Collin Wilcox, 'To Kill a Mockingbird' Accuser, Dies of Cancer

By PopEater Staff Posted Oct 22nd 2009 09:05AM

Collin Wilcox, who portrayed a young white woman who falsely accuses a black man of rape in 'To Kill a Mockingbird' and went on to appear in numerous TV shows and films like 'Jaws 2,' died at her home in North Carolina last week. She was 74. Her husband, Scott Paxton, said the actress died on Oct. 14 of brain cancer, the New York Times reports.

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As the character Mayella Violet Ewell, who accused Brock Peters' character of rape, she delivers a court speech that stands out as one of the most memorable scenes in 'Mockingbird.' While being cross-examined by Gregory Peck's Atticus Finch, she tearfully responds:

"I got something to say, and then I ain't gonna say no more. He took advantage of me! And if you fine, fancy, damn ... ain't gonna do nothin' about it, then you're just a bunch a' lousy yella stinkin' cowards ... the ... the whole bunch of ya. And your fancy airs don't come to nothin'. Your manners and your "Miss Mayella," it don't come to nothin' Mr. Finch!"

'Mockingbird' was her major-film debut and she later appeared on TV show such as 'The Twilight Zone,' 'The Untouchables' and 'Gunsmoke.'

She appeared in several more films, including 'Catch-22' and the 'Jaws' sequel, before moving back to her native North Carolina where she and her husband founded a children's arts center.

In addition to her husband, Paxton is survived by her children, Kimberley and Michael.

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Recent Losses in Tinseltown

Vic Mizzy, Sept. 17: The songwriter who composed the catchy themes for the 1960s sit-coms 'The Addams Family' and 'Green Acres,' has died at age 93. His manager Jonathan Wolfson said he didn't know the cause of death. Mizzy is survived by a brother, daughter and two grandchildren.

Mathew Imaging / WireImage

Deaths in Hollywood

Mathew Imaging / WireImage

Henry Gibson, Sept. 14: The actor known for roles in 'Blues Brothers,' 'The Burbs' and 'Laugh-In' died at his home in Malibu after battling cancer. He was 73.

Kevin Winter, Getty Images

Army Archerd, Sept. 8: The iconic entertainment columnist (right) who wrote for Daily Variety for more than 50 years died at the age of 87.

Getty Images

Patrick Swayze, Sept. 14: The 'Dirty Dancing' star passed away at the age of 57. The actor fought nearly a two-year battle with pancreatic cancer.

Susan Sterner, AP

John Hughes, August 6: The filmmaker responsible for iconic '80s movies like 'Pretty in Pink,' 'Sixteen Candles' and 'The Breakfast Club,' suffered a fatal heart attack while visiting New York City.

Paul Natkin, WireImage

Brenda Joyce, July 4: The actress, who played Jane in several 'Tarzan' films with Johnny Weissmuller (pictured in 'Tarzan and the Amazons') and later Lex Barker, died at age 92. Joyce quit showbiz after completing 1949's 'Tarzan's Magic Fountain.' She went on to work for the government.

Everett Collection

Harve Presnell, June 30: The 'Fargo' star succumbed to pancreatic cancer at the age of 75.

Jim Smeal, WireImage

Karl Malden, July 1: The Academy Award-winning actor, known for roles in cinematic milestones 'A Streetcar Named Desire' and 'On the Waterfront' and for his jump to TV in the 1970s with 'The Streets of San Francisco,' died of natural causes at his home in California. He was 97.

Barry King, WireImage

Mia Farrow's brother, sculptor Patrick Farrow, was found dead in his Vermont art gallery after an unnamed woman made an emergency call. Police have called the death "suspicious."

Getty Images / AP

Farrah Fawcett, June 25: Fawcett died at 62 following a long and brave battle with cancer. The 'Charlie's Angels' star was one of the biggest sex symbols of the '70s and had won acclaim for turning to more serious film and TV roles in the 1980s.

Hulton Archive / Getty Images

Tags: collin wilcox, CollinWilcox, gregory peck, GregoryPeck

Comments

(44)

Thursday 22 October

By SHSSCOOTERTRASH

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Actually, the book was originally submitted to the publisher in NYC as a collecton of short stories...Lee's friends chipped in to support her in a coldwater flat while she and editor Tay Hohoff reworked the short stories into the novel many know and love...If you read the novel carefully, you can identify the short stories...But read the book...Gregory Peck, truly a great actor and excellent "Atticus Finch", was a little heavy handed concerning the storyline of the film...Many great characters and events were omitted...Harper Lee was upset with Truman Capote, her closest childhood friend, because he failed to acknowledge her contributions to his non-fiction piece, In Cold Blood...However, they remained close friends until his death...An interesting fact: Three prominent people were raised in the small town of Monroeville, Alabama...Harper Lee, Truman Capote, and Hank Williams Sr...Monroeville produced several other lesser-known literary figures...I would encourage those who liked the book to visit this small town...The town square and courtroom where the scene was shot are still as they were in the late 50's...I have taught literature for over 35 years and the novel contains my favorite paragraph in all literature...At the bottom of page 5 it reads, "Macolm was an old town, but it was a tired old town when I first knew it."...It also contains my favorite character, Dolphus Raymond, a kind and gentle white man living with a black woman by whom he has children...His explanation to the three children on page 200 of why he acts like he is "under the clutches of whiskey" when he comes to town (which is seldom)is an incredible snapshot of human relations...Given the current atmosphere of hate and intolerance in the US at the moment, reading or rereading To Kill a Mockingbird might just provide us with an opportunity to step back and think about what we are teaching our children when we judge others so harshly...

By Shellfish789

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"To Kill a Mockingbird" goes on all the time even today......

Friday 23 October

By Jim

Both the book and the movie represent the finest in their respective avenues of art. Someone wrote that their favorite part was Rev. Sykes telling Scout to stand up, that her father was passing. Someone also said the scene where they stand down the lynch mob was great. I agree it's great, but I believe it's Scout, in her innocence, who breaks up the mob by shaming Mr. Cunningham by speaking kindly of his boy, Walter, and how "entailments are bad." You see tears in the man's eyes as he replies to her, and then he says, "Let's clear out." Great scene. And yet another great scene is Sheriff Tate's speech to Atticus at the end, concerning Boo, ala "It's a sin. And I ain't about to have it on my head. I may not be much but I'm still the Sheriff of Macolm County...And Bob Ewell fell on his knife. Good night, sir." Greatness! Oh heck, all the scenes are great.

By vincimus

"To Kill A Mockingbird" is still my favorite movie. My kids 19 & 28) have also read it and they agree that it was an outstanding book as well, and within their generation that says a lot about the timelessness of the book.

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