Frederick Hubbard "Fred" Gwynne (July 10, 1926 – July 2, 1993) was an American actor. Gwynne was best known for his roles in the 1960s sitcoms Car 54, Where Are You? and The Munsters, as well as his later roles in Pet Sematary and My Cousin Vinny. He was recognized for his distinctive baritone voice.

Early life[link]

Gwynne was born in New York City, a son of Frederick Walker Gwynne, a partner in the securities firm Gwynne Brothers, and his wife Dorothy Ficken.^[2] His paternal grandfather was an Episcopal priest born in Camus, near Strabane, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, and his maternal grandfather was an immigrant from London, England.^[2] Gwynne attended the Groton School, and graduated from Harvard University, where he was affiliated with Adams House, in 1951. Gwynne spent most of his childhood in South Carolina, Florida, and Colorado because his father traveled extensively. At Harvard, he was a member of the Fly Club, sang with the a cappella group the Harvard Krokodiloes,^[3] was a cartoonist for the Harvard Lampoon (eventually becoming its president), and acted in the Hasty Pudding Theatricals shows.

During World War II, Gwynne served in the U.S. Navy. He later studied art under the G.I. Bill.

Career[link]

Gwynne as Herman, sharing a toast with Al Lewis (Grandpa) while Beverley Owen (Marilyn) looks on

Gwynne joined the Brattle Theatre Repertory Company after graduation,^[4] then moved to New York City. To support himself, Gwynne worked as a copywriter for J. Walter Thompson, resigning in 1952 upon being cast in his first Broadway role, a gangster in a comedy called Mrs. McThing, which starred Helen Hayes.^[4]

Phil Silvers was impressed by Gwynne from his work in Mrs. McThing and sought him for his television show. As a result, in 1955, Gwynne made a memorable appearance on The Phil Silvers Show, in the episode "The Eating Contest" as the character Private Honigan, whose depressive eating binges are exploited by Sgt. Bilko (Phil Silvers), who seeks prize money by entering Honigan in an eating contest. Gwynne's second appearance on The Phil Silvers Show (in the episode "For The Birds" in 1956) and many other shows led writer-producer Nat Hiken to cast him in the sitcom Car 54, Where Are You? as Patrolman Francis Muldoon, opposite Joe E. Ross. During the two-season run of the program he met longtime friend and later co-star, Al Lewis. Gwynne was 6 ft 5 in tall, an attribute that contributed to his being cast as Herman Munster, a goofy parody of Frankenstein's monster, in the sitcom The Munsters. For his role he had to wear 40 or 50 lbs of padding, makeup, and 4-inch elevator shoes. His face was painted a bright violet because it captured the most light on the black-and-white film. Gwynne was known for his sense of humor and retained fond recollections of Herman, claiming in later life, " ... I might as well tell you the truth. I love old Herman Munster. Much as I try not to, I can't stop liking that fellow."^[4] After his experience in The Munsters, however, he found himself typecast. In 1969, he was cast as Jonathan Brewster, a Frankenstein monster-like character, in a television production of Arsenic and Old Lace.

A talented vocalist, Gwynne sang in a Hallmark Hall of Fame made-for-television production, The Littlest Angel (1969), and went on to perform in a variety of roles on stage and screen. In 1974, he appeared in the role of Big Daddy Pollitt in the Broadway revival of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof with Elizabeth Ashley, Keir Dullea and Kate Reid. In 1975 he played the Stage Manager in Our Town at the American Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford, Connecticut. He returned to Broadway in 1976 as Colonel J. C. Kinkaid in two parts of A Texas Trilogy. In 1984, he tried out for the part of Henry on the show Punky Brewster. He is said to have withdrawn from the audition in frustration when the auditioner identified him as Herman Munster rather than by his real name. The role of Henry subsequently went to George Gaynes. In 1987, Gwynne starred in a short-lived TV series Jake's M.O. where he played an investigative reporter.

Gwynne's performance as Jud Crandall in Pet Sematary was based on author Stephen King himself, who is also quite tall — only an inch shorter than the actor — and uses a similarly thick Maine dialect. Gwynne's Pet Sematary character has had recurring parody appearances in the South Park episodes "Butters' Very Own Episode", "Asspen", and "Marjorine". Gwynne also had roles in the movies Simon, On the Waterfront, So Fine, Disorganized Crime, The Cotton Club, Captains Courageous, The Secret of My Success, Water, Ironweed, Fatal Attraction and The Boy Who Could Fly. In his last film, Gwynne played Judge Chamberlain Haller in the 1992 film comedy My Cousin Vinny, in which he used a Southern accent.

