Denise Nickerson was an American actress. She started her career as a child actress playing bratty bubblegum-chewing Violet Beauregarde in the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory; Allison on The Electric Company; and Amy Jennings, Nora Collins, and Amy Collins in the soap operaDark Shadows.
Early life
Nickerson was born on April 1, 1957, in New York City, to Flo, a clerical worker, and Fred Nickerson, a mail carrier. The family, along with older sister Carol and her son, moved to Miami. Nickerson, at the age of two, worked on a television commercial for a Florida heating company. At the age of four, she was discovered at a fashion show by Broadway Theatre producerZev Buffman of drama school the Neighborhood Playhouse A few years later, she was in the playPeter Pan as Wendy's daughter starring Betsy Palmer at Miami's Coconut Grove Playhouse. Buffman selected Nickerson to go on the road with the play, first to Washington, D. C.. When Denise was nine, the play ended. Her parents moved Carol and Nickerson back to New York City at 56th and Lexington in a studio apartment while they, stayed with her grandmother in Massachusetts.
Career
Nickerson made appearances in the 1960s on such shows as The Doctors as Kate Harris, and opposite Bill Bixby in an unsold television pilot called Rome Sweet Rome on The New Phil Silvers Show. Nickerson's big break came in 1968 when she joined the cast of ABC Daytime's Dark Shadows, appearing as recurring characters Amy Jennings, Nora Collins, and Amy Collins from 1968–1970. Upon leaving Dark Shadows, she appeared in the 1971 television movieThe Neon Ceiling. In 1971, Nickerson, aged 13, was cast as the nymphet Lolita in the ill-fated musical, Lolita, My Love during its run in Boston, which closed on the road. That year, she debuted in her signature role as gum-chewing Violet Beauregarde in the film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, based on Roald Dahl's novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. in 2011 From 1972–73, Nickerson joined the cast of The Electric Company as "Allison", a member of the Short Circus music group. Producers saw the potential in her fresh face and had her sing lead on several songs, including "The Sweet Sweet Sway." She guest starred as Pamela in a final-season episode of The Brady Bunch, "Two Petes in a Pod", and auditioned for the role of Regan MacNeil in The Exorcist, losing to Linda Blair. Also in 1974, Nickerson was in the unsold television pilot If I Love You, Am I Trapped Forever? as Sophie Pennington based on M. E. Kerr's novel of the same name with Teddy Eccles. During the 1960s and 1970s, Nickerson was in television commercials for Doublemint gum, IBM typewriters, and Pampers. She said, of the IBM commercial, that she knew nothing about typewriters. Nickerson said, of the Pampers commercial, she was posing as a babysitter, but never had used a diaper. Nickerson created the role of Liza Walton on the CBS Daytime soap opera, Search for Tomorrow. She remained with the series until they decided to age the character and make her one of the show's romantic heroines. In 1973, Nickerson starred in the TV movie The Man Who Could Talk to Kids, opposite Peter Boyle and Scott Jacoby. In 1975 she appeared in the satiric, beauty-pageant inspired motion picture Smile, as Miss San Diego's Shirley Tolstoy also starring a young Melanie Griffith and Annette O'Toole. Nickerson appeared in the 1978 film Zero to Sixty opposite Darren McGavin and Sylvia Miles, and TV filmChild of Glass. She turned 21 in 1978, and quit acting. Nickerson found her parents had squandered her prior savings, so began a nursing career. Instead of a nurse, she became a doctor's office receptionist. Nickerson was a longtime attendee at fan conventions for both Willy Wonka and Dark Shadows. In 2001, Nickerson was herself in the documentaryPure Imagination: The Story ofWilly Wonka and the Chocolate Factory directed by J.M. Kenny. In the documentary, producer David L. Wolper convinced Breaker Confections to make a new candy bar, buy the rights to the book and finance the picture to promote the new candy bar. Nickerson finished appearing on television sporadically, including an episode of the 2000–2002 version of To Tell the Truth, as contestant number two. In 2011, some of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory key cast members reunited for an episode of , which challenged the contestants to create an edible world of wonder. They reunited again in 2015 on the Today show.
Personal life
Nickerson was hit by a car in 1976 while crossing the street and left in a full leg cast for eight months. She was married twice. Her first marriage was to Rick Keller in 1981; he died two years later of a brain aneurysm. Her second marriage was to Mark Willard in 1995; they had one son, Josh, before divorcing in 1998.
Illness and death
In June 2018, Nickerson suffered a severe stroke and was hospitalized in intensive care. She was discharged to a rehabilitation center the following month. In August, she went home to live under her family's care. In September 2018, Julie Dawn Cole and Paris Themmen from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory visited Nickerson after she was discharged from a rehabilitation center. On July 8, 2019, Nickerson "got into her medicines and took as much as she could" while her son and daughter-in-law were out of the house. Her son took her to a hospital in respiratory distress. While in intensive care, she developed pneumonia. Nickerson suffered a massive seizure the following day and slipped into a coma. She had a DNR order in place and on July 10, her family removed her from life support. She died later that day from pneumonia at the age of 62.
