Actress who played false accuser in ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ dies of brain cancer in NC
By APThursday, October 22, 2009
‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ actress dies in NC
HIGHLANDS, N.C. — The actress who portrayed the false accuser in the movie “To Kill a Mockingbird” has died of brain cancer in North Carolina.
The husband of Collin Wilcox-Paxton confirmed Thursday that the 74-year-old actress died Oct. 14 in Highlands in the southwest part of the state. Scott Paxton said no funeral was held.
Her part in “To Kill a Mockingbird,” based on Harper Lee’s Pulitzer-winning novel, was brief and memorable. She played Mayella Ewell, the young white woman who accuses a black man of rape.
She angrily breaks down as the defense attorney suggests she lied to avoid abuse from her racist father. The black defendant is convicted anyway and later killed.
She is also survived by her three children and three grandchildren.
(This version CORRECTS actress’ last name to Wilcox-Paxton)
