Margot Kidder
| Margot Kidder | |
|---|---|
 Margot Kidder at the 2005 San Diego Comic-Con |
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| Born | Margaret Ruth Kidder October 17, 1948 Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1965–present |
| Spouse(s) | 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-American actress. She 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 in 1978.
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Early life [edit]
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.[dead link][1][2][3] Her mother was from British Columbia and her father was from New Mexico, 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.
Career [edit]
Early roles [edit]
In the late 1960s, Kidder was based in Toronto, and in 1970 if not thereafter, Vancouver. 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", 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.
Kidder also 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.
The 1970s and the Superman film series [edit]
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 Kidder, who as leading lady, 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 probably best known for her role as Lois Lane in the 1978 film Superman and its sequels. She won the Saturn Award for Best Actress for Superman. 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] 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).
Other film and television roles [edit]
Her turn as Kathy Lutz in the 1979 summer release of The Amityville Horror further cemented her status as one of Hollywood's leading ladies. In 1979, she hosted an episode of the American sketch comedy TV show Saturday Night Live.[7]
Other high profile parts included Paul Mazursky's Willie & Phil, Some Kind of Hero 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. In 1983, she produced and starred as Eliza Doolittle in a version of Pygmalion with Peter O'Toole for Showtime.[8] She 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.[9] 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 plays Barbara Collier, Laurie Strode's therapist, in Halloween II, released in 2009.[10] She plays 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 [edit]
In 1994, Kidder played the bartender at the Broken Skull Tavern in Under a Killing Moon, an IBM PC adventure game.
She appeared in The Vagina Monologues on Broadway December 3 - 22, 2002.[11]
Personal life [edit]
In the past, Kidder dated former Canadian prime minister Pierre Trudeau, director Brian De Palma, and actor/comedian Richard Pryor.[12] 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 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.[13]
A short residential street near Yellowknife's Old Town is named Lois Lane in her honor.[citation needed]
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.[14]
Kidder was involved in a car crash in 1990, after which she was unable to work for two years, causing her financial problems.[citation needed]
Kidder has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, which led to a widely-publicized manic episode in 1996. She disappeared for four days, having become a street person. She was found in a back yard by a homeowner and was taken by Los Angeles police to Olive View Medical Center in a distressed state, the caps on her teeth having fallen out. She was later placed in psychiatric care.[15] In 2007, Kidder said that she had not had a manic episode in 11 years thanks to Abram Hoffer and his Natural Medicine.[16]
On August 23, 2011, Kidder, Tantoo Cardinal, and dozens of others were arrested while protesting against the proposed extension of the Keystone Pipeline.[17]
Citizenship [edit]
Kidder became a United States citizen on August 17, 2005, in Butte, Montana; she lives in Livingston, Montana.[4][18] 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.[19]
