Image of Imogene Coca

Imogene Coca

​From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.   Imogene Fernandez de Coca (November 18, 1908 – June 2, 2001) was an American comic actress best known for her role opposite Sid Caesar on Your Show of Shows. Starting out in vaudeville as a child acrobat, she studied ballet and wished to have a serious career in music and dance, graduating to decades of stage musical revues, cabaret and summer stock. Finally in her 40s she began a celebrated career as a comedienne in television, starring in six series and guesting on successful television programs from the 1940s to the 1990s. She was nominated for five Emmy awards for Your Show of Shows, winning Best Actress in 1951 and singled out for a Peabody Award for excellence in broadcasting in 1953. Coca was also nominated for a Tony Award in 1978 for On the Twentieth Century and received a sixth Emmy nomination at the age of 80 for an episode of Moonlighting. She possessed a rubbery face capable of the broadest expressions—Life magazine compared her to Beatrice Lillie and Charlie Chaplin, and described her characterizations as taking "people or situations suspended in their own precarious balance between dignity and absurdity, and push(ing) them over the cliff with one single, pointed gesture"—the magazine noted a "particularly high-brow critic" as observing, "The trouble with most comedians who try to do satire is that they are essentially brash, noisy and indelicate people who have to use a sledge hammer to smash a butterfly. Miss Coca, on the other hand, is the timid woman who, when aroused, can beat a tiger to death with a feather." In addition to vaudeville, cabaret, theater and television, she appeared in film, voiced children's cartoons and was even featured in an MTV video by a New Wave band. Though her fame began late, she worked well into her 80s. Twice a widow, Coca died in 2001. Description above from the Wikipedia article Imogene Coca, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.


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Born:
Nov 18, 1908 In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Movie/TV Credits:
39
First Appeared:
In the series The Imogene Coca Show
Latest Project:
Movie Hollywood: The Movie 1996-01-01
Known For
Poster of National Lampoon's Vacation
Poster of Mama's Family
Poster of Rabbit Test
Poster of Grindl
Filmography
Series The Imogene Coca Show Unknown 2025
Series The Sid Caesar Show Arline Phillips 2025
Movie Hollywood: The Movie Roxy 1996-01-01
Movie Buy & Cell Reggie's Mother 1989-01-27
Series Monsters Unknown 1988-10-22
Movie Papa Was a Preacher Missy B 1986-09-19
Series Moonlighting Unknown 1985-03-03
Series Alice in Wonderland 1985-12-09
Movie Nothing Lasts Forever Daisy Schackman 1984-09-06
Series Mama's Family Unknown 1983-01-22
Movie National Lampoon's Vacation Aunt Edna 1983-07-29
Movie The Return of the Beverly Hillbillies Granny's Maw 1981-10-06
Movie Freddie the Freeloader's Christmas Dinner Molly - Bag Lady 1981-11-01
Series The Big Show Unknown 1980-03-04
Series Trapper John, M.D. Unknown 1979-09-23
Movie Rabbit Test Madam Marie 1978-04-09
Movie A Special Sesame Street Christmas Herself 1978-12-08
Movie Too Easy to Kill Mrs. Bradshaw 1975-10-14
Movie Ten from Your Show of Shows 1973-02-23
Movie The Enchanted World of Danny Kaye: The Emperor's New Clothes Princess Jane Klockenlocher 1972-02-21
Series Night Gallery Unknown 1970-12-16
Series The Brady Bunch Unknown 1969-09-26
Series It's About Time Shad 1966-09-11
Series The Hollywood Palace Unknown 1964-01-04
Series Bewitched Unknown 1964-09-17
Movie Promises! Promises! Woman Under Hair Dryer (uncredited) 1963-08-01
Series Grindl Grindl 1963-09-15
Movie Under the Yum-Yum Tree Dorkus Murphy 1963-10-23
Movie The Sound of Laughter Miss Klutz (Ballerina) 1963-12-17
Series The Steve Allen Show Unknown 1956-06-24
Series The Imogene Coca Show Host 1954-10-02
Series General Electric Theater Unknown 1953-02-01
Series This Is Your Life Unknown 1952-10-01
Series Your Show of Shows Herself 1950-02-25
Series The Colgate Comedy Hour Unknown 1950-09-10
Series The Admiral Broadway Revue 1949-01-28
Series The Ed Sullivan Show Unknown 1948-06-20
Series Buzzy Wuzzy 1948-11-17
Movie Dime a Dance Esmeralda 1937-12-23