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Flushing’s Walsh to hit NBC airwaves on Ed

By Lenroy James

Kew Gardens resident, and actress Juanita Walsh will make her prime time television debut on NBC’s sitcom, “Ed” this Wednesday as Mrs. Gottilieb, a patient of Dr. Michael Burton.

But Walsh says she is not just a one-line actress, and has fought long and hard in the business, building on a strong foundation she has nurtured over the years.

Walsh said she can roll with life’s unpredictable twists. So far, although she has not landed that one special role that defines an artist’s accomplishments, she has build up a reputation of giving the best when its needed. “From an early age, maybe when I was in the sixth grade, I remember doing my own improvised version of Peter Pan,” she said.

While watching her older brother suffer from polio, but engaging in dance as therapy, she was drawn to the arts. “I would watch him trying to do his routine, and eventually learned the steps. I like it,” said Walsh. She bought albums, learned the songs, and sang them at school. After an eighth-grade performance, she was convinced that the stage would be her world.

Walsh’s passion for the theater led her to Stephens College, an all-girls school in Colombia, Mo., where she majored in theater. “The good thing about it was that the teachers were professional actors themselves, so while going through our scenes they were playing lead roles also, guiding you throughout the stages,” she said. Later on, she attended the American Conservative Theater in San Francisco, where she continued to polish her skills.

Along the way she immersed herself in the theater, making appearances in such off-Broadway pieces as “Grandma Sylvia’s Funeral,” in which she played a drunk; “The Killing of Sister George,” and “Another Part of The Forest.”

“The role I played as Elsie Duey in ‘Grandma Sylvia’s Funeral’ was a very important part of my career, in that I learned a lot about acting, a true moment,” said Walsh, flashing a smile that never seemed to dim. The spontaneity involved in the performance groomed her – seeing that her character was watched constantly, she had to be sharply focused, never allowing room for error.

Her regional work includes, Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” and Tennessee Williams’ “The Glass Menagerie,” where she played Amanda Wingfield, the mother figure in a family.

A native of Milwaukee, Wis., she has had stints in television, showing up on such long running soaps as “All My Children,” “As The World Turns,” “Soft is The Heart of A Child,” and an historical feature playing Katherine Marshall, wife to former World War II general and celebrated strategist George C. Marshall, in “War of China’s Fate.” The film was made for China Central Television, and as Walsh said, brought out a sense of political awareness within her. She said she had to learn about the Marshall plan, and how policies affect different people.

Walsh has also been in the films “Fresh Cut Grass,” “Object Of My Affection” and “First Wives Club.”

Amid all her accomplishments, she has also had to deal with personal pain. “I am an 11-year cancer survivor,” she revealed, taking on a serious tone. “It has taught me how to live my life – never to give up.”

“Ed” airs on NBC Wednesday at 8 p.m.