Ellen Albertini Dow, "The Wedding Singer" rapping grandmother, dies at 101
Her screen career spanned nearly a half-century, but Ellen Albertini Dow was probably most famous for her scene-stealing rendition of "Rapper's Delight" in the 1998 comedy, "The Wedding Singer."
Dow, who lived to be 101 years old, died on Monday.
Deadline confirmed the news with her longtime agent, Juliet Green.
The LAPC Theatre Department, founded by her husband, also confirmed the news on Facebook:
Today the LAPC Theatre Department lost the matriarch of its family. It is with great sadness that we report the news...
Posted by LAPC Theatre on Monday, May 4, 2015
While she was a delight in Adam Sandler's romantic comedy about a wedding performer, Dow had an expansive film and TV career that included roles on "The Twilight Zone," "Star Trek: The Next Generation," "The Wonder Girls" and "The Golden Girls." She also appeared alongside Whoopi Goldberg in "Sister Act" and as Disco Dottie in "54."
Dow followed "The Wedding Singer" with another scene-stealing appearance in "Wedding Crashers" as the obscene Mary Clearly, grandmother to Claire (Rachel McAdams), who outs her grandson (Keir O'Donnell).
The actress most recently voiced a character on "Family Guy" and was last seen on screen in "New Girl."
Dow was born Nov. 16, 1913, in Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania, before eventually moving to New York to pursue an acting career.
Watch her version of the Sugarhill Gang classic below: