Diana Sowle

American actress (1930–2018)

Robert K. Gibson

(m. 1956; div. 1961)

William David Sowle

(died 2013)

Children2

Diana Mae Sowle (née Laumer; June 19, 1930 – October 19, 2018) was an American actress. She was best known for her role as Charlie Bucket's mother in the 1971 film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

Early life

Born as Diana Mae Laumer in Chico, California, she was one of five siblings. She attended Chico High School, and appeared in school plays, where she became interested in drama. Sowle graduated in 1949 and attended the University of Denver, after which she appeared in the play "The Drunkard". Sowle did voice-over for American plays and appeared in theater in Germany.^[1]

Career

Film roles

Sowle is best known for playing Mrs. Bucket, Charlie Bucket's mother, in the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory and her performance of "Cheer Up Charlie" in that film, although her singing voice was dubbed by Diana Lee.^[2] Sowle joined the cast in Germany, where it was filmed.^[1] Apart from Chocolate Factory, her only other screen roles were cameos in Clear and Present Danger and Guarding Tess, both in 1994.^[3]

Video game

Sowle also gave voice to "Agatha" and other characters in the 2008 video game Fallout 3.^[4]

Theatre

Sowle frequently performed in the long-running play Shear Madness at the Kennedy Center, portraying socialite Eleanor Shubert.^[5] Her last-known appearance was in May–June 2013. In mid-2012, Sowle appeared in a production of Love Letters, opposite actor Larry Storch in Farmville, Virginia, to benefit the Tom Mix Rangers.

Personal life

Sowle lived in Germany for about 20 years starting in 1960 and had other homes, including one in Maryland (in the Washington, D.C., area). She was a mother of two and grandmother of four. Sowle's husband, Bill, worked for the CIA and died in 2013.^[6] Sowle ran a free tutoring program for underprivileged children in Washington D.C. for almost 25 years.^[7]^[8]

Death

Sowle died of natural causes on October 19, 2018, at the age of 88.^[7]^[9]^[4]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1971	Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory	Mrs. Bucket
1994	Guarding Tess	Hairdresser
1994	Clear and Present Danger	Cartel Maid	Final film role

Television

Year	Title	Notes
2003	After They Were Famous	1 episode, Archive footage

Video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2008	Fallout 3	Old Lady Palmer / Agatha / Margaret Primrose / Manya Vargas / Bloomseer Poplar / Tiffany Cheng / Leaf Mother Laurel / Old Lady Dithers / Mother Maya	Voice

References

^ ^a ^b Nugent, Mary (October 24, 2018). "Chico native who played in 'Willy Wonka' dies at 88". Enterprise-Record.
^ "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971) – Notes – TCM.com". Turner Classic Movies.
^ "Diana Sowle". BFI. Archived from the original on April 3, 2019.
^ ^a ^b "Willy Wonka actress Diana Sowle dies". bbc.com. October 22, 2018. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
^ Sommers, Pamela (August 7, 1993). "JUST MAD ABOUT 'MADNESS'" – via www.washingtonpost.com.
^ III, Harris M. Lentz (June 3, 2019). Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2018. McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-7033-1 – via Google Books.
^ ^a ^b Akingbade, Tobi (October 21, 2018). "Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory actress Diana Sowle dies aged 88". Metro.
^ Jedra, Christina (December 5, 2015). "Wonka's Mrs. Bucket to appear at Annapolis chocolate festival". Capital Gazette. Archived from the original on November 21, 2016. Retrieved April 16, 2017.
^ McDermott, Maeve (October 22, 2018). "'Willy Wonka' actress Diana Sowle dies at 88". USA Today. Retrieved October 23, 2018.