In addition to his acting career, Gwynne sang professionally, painted, and wrote and illustrated children's books, including It's Easy to See Why, A Chocolate Moose for Dinner, The King Who Rained, Best In Show, Pondlarker, The Battle of the Frogs and Mice, and A Little Pigeon Toad. Many of these efforts were based on children's frequent misperceptions of things they hear from adults, such as the "chocolate moose for dinner," which was illustrated as a large brown quadruped seated at the dinner table. The other books on this theme were "The King Who Rained," "A Little Pigeon Toad" (in which a child's mother thus describes her father), and "The Sixteen Hand Horse." Perhaps one of the reasons the books did not achieve wider popularity was the fact that their format was geared to a very young audience, but the concept itself was more appealing to older children and adults. He also lent his voice talents to commercials and radio shows such as CBS Radio Mystery Theater, and for some radio fans, he is known foremost for his contribution to CBSRMT's success. Later, he held a number of shows of his art work, the first in 1989.

Personal life[link]

In 1952, Gwynne married socialite Jean Reynard, a granddaughter of New York City mayor William Jay Gaynor.^[1] They had five children—three sons, Evan, Dylan, and Keiron, and two daughters, Madyn and Gaynor—before divorcing in 1980.^[5][6] Dylan died in a drowning accident as a child in 1963, and Keiron was born with developmental disabilities.^[6] In 1988, Gwynne married Deborah Flater.^[5]

Death[link]

Gwynne died of pancreatic cancer in Taneytown, Maryland, on July 2, 1993, at the age of 66, eight days before his 67th birthday. Gwynne was survived by his second wife, Deborah, and four children. He is interred at the Sandymount United Methodist Church graveyard in Finksburg, Maryland, in an unmarked grave.

Selected filmography[link]

• My Cousin Vinny (1992) as Judge Chamberlain Haller
• Disorganized Crime (1989) as Max Green
• Pet Sematary (1989) as Jud Crandall
• Ironweed (1987) as Oscar Reo
• Fatal Attraction (1987) as Arthur
• The Secret of My Success (1987) as Donald Davenport
• The Boy Who Could Fly (1986) as Uncle Hugo Gibb
• Offbeat (1986) as Police Commissioner
• The Cotton Club (1984) as Frenchy Demange
• Simon (1980) as Maj. Gen. Korey
• The Littlest Angel (1969) as Patience the Guardian Angel
• The Munsters as Herman Munster (72 episodes, 1964–1966)
• Car 54, Where Are You? as Officer Francis Muldoon (60 episodes, 1961–1963)
• On the Waterfront (1954) as Slim

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Fred Gwynne

Biography portal

• Fred Gwynne at the Internet Movie Database
• Fred Gwynne at the Internet Broadway Database
• Fred Gwynne at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Fred Gwynne at Find a Grave

Shari Lewis
Lewis with her puppets, Lamb Chop and Charlie Horse, 1960.
Born	Sonia Phyllis Hurwitz (1933-01-17)January 17, 1933 Bronx, New York, U.S.
Died	August 2, 1998(1998-08-02) (aged 65) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Cause of death	Viral pneumonia[1]
Occupation	Ventriloquist, puppeteer, author, children's television show host
Years active	1952–1998
Spouse	Stan Lewis Jeremy Tarcher
Children	Mallory Lewis

Shari Lewis (January 17, 1933 – August 2, 1998) was an American ventriloquist, puppeteer, and children's television show host, most popular during the 1960s and 1990s. She was best known as the original puppeteer of Lamb Chop, first appearing on Hi Mom, a local morning show that aired on WRCA-TV (now WNBC-TV) in New York City.

Early life[link]

Lewis was born as Sonia Phyllis Hurwitz^[2] to Abraham Hurwitz, an education professor at Yeshiva University, and Ann Ritz. She had one sister. Her parents encouraged her to perform, and by age 13 her father taught her to perform specialized magic acts. He had been named New York City's "official magician" by Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia during the Great Depression.^[3] She also received instruction in acrobatics, juggling, ice skating, baton twirling, piano and violin.^[4] She was taught ventriloquism by John W. Cooper. Lewis continued piano and violin at New York's High School of Music and Art, dance at the American School of Ballet, and acting with Sanford Meisner of the Neighborhood Playhouse. She attended Barnard College for one year, then left college to go into show business.

