June Squibb

Early life

Squibb was born and raised in Vandalia, Illinois, the only child of JoyBelle (née Force; 1905–1996) and Lewis Squibb (1905–1996). Her mother was an avid golfer and well-known piano player who began playing for silent films in the 1920s, and later entered piano competitions, winning the World Championship Old Time Piano Playing Contest in 1975 and 1976. Her father was in the insurance business and served in the Navy during World War II.

Career

Squibb began her career in musical theatre at the St. Louis Muny and trained at the Cleveland Play House, and at the HB Studio after moving to New York City. While at the Cleveland Play House in the 1950s, she performed in productions of Marseilles, The Play’s the Thing, Goodbye, My Fancy, The Heiress, Detective Story, Antigone, Ladies in Retirement and Bloomer Girl.

She got her big break in New York by landing the role of Dulcie in The Boyfriend Off-Broadway in 1958. In 1959, she performed in an Off-Broadway revival of Lend an Ear starring Elizabeth Allen. She made her Broadway debut in the original production of Gypsy starring Ethel Merman, taking over the role of stripper Electra in 1960. She next appeared in The Happy Time, which opened in 1968 and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Musical. In-between these periods June also did modeling work for romance novels and did commercials.

In 1995, she appeared in the play Sacrilege on Broadway, which starred Ellen Burstyn. Squibb played many roles in national tours, regional theatre, summer stock and off-Broadway.

In 2012, she played the matriarch Stella Gordon in Dividing the Estate at the Dallas Theater Center for which she received standout reviews. In 2015, she was inducted into the Cleveland Play House Hall of Fame.

Squibb was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Alexander Payne's Nebraska.

Personal life

Squibb's first husband was actor Edward Sostek; the two divorced. She is the widow of her second husband, acting teacher Charles Kakatsakis (1959–1999), with whom she has one child, Harry Kakatsakis, a filmmaker best known for his short film Admissions. Squibb converted to Judaism when she married Edward Sostek in the 1950s; she still considers herself Jewish.

When asked about ageism in show business, Squibb has stated, "Well, it’s like anything else. I always feel, rules are meant to be broken."