Michael Learned

Michael Learned
Learned in a publicity photo as Olivia Walton, 1972
Born	(1939-04-09) April 9, 1939 Washington, D.C. United States
Occupation	Actress, Singer
Years active	1961—present
Spouse(s)	Peter Donat (1956–1972) Glenn Chadwick (1974–1977) William Parker, IV (1979–?) John Doherty (1988–present)
Children	Caleb Donat Christopher Donat Lucas Donat

Michael Learned (born April 9, 1939) is an American actress, best known for her role as Olivia Walton in the long-running CBS drama series, The Waltons (1972-1979). She has won a record four Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series; three for The Waltons (1973, 74, 76), and one for Nurse (1982).

Early life

Learned was born in Washington, D.C., the daughter and oldest child of Elizabeth Duane "Betti" (née Hooper) and Bruce Learned, a diplomat. Her maternal grandfather was an attaché for the United States Embassy in Rome. She lived on a Connecticut farm with her five sisters for the first ten years of her life. Learned said that her parents never explained why she received a masculine first name, and that others often did not believe "Michael" was her given name. When she was 11, Learned moved to Austria, where her father worked for the U.S. State Department. At this time, she attended Arts Educational School, Tring now Tring Park School for the Performing Arts in Tring, Hertfordshire, England. During this time, she discovered the theater and decided to make acting her life's work.

Career

Television

She was billed as "Miss Michael Learned" on The Waltons (which ran from 1972-1981) because she was relatively unknown at the time, and producers did not want confusion among viewers about her gender. By the sixth season, as the show continued its success and after the departure of co-star Richard Thomas, producers' fear of gender confusion had been alleviated and the "Miss" was dropped from Learned's billing. She was nominated for six Emmy Awards and won three for her role of Olivia Walton. In 1979, her contract was not renewed; some sources indicate that she opted not to re-sign with the show to avoid typecasting as an "Olivia Walton" character. Her character's abrupt disappearance was explained by Olivia developing tuberculosis and entering a sanatorium in Arizona. She made occasional guest appearances until the show's cancellation and later appeared in four of the six Waltons reunion movies made during the 1980s and 1990s. For her portrayal of Olivia Walton, Learned was nominated for four Golden Globe Awards. During her run as Olivia Walton, Learned and The Waltons co-star, Will Geer, appeared together in the 1974 made-for-TV movie, Hurricane.

Learned starred as Nurse Mary Benjamin in the hospital drama Nurse, which ran on CBS during the 1981–82 season. Though the series was well received critically, it was not a ratings success and lasted only two seasons. Nevertheless, Learned was nominated for two Emmy Awards for "Outstanding Lead Actress" and won yet another Emmy for this role in 1982. She later had a starring roles in the unsuccessful 1988 drama Hothouse, and 1989 sitcom Living Dolls and reprised her Waltons role for a number of TV movies and reunions in the 1990s.

In 2005, Learned played Judge Helen Turner on the ABC soap operas All My Children and One Life to Live as part of the "baby switch" storyline on both shows. In The Secret World of Alex Mack's second season, she guest starred as a ghost who regretted the decisions of her long-estranged granddaughter, revealed at the end to be the show's main villain, Danielle Atron (Louan Gideon). She also guest-starred in Scrubs as Mrs. Wilk in five episodes from the show's fifth season. She also played Shirley Smith on ABC's General Hospital. In the fall of 2011, Learned played Katherine Chancellor on the CBS daytime soap opera, The Young and the Restless, filling in for Jeanne Cooper, who was on extended medical leave from the series.

Theatre

In the late 1960s, Learned and her husband (Peter Donat) appeared in various roles with the American Conservatory Theatre (A.C.T.) in San Francisco.

She has appeared in many stage productions on Broadway, Off Broadway, and elsewhere, including the 2006–2007 national touring production of On Golden Pond. In the fall of 2008 she starred in Innovation Theatre Works' production of Driving Miss Daisy, playing the title role of Daisy Werthen opposite Willis Burks II as Hoke and Dirk Blocker as Daisy's son Boolie.

Personal life

Learned has been married four times. Her first husband was Canadian-American actor Peter Donat, whom she married in 1956, when she was 17 years old. The marriage was dissolved in 1972. She had three children by the marriage; Caleb, Christopher and Lucas Donat. Her second marriage, to Glenn Chadwick, lasted from 1975–1977, and ended in divorce. In 1979, she married actor/screenwriter William Parker. That marriage ended and in 1988 she married lawyer John Doherty; they reside in California.