Career[link]

In 1952, Lewis and her puppetry won first prize on the CBS television series Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts. Lewis then hosted several New York children's series over the balance of the decade. On July 5, 1953, Lewis made her television hosting debut on Facts N'Fun on NBC-owned WRCA-TV. The program was a variety show where she engaged her viewers and studio audiences in games, songs, stories, craftmaking, informational segments and interviews with guest performers and personalities. She also performed comedy skits with two vent figures, Samson and Taffy Twinkle. The series remained on the air until September 26, 1953.

She moved to WPIX in 1953 to replace Ted Steele as host of Kartoon Klub, which featured a variety format with a live studio audience. Lewis performed with Randy Rocket and Taffy Twinkle, and the program also featured reruns of Crusader Rabbit cartoons. Kartoon Klub later changed its title to Shari & Her Friends on September 23, 1956, and then to Shariland a month later. Lewis won New York-area Emmy Awards for her work on Shariland and on a succeeding series on WRCA-TV, Hi Mom (1957–1959). Hi Mom marked the first appearances of Lamb Chop, Charlie Horse, Hush Puppy, and Wing Ding in a regular series. Lamb Chop was previously introduced during a guest appearance by Lewis on Captain Kangaroo in March 1956.^{[citation needed]}

NBC gave Lewis her first network program -- The Shari Lewis Show, which made its debut on October 1, 1960, replacing The Howdy Doody Show. The show ran until September 28, 1963, and featured such characters as Hush Puppy, Charlie Horse, Lamb Chop, and Wing Ding, a black crow. Lamb Chop, who was little more than a sock with eyes, served as a sassy alter-ego for Lewis. Hush Puppy had a Southern accent and a reserved shy personality, while Charlie Horse was a slow-witted goofy character. Guest TV and movie personalities and even occasional stars often appeared on her show, as they did later on Jim Henson's Muppets series.

Capturing kids' imaginations in the early 1960s, consumer versions of Lewis's initial three puppets sold briskly. Subsequent television programs re-introduced these characters (minus the black crow, whose characterization became more problematic after the 1960s) to a new generation of children.

In 1968, she and her then-husband, Jeremy Tarcher co-wrote the episode "The Lights of Zetar" for the original series of Star Trek.

In 1992, her new Emmy-winning show Lamb Chop's Play-Along began a five-year run on PBS. Lewis starred in another hit PBS series, The Charlie Horse Music Pizza, which was one of her last projects before her death. The video Lamb Chop's Special Chanukah was released in 1996 and received the Parents' Choice award of the year.

An accomplished musician, she has conducted major symphonies in the United States, Japan and Canada. She wrote many books, and created 17 home videos. http://www.angelawards.com/sharilewis.html

Personal life[link]

"Shari" Hurwitz acquired the name Lewis by a brief marriage. By her second marriage to Jeremy Tarcher in 1958, she had one daughter, Mallory.

When Lewis appeared before Congress in 1993 to testify in favor of protections for children's television, Lamb Chop was granted permission to speak. Lamb Chop's passionate, well-informed and vivid testimony made an indelible impression.

Death[link]

Shari Lewis was diagnosed with uterine cancer in June 1998.^[5] While undergoing treatment at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on August 2, 1998,^[6] she developed viral pneumonia and died at the age of 65. Her remains were cremated. She was survived by her husband, daughter and sister.

Awards/Honors[link]

Lewis was the recipient of numerous awards during her lifetime, including:

• 12 Emmy Awards
• Peabody Award (1960)
• Monte Carlo Prize for the World's Best Television Variety Show (1963)
• John F. Kennedy Center Award for Excellence and Creativity (1983)
• 7 Parents' Choice Awards
• Action for Children's Television Award
• 1995 American Academy of Children's Entertainment award for Entertainer of the Year
• Dor L'Dor award of the B'nai B'rith (1996)
• 3 Houston Film Festival awards
• Silver Circle Award of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (1996)
• Film Advisory Board Award of Excellence (1996)
• 2 Charleston Film Festival Gold Awards (1995)
• Houston World Festival silver and bronze awards (1995)
• New York Film and Video Festival Silver Award (1995)
• In 1998, she was posthumously awarded the Women in Film Lucy Award in recognition of her excellence and innovation in her creative works that have enhanced the perception of women through the medium of television.^[7]

In addition to writing over 60 books for children, she and her second husband wrote an episode for the third and final season of the original Star Trek series entitled "The Lights of Zetar". This was produced in 1968. Lewis had hoped to play the part of "Lt. Mira Romaine," but the role was given to actress Jan Shutan.

