Actress Nina Foch died 5 December 2008 of complications from long-term myelodysplasia (a blood disorder) in Los Angeles, California. Born Nina Consuelo Maud Fock on 20 April 1924 in Leyden, the Netherlands, she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Atress in 1955 (for Executive Suite) and for an Emmy for Best Support Actress in 1980 (for Lou Grant). She also played Moses’s adoptive mother, Bithia, in Cecil B. DeMille’s 1956 classic The Ten Commandments.
Her more than 150 film and television appearances began in 1943, with a role in Wagon Wheel West. Her most recent role was in a 2007 episode of The Closer. She also appeared on Broadway, and tried directing a few times. At the time of her death, she was a teacher at the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts. Indeed, she became ill the day before her death while teaching the popular “Directing the Actor” course, whose students have included Amy Heckerling, Marshall Herskovitz, Randal Kleiser, and Ed Zwick. Her Los Angeles Times obituary notes that she taught two classes a week, which were required in the MFA program. The Times also quotes her 1994 UPI interview, when she said “Believe it or not, teaching is the most rewarding thing I do. It has been the most successful thing I’ve done in my life.”
Her genre film appearances include: Nomads (1986), Encino Man (1992), Jennifer (1978), Cry of the Werewolf (1944), and The Return of the Vampire (1944). On television, she appeared in: Alien Nation: Dark Horizon (1994), Shadow Chasers (1985), Child of Glass (1978), Disneyland (1978), Wide World Mystery (1975), Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1975), The Scarecrow (1972), The Wild Wild West (1969), The Outer Limits (1963), Matinee Theatre (1958), Tales of Tomorrow (1952), and two episodes of Lights Out (1951 and 1952).
Foch was married three times, each of which ended in divorce. First, to James Lipton (1954-59), then to Dennis Brite (1959-63), and finally to Michael Dewell (1967-93). Her only son, Dr. Dirk de Brito (who announced her death), is the child of her second husband. She is also survived by three grandchildren.