Anita Reeves, Irish actress, Died at 68

  Actors

Anita Reeves was born on June 24, 1948, and died on July 7, 2016.
She was an Irish stage and film actress.
She was raised on Sundrive Road in Dublin 12, where her father Jack was a sergeant at the Garda station on the same road.
Anita was educated at St Louis high school, Rathmines, and trained at night as an actor for four years at the Brendan Smith Academy in Dublin.
When she was still a child, her parents would take her to see plays and pantomimes in DĂșn Laoghaire.
Reeves had played an extra in a play during a festival, then quit her steady job at the complaints department of a laundry to be an assistant stage manager.
Anita performed twice with Eamon Morrissey at the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin.
Her major performances include Les Miserables at the Point Theatre as Madame ThĂ©nardier, and Mrs Lovett in the Gate Theatre’s 2007 production of Sweeney Todd.
And, Anita was in the original production of Brian Friel’s classic Dancing at Lughnasa as Maggie in 1990, which earned her a Laurence Olivier Award nomination for the Best Actress in a Supporting Role, when Patrick Mason’s celebrated production went to the London West End.
But, after the production transferred to Broadway, she chose to stay at home.
Anita Reeves toured for Elaine Murphy’s play, Little Gem, as Kay, which debuted in Dublin in 2008.
Anita Reeves played Juno in Juno and the Paycock two times, the first was in Dublin in 1988 and again in Minneapolis in 2015, both for director Joe Dowling.
She was married to Barry McGovern first, but separated after five months.
Anita then married Julian Erskine, executive producer for Riverdance, whom she met when she was 24 and he was 17, but didn’t marry until the year 2000.
The couple had two children.
Anita Reeves passed away at 68 years old.