Family[link]

Her first husband was Stan Lewis. Her second husband, who survived her, was publisher Jeremy Tarcher, a brother of the novelist Judith Krantz.

Lewis's daughter, Mallory Tarcher, wrote for the shows Lamb Chop's Play-Along and The Charlie Horse Music Pizza. She legally changed her name to Mallory Lewis, and in 2000, she resumed her mother's work with the Lamb Chop character.

Television shows[link]

• Shariland–1956–1958
• The Shari Lewis Show—1960
• The Shari Lewis Show (BBC)—1975
• The Shari Show (syndicated)—1975–1976
• Lamb Chop's Play-Along—1992–1997
• Charlie Horse Music Pizza—1998

Specials[link]

• Lamb Chop's Sing-Along, Play-Along—1988
• Don't Wake Your Mom!—1989
• Lamb Chop in the Land of No Manners—1989
• Lamb Chop in the Land of No Numbers—1993
• Lamb Chop and the Haunted Studio—1994
• Lamb Chop's Special Chanukah—1995
• Shari's Passover Surprise—1996

Episodic TV appearances[link]

• Lewis was included on the long list of entertainers who appeared on ABC's The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom, a variety series, which aired from 1957–1960.

• Lewis appeared on April 14, 1960, and again on January 12, 1961, on NBC's The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford.^[8]

• In "The Off-Broadway Affair", a 1966 episode of The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Lewis guest starred as a perky, somewhat ditzy understudy.

• Lewis (and Lamb Chop) guest-starred on Episode 2.20, "Lamb Chop's on the Menu", of the sitcom The Nanny, which premiered on February 13, 1995.

• Lewis guest-starred on Episode 1.20, "How High is Up", of the sitcom Car 54, Where Are You?,which premiered on February 4, 1962.

Discography[link]

• Fun in Shariland originally released in 1958 on RCA Victor records, and re-released on RCA Camden Record in 1960
• Hi Kids! on Shout! Factory CD, originally released in 1959 on Golden Records

Cultural references[link]

• In the episode "Dummy for Love" on Season 2 of the sitcom Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Salem the cat has digitally inserted images of himself with various celebrities such as Mother Teresa to give to Zelda so she will put in a good word for him at the Witches Council, hoping for leniency. Later, Zelda finds a hidden photo of him and Shari Lewis, and Salem nervously mumbles, "That's from my personal collection." And at the end of the episode Salem tries to pay Cupid in anchovies to make Shari fall in love with him. Cupid declines stating that its against his principles and because Salem is a cat and she is Shari Lewis.

• In the episode "Summer Sucks" on Season 2 of "South Park", Mr. Garrison, angered over the theft of his hand-puppet Mr. Hat, turns on his television to a caricature of Shari with Lamb Chop. He then envisions himself entering the set and approaching them with an axe. Mr. Garrison severs Shari's hand holding Lamb Chop, and tosses the puppet onto a burning grill. Shari cries out, as does Lamb Chop, while Mr. Garrison is seen back in his chair with a very wide smile on his face.

• In the Animaniacs episode "Papers For Papa" Ernest Hemingway watches Shari and Lampchop perform on TV and one of Lampchop's button eyes falls off.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Shari Lewis at Find a Grave
• Shari Lewis at the Internet Movie Database
• Shari Lewis at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)
• "Kitten Kaboodle's biography of Shari Lewis"

Michael Joseph "Mike" Farrell (born February 6, 1939) is an American actor, best known for his role as Captain Hawkeye Pierce's and Colonel Sherman T. Potter's (played by Alan Alda and Harry Morgan respectively) straight man, Captain B.J. Hunnicutt, on the television series M*A*S*H (1975–83). He is an activist for politically liberal^{[citation needed]} causes.

