Diane Shalet

Diane Shalet (February 23, 1935 – February 23, 2006) was an American actress, acting teacher, and author renowned for her recurring portrayal of the housekeeper Ms. Hawkins in the television series Matlock.^[1]^[2] Born in New York City, she began her professional career on Broadway as a charter member of the Lincoln Center Repertory Theatre, debuting in Arthur Miller's After the Fall in 1964.^[1]^[3] Shalet's theater work included notable roles such as Anna in But For Whom Charlie (1964), Isabella in The Changeling (1964), and Flipote in Tartuffe (1965), as part of productions at the Lincoln Center Repertory Theatre, under producing directors Elia Kazan and Robert Whitehead.^[1] She transitioned to film with appearances in The Reivers (1969) and The Last Tycoon (1976), the latter directed by Kazan.^[4] On television, she guest-starred in popular shows including The Monkees, Bonanza, All in the Family, Little House on the Prairie, The Incredible Hulk, and Cagney & Lacey, with her Matlock role spanning 1989–1990.^[1]^[4] Beyond performing, Shalet was an influential educator, serving as a teaching associate to Robert Lewis at UCLA for 14 years and founding the Actors and Writers Lab in Manhattan.^[4]^[3] She also authored the comedic novel Grief in a Sunny Climate (1994), which explores the life of a grieving widow in Los Angeles.^[1] Shalet, who was married to actor Michael Strong, passed away in Palm Springs, California, on her 71st birthday; in lieu of flowers, donations were requested to UNAIDS and the Actors Fund of America.^[4]

Early Life

Birth and Family Background

Diane Shalet was born on February 23, 1935, in New York, New York.^[5]^[1]^[2]

Education and Initial Training

After completing her early education, Shalet continued her development through training at the Actors Studio in the early 1950s, where she worked under Lee Strasberg and delved into method acting techniques emphasizing emotional authenticity and psychological depth.^[2] To gain practical experience, she participated in early off-Broadway workshops and summer stock productions between 1953 and 1954, including a role in the Honolulu Repertory Theatre's staging of Dark of the Moon at the Rigger Theater, marking one of her initial professional outings.^[6]

Career

Broadway and Stage Work

Diane Shalet made her Broadway debut in 1964 as a charter member of the newly formed Repertory Theatre of Lincoln Center, appearing in small but integral roles as Nurse and Secretary in Arthur Miller's After the Fall, directed by Elia Kazan.^[7]^[3] This production marked the company's inaugural offering at the ANTA Washington Square Theatre, where Shalet contributed to the ensemble alongside prominent actors like Jason Robards and Barbara Loden.^[8] Throughout the mid-1960s, Shalet remained a key ensemble member of the Lincoln Center Repertory Theatre, participating in its ambitious season of classic and contemporary works under artistic directors Herbert Blau and Jules Irving.^[3] In March 1964, she portrayed Anna in S.N. Behrman's But For Whom Charlie, a drama exploring political intrigue.^[1] Later that year, in October, she took on the role of Isabella in a revival of John Webster's Jacobean tragedy The Changeling at the ANTA Washington Square Theatre.^[1] Her involvement extended into 1965 with Flipote in Molière's Tartuffe, a comedic farce highlighting themes of hypocrisy, and an appearance in Georg Büchner's Danton's Death, which opened the Vivian Beaumont Theater as part of the company's shift to Lincoln Center's new facilities.^[1]^[3]^[9] Shalet's stage career also encompassed off-Broadway and regional productions, particularly in the 1970s, where she performed in various ensemble pieces amid her growing focus on theater education and collaboration.^[4] These experiences underscored her commitment to repertory and experimental theater, building on the method acting foundation from her early training.^[3]

Television and Film Roles

Shalet's screen career began with her film debut in the 1969 drama The Reivers, directed by Mark Rydell, where she portrayed Hannah, a character involved in the story's comedic and adventurous escapades at a local brothel.^[10] This role marked her entry into cinema, highlighting her knack for bringing depth to supporting parts in period pieces. Among her key film appearances, Shalet played Donna James in the 1972 road comedy Deadhead Miles, based on Shamus Culhane's novel, demonstrating her comedic timing alongside Alan Arkin. She later appeared in Elia Kazan's 1976 adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's unfinished novel The Last Tycoon as Stahr's secretary, sharing scenes with Robert De Niro in the Hollywood-set drama about studio power struggles. In the 1973 made-for-television supernatural thriller The Night Strangler, the sequel to The Night Stalker, Shalet took on the supporting role of Joyce Gabriel, contributing to the film's eerie atmosphere of mystery and horror.^[11] Transitioning from her acclaimed stage work, Shalet found steady employment in television, often embodying resilient, maternal figures that underscored her versatility as a character actress. Her television highlights included guest spots in shows such as The Monkees (1968), Bonanza, All in the Family, and Cagney & Lacey. She appeared as Eula Pendleton on The Waltons in the 1973 episode "The Love Story," where she played the stepmother to a young guest in the Walton household.^[12] She also appeared as Mrs. Barton in the 1980 episode "Dearest Albert, I'll Miss You" on Little House on the Prairie, portraying a concerned parent in a heartfelt family drama. In her later television work, Shalet guest-starred as Nurse Judy in the 1981 The Incredible Hulk episode "The Harder They Fall," offering a compassionate presence amid the action-oriented narrative. She is best known for her recurring role as the housekeeper Ms. Hawkins on Matlock from 1989 to 1990.^[5] Her roles frequently emphasized strong, supportive women, reflecting her range in episodic formats that allowed for nuanced, brief but memorable performances.^[13]

