Kate Burton's abilities as an actress are terribly underused on American TV. In her own words, she is usually the sweet wife or the sweet dead wife. Only in the last couple years in her role as Dr. Ellis Grey, mother of the title character, Dr....
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Kate Burton's abilities as an actress are terribly underused on American TV. In her own words, she is usually the sweet wife or the sweet dead wife. Only in the last couple years in her role as Dr. Ellis Grey, mother of the title character, Dr. Meredith Grey, on Grey's Anatomy has she been able to show her range as an actress. In the role as former renown surgeon with Alzheimers we get to see some of Burton's range. One can see the drive that brought Ellis to her former job as head of surgery and pushed away the young Meredith, which could be easily charicaturized by a lesser actress. Burton brings a wide range of emotion in line with her role showing sadness, desperation, and even passion in addition to Ellis' commitment and drive to her medical career. Many years of experience, especially on the Broadway, show in her acting.

I hope to see more of Kate Burton on TV, but I am not holding my breath. Unfortunately, packaging and youth, not quality and substance, are prevalent on American TV nowdays. Hopefully more shows like Grey's Anatomy will give her and other actors of her quality the exposure they and the American viewing public deserve.