Farrell was a producer of Patch Adams (1998) starring Robin Williams, and has starred on the television series Providence (1999–2002). He appeared as Milton Lang, the father of Victor Lang (John Slattery), husband of Gabrielle Solis (Eva Longoria) on Desperate Housewives (2007–2008). He was seen in the tenth season episode "Persona" of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

Early life[link]

Farrell, one of four children, was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, the son of Agnes and Joe Farrell.^[1] When he was two years old, his family moved from South St. Paul to Hollywood, California, where his father worked as a movie studio carpenter. Farrell attended West Hollywood Grammar School with Natalie Wood, and graduated from Hollywood High School, served in the United States Marine Corps, and worked at various jobs before his acting career.

Acting career[link]

Early career[link]

Mike with Judy Farrell at Knott's Berry Farm in 1966

During the 1960s, Farrell guest-starred in a few series. Notable roles included Federal Agent Modell in the episode "Monkee Chow Mein" on The Monkees in 1967, astronaut Arland in the episode "Genie, Genie, Who's Got the Genie?" on I Dream of Jeannie, and an Army doctor in the episode "The Bankroll" of Combat!. In 1968 he originated the continuing role of Scott Banning in an NBC soap opera Days of our Lives. In 1970 he starred as one of the young doctors in the CBS prime-time series The Interns, in a cast led by Broderick Crawford. In 1971 he played the assistant to Anthony Quinn in ABC's The Man and the City. In 1973, while under contract to Universal Studios, Farrell starred with Robert Foxworth in The Questor Tapes. During the years under contract, he guest starred in a number of shows, including Banacek and Marcus Welby, M.D., and starred in a television pilot with Jane Wyman, which did not sell. Farrell also had a cameo role in the 1967 classic The Graduate.^[2]

[edit] M*A*S*H (1975–83) and later roles

On the game show Stumpers!, 1976

Farrell's big break came in 1975 when Wayne Rogers unexpectedly departed M*A*S*H at the end of the third season. Farrell was quickly recruited for the newly created role of B.J. Hunnicutt, along with co-series' lead, Harry Morgan, who replaced McLean Stevenson, also at the end of the third season. The most coincidental thing is both Farrell and Morgan were both fans of the M*A*S*H series, during its early era, before they both joined the cast.^[3] He stayed with the series for its remaining eight years on the air. During that time, Farrell wrote five episodes and directed four.

His favorite episodes are "Welcome to Korea" and "Quo Vadis, Captain Chandler".

In an interview recently Farrell discussed the byplay between his M*A*S*H co-stars, David Ogden Stiers and Harry Morgan: "David was like a rock, when he was concentrating, when he was being Charles Emerson Winchester III, you just couldn't get him, except for Harry Morgan. Harry could look at David and reduced him to a puddle of tears, without turning an eye. David said, 'When he [Harry] looks at me and flare those nostrils; and he would be gone,' it would be such a wonderful thing to see this great big guy just reduced to a giggling idiot by Harry, but unfortunately, all I could do is to tell you, we had great fun doing the show; and much of it was laughing at some silly gag that one of us had pulled on the others."^[4] Farrell continued to stay in touch or to have dinner with Morgan until Morgan's death on December 7, 2011. Farrell said of him: "He was an imp. As Alan once said, there's not an un-adorable bone in the man's body. He was full of fun, and he was smart as a whip."^[5] Prior to Morgan's death, he also added of his mentor's six decade career: "He was one of the foundational pieces of the industry. Such honors routinely go to stars, but also belong to Morgan and other character actors who provide 'the grit and the substance and the context' for so many films and TV shows," to sum it up, he stated: "Harry has been that, par excellence, for many years."^[6]

Since M*A*S*H, Farrell has guest starred in Murder, She Wrote; Justice League; Matlock; Mannix; Desperate Housewives; and many others. Farrell played Jonathan Kent in the Superman (1996) animated series, with wife Shelley Fabares playing Martha Kent. He also hosted several "National Geographic Presents" specials and starred in a number of TV movies, including Memorial Day (which he co-produced); Sex and the Single Parent; Prime Suspect; Choices of the Heart; Private Sessions; Vanishing Act; A Deadly Silence; The Price of the Bride; Incident at Dark River; The Whereabouts of Jenny; and Silent Motive. He has done two one-man shows: JFK, a One Man Show for PBS and, on stage, a national tour of David W. Rintels' play Clarence Darrow. In 1983 Farrell starred in the movie Memorial Day.