Filmography [edit]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | The Best Damn Fiddler from Calabogie to Kaladar | Rosie Prometer | |
| Wojeck | TV series (1 episode) | ||
| 1969 | Adventures in Rainbow Country | Dr. Janet Rhodes / Sportscar Driver | TV series (2 episodes) |
| McQueen | Jenny | TV series | |
| Corwin | Denny | TV series | |
| Gaily, Gaily | Adeline | ||
| 1970 | The Mod Squad | Claire Allen | TV series (1 episode) |
| Quackser Fortune Has a Cousin in the Bronx | Zazel | ||
| 1971 | Suddenly Single | Jackie | TV movie |
| 1971-1972 | Nichols | Ruth / Ruth the Barmaid | TV series (5 episodes) |
| 1972 | The Bounty Man | Mae | TV movie |
| Banacek | Linda Carsini | TV series (1 episode) | |
| 1973 | Harry O | Helen | TV series (1 episode) |
| Sisters | Danielle Breton / Dominique Blanchion | ||
| Barnaby Jones | Lori Wright | TV series (1 episode) | |
| 1974 | The Suicide Club | TV movie | |
| Honky Tonk | Lucy Cotton | TV movie | |
| A Quiet Day in Belfast | Brigit Slattery/Thelma Slattery | Canadian Film Award Winners for Best Actress | |
| The Gravy Train | Margue | ||
| Black Christmas | Barb | Canadian Film Award Winners for Best Actress | |
| 1975 | The Great Waldo Pepper | Maude | |
| Baretta | Terry Lake | TV series (1 episode) | |
| The Reincarnation of Peter Proud | Marcia Curtis | ||
| Wide World Mystery | Gerry | TV series (1 episode) | |
| 92 in the Shade | Miranda | ||
| 1976 | Switch | Andrea Morris | TV series (1 episode) |
| 1978 | Shoot the Sun Down | The Woman from England | |
| Superman | Lois Lane | Saturn Award for Best Actress | |
| 1979 | The Amityville Horror | Kathy Lutz | Nominated - Saturn Award for Best Actress |
| 1980 | Willie & Phil | Jeannette Sutherland | |
| Superman II | Lois Lane | Nominated - Saturn Award for Best Actress | |
| 1981 | Heartaches | Rita Harris | Genie Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role |
| 1982 | Miss Right | Juliette | |
| Some Kind of Hero | Toni Donovan | ||
| Bus Stop | Cherie | TV movie | |
| 1983 | Pygmalion | Eliza Doolittle | TV movie |
| Trenchcoat | Mickey Raymond | ||
| Superman III | Lois Lane | ||
| 1984 | Louisiana | Virginia Tregan | TV movie |
| 1985 | Little Treasure | Margo | |
| The Hitchhiker | Jane Reynolds | TV series (1 episode) | |
| Picking Up the Pieces | Lynette Harding | TV movie | |
| 1986 | GoBots: War of the Rock Lords | Solitaire (voice) | |
| Vanishing Act | Chris Kenyon | TV movie | |
| 1987 | Keeping Track | Mickey Tremaine | |
| Shell Game | Dinah / Jennie Jerome | TV series (5 episodes) | |
| Superman IV: The Quest for Peace | Lois Lane | ||
| 1988 | Body of Evidence | Carol Dwyer | TV movie |
| 1989 | Mob Story | Dolores | |
| 1990 | White Room | Madelaine X | |
| 1991 | Delirious | Woman in Washroom | Uncredited |
| 1992 | Aaron Sent Me | Kaitlynn Prescott | |
| To Catch a Killer | Rachel Grayson | TV movie | |
| Tales from the Crypt | Cynthia | TV series (1 episode) | |
| 1992-1993 | Street Legal | Charlotte Percy | TV series (2 episodes) |
| 1993 | La Florida | Vivy Lamori | |
| 1994 | One Woman's Courage | Stella Jenson | |
| Maverick | Margret Mary | Uncredited | |
| Beanstalk | Doctor Kate 'Doc' Winston | ||
| 1995 | Windrunner | Sally 'Mom' Cima | |
| Burke's Law | Joy Adams | TV series (1 episode) | |
| Bloodknot | Evelyn | TV movie | |
| 1993-1995 | Captain Planet and the Planeteers | Gaia (voice) | TV series (5 episodes) |
| 1996-1997 | Boston Common | Cookie de Varen | TV series (5 episodes) |
| 1996 | Phantom 2040 | Rebecca Madison | TV series (1 episode) |
| Never Met Picasso | Genna Magnus | ||
| 1997 | Shadow Zone: My Teacher Ate My Homework | Sol | |
| Silent Cradle | Cindy Wilson | ||
| Henry & Verlin | Mabel | ||
| The Planet of Junior Brown | Miss Peebs | ||
| The Hunger | Mrs. Sloan | ||
| Aaahh!!! Real Monsters | Mistress Helga (voice) | TV series (2 episodes) | |
| 1998 | Touched by an Angel | Rita | TV series (1 episode) |
| The Teddy Bears' Scare | Mrs. Jones (voice) | TV movie | |
