Willy Wonka Actress Diana Sowle, Who Played Charlie's Mom, Dies At Age 88
The actress who played golden ticket-winner Charlie Bucket’s mom in the beloved 1971 Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory movie has died.
Diana Sowle died early on Friday, her representative confirmed to the BBC. She was 88. A cause of death for the actress has not been revealed.
“She was a loving wife, mother, grandmother and friend, and will be dearly missed,” the rep said in a statement, adding that Sowle died “with family by her side.”
Sowle is best remembered for her role in the 1971 film, her first-ever screen credit, where she memorably sang “Cheer Up Charlie.”
Her only other film credits are roles in Clear and Present Danger and Guarding Tess, both of which were released in 1994, over two decades later. Additionally, Sowle voiced a variety of characters in video game Fallout 3 and performed in murder mystery play Shear Madness.
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Following her death, her Shear Madness costar Rick Hammerly wrote on Twitter, “You were a dear friend, the nicest Mrs. Schubert ever & the woman who showed up 24 hours late to my Xmas party in 1995 to drop off a Christmas ornament.”
“It has been on my tree every Xmas since. This year will be no exception. Love you, sweet lady,” he added, alongside a photo of the pair backstage.
RIP DIANA SOWLE. You were a dear friend, the nicest Mrs. Schubert ever, & the woman who showed up 24 hours late to my Xmas party in 1995 to drop off a Christmas ornament. It has been on my tree every Xmas since. This year will be no exception. Love you, sweet lady. #riplovelylady pic.twitter.com/R0LNgQ29gq
— Rick Hammerly (@RickHammerly) October 19, 2018
In an interview with the Baltimore Sun in 2015, the actress shared that while she had fond memories of working on Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, she also had a few grievances — namely, Charlie’s lack of consideration to his mother.
After saying that Charlie “should’ve taken his mom” to visit the factory instead of his Grandpa Joe, she also joked that she wished the boy would have taken all of the money Willy Wonka ended up giving him to buy his mother some new threads.
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“He should’ve said ‘Oh, that’s wonderful. Now I can buy my mother a beautiful dress!’ Never happened,” she said.
Sowle, who had two children with her late husband, also revealed what she thought of the 2005 remake starring Johnny Depp.
“It didn’t have the charm Willy Wonka had,” she remarked.
Her costar Gene Wilder died in 2016 at the age of 83.