In 1985 Farrell partnered with film and television producer Marvin Minoff to create Farrell/Minoff Productions, a production company.^[7] Together, Farrell and Minoff produced numerous television movies.^[8] Farrell and Minoff also executive produced two feature films during their partnership,^[8] Dominick and Eugene, a 1988 Orion Pictures film which earned actor Tom Hulce a Golden Globe nomination for best actor.^[7] The pair also produced 1998's Patch Adams starring Robin Williams.^[8] Farrell and Minoff's professional partnership lasted more than twenty-five years, until Minoff's death in November 2009.^[7][8]

[edit] Providence (1999–2002)

In 1999 Farrell was given the part of veterinarian, Jim Hansen, the father of the lead character, Dr. Sydney Hansen, portrayed by Melina Kanakaredes, on the NBC-TV melodrama series Providence.

In his portrayal of Sydney's father, Farrell played opposite Concetta Tomei, who portrayed his wife, Lynda Hansen. Tomei's character died during the first episode of the series, but continued to appear as a ghost/memory in vignettes of later episodes.

The show became a big hit with the critics and in the Nielsen ratings. Farrell appeared in 64 of the 92 episodes before its cancellation in December 2002.

Political activism[link]

Farrell has worked on many activist campaigns.

Even before he was well-known, Farrell was an activist for many political and social causes. He has worked with Human Rights Watch, was on the Board of Advisors of the original Cult Awareness Network, and has been president of Death Penalty Focus for more than ten years,^[9] being the first person to be awarded their Human Rights Award, subsequently named after him, in 2006. He received PETA's Humanitarian Award in 2001, and narrated a public service campaign for them about animal abuse.^[10][11]

In 1985 Farrell was in Central America, helping refugees from the civil war in El Salvador. A guerrilla commander, Nidia Diaz, had been taken prisoner. She needed surgery, but no Salavadoran doctor dared to help her, so Amnesty International recruited a foreign doctor. Farrell was present as an observer, but was in his words, "shanghaied into assisting with the surgery" when the doctor said his help was needed. The in-prison surgery was successful and Diaz went on to be one of the signatories of the Chapultepec Peace Accords (the peace treaty ending the war). She also served in the Constituent Assembly of El Salvador and in the Central American Parliament.^[12][13]

In 2006 Farrell appeared with Jello Biafra and Keith Gordon in the documentary, Whose War?, examining the U.S. role in the Iraq War.

Publications[link]

Farrell wrote an autobiography, Just Call Me Mike: A Journey to Actor and Activist (ISBN 1933354089), published in 2007. The book covers his working-class childhood in West Hollywood, his break into show business, his personal life, and his increasing involvement in politics and the human rights movement in the United States, Cambodia, and Latin America. His second book, "Of Mule and Man," is a journal of his 5 week, 9,000 mile drive around the U.S. to promote the paperback edition of his first book.

Personal life[link]

He married actress Judy Farrell in 1963. They were divorced in 1983. They have two children, Michael and Erin. On M*A*S*H Hunnicutt's daughter also was named Erin.

On December 31, 1984, he married actress Shelley Fabares. Her sister "gave her away" at her marriage to him.

Farrell has been active in the Screen Actors Guild. In 2002 he was elected First Vice President of the Guild in Los Angeles and served in the post for three years.^[14]

References[link]

External links[link]

Biography portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mike Farrell

• Mike Farrell at the Internet Movie Database
• Mike Farrell's website
• Death Penalty Focus
• Audio interview of Mike Farrell by Stephanie Miller about the Guantanamo Bay play on The Stephanie Miller Show
• Recording of Mike Farrell talking about his book and activities from Sacramento, CA on September 28, 2008

Margot Kidder
Kidder at the 2005 Canadian National Expo
Born	Margaret Ruth Kidder (1948-10-17) October 17, 1948 (age 63) Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1968–present
Spouse	Thomas McGuane (1975–1976; divorced; 1 child) John Heard (1979; divorced) Philippe de Broca (1983–1984; divorced)

Margaret Ruth "Margot" Kidder (born October 17, 1948) is a Canadian-born American actress. She has appeared in a wide range of films during the 1970s and 1980s such as Sisters, Black Christmas, The Great Waldo Pepper, The Amityville Horror and Heartaches. She is best known for her role as Lois Lane in four Superman movies opposite Christopher Reeve, beginning with Superman: The Movie in 1978.

