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Denise Nickerson

Denise Nickerson

Actor · Died July 10, 2019, aged 62 · New York City, New York, USA

Denise Nickerson (April 1, 1957-July 10, 2019) was an American former actress best known for her roles as the gum-chewing Violet Beauregarde in the 1971 movie Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory as well as Amy Jennings and Nora Collins in the soap opera Dark Shadows. Description above from the Wikipedia article Denise Nickerson, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
April 1, 1957
Died
July 10, 2019 (aged 62)
From
New York City, New York, USA
Works as
Actor
Titles
9 on MovieCove · 15 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 156 days to Oct 27Down 34% in 30 days

What are Denise Nickerson's films like?

Across their 5 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
29%
Self
26%
Ideas
25%
Society
13%
Morality
8%
Family bonds2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 5 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 4 · Serious 1 · Dark 0

Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 4 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 1

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 2 · Charged 3 · Intense 0

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 4 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 0

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 1 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 2

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 1 · Even-paced 4 · Relentless 0

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 5 · Engaged 0 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 5 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0

Roles they play

1 analyzed role

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Warm
2
Absurd
2
Joyful
2
Tense
2
Melancholic
1
Other
1

How their films linger

Bittersweet3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 1 with a twist

  • Happy2
  • Bittersweet3

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Denise Nickerson's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 6 of their 9 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Pluto TV (3).

Subscription and free streaming for Denise Nickerson's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

15 credits, 9 with a MovieCove page; 3 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • Howard(2018)

    as Shirley (archive footage)

    Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films

  • Dark Shadows: The Haunting of Collinwood (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)

    as Amy Jennings (archive footage)

  • The Koozebanian (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1978)

    as Kana Nelson

  • Zero to Sixty(1978)

    as 'Larry' Wilde

    Midcredits score: 13th percentile of all films

  • Child of Glass (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1978)

    as Connie Sue Armsworth

  • The Dark Side of Innocence(1976)

    as Gabriela Hancock

    Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • Smile(1975)

    as Shirley

    Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films

  • The Man Who Could Talk to Kids (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1973)

    as Dena Pingitore

  • The Electric Company(1971)

    Show 130 episodes · as Allison - Member of the Short Circus

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all shows

  • Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory(1971)

    as Violet Beauregarde

    Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films

  • The Neon Ceiling (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1971)

    as Paula Miller

  • The Brady Bunch(1969)

    Show 1 episode · Actor

    Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all shows

  • Dark Shadows(1966)

    Show 1 episode · Actor

    Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all shows

  • Flipper(1964)

    Show 1 episode · Actor

    Midcredits score: 20th percentile of all shows

  • Search for Tomorrow (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1951)

    Show 2 episodes · Actor

Career shape

Star power in the 74th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 15 titles from 1951 to 2018; peak year 1971.

Biggest box office

Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)

$2.7M worldwide

Highest rated

Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)

Midcredits 96th

Film career

19512018

Peak 1971 · steadily prominent in film for years. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting15 of 15: 15 only acting, 0 with another role · typical Midcredits score81st

By decade

1950s1 · acting1960s3 · acting1970s9 · acting2000s1 · acting2010s1 · acting

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Denise Nickerson's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 81st percentile, the median of all 5; across their 5 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 86th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

86thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 5

Approval · how many liked their films

80thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 5

Reach · how many have seen their films

49thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 5

Midcredits score across 9 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up5
  • 50th to 74th1
  • 25th to 49th1
  • Below 25th2

Shape of the crowd

3 of their 9 titles are Universally Loved.

  • Universally Loved3
  • Cult Classic1
  • Crowd Pleaser2
  • Mixed3

Most divisive · actor

The Dark Side of Innocence (1976)

76th percentile spread · 33% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · actor

Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)

Midcredits 96th · 86% liked

Reviewers score the acting 82/100 in their films, across 4 reviewed titles; fans 85, detractors 50. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Who does Denise Nickerson work with?

People who share at least 2 of Denise Nickerson's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Gene Wilder shares the most, 2.

Actors

Mixed roles