Margaret Jobeth Williams is an American stage actress, director and television host born on December 6th, 1948. Williams, a respected Hollywood veteran, was born in Houston, Texas to Frances Faye and Frederic Roger Williams.
the biography
Jobeth attended Jones High School in the South Park neighborhood of Houston, where she graduated in 1966. While in college, she had a strong interest in acting, but her high school counselor thought otherwise. She took his advice and was admitted to Pembroke College at Brown University, Rhode Island. She obtained her BA degree in Pembroke in 1970. in English.
Upon graduation, Jobeth made a pivotal decision to pursue a career in the performing arts, she decided to enroll in performing arts training at the Trinity Repertory Company in Providence. She also trained alongside Jim Barnhill and John Emigh for over two and a half years. After her training, she then moved to New York to begin her acting career and began appearing in various television series in the mid-1970s.
Her first recognized television role was in 1972 when she starred in a children’s television series Jabberwocky and her character was named after her real name JoBeth. After appearing on various series in the 70s, Williams made her film debut in 1979 in the film Kramer vs. Kramer
She will be most remembered for the roles she played in the following films; Stir Crazy in 1980 alongside adult comedian Richard Pryor and Poltergeist in 1982 and the sequel Poltergeist II : The Other Side in 1986. She also earned an Emmy Award nomination in 1983 for her role as Reve Walsh – wife of John Walsh in the movie Adam in 1983.
Jobeth’s next gig was at CBS’s Orderly Murder in 1987 which was followed by Baby m in 1988. She starred in much smaller supporting roles like the 1991 sex comedy Switch starring Ellen Barkin and Jimmy Smits.
After a period in the limelight and surviving in part roles, she landed a major role in Me, Myself and Me co-starring George Segal.
Jobeths’ versatility was brilliant when she dabbled in animation by giving voice to the experimenters of CBS Police of Fish in 1992, it was a short-lived, prime-time cartoon series. , also starring John Ritter.
Jobeth Williams scored with an impressive directorial outing in a 30-minute feature, On Hope Annette O’Toole and Mercedes Ruehl’s production was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Short Film. She also directed a 2001 episode of the supernatural TV series Night Vision in 2001
Five facts to know about Jobeth Williams
1. Jobeth is married but unable to have children
Williams is married to television director John Pasquin. The couple met and wasted no time in tying the knot. The couple were unable to have biological children choosing to adopt two children.
2. Inducted into the Texas Film Hall of Fame
In recognition of her outstanding contributions to her profession, she was inducted into the Texas Film Hall of Fame on March 10, 2006 in Austin, Texas.
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3. Phobia for Skeletons
On the set of the horror film Poltergeist, the production team decided to use real skeletons in the pool rather than plastic, because of the cheap price of the real ones. Little did they know that skeletons were a no-no for Jobeth. In an attempt to calm her down, producer Steven Speilberg crawled into the pool and told her, “If the lights go down, we’ll both die.” And her strategy worked and she continued with the scene.
4. She had to change her accent
Born and raised in Texas, Jobeth Williams had developed a very strong and noticeable twang from birth in Texas. During her training at the Trinity Repertory Company, her trainers told Williams that to reach the top, she would have to get rid of the Texas accent. Before moving to New York, Williams began vocal training in order to master his Texas accent.
5. President of the Screen Actors Guild Foundation.
In 2009, Jobeth Williams was elected president of the Screen Actors Guild Foundation. The foundation is responsible for providing support and programming to professionals registered with the guild.