Early life[link]

Kidder, one of five children, was born in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada, the daughter of Jocelyn Mary "Jill" (née Wilson), a history teacher, and Kendall Kidder, an explosives expert and mining engineer.^[1][2][3] Her mother was from British Columbia and her father was from New Mexico in the United States.^[4] She was born in Yellowknife because of her father's job, which required the family to live in remote locations.^[5] She has a sister, Annie, and three brothers, John, Michael and Peter. Kidder's niece, Janet Kidder, is also an actress. A short residential street near Yellowknife's Old Town is named Lois Lane in her honor.^{[citation needed]}

Career[link]

Early roles[link]

In the late 1960s, Kidder was based in Toronto. She appeared in a number of TV drama series for the CBC, including guest appearances on Wojeck, Adventures in Rainbow Country, and a semi-regular role as a young reporter on McQueen plus was a panelist on Mantrap which featured discussions centered on a feminist perspective.^{[citation needed]} During the 1971-72 season, she co-starred as barmaid Ruth in Nichols, a James Garner western, which aired 22 episodes on NBC. She appeared in "Such Dust As Dreams Are Made On", which was the first pilot for Harry O and aired in March, 1973. She was also a guest star in a 1972 episode of the George Peppard detective series Banacek. She appeared in a number of low-budget Canadian movies in the late 1960s (The Best Damn Fiddler from Calabogie to Kaladar being her first feature), and the early 1970s.

[edit] The 1970s and the Superman film series

In 1970, Kidder co-starred as Zazel Pierce opposite Gene Wilder in Quackser Fortune Has a Cousin in the Bronx. The Brian DePalma cult classic Sisters (1973) gained notoriety for both director and leading lady Kidder, who portrayed conjoined twins. She starred in the classic horror film Black Christmas in 1974 and The Great Waldo Pepper opposite Robert Redford in 1975. She received positive reviews for 92 in the Shade (1975) with Peter Fonda, famously marrying the film's director Thomas McGuane.

A nude pictorial of Kidder, photographed by Douglas Kirkland, was published in the March 1975 issue of Playboy. The accompanying article was written by her as a condition of appearing; she said, "I don't want someone writing, 'Margot Kidder has more curves than the Santa Monica Freeway' under my picture."

Kidder appeared on the March 9, 1975 edition of The American Sportsman, learning how to hang glide with her providing the narration and a remote microphone recording her reactions in flight; the segment concluded with Kidder doing solos soaring amid the Wyoming Rockies.^[6]

Kidder is perhaps best known for her role as Lois Lane in the 1978 film Superman: The Movie and its sequels. She won the Saturn Award for Best Actress for Superman: The Movie. She publicly disagreed with the decision of producers Alexander Salkind and Ilya Salkind to replace Richard Donner as director of 1980's Superman II^{[citation needed]}. And it was reported that as a result, Kidder's role in 1983's Superman III consisted of less than five minutes of footage, though the producers have denied this in DVD commentaries. Her role in 1987's Superman IV: The Quest for Peace was more substantial.

In 2004, Kidder briefly returned to the Superman franchise in two episodes of the television program Smallville, as Dr. Bridgette Crosby, an emissary of Dr. Swann (played by her Superman co-star, Christopher Reeve). (Many other actors from the Christopher Reeve Superman films have had small roles on Smallville.)

Her turn as Kathy Lutz in the much-anticipated 1979 summer release of The Amityville Horror further cemented her status as one of Hollywood's leading ladies. In 1979, she hosted season 4, episode 15 of the American sketch comedy TV show Saturday Night Live.

Other film and television roles[link]

Other high profile parts included Paul Mazursky's Willie & Phil, Some Kind of Hero with Superman III co-star Richard Pryor and The Reincarnation of Peter Proud. Her performance in 1981's Heartaches generated critical acclaim and Oscar buzz. As court stenographer-cum-private eye Mickey Raymond, the PG rating that 1983's Trenchcoat received led Disney to launch Touchstone Pictures. She appeared opposite James Garner in controversial Hollywood crime drama The Glitter Dome (1984). In 1985, she toplined Little Treasure for Columbia Tri-Star with co-stars Ted Danson and Burt Lancaster, where she played a distraught stripper looking for her bank robber-father's buried fortune.

Additionally, she has made uncredited cameo appearances in Maverick (1994) and Delirious (1991).

