Sada Thompson

Actor · Died May 4, 2011, aged 83 · Des Moines, Iowa, USA

Renowned and highly respected actress Sada Thompson has earned critical acclaim both on stage and TV for her noble, strong-minded matrons, but her more challenging and compelling work has come when her characters have displayed darker, more neurotic tones. Born in Des Moines, Iowa, she was the eldest of three children of magazine editor Hugh Woodruff Thompson and his wife Corlyss Gibson. After a family move to New Jersey, Sada developed an interest in acting, performing in school plays. She subsequently studied drama at the Carnegie Institute of Technology. Upon graduating in 1949, she began to build up her resume in regional stock and with repertory companies appearing in such productions as "Hay Fever", "The Little Foxes", "Born Yesterday", "The Clandestine Marriage" and "The Cocktail Party". Making her off-Broadway debut in 1955 with the first concert reading of Dylan Thomas' "Under Milk Wood", Sada won a 1957 Drama Desk award for her work in both The Misanthrope" and "The River Line" and, thereafter, started leaning heavily toward the classics -- "Much Ado About Nothing," "Othello," "The Merry Wives of Windsor," "Twelfth Night," "The Tempest" and "Richard II" to name a few. The 1970s began exceptionally well, hitting her zenith with complex, transcending performances in both "The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the Moon Marigolds" (earning both Drama Desk and Obie awards) and "Twigs," in which she captured the Tony (as well as Drama Desk, Obie and Sarah Siddons awards) in which she played four roles--three sisters and their elderly mother. This renewed attention for Sada finally lent itself to film and TV work. The dark-haired, somewhat plump-figured woman with classy but slightly offbeat features was not deemed marketable for film. So, despite adding distinctive support to the dramas Desperate Characters (1971) and The Pursuit of Happiness (1971), it was television that would garner her the attention she longed for and deserved. She won her first Emmy nomination playing Mary Todd Lincoln in Lincoln (1974) opposite Hal Holbrook's Honest Abe. The following year, she earned another nomination as Jack Lemmon's put-upon wife in The Entertainer (1975), a TV remake of the 1960 British film. The Emmy would finally come to her for her sensible mother role in the touching dramatic series Family (1976). As the proper, intelligent, slightly remote Kate Lawrence," mother of three, Sada became a TV symbol of strength, courage and integrity during the show's four seasons. She went on to receive two more Emmy nominations as Rhea Perlman's mother on Cheers (1982) and as accused California schoolteacher Virginia McMartin, on trial for sexual abuse, in the mini-movie Indictment: The McMartin Trial (1995). The quality of her performance along with those of fellow actors James Woods, Shirley Knight and Henry Thomas (of E.T. fame), lent an air of distinction to the obvious tabloid-driven material. In addition to other socially-relevant mini-movies, Sada occasionally returned to her beloved theater roots. She won a second Sarah Siddons award for the title role in "Driving Miss Daisy" (1989), and enjoyed a return to Broadway after nearly 20 years with "Any Given Day" in 1993. Elsewhere, her warm, soothing voice has been used frequently in documentary narratives and books-on-tape. Ms. Thompson, who lived in Connecticut with long-time husband (since 1949) Donald Stewart, had one daughter, Liza Stewart, a costume designer. She died in a Danbury hospital of lung disease on May 4, 2011, at age 83.

What are Sada Thompson's films like?

Across their 9 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Bonds.

Themes

share of theme weight

Morality

33%

Bonds

20%

Self

19%

Society

15%

Survival

6%

Power

3%

Ideas

2%

Identity4 Justice4 Family bonds4 Prejudice3 Deception2 Grief2

What they feel like to watch

their average across 8 films

ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category

Earnest

Tone · Sincerity

ironicearnest

Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 8

Dark

Tone · Weight

lightdark

Light 1 · Serious 1 · Dark 6

Grounded

Tone · Style

naturalisticheightened

Grounded 8 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 0

Charged

Feel · Intensity

gentleintense

Gentle 1 · Charged 4 · Intense 3

Steady

Feel · Swings

steadyswings

Steady 5 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 0

Straight-faced

Feel · Humor

noneconstant

Straight-faced 8 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 0

Slow burn

Demand · Pace

slowrelentless

Slow burn 5 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 0

Engaged

Demand · Attention

casualfull focus

Casual 1 · Engaged 6 · Full focus 1

Heavy

Demand · Emotional cost

easyheavy

Easy watch 1 · Affecting 3 · Heavy 4

Open-ended

Demand · Resolution

resolvedambiguous

Resolved 2 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 3

Roles they play

3 analyzed roles

Threshold guardian

1 of 3

Ally

1 of 3

Mentor

1 of 3

Threshold guardianas Claire in Desperate Characters (1971)
Allyas Pastine Tibbetts in Home Fires Burning (1989)
Mentoras Sister Evangeline in The Patron Saint of Liars (1998)

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense

9

Melancholic

6

Contemplative

3

Bittersweet

2

Dread

1

Other

2

How their films linger

Thought-provoking5 Bittersweet3 Haunting3 Unsettling2

How their films end · 1 with a twist

Happy1
Bittersweet5
Tragic1
Ambiguous2

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 Sada Thompson's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 9 of their 14 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Prime Video (3).

