Longtime character actress Elsa Raven, whose character in 1985’s “Back to the Future” memorably urged Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) to “save the clock tower,” died Tuesday at her home in Los Angeles. She was 91.
Raven’s death was confirmed by her agent.
Born Elsa Rabinowitz in 1929 in Charleston, South Carolina, she worked largely in theater at first, including working with Joseph Papp with the popular initiative to bring Shakespeare in Central Park.
Raven began working on TV in the early ’60s, making her credited TV debut in 1966 on an installment of “New York Television Theatre” as a maid. It set the tone for her colorful characters; she would play such parts as “matron,” “Mrs. Water Buffalo,” “Large Patient,” and a bevy of ladies older than her years.
Far from blending into the woodwork, Raven stood out in a number of popular films and series, including as the realtor responsible for placing the homeowners into the “Amityville Horror” (1979) house, the “Clocktower Lady” in “Back to the Future” (1985), writer Gertrude Stein in the acclaimed film “The Moderns” (1988), and “Mom” in the classic “Seinfeld” episode “Mom and Pop” (1994).
One of her most noteworthy pop cultural splashes came via the monster hit “Titanic” (1996). Most of her scenes were cut, but she is seen in the music video for Céline Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” as one half of a couple stoically accepting their fate.
Raven had recurring roles on “Amen” (1988-1990), “Wiseguy” (1987-1990), and “Days of Our Lives” (1994-1999).
She is survived by 15 nieces and nephews.