Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role 1968
Estelle Parsons Bonnie and Clyde 1968
SEX WORKER ROLE
Streetwalker in Malcolm 1966
Myrtle in The Seven Descents of Myrtle 1968
Tony Nominated For Playing A Prostitute
Both Characters Are Prostitutes
Estelle Parsons in Malcolm 1966 and The Seven Descents of Myrtle 1968
“Malcolm” was a play by Edward Albee, based on a novel by James Purdy. The gist of the story centers on a young man waiting for his father to pick him up. He sits on a stoop where they are supposed to meet. But the father never arrives. In the meantime, the young man encounters various people while sitting on that stoop. Estelle Parsons plays many different characters, including several nameless prostitutes who flow in and out of the story.
More substantial was the lead role Estelle played in Tennessee Williams’s play “The Seven Descents of Myrtle.” She plays the title character, a prostitute married to an impotent cross-dresser. Myrtle finds herself in a love triangle between her husband and his multiracial half-brother. It’s noteworthy that Estelle participated in this play concurrently with her Academy Award nomination for “Bonnie & Clyde.” The show was scheduled to be dark on Oscar night, allowing Estelle to attend the ceremonies. Despite the publicity surrounding Estelle’s win for Best Supporting Actress, the play performed poorly at the box office, leading to its closure after 29 performances.
Watch trailer of the film adaptation retitled “Last of the Mobile Hot Shots”
with Lynn Redgrave in the role of Myrtle
To read more about other Oscar-winning actresses playing characters working in the sex trade industry, please continue perusing Oscar Hookers