Veteran character actress Alice Drummond, who played the spooked librarian in Ghostbusters, dies at 88

By Bobbie Whiteman For Dailymail.com

Published: 14:03 EST, 3 December 2016 | Updated: 21:40 EST, 3 December 2016

Alice Drummond, a veteran character actress with a long career in film, TV and on stage, died on Wednesday in New York at age 88.

Her friend and executor, the actress June Gable, revealed the news to The New York Times on Friday, saying her death was caused by complications from a fall she suffered two months earlier.

She is probably best remembered for playing a librarian frightened by an evil spirit in the beginning of 1984's Ghostbusters who is later interviewed by Bill Murray's character.

Tragic loss: Alice Drummond, pictured at the New York premiere of 2003's Pieces Of April, in which she played Grandma Dottie, has died  aged 88

But her acting career began on stage in the 1960s before she moved on to TV, starring in several soap operas and other shows.

Alice starred as Nurse Jackson on the 1967 series Dark Shadows and had regular roles on CBS soap dramas Where The Heart Is and As the World Turns.

Her first film was the 1970 Rob Reiner comedy Where’s Poppa? and she went on to appear in, among many others, 2008's Doubt as a nun alongside Philip Seymour Hoffman, Meryl Streep and Amy Adams.

She's spooked: The veteran character actress is probably best remembered for playing a librarian frightened by an evil spirit in the beginning of 1984's Ghostbusters

Alice also had a role in 1990's Oscar-nominated Awakenings, starring Robin Williams, based on the true life story of British neurologist Oliver Sacks. 

Other film credits include Ace Ventura: Pet Detective in 1994,  and To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar in 1995, which starred Wesley Snipes, Patrick Swayze and John Leguizamo in drag.

She continued to appear on and off-Broadway throughout her career.

Long career: Alice worked on stage,  screen and TV from the early 1960s. Here she is pictured in 1990's Oscar-nominated Awakenings, starring Robin Williams

In 1970, she garnered a Tony Award nomination for best featured actress in a play for her performance in Murray Schisgal's The Chinese. 

The actress was still working into her eighties.

With 75 acting credits on the Internet Movie Data Base, Alice last appeared as a senile senior citizen in the 2010 comedy Furry Vengeance, starring Brendan Fraser, Samantha Bee, Ken Jeong and Brooke Shields. 

Feisty woman: In her later years she became known for playing frail and not-so-frail old ladies, as in 1994's Ace Ventura: Pet Detective starring Jim Carrey

 


Comments (29)

Share what you think

 View all

The comments below have not been moderated.

 View all

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

Add your comment

By posting your comment you agree to our house rules.

Who is this week's top commenter? Find out now