Collin Wilcox Paxton
Actress

Collin Wilcox Paxton Net Worth

Collin Wilcox Paxton was born on February 04, 1935 in  Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, is Actress, Writer. Actress Collin Wilcox extended her given name twice over the duration of her professional acting career -- billing herself as Collin Wilcox-Horne and Collin Wilcox Paxton, to be exact. She was born in Cincinnati, Ohio and raised in Highlands, North Carolina, and her interest in theater was sparked by her parents, Jack H. and Virginia Wilcox, who founded the Highlands Community Theatre (now known as the Highlands Playhouse) in 1939. She made her acting debut there as a young girl and appeared in various productions, including "Our Town". In later years, Collin would dutifully return from time to time and perform at her theater alma mater in appreciation.She attended high school in Knoxville, Tennessee and became the resident ingénue at the regional Carousel Theatre. She majored in drama at the University of Tennessee and studied performing at the Goodman School of Drama in Chicago, Illinois, as well as improv at The Compass (a forerunner of the Second City troupe) where Paul Sills was the director. There, she worked alongside up-and-coming talents Mike Nichols, Elaine May, Barbara Harris, Severn Darden and Shelley Berman. She eventually migrated to New York in 1957 and earned membership with Lee Strasberg's Actor's Studio, who saw great potential in her. She worked there for eight years.Collins' Broadway debut came a year later with "The Day the Money Stopped", starring Richard Basehart and Mildred Natwick, which earned her the Clarence Derwent Award for "Best Supporting Actress". Slowly garnering notice for her growing quirks and interesting, edgy performances, Collin went on to work with the crème de la crème of Broadway eccentrics including Tallulah Bankhead in "Crazy October", Geraldine Page in "Strange Interlude" and Ruth Gordon in "La Bonne Soup". Neurotic Southern plays such as Tennessee Williams off-Broadway productions of "Camino Real" and "Suddenly, Last Summer" fit her like a glove. In Los Angeles, she appeared in "The Sea Gull" under the direction of John Houseman, "Period of Adjustment" with William Windom and "Getting Out" with Susan Clark. Williams, himself, chose Collin to repeat her leading role as "Isabel" in "Period of Adjustment", when the play went to London.Collin's film debut came with her brilliant, award-worthy role as young "Mayella", whose Southern white trash teenager, under the duress of her racist father, falsely accuses black man Brock Peters of rape in Giet Con Chim Nhai (1962). Her cross-examination courtroom sequence with Peters' hired attorney, Gregory Peck, is unforgettable. No other film role would have the same impact as that once-in-a-lifetime part. Prior to this, "Mockingbird" director Robert Mulligan personally selected the classically-trained Collin as his TV "Frankie" in a strong presentation of The DuPont Show of the Month: The Member of the Wedding (1958). It was her first television role. For such a strong start, her later film career would prove strangely erratic, with a number of offbeat roles in The Baby Maker (1970), arguably her best post-Mockingbird part, opposite Barbara Hershey and Sam Groom, Catch-22 (1970), September 30, 1955 (1977), Jaws 2 (1978), Marie (1985), The Journey of August King (1995) and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997), among them.While Collin graced a number of quality TV programs, such as the mini-movies The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (1974), Foxfire (1987) and Wildflower (1991) along with such established series as Gunsmoke (1955), Mien Ao Anh (1959), The Fugitive (1963) and The Waltons (1971), it was the live stage that kept her fiery passion for acting alive. In the late seventies, she returned to her hometown, met and married third husband Scott Paxton, and founded the multi-arts center, "The Highlands Studio for the Arts", in 1981. She served as its artistic director for nine years as well as its resident playwright and improv teacher. She and her husband (who has been president of the Board of Directors) formed a troupe called "The Instant Theatre Company" (ITC) which reaffirmed her family's name in the commitment to its town's local theater. The company lasted for close to a decade before resurrecting again in 2003 with Collin and Rex Reed performing in a presentation of "Love Letters".Married three times, she has two children, Kimberley and William, from her former husband, British actor Geoffrey Horne, and one child, Michael, from the marriage to Scott Paxton. She died of brain cancer at her North Carolina home in Highlands on October 14, 2009. She was 74.
Collin Wilcox Paxton is a member of Actress

Age, Biography and Wiki

Who is it? Actress, Writer
Birth Day February 04, 1935
Birth Place  Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Age 85 YEARS OLD
Died On October 14, 2009(2009-10-14) (aged 74)\nHighlands, North Carolina, U.S.
Birth Sign Pisces
Occupation Film, stage, and television actress
Years active 1953–2003
Spouse(s) Walter Beakel (divorced) Geoffrey Horne (divorced) Scott Paxton (1979–2009; her death)
Children 3

💰 Net worth: $1.7 Million (2024)

Collin Wilcox Paxton, a renowned actress and writer in the United States, is said to possess a net worth of approximately $1.7 million by the year 2024. With her talent and creativity, Collin has captivated audiences through her captivating performances on screen and her compelling written works. Her contribution to the entertainment industry has undoubtedly played a significant role in accumulating her wealth, making her a well-respected figure in the world of acting and writing.

Biography/Timeline

1939

She was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and moved with her family to Highlands, North Carolina, as a baby. Her interest in theater was sparked by her parents, Jack H. and Virginia Wilcox, who founded the Highlands Community Theatre (now known as the Highlands Playhouse) in 1939. She made her professional debut in Chicago as part of the improvisational group, The Compass Players, which included Mike Nichols, Elaine May, and Shelley Berman.

1958

Playing opposite Richard Basehart, Kevin McCarthy, and william Hansen, Wilcox won the Clarence Derwent Award for her performance in The Day The Money Stopped by Maxwell Anderson and Brendan Gill, which lasted only three nights on Broadway in 1958. She starred in the 1961 play Look, We've Come Through with Burt Reynolds on Broadway. She replaced another Actress in the 1963 revival of Eugene O'Neill's Strange Interlude and then went on to do the 1965 play The Family Way, both on Broadway.

1962

A life member of The Actors Studio, Wilcox is perhaps best known for her role in the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird, in which she played Mayella Violet Ewell, who falsely accuses Tom Robinson (Brock Peters) of raping her. Following that cinematic acting success, she performed two very memorable roles for television in 1964: The Twilight Zone episode "Number 12 Looks Just Like You" and The Alfred Hitchcock Hour episode "The Jar", based on the Ray Bradbury short story.

1972

She appeared as Bess Frye in a 1972 episode of "Gunsmoke" titled "Jubilee". In 1974, she co-starred with Peter Falk and Robert Conrad in the Columbo episode An Exercise in Fatality as Ruth Stafford. She remained active performing both on television and in films. Her final role was that of Mrs. Kline in the movie A Touch of Fate, which was released in 2003, six years before her death.

2009

On October 14, 2009, Wilcox died from brain cancer, aged 74, at her home in Highlands, North Carolina.

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About the author

Lisa Scholfield

As a Senior Writer at Famous Net Worth, I spearhead an exceptional team dedicated to uncovering and sharing the stories of pioneering individuals. My passion for unearthing untold narratives drives me to delve deep into the essence of each subject, bringing forth a unique blend of factual accuracy and narrative allure. In orchestrating the editorial workflow, I am deeply involved in every step—from initial research to the final touches of publishing, ensuring each biography not only informs but also engages and inspires our readership.