A 1982 stage performance of Bus Stop starring Kidder as Cherie and Tim Matheson as Bo, was broadcast on HBO. Also in 1982 she appeared in the film Some Kind Of Hero along side Richard Pryor. In 1983, she produced and starred as Eliza Doolittle in a version of Pygmalion with Peter O'Toole for Showtime.^[7] She also produced and starred in the period miniseries Louisiana. Body of Evidence (1988), a CBS Movie of the Week, cast Margot as nurse who is suspicious that her Medical Pathologist second- husband is a serial killer.

In 2000, Kidder played Eileen Canboro in Apocalypse III: Tribulation, a Christian film dealing with Christian eschatology and the Rapture. Kidder stated afterwards that she did not realize until she was on the set that the movie was serious.^[8]

In 2001, she played a guest role as the abusive mother of a serial killer in "Pique", an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

In 2002, she appeared alongside Crispin Glover and Vanessa Redgrave in the film adaptation, Crime and Punishment.

In 2004, Kidder made an appearance on Robson Arms, a Canadian sitcom set in an apartment block in Vancouver's west end. She played a quirky neighbor of the main cast members. She also had a cameo in Rich Hall's Election Special on BBC Four. In 2006, Kidder played a guest role as Jenny Schecter's mother Sandy Ziskin on The L Word. In 2007, Kidder began appearing on the television series Brothers and Sisters, playing Emily Craft. She also appeared on season four of Smallville, a television show which follows the adventures of Clark Kent during the years before he becomes Superman. Kidder played Dr. Virgil Swann's emissary assistant, Bridgette Crosby. Dr. Swann was played by fellow Superman co-star, Christopher Reeve. Smallville was Reeve's final on-air appearance.

She played Barbara Collier, Laurie Strode's therapist, in the sequel to Halloween (2007) titled, Halloween II, released in 2009.^[9] She played Sally Cima, the mother of protagonist Greg Cima, a high school football player, in the film Windrunner: A Spirited Journey. It aired on the Disney Channel. She took a prominent role as an embattled guidance counselor in the 2008 gay-themed mystery film On the Other Hand, Death.

Other appearances[link]

In 1994, Kidder played the bartender at the Broken Skull Tavern in Under a Killing Moon, an IBM PC adventure game.

She has also done extensive stage work, including The Vagina Monologues.

Personal life[link]

In the past, Kidder dated former Canadian prime minister Pierre Trudeau, director Brian De Palma, and actor/comedian Richard Pryor.^[10] She has been married and divorced three times: American novelist Thomas McGuane, with whom she had her only child, daughter Maggie (born October 28, 1976); actor John Heard and to French film director Philippe de Broca. None of the marriages lasted longer than a year. Since her divorce from De Broca, she has said that she prefers the companionship of her dogs. She has two grandchildren, Mazie and Charlie Kirn, from her daughter's marriage to the novelist Walter Kirn.

Kidder actively supported Jesse Jackson's bid for the Democratic nomination in 1984.

In the early 1990s, during the first Gulf War, Kidder was criticized for remarks she had made that questioned the war.^[11]

As of November 2009, Kidder was the Montana State Coordinator for Progressive Democrats of America. The organization's website carried her article "Ax Max", in which Max Baucus, Montana's moderate Democratic Senator, was the target of criticism.^[12]

Kidder was involved in a serious car crash in 1990, after which she was unable to work for two years, causing her serious financial problems.

Kidder has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, which led to a widely-publicized manic episode in 1996; she was found cowering naked in undergrowth by Los Angeles police in a distressed state and the caps on her teeth having fallen out, and was later placed in psychiatric care.^[13]

In 2007, Kidder said that she had not had a manic episode in 11 years thanks to Abram Hoffer and his Natural Medicine.^[14]

On August 23, 2011, Kidder, Tantoo Cardinal, and dozens of others were arrested while protesting against the proposed extension of the Keystone Pipeline.^[15]

Citizenship[link]

Kidder became a United States citizen on August 17, 2005, in Butte, Montana; she lives in Livingston, Montana.^[4][16] She said the reason for her decision to become an American citizen is to participate in the voting process, to continue her protests against US intervention in Iraq, and at the same time to be free of worries about being deported.^[17]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Margot Kidder

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Margot Kidder

• Official website
• Margot Kidder at the Internet Movie Database
• Article: From paranoid delusions to orthomolecular medicine
• Canadian Film Encyclopedia
• The Best Damn Fiddler from Calabogie to Kaladar