Mary Gross (born March 25, 1953) is an American voice actress, comedian, and actress known for her four-year stint on Saturday Night Live from 1981 to 1985 and her recurring role as Sabrina's favorite teacher, Mrs. Quick in Sabrina, the Teenage Witch from 1997 to 2000. Her credits also include roles on Animaniacs, Boston Legal, That's So Raven, and Six Feet Under.
Early life
Gross was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1953. She is the youngest of three children born to William Oscar Gross, a tool designer, and Virginia Ruth (née Cahill), a telephone operator (the eldest being actor Michael Gross). She attended Madonna High School—an all-girls Catholic school, since demolished While in high school, Gross made her performing debut—singing, in character, as France's Louis XIV, to the tune of Bernstein and Sondheim's "I Feel Pretty"—alongside fellow Madonna alumna Marilu Henner. Gross worked for five years as a secretary for the American Dental Association. In 1979, she joined the Second City comedy troupe. She became co-anchor of SNL's Weekend Update segment (renamed SNL Newsbreak) during her first season. She and the rest of the cast left in 1985 following executive producer Dick Ebersol's departure from the show.
Recurring characters
- Alfalfa, from SNLs recurring parody of The Little Rascals and skits regarding the murder of Eddie Murphy's Buckwheat character.
- Siobhan Cahill, an Irish woman who reports on Irish events on Saturday Night News (Weekend Update's name when Brad Hall was cast as anchor). Coincidentally, Saturday Night Live would have Siobhan Fallon and Beth Cahill as cast members in the 1991-92 season.
- Chi Chi, a Hispanic woman who hosts two fake public-access television cable TV shows (The Ghostbusters Show and Let's Watch TV) with her best friend, Consuela (played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus)
- Celeste, a repressed woman married to an equally repressed man (played by Tim Kazurinsky)
Celebrity impersonations
- Ann Landers
- Brooke Shields
- Ruth Westheimer (Dr. Ruth)
- Nancy Reagan
- Paul Reubens (as Pee-wee Herman)
- Eleanor Roosevelt
- Geraldine Ferraro
- Harriet Nelson
- Irlene Mandrell
- Marilyn Monroe
- Mary Tyler Moore
- Jeane Dixon
- Mary Hart
- Lena Horne
- Lisa Coleman
- Margaret Thatcher
- Melissa Gilbert
- Simone de Beauvoir
- Suzanne Somers
- Leslie Uggams
Personal life
Gross has never married, but as of June 1982, Chicago-based photographer Jay King was referred to as "her longtime boyfriend" in a profile/interview of Gross penned by Chicago Sun-Times writer Michael Davis.
Filmography
Film
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
|1986
|Club Paradise
|Jackie
|
|-
|1987
|Baby Boom
|Charlotte Elkman
|
|-
|1988
|'
|Vera Maitlin
|
|-
|1988
|Casual Sex?
|Ilene
|
|-
|1988
|Big Business
|Judy
|
|-
|1988
|Hot to Trot
|Ms. French
|
|-
|1988
|Feds
|Janis Zuckerman
|
|-
|1989
|Troop Beverly Hills
|Annie Herman
|
|-
|1992
|There Goes the Neighborhood
|Mrs. Bratesman
|
|-
|1993
|Public Enemy #2
|Marcey
|
|-
|1994
|'
|Ms. Daniels
|
|-
|1998
|Practical Magic
|Debbie
|
|-
|2001
|Tremors 3: Back to Perfection
|Tourist mom
|
|-
|2002
|40 Days and 40 Nights
|Bev Sullivan
|
|-
|2003
|'
|Ma Klapper
|
|}
Television
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
|1981–1985
|Saturday Night Live
|Herself / Various
|Cast member
|-
|1985
|Tales of the Unexpected
|Woman on beach
|Episode: "Scrimshaw"
|-
|1986
|Amen
|Nurse Kenningston
|Episode: "After the Fall"
|-
|1988
|Channel 99
|Fifi Kurtz
|TV film
|-
|1989
|'
|Abigail MacIntyre Kellogg
|Main role
|-
|1992
|Billy
|Phoebe Trillman
|Recurring role
|-
|1992
|Murphy Brown
|Chris Manheim
|Episode: "He-Ho, He-Ho, It's Off to Lamaze We Go"
|-
|1993
|Jack's Place
|Rosemary
|Episode: "Faithful Henry"
|-
|1993–1997
|Animaniacs
|Katie's Mom
|Voice, recurring role
|-
|1994
|'
|Mary Gross
|Episode: "Next Stop Bottom"
|-
|1995
|Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
|Nell Newtrich
|Episode: "Ultra Woman"
|-
|1995
|'
|Voices
|Recurring role
|-
|1997
|Something So Right
|Polly
|Episode: "Something About Cold Storage"
|-
|1997
|'
|Aunt Jane
|Episode: "Twister of Fate"
|-
|1997
|'
|Deer / Bird
|Voice, episode: "Deranged Ranger"
|-
|1997–2000
|Sabrina the Teenage Witch
|Mrs. Quick
|Recurring role
|-
|1997–2002
|Hey Arnold!
|School Nurse Shelley
|Voice, 3 episodes