Teaching and Theater Contributions

Shalet's influence extended beyond her performing career into theater education and institutional development, where she emphasized collaborative training and ensemble techniques. In 1975, she founded the Actors and Writers Lab in Manhattan, a nonprofit organization designed as a dedicated space for actors and writers to engage in collaborative script development and intensive scene study, fostering innovative approaches to dramatic work.^[4]^[3] Throughout her career, Shalet held key teaching positions that shaped generations of performers. Additionally, she taught acting at UCLA alongside Robert Lewis for 14 years, contributing to the curriculum's focus on practical scene work and emotional authenticity.^[7]^[3] As a charter member of the Lincoln Center Repertory Theatre, Shalet played a pivotal role in advocating for repertory theater models during its formative years under Elia Kazan and Robert Whitehead. Her efforts helped establish ensemble training methods that prioritized long-term company cohesion and versatile performance skills, approaches that continue to inform regional and professional theater practices today.^[4]^[3]

Personal Life

Marriage and Relationships

Diane Shalet married actor Michael Strong on August 24, 1969. The couple had met several years earlier in the mid-1960s at the Repertory Theatre of Lincoln Center, where Shalet served as an actress-intern and Strong was an established member of the company; Strong subsequently left his first wife to pursue a relationship with Shalet, who was approximately 17 years his junior.^[7]^[14] Their union was childless and deeply intertwined with their shared professional world in theater. The marriage endured until Strong's death on September 17, 1980.^[15] During this period, Shalet and Strong made their home in New York City, where they provided mutual encouragement in their acting pursuits, including a notable collaboration in the 1968 Los Angeles production of Slow Dance on the Killing Ground by the Inner City Repertory Company, directed by Vinnette Carroll and co-starring Glynn Turman.^[16] This partnership reflected their aligned artistic lives, with Shalet often idolizing Strong's established career while contributing to joint creative endeavors. Following Strong's passing, Shalet entered widowhood and maintained a notably private personal life, with no publicly documented romantic relationships in the ensuing decades. She focused increasingly on teaching and writing, eventually retiring to Palm Springs, California, in 1990. Shalet's New York roots continued to shape her social circles, fostering enduring connections within the theater community.^[2]

Later Years and Death

In 1990, following her retirement, Diane Shalet relocated to Palm Springs, California, seeking a quieter life after decades in New York and Los Angeles; this move led her to scale back her active teaching commitments while continuing to mentor aspiring actors remotely through occasional workshops and correspondence.^[2]^[4] Shalet's health began to decline in the early 2000s, which severely restricted her public appearances and shifted her focus toward private recovery efforts supported by close friends.^[4] She passed away on February 23, 2006, in Palm Springs—coinciding with her 71st birthday.^[3]

Legacy

Recognition and Influence

Her influence extended significantly through her teaching, particularly at the Actors and Writers Lab, which she founded in Manhattan.^[4] Shalet is included in theater histories of Lincoln Center as a pioneer in repertory acting, owing to her charter membership in the Lincoln Center Repertory Theatre, where she performed in early productions like After the Fall and Tartuffe.^[3] Shalet made an important archival contribution by donating scripts, notes, and related materials from the Michael Strong Papers to the Billy Rose Theatre Division of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center, preserving key documents of American theater history. This donation facilitated the 2017 rediscovery and screening of Paul Newman's lost 1959 short film On the Harmfulness of Tobacco, starring her husband Michael Strong, at the Film Society of Lincoln Center.^[14]^[17]

Posthumous Tributes

Following her death on February 23, 2006, Diane Shalet was remembered through media features that celebrated her contributions to theater and acting education. A Playbill article published on March 1, 2006, highlighted her roles in Broadway productions and her work as a teacher, noting her charter membership in the Lincoln Center Repertory Theatre and her founding of the Actors and Writers Lab.^[3] Similarly, a paid death notice in The New York Times on the same date emphasized her wit and warmth, suggesting donations to UNAIDS and the Actors Fund of America in her memory as a form of tribute.^[4] In the years after her passing, Shalet's influence persisted in discussions of theater history. Archival materials related to her career, including her preservation efforts for lost films like Paul Newman's 1956 short "On the Harmfulness of Tobacco," were featured in articles during the 2010s, such as a 2016 piece in The Forward that credited her with safeguarding important cinematic artifacts through donations to the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.^[17] These references underscored her enduring role in repertory theater and education, with clips and mentions of her performances resurfacing in explorations of mid-20th-century American stage work.^[18]