Margaret Whitton

Margaret Whitton (November 30, 1949 – December 4, 2016) was an American stage, film and television actress, originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 

Spouses

Bill Russell (divorced)
Warren Spector

Her first work was on the New York stage, where she worked as a dog walker between parts. She first noticeably appeared on the stage in 1973, billed as Peggy Whitton. In the early 1980s, she began to be billed by her birth name and made her Broadway debut in 1982's Steaming.

Whitton did her primary film work between 1986 and 1993. Her most visible roles were that of Michael J. Fox's character's vibrant, sexy and under-appreciated aunt-by-marriage in The Secret of My Success (1987), and as the spiteful baseball team owner Rachel Phelps in Major League (1989), and its sequel, Major League II (1994). She also appeared in the Robin Williams-Kurt Russell vehicle The Best of Times(1986) and in Mel Gibson's The Man Without a Face (1993). Her other films roles included parts in National Lampoon Goes to the Movies (1982), Love Child (1982) and 9 1/2 Weeks (1986) as Molly.

She has worked as a television actress, with appearances in the soap operas One Life to Live and The Doctors. Her first primetime role was in CBS's 1985 Hometown. A 1989 part had her as a divorcee in the short-lived ABC screwball comedy series A Fine Romance. She was featured in the 1991 sitcom Good & Evil, in which she had the role of the good-natured sister in contrast to her evil executive sibling, played by Teri Garr. The series had low ratings and was cancelled by ABC after six episodes.

After her seven-year experiment with film, she returned to the stage, appearing on Broadway in And the Apple Doesn't Fall... (1995), as Mac in Jeffrey Hatcher's The Three Viewings (1995), and in the original, award-winning musical Marlene (1999), starring Siân Phillips as Marlene Dietrich.

The non-theatrical rights to her play A Bird of the Air were acquired by Freestyle Digital Media. It was based upon the novel The Loop as by Joe Coomer and was adapted for film by Roger Towne.

At the time of her death, Whitton served as president of an independent-film production company, Tashtego Films.

Death

Whitton died on December 4, 2016 at her home in Florida after a brief battle with cancer. She was survived by her husband, two sisters, Suzy and Marybeth, and two brothers, James and John. She had no children. 

Personal life

Margaret Whitton was married to former Bear, Stearns & Co. executive Warren Spector. Spector was President and Co-Chief Operating Officer of Bear Stearns from 2001 to 2007. He was asked to leave the firm in August 2007 after a dispute with CEO Jimmy Cayne. Cayne was removed as CEO by the Board of Directors four months later. Whitton was a fan of the New York Yankees.