Edie McClurg is an American actress and voice actress. An alumnus of The Groundlings, she has played supporting roles in the films Carrie, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and , and bit parts in Cheech and Chong's Next Movie, Mr. Mom, Back to School, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, A River Runs Through It, Natural Born Killers, and Flubber. On television, McClurg regularly performed on The David Letterman Show, before playing Bonnie Brindle in Small Wonder and Mrs. Patty Poole on the The Hogan Family. As a one-off character, she has appeared in Alice, Mr. Belvedere, The Golden Girls, Roseanne, Full House, Seinfeld, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Malcolm in the Middle, Hannah Montana, and Portlandia. Since 1977, she has also appeared in numerous commercials. As a voice actress, McClurg has played in The Secret of NIMH, The Little Mermaid, A Bug's Life, Cars, Cars 2, and Wreck-It Ralph, as well as in Snorks and Life with Louie.
Early life
McClurg was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri on July 23, 1945, to Mac, a mailman, and , an FAA secretary. She has an older brother, Bob, who is also an actor. McClurg attended the University of Missouri–Kansas City in the mid-1960s, where she also taught radio for eight years. She earned a master's degree from Syracuse University. At the University of Missouri–Kansas City, McClurg re-entered the entertainment field as a DJ, newswoman, and producer for the NPR affiliate KCUR-FM. There she portrayed John Ehrlichman in Conversation 26 of NPR's national broadcast of the Nixon Tape transcripts.
Career
McClurg's onscreen debut was as Helen Shyres in Brian De Palma's 1976 horror film Carrie starring Sissy Spacek. She was a comedy regular on the Tony Orlando and Dawn variety show and then a cast member of The Kallikaks and The Richard Pryor Show. In 1980, McClurg regularly performed on The David Letterman Show as Mrs. Marv Mendenhall. McClurg appeared in Elvira, Mistress of the Dark as Chastity Pariah. Having been a member of San Francisco's improv comedy the Pitcshel Players, she moved to Los Angeles and joined the Groundlings troupe. She worked with fellow Groundling player Paul Reubens on his first play The Pee-wee Herman Show, in which she appeared in 1981 as "Hermit Hattie". McClurg has appeared in almost 90 films and 55 television episodes, usually typecast as a middle-aged, somewhat stubborn, and dim-witted Midwesterner. McClurg is known for a number of roles, including Mrs. Burns in A River Runs Through It, Grace in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Lucille Tarlek on WKRP in Cincinnati, Lynn in She's Having a Baby, Willamae Jones in the television remake of Harper Valley PTA, Mrs. Patty Poole on The Hogan Family, Bonnie Brindle on Small Wonder, Marge Sweetwater in Back to School, the car rental agent in Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Mrs. Violet Bleakman on Clifford the Big Red Dog, and Mrs. Beeker on 7th Heaven. She guest starred as Barri's mother in an episode of Campus Ladies. She portrayed one of the wicked stepsisters in the Faerie Tale Theatre production "Cinderella." McClurg appeared on several game shows, including Match Game, The $25,000 Pyramid, Password Plus, and Super Password. McClurg contributed assorted voices for The Jetsons, The Snorks, Life with Louie, A Bug's Life, Justin and the Knights of Valour, Cars and Cars 2. She voiced Carlotta in The Little Mermaid, Mary in Wreck-It Ralph, Molly in Home on the Range, Miss Right in The Secret of NIMH, the Dragon in the Nightmare Ned video game, Barsa in Kiki's Delivery Service, Fran on Higglytown Heroes, Mrs. Claus in ', Grandma Taters in ', Violet Stimpleton in Rocket Power, Bea's mother in Fish Hooks, Winnie Pig in , Aunt Ruth in Bobby's World and Trudi Traveler in an episode of Wander Over Yonder. McClurg portrayed a nurse nicknamed "Angel of Death" in an episode of The Golden Girls. She also appeared in an episode of Hannah Montana as Cindy Merriweather. Continuing her passion for performing improvised comedy, McClurg is a player with Spolin Players. On April 9, 2007, she made an appearance on Thank God You're Here. In 2011, she appeared in an episode of the CBSsitcomRules of Engagement. In 2020, she had an appearance in the Family Guy episode "Holly Bibble" as 'Grace', personal assistant to Pontius Pilate. Immediately following the delivery of her lines, was the following acknowledgment by Carter/Pontius'Character: "Wasn't that cool? That was really her! Edie McClurg. Thanks Edie!"