Also on these channels

Acorn TV1 title, show their title on Acorn TV
Howdy1 title, show their title on Howdy
PBS Documentaries1 title, show their title on PBS Documentaries
Shout! TV1 title, show their title on Shout! TV
Sony Pictures Core1 title, show their title on Sony Pictures Core

Subscription and free streaming for Sada Thompson'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

28 credits, 14 with a MovieCove page; 3 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

Bodily Harm(2002)
Show 2 episodes · as Nic Greenfield
Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all shows
Pollock(2000)
as Stella Pollock
Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films
The Patron Saint of Liars(1998)
as Sister Evangeline
Midcredits score: 27th percentile of all films
Any Mother's Son(1997)
as Gertie
Midcredits score: 56th percentile of all films
Indictment: The McMartin Trial(1995)
as Virginia McMartin
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films
Queen(1993)
Show 3 episodes · Actor
Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all shows
Law & Order(1990)
Show 1 episode · as Elaine Nicodos
Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all shows
Andre's Mother (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)
as Andre's Mother
Fear Stalk(1989)
as Pearl
Midcredits score: 24th percentile of all films
Home Fires Burning(1989)
as Pastine Tibbettes
Midcredits score: 29th percentile of all films
American Experience(1988)
Show 1 episode · as Narrator (voice)
Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all shows
Fatal Confession: A Father Dowling Mystery(1987)
as Maria Pello
Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films
My Two Loves (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1986)
as Dorothea
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1986)
as Widow Douglas
Princess Daisy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1983)
Show 2 episodes · as Marsha
The Skin of Our Teeth (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1983)
as Mrs. Antrobus
Marco Polo (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)
Show 2 episodes · as Zia Flora
Cheers(1982)
Show 1 episode · as Mama Lozupone
Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all shows
American Playhouse (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)
Show 3 episodes · as Fanny Church · as Katherine Gerard · as Mrs. Antrobus · as Widow Douglas
Frida Kahlo (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)
as Narrator (voice)
Our Town (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1977)
as Mrs. Gibbs
The Entertainer (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1976)
as Phoebe Rice
Family (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1976)
Show 86 episodes · as Kate Lawrence
Lincoln (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1974)
Show 5 episodes · as Mary Todd Lincoln
Desperate Characters(1971)
as Claire
Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films
The Pursuit of Happiness(1971)
as Ruth Lawrence
Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all films
Playwrights '56 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1955)
Show 1 episode · Actor
Hallmark Hall of Fame (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1951)
Show 1 episode · as Pastine

Career shape

Star power in the 62^nd percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 28 titles from 1951 to 2002; peak year 1995.

Highest rated

Indictment: The McMartin Trial (1995)

Midcredits 90^th

Film career

19512002

Peak 1995 · 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.

1995Screen debut· Indictment: The McMartin Trial

By role

only this rolewith another role

Acting28 of 28 · 63^rd

By decade

1950s2 · acting1970s6 · acting1980s12 · acting1990s6 · acting2000s2 · 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 Sada Thompson's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 48^th percentile, the median of all 9; across their 8 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 41^st percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

41^stpercentile

Typical film, the median of 8

Approval · how many liked their films

42^ndpercentile

Typical film, the median of 8

Reach · how many have seen their films

28^thpercentile

Typical film, the median of 8

Midcredits score across 14 titles, by percentile

75^th and up6
50^th to 74^th2
25^th to 49^th5
Below 25^th1

Shape of the crowd

7 of their 14 titles are Mixed.

Universally Loved1
Cult Classic1
Crowd Pleaser5
Mixed7

Most divisive · actor

Fear Stalk (1989)

70^th percentile spread · 33% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · actor

Indictment: The McMartin Trial (1995)

Midcredits 90^th · 83% liked

Reviewers score the acting 79/100 in their films, across 5 reviewed titles; fans 85, detractors 57. 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 Sada Thompson work with?

People who share at least 2 of Sada Thompson's MovieCove titles; Barnard Hughes shares the most, 2.

Barnard Hughes2 titles See all 2 shared titles with Barnard Hughes