Jessica Walter
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| Jessica Walter | |
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| Born | January 31, 1941 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
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| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1962—present |
| Spouse(s) | Ron Leibman (1983-present) |
Jessica Walter (born January 31, 1941) is an American actress, known for the film Play Misty for Me and for her role as Lucille Bluth on the sitcom Arrested Development.
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[edit] Early life
Walter was born to a Jewish household in Brooklyn, the daughter of Esther (née Groisser) and David Walter, a musician.[1] She was raised in Queens, New York and graduated from Manhattan's High School of Performing Arts. In the early 1960s, she trained alongside James Caan and Christopher Lloyd at NYC's Neighborhood Playhouse before getting her big break, a regular role on the soap opera Love of Life.[2] She appeared on the show from 1962 to 1965.
[edit] Career
In 1964, she guest starred with Jack Lord, Nick Adams, and Herb Edelman in the episode "How Much for a Prince?" of CBS's short-lived drama. The Reporter, with Harry Guardino in the title role. Walter had a recurring role on Trapper John, M.D. as Melanie McIntyre, Trapper John's former wife.
Her earliest notable film role was in the 1971 movie Play Misty for Me, in which she played a psychotic young woman stalking a disc jockey (played by Clint Eastwood), for which she received a Golden Globe nomination in the Best Motion Picture Actress - Drama category.[3] Walter's other film credits from that era include Lilith, Grand Prix, The Group, Bye Bye Braverman, Number One and Dr. Strange.
During the 1974-75 TV season, she was the star of Amy Prentiss, a spinoff of Ironside that became an element of the NBC Mystery Movie. She was the producers' first choice for the role of "Alexis Carrington" in the primetime soap opera Dynasty. In 1983, she had a role in the short-lived NBC primetime soap opera Bare Essence as "Ava Marshall".
Since then, Walter has worked most frequently in television and theater, though she did make an appearance in the 1994 film PCU. In the nineties, Walter lent her voice to Fran Sinclair on the ABC comedy Dinosaurs, and appeared on Just Shoot Me! as Eve Gallo, the mother of Maya and the ex-wife of magazine publisher Jack Gallo (George Segal).
From 2003 to 2006, she appeared in a regular role as the scheming socialite matriarch Lucille Bluth on FOX's critically acclaimed comedy series, Arrested Development. Despite her convincing portrayal of Lucille (in 2005, Walter received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for the role), the actress has maintained that "I'm nothing like Lucille. Nothing. My daughter will tell you. I'm really a very nice, boring person."[2] Walter played Tabitha Wilson, a similar character, on 90210, for the first thirteen episodes of the first season, before she was written off.
[edit] Personal life
Walter's daughter, Brooke Bowman, was born in 1975.[4] Since 1983, Walter has been married to actor Ron Leibman, with whom she co-starred in Neil Simon's play Rumors. They also appeared together as husband and wife in the film Dummy and in the TV series Law & Order in the episode, "House Counsel".
[edit] Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | Lilith | Laura | |
| 1966 | Grand Prix | Pat Stoddard | Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer - Female |
| The Group | Libby | ||
| 1968 | Bye Bye Braverman | Inez Braverman | |
| 1969 | Number One | Julie Catlan | |
| 1971 | Play Misty For Me | Evelyn Draper | Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama |
| 1974-1975 | Amy Prentiss | Amy Prentiss | TV series Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie |
| 1978 | Dr. Strange | Morgan LeFay | (TV) |
| 1979 | Goldengirl | ||
| 1981 | Going Ape! | Fiona | |
| 1982 | Spring Fever | Celia Berryman | |
| 1984 | Terror in the Aisles | Evelyn Draper | Archival - segment Play Misty for Me |
| The Flamingo Kid | Phyllis Brody | ||
| Secret Places | Girl #1 in art room | ||
| 1988 | Tapeheads | Kay Mart | |
| 1993 | Ghost in the Machine | Elaine | aka Deadly Terror |
| 1994 | PCU | President Garcia-Thompson | |
| 1995 | Temptress | Dr. Phyllis Evergreen | |
| 1998 | Slums of Beverly Hills | Doris Zimmerman | |
| 2001 | My Best Friend's Wife | Mrs. Epstein | |
| 2003 | Dummy | Fern Schoichet | |
| 2003-2006 | Arrested Development | Lucille Bluth | (53 episodes) Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film (2003) TV Land Award for Future Classic (2004) Nominated — Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Comedy Series (2005) Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (2005, 2006) |
| 2006 | Unaccompanied Minors | Cindi | |
| 2008-2009 | 90210 | Tabitha Wilson | (13 episodes) |
| 2010 | Arrested Development | Lucille Bluth | (pre-production) |
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.filmreference.com/film/82/Jessica-Walter.html
- ^ a b "Jessica Walter: Lucille Bluth on Arrested Development talks about her kooky character". Entertainment Weekly. 2005-06-24. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1073625,00.html. Retrieved on 2007-03-18.
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Golden_Globes_USA/1972
- ^ Keck, William (2005-09-16). "A terrific 'Development' boosts Jessica Walter's career". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2005-09-15-jessica-walter_x.htm. Retrieved on 2007-03-18.
[edit] External links
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