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'The Wedding Singer' actress dies at age 101

Posted at 11:04 AM, May 06, 2015
and last updated 2015-05-06 11:04:30-04

You may remember her as the rapping granny from "The Wedding Singer," or the raunchy granny in "Wedding Crashers," but actress Ellen Albertini Dow leaves a much more substantial legacy. Dow died Monday at age 101.

Dow began studying dance at 5 years old and went on to run a mime troupe before earning her master's degree from Cornell University in theater.

"She taught drama at two Los Angeles area colleges for nearly three decades. The theater at the second of those schools, Pierce College, was named after her and her late husband, Eugene Dow — who founded the department," CNN reports. "In a Facebook posting, the school's theater department mourned the loss of what it called 'the matriarch of its family.'"

Dow is credited in nearly 40 television shows, including "The Golden Girls" and "Seinfeld," and more than two dozen films. She also reportedly appeared on Broadway three times.