Margaret Whitton, the actress who played Cleveland Indians team owner Rachel Phelps in the “Major League” movies, died from cancer at age 67 on Sunday.
Whitton had several other movie credits including “9 ½ Weeks,” “The Secret of My Success” and “Ironweed,” according to Variety. She was a highly regarded stage actress in the 1980s, playing various roles as a regular at the Public Theater in New York. She later started film production company Tashtego Films with Steve Tabakin and her husband Warren Spector.
Tabakin, who told Entertainment Weekly of her death, said, “Because Margaret kept her brief battle with cancer very private, the news of her death is one of those unexpected twists and turns in the story. As you might imagine, Margaret faced her illness with all the grace and wit she brought to every facet of her life.”
Whitton was a Philadelphia native and unlike her “Major League” character, enjoyed sports. She was a longtime Yankees season ticket holder, although she wasn’t a fan of the new stadium, her husband told The New York Times.
Whitton also played softball in the Broadway Show League and reviewed books about baseball. She took up golf in the 1990s, Fox News reported.
Her character in “Major League” was a former Vegas dancer who inherited the team from her late husband and decided to try to run it into the ground so she could relocate it to Florida where it would be warmer. She failed in her goal as the team became motivated to succeed in spite of her, but she succeeded in creating a fan base that lasted until her death.
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