One of the most popular actresses in film and television during the 1970s and 1980s, Ellen Burstyn wowed critics and audiences alike with her enormously skilled and sympathetic performances as strong and complex women who struggle against what seem like insurmountable challenges in such films as “The Last Picture Show” (1971), “The Exorcist” (1973) and “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,” which earned her an Academy Award in 1974. Despite her considerable talent and skill in both heavy drama and comedies like “Same Time, Next Year” (1978), she found it difficult to find substantial parts in the
