Occupation Actress Spouse Justin Arndt (m. ?–2002) Role Character actress | Name Bibi Osterwald Years active 1944-2002 Children Christopher Arndt | |
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Full Name Margaret Virginia Osterwald Born February 3, 1918 ( 1918-02-03 ) New Brunswick, New Jersey, U.S. Died January 2, 2002, Burbank, California, United States Awards Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Performance - Musical Movies and TV shows As Good as It Gets, The World of Henry Orient, Bank Shot, Bridget Loves Bernie, Caddyshack II Similar People Merrie Spaeth, Tippy Walker, Phyllis Thaxter, Peter Duchin, Gower Champion | ||
Sing Bibi Sing Sizzle Reel
Bibi Osterwald (born Margaret Virginia Osterwald; February 3, 1918 – January 2, 2002) was an American character actress.
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Life and career
Osterwald was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, the daughter of Dagmar (Kvastad) and Rudolf August Osterwald, a hotel owner.
As a student, Osterwald appeared in the Catholic University semi-pro revue in Washington, D.C. in August 1942. She starred in "Ten Nights in a Barroom" at the Willard Hotel for 8 weeks starting mid-August 1943. She then pursued a career on the New York stage. The Central Opera House [NYC], seating 2000, "introduced" Osterwald leading in "Broken Hearts of Broadway" in June 1944. "Miss Osterwald is on Broadway as one of the outstanding participants in 'Sing Out, Sweet Land.' What is more, next to stars Alfred Drake and Burl Ives, she has received the loudest praise of those critics who saw the play out of town. Its road tour Included Hartford, Boston and Philadelphia." -December 28, 1944. Osterwald went on to appear in such Broadway shows as Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Bus Stop, and The Golden Apple, for which she won an Outer Critics Circle Award in 1953.
Starting in the 1950s, Osterwald began to appear on television, and made many TV appearances from the 1950s through the end of the 1990s. She was best known for her television role of Stella O'Brien, the cranky housekeeper for the Hathaway family on the soap opera, Where the Heart Is in the 1970s and also as Mrs. Sophie Steinberg, the mother of David Birney and mother-in-law of Meredith Baxter on the short-lived comedy series, Bridget Loves Bernie. In 1982, she originated the role of Nanny McTavish, Holly Sutton's long-time confidante, on General Hospital. In the years just prior to her death in 2002, she was a voice actress for the cartoon series Rugrats.
She also appeared in several films, including Parrish (1961), The World of Henry Orient (1964) (in which she had a substantial role as Erica "Boothy" Booth), A Fine Madness (1966), Bank Shot (1974), Caddyshack II (1988) and As Good As It Gets (1997).