. Louise Didn’t Act For 11 Years While Raising Her Family

After marrying Jerry Bick successful the aboriginal 1960s and welcoming 2 sons, John and Andrew, with the producer, Louise decided to measurement distant from her acting vocation to rise the children. The impermanent enactment lasted 11 years. “I made the prime to halt working, but I didn’t spot it arsenic a choice,” she explained successful the 2004 interview, per NPR. “I felt compelled to enactment astatine home.”