Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Main Cast Member Has Died
Louise Fletcher from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine has passed away.
This article is more than 2 years old
Louise Fletcher, an Oscar-winning actress, has passed away at the age of 88 years old. Fletcher famously portrayed Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, a villainous role that she was quite good at. Apart from her role in that spectacular film, she was otherwise known for having played Kai Winn in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine from 1993 to 1999. Though Fletcher became typecasted into “evil” roles, she held a magnificent career.
Louise Fletcher began her acting career by accident after she had been stranded in Los Angeles in her younger years, leaving her to fall into acting as a way to make some money. She held many small roles in television shows, including Playhouse 90, Maverick, 77 Sunset Strip, and The Untouchables. After wanting to raise her family, she took 10 years off from acting, before returning to acting in Thieves Like Us, which her husband at the time was producing.
Shortly after, she was cast as Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, which catapulted her career. However, she had fallen under the typecast column, as she was given many roles that painted her as the villain or someone evil, something she tried to get out of through her agent. Although she wanted to escape these roles, she did quite well for herself in her career portraying the antagonist in any given story.
Louise Fletcher did manage to take on different roles later in her career, as she played a warm aristocrat in Cruel Intentions, on top of escaping the typecast evil role for The Cheap Detective, Natural Enemies, and 2 Days in the Valley. Two of her biggest roles in television were her taking on the role of Kai Winn in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Peggy “Grammy” Gallagher in Shameless.
Her time in Star Trek was long-running, as Louise Fletcher appeared in 14 episodes from the years 1993 to 1999. Though this had been another antagonistic role, she played the religious leader to the best of her abilities.
She also played an ex-con in Shameless, so it was a bit hard for her to escape the tedious role of being someone shady, but she always played the roles so well.
Back when Louise Fletcher was auditioning for One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, she was reportedly told she was all wrong for the role. However, she possessed the ability to turn on her “evil” qualities, which made her perfect for the role. It landed her a Best Actress Academy Award.
Louise Fletcher has held an amazing career that began in the 1950s and has given her an astounding 173 acting credits, which is massive by every measure. She made a name for herself playing the antagonist, especially after appearing in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, a role she will always be known for. Louise Fletcher is survived by her two sons, John Dashiell Bick and Andrew Wilson Bick, and we hope they know that their mother was an amazing actress that touched the lives of many people.