| 1999 | The Hi-Line | Laura Johnson | |
| Nightmare Man | Lillian Hannibal | ||
| The Clown Clown At Midnight | Ellen Gibby | ||
| The Annihilation of Fish | Mrs. Muldroone | ||
| 2000 | Tribulation | Eileen Canboro | |
| 2001 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Grace Mayberry | TV series (1 episode) |
| Mentors | Queen Elizabeth I | TV series (1 episode) | |
| Earth: Final Conflict | Dr. Josephine Mataros | TV series (1 episode) | |
| 2002 | Angel Blade | Frida | |
| Crime and Punishment | Mrs. Katerina Marmelodov | ||
| 2004 | Chicks with Sticks | Edith Taymore | |
| Death 4 Told | Madam Badeau | Scream Awards for Best Actress | |
| Smallville | Bridgette Crosby | TV series (2 episodes) | |
| 2005 | The Last Sign | Endora | TV series (2 episodes) |
| 2007 | Brothers & Sisters | Emily Craft | TV series (2 episodes) |
| 2008 | Universal Signs | Rose Callahan | |
| The Box Collector | Beth | ||
| On the Other Hand, Death | Dorothy | ||
| A Single Woman | Storyteller | ||
| 2009 | Something Evil Comes | Claudia Brecher | |
| Halloween II | Barbara Collier | ||
| 2011 | Redemption: For Robbing the Dead | Marlys Baptiste | |
| Three of a Kind | Claire | ||
| 2012 | HENRi | Dr. Calvin | In production |
| 2013 | Matt's Chance | Mother Mable | Post production |
References [edit]
- ^ "Who Do You Think You Are? | Stories | Margot Kidder". CBC. 1919-01-07. Retrieved 2010-06-17.[dead link]
- ^ "Superman2 Media". Superman Cinema. 1981-08-24. Retrieved 2010-06-17.[dead link]
- ^ Published in the Vancouver Sun and/or The Province, 7 June 2008
- ^ a b "Margot Kidder Biography (1948-)". Film Reference. Retrieved August 30, 2011.
- ^ Hobson, John Allan; Leonard, Jonathan A. (2001). Out of Its Mind: Psychiatry in Crisis. Basic Books. p. 161. ISBN 0-7382-0251-7.
- ^ "The American Sportsman Goes Hunting and Gliding". The Dispatch. 7 March 1975.
- ^ Season 4, Episode 15
- ^ Harmer, Ian (July 14, 1983). "Margot Kidder Leaves Superman for Shaw". Mount Airy News.
- ^ Spencer, Scott (September 10, 2001). "Lights! Camera! Rapture!". The New Yorker. p. 108.
- ^ Blog entry[dead link]
- ^ Ehren, Christine (December 3, 2002). "Goodman, Kidder Join Mazzie in NYC's Vagina Monologues Dec. 3-22". Playbill.
- ^ Rabin, Nathan (March 3, 2009). "Random Roles: Margot Kidder (interview)". The A.V. Club.
- ^ Applebome, Peter (March 4, 1991). "National Mood; War Heals Wounds at Home, but Not All". The New York Times. Retrieved June 17, 2010.
- ^ Kidder, Margot (November 26, 2009). "Ax Max". Progressive Democrats of America. Retrieved 2009-11-26.
- ^ Reed, J.D. (September 23, 1996). "Starting Over". People. Retrieved 2010-06-17.
- ^ Kidder, Margot (September 16, 2010). 8 "Larry Hobbs". Fatnews.com. Retrieved 2010-12-09.
- ^ "Margot Kidder arrested at White House oil protest". CBC News. 23 August 2011. Retrieved 23 August 2011.
- ^ Wilkinson, Todd. "To Find Russell Chatham, Look Homeward". Wildlife Art Journal. Retrieved August 30, 2011.
- ^ Kelling, Thad (August 18, 2005). "Superman actress among 19 who gain U.S. citizenship in Butte". The Montana Standard. Retrieved June 21, 2006.
External links [edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media 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
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- 1948 births
- Actresses from Montana
- Actresses from the Northwest Territories
- Actresses from Toronto
- Actresses from Vancouver
- American film actresses
- American television actresses
- American voice actresses
- Canadian emigrants to the United States
- Canadian film actresses
- Canadian television actresses
- Canadian voice actresses
- Genie Award winners for Best Actress
- Living people
- Naturalized citizens of the United States
- People from Livingston, Montana
- People from Yellowknife
- People with bipolar disorder
- 20th-century Canadian actresses
- 21st-century Canadian actresses
