Susan Sullivan
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| Susan Sullivan | |
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| Born | Susan Michaela Sullivan November 18, 1942 New York City, New York, United States |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1964–present |
| Partner | Connell Cowan |
Susan Michaela Sullivan (born November 18, 1942) is an American actress, known for several notable roles on various television programs. Sullivan played the role of Lenore Curtin Delaney on the daytime soap opera, Another World (1971–1976); waitress Lois Adams during the first season (1980-1981) of the comedy It's a Living, Maggie Gioberti Channing on the soap opera, Falcon Crest (1981–1989); and Kitty Montgomery on sitcom Dharma & Greg (1997–2002). She currently appears in Castle as Richard Castle's mother, Martha Rodgers.
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[edit] Early career
Sullivan was born in New York City, but was raised in the Long Island area of Freeport, Nassau County, New York, where she graduated from Freeport High School in 1960. She earned a BA in drama from Hofstra University in 1964. During the latter part of her college years (1963–64), she worked as a Playboy Bunny.[1] She got her acting start in the 1960s playing opposite Dustin Hoffman in the Broadway play Jimmy Shine. She landed a contract with Universal Studios in 1969, guest-starring on several shows. It was during this time she played parts in daytime dramas. Starting with a role on A World Apart in 1970, she moved to a five-year stint as Lenore Moore Curtin Delaney on the daytime soap opera Another World. Taking over from Judith Barcroft, Sullivan played the role from 1971 to 1976. Sullivan played Charlton Heston's girlfriend Ann, a new character written into the TV version of the film Midway in 1976. She then played Dr. Elaina Marks opposite Bill Bixby in the Incredible Hulk TV Series pilot in 1977 and portrayed Poker Alice Ivers opposite James Garner as Bret Maverick in The New Maverick the following year.
An Emmy nomination for the role of Maggie Porter in the television drama Rich Man, Poor Man Book II brought Sullivan even more attention. She played Dr. Julie Farr in Having Babies, which was made into two television movies and later a short-lived weekly series in 1978.
In 1980, she appeared on the sitcom It's a Living, playing head waitress Lois Adams.
[edit] Falcon Crest
In 1981, Sullivan won the role of Maggie Gioberti in the CBS primetime soap drama Falcon Crest, replacing Samantha Eggar who had appeared in the original pilot. The series became a huge hit and Maggie became Sullivan's most prominent role to date. She appeared on the series from 1981 to 1989, during which time she was nominated for three Soap Opera Digest Awards. At the time Sullivan decided to leave the show in 1989, she had appeared in every episode of the series up to that date (207 out of the 227 episodes produced). Sullivan appeared in the first episode of season 9, when her character drowned.
[edit] Dharma and Greg and current career
Following Falcon Crest, Sullivan appeared on The George Carlin Show, co-starred on the short-lived political drama The Monroes in the mid-1990s, and played a supporting role in the movie My Best Friend's Wedding (as the mother of Cameron Diaz's character). On Dharma and Greg, she played the snooty country-club matriarch, Kitty Montgomery, from 1997 to 2002. The series reunited Sullivan with actor Mitchell Ryan (who played her husband Edward), with whom she had worked on Having Babies.
Sullivan voiced Queen Hippolyta in the animated television series Justice League Unlimited. She has also appeared in the television series Brothers and Sisters, Joan of Arcadia, Hope & Faith, and Two And A Half Men.
She currently co-stars alongside Nathan Fillion, Stana Katic and Molly Quinn in Castle. Her character Martha Rodgers' acting career has somewhat paralleled her own, including references to appearances on soap operas. A clip of Sullivan's appearance on a 1978 episode of The Incredible Hulk has been shown, alleged to be Rodgers' appearance on the series.
[edit] Endorsements
From 1984 until 1996, she was the spokeswoman for Tylenol brand pain reliever. In 1998, she won the Jane Wyman award at the Arthritis Foundation where her former Falcon Crest series' star, Jane Wyman, was a regular member[citation needed].
[edit] References
- ^ "Ex Playboy Bunnies". http://www.explayboybunny.com/FAQ'S.htm. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
