Elsa Raven

Elsa Raven
Born	Elsa Rabinowitz (1929-09-21)September 21, 1929 Charleston, South Carolina, U.S.
Died	November 2, 2020(2020-11-02) (aged 91) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1961–2011

Elsa Rabinowitz (September 21, 1929 – November 2, 2020), known professionally as Elsa Raven, was an American character actress, perhaps best known for her two years (1988–1990) on the sitcom Amen and playing the mother of Vincent Terranova (Ken Wahl) on the TV series Wiseguy.^[1]

Raven is also known for her small but memorable role in Back to the Future (1985) as the clock tower lady with her phrase "Save the clock tower!" while gathering local donations to preserve the clock, whose complimentary leaflet later proves invaluable in the past. She played Ida Straus in the 1997 film Titanic along with Lew Palter, who played Isidor Straus,^[2] and had a voice role in the 1981 animated film American Pop.^[3]

Raven adhered to Judaism.^[4] Raven died on November 2, 2020, in Los Angeles, at the age of 91.^[5][6] Upon her death, she was cremated and her ashes returned to her family.^{[citation needed]}

Filmography

Film appearances

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1970	The Honeymoon Killers	Matron
1971	Such Good Friends	Transfusion donor nurse	Uncredited
	The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight	Mrs. Water Buffalo
	Lady Liberty	Policewoman	Uncredited
	South of Hell Mountain
1972	A Fan's Notes	Deborah
1979	The Cracker Factory	Tourist
	The Amityville Horror	Mrs. Townsend
1980	Fatso	Phil's Wife
1981	American Pop	Hannele	Voice
	The Postman Always Rings Twice	Matron
	Paternity	Pre-natal Nurse
1983	Second Thoughts	Large Nurse
	Twilight Zone: The Movie	Nurse No. 2	Segment "Kick the Can"
1985	Back to the Future	Clocktower Lady
	Creator	Mrs. Mallory
1988	The Moderns	Gertrude Stein
1991	Another You	Volunteer
1993	Indecent Proposal	Citizenship Student
	In the Line of Fire	Booth's Landlady
	Fearless	Grey Haired Lady
1995	One Night Stand	Mrs. Salvatore
1997	Titanic	Ida Straus
2001	Face to Face	Grandma
2002	The 4th Tenor	Mama
2005	The Mostly Unfabulous Social Life of Ethan Green	Senior Lady
	The Cutter	Mrs. Rosen
	Laying Down Arms	Ester	Short movie
2006	Miriam	Aunt Levya
2009	Dead Game	Boogie	Short movie
2011	They're with Me	Great Great Grandma Fanny Feiner	Short movie
	Answers to Nothing	Mrs. Harrison

TV appearances

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1982	Million Dollar Infield	Dr. Isabel Armen
1978-1982	Quincy, M.E.	Miss Beck, Miss Coroner Judge, Nurse Angela Davenport
1983-1984	The A-Team	Clara Dickerson, Dr. Marian Ericson
1985	Highway to Heaven	Ms. Zabenko
1986	Family Ties	Mildred Atkins
1986	General Hospital	Tessie
1988	Freddy's Nightmares	Mrs. Wildmon
1989-1990	Amen	Igna
1987-1990	Wiseguy	Carlotta Terranova Aiuppo
1991	Get a Life	Marta
1992	The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air	Ida Pollock
1993	Murphy Brown	Mrs. Kobolakis
1993	Sisters	Madam Sophie
1994	Seinfeld	Mom
1999	3rd Rock from the Sun	Aunt Florence
2004	Everybody Loves Raymond	Mrs. Lopman
2008	ER	Rosemary Smalls

References

1. "Elsa Raven". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2013-01-31.
2. Heyer, Paul (2012). Titanic Century: Media, Myth, and the Making of a Cultural Icon. ABC-CLIO. p. 158. ISBN 9780313398155.
3. Canby, Vincent (February 13, 1981). "'American Pop' Grown-Up Animation". The New York Times. Retrieved August 16, 2011.
4. "Back to the Future and Seinfeld actress Elsa Raven dies at 91". www.thejc.com. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
5. Neil, Genzlinger (November 5, 2020). "Elsa Raven, 'Back to the Future' Character Actress, Dies at 91". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 6, 2020. Retrieved November 6, 2020.
6. "'Back to the Future' Writer Bob Gale Pays Tribute to "Memorable" Elsa Raven | Hollywood Reporter". www.hollywoodreporter.com. 5 November 2020.

External links

• Elsa Raven at IMDb