In a 2002 article she wrote for Daily Word, a publication of the Unity Church, Learned states that at the time she was cast in The Waltons, she had "hit rock bottom". It was then, at age 32, that Learned realized she was an alcoholic. Taking herself to ex-husband Peter Donat's cabin on the California coast, Learned states she decided to "get sober" and that her time there was the beginning of a spiritual journey. Learned further stated in the article that she has been sober since 1977.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1963	The Other Man	Unknown	Television movie
1968	Wojeck	Nina Eden	2 episodes
1972–1979	The Waltons	Olivia Walton	168 episodes Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (1973–74, 1976) Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama (1973–76) Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (1975, 1978–79)
1973	Gunsmoke	Mike Yardner	Episode: "Matt's Love Story"
1973	Gunsmoke	May Lassiter	Episode: "A Game of Death... An Act of Love Part 2"
1973	Match Game 73	Herself	Episode: "1.6"
1973–1974	Insight	Sister Janet	2 episodes
1974	Hurricane	Lee Jackson	Television movie
1974	It Couldn't Happen to a Nicer Guy	Janet Walters	Television movie
1974	Police Story	Linda Keitlinger	Episode: "Love, Mabel"
1978	Little Mo	Eleanor Tennant	Television movie
1980	Nurse	Mary Benjamin	Television movie
1980	Touched by Love	Dr. Bell
1980	A Christmas Without Snow	Zoe Jenson	Television movie
1981–1982	Nurse	Nurse Mary Benjamin	25 episodes Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
1982	Mother's Day on Waltons Mountain	Olivia Walton	Television movie
1984	The Parade	Rachel Kirby	Television movie
1984	St. Elsewhere	Sister Millicent Domencia	2 episodes
1986	Power	Governor Andrea Stannard
1986	A Deadly Business	Ann	Television movie
1986	Picnic	Rosemary Sidney	Television movie
1987	Mercy of Murder?	Skipper	Television movie
1988	Hothouse	Dr. Marie Teller	7 episodes
1988	Roots: The Gift	Amelia Parker	Television movie
1989	Murder, She Wrote	Maria Hudson	Episode: "Trevor Hudson's Legacy"
1989	Who's the Boss?	Trish Carlin	2 episodes
1989	Living Dolls	Trish Carlin	12 episodes
1990	Gunsmoke: The Last Apache	Mike Yardner	Television movie
1990	Wiseguy	Rachel	2 episodes
1991	Aftermath: A Test of Love	Irene	Television movie
1991	Murder in New Hampshire: The Pamela Wojas Smart Story	Judy Smart	Television movie
1991	Keeping Secrets	Marion Mahoney	Television movie
1992	Mattie's Waltz	Mattie	Television movie
1993	Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story	Vivian Emery
1993	A Walton Thanksgiving Reunion	Olivia Walton	Television movie
1994	Reading Rainbow	Herself	Episode: "Appelemondo's Dream"
1995	The Secret World of Alex Mack	Ghost of Paradise Valley	Episode: "The Secret"
1995	A Walton Wedding	Olivia Walton	Television movie
1997	A Walton Easter	Olivia Walton	Television movie
1997	Life During Wartime	Unknown
1998	A Father for Brittany	Edna Humphreys	Television movie
1998	Profiler	Helen Waters	3 episodes
1998	Promised Land	Dolly Carstens	Episode: "The Secret of Bluestem"
2000	For the Love of May	Mary Lou	Short film
2000	Pensacola: Wings of Gold	Congresswoman Benedict	Episode: "Article 32"
2000	So Graham Norton	Herself	Episode: "3.8"
2003	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Candace Lamery	Episode: "Privilege"
2005	All My Children	Judge Turner	Episode: "1.9044"
2005	Lethal Eviction	Elsa
2005	Loggerheads	Sheridan Bellamy
2005	One Life to Live	Hon. Judge Turner	2 episodes
2006-2009	Scrubs	Mrs. Wilk	8 episodes
2007	The Killer	The Innkeeper	Short film
2009	Cold Case	Louise Patterson '09	Episode: "WASP"
2009	An American Girl: Chrissa Stands Strong	Nana Louis Hanlon
2010	General Hospital	Shirley Smith	23 episodes
2011	Mr. Sunshine	Maggie	Episode: "The Best Man"
2011	The Young and the Restless	Katherine Chancellor	14 episodes
2014	Unplugged	Grandma Katie	Short film
2014	The Parcel	Beverly	Short film
2014	After Life	Gloria

External links

• Michael Learned at the Internet Movie Database
• Michael Learned at the Internet Broadway Database
• Michael Learned at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Michael Learned interview video at the Archive of American Television