 |
Alice Hirson | |
|---|---|
| Born | Alice C. Thorsell March 10, 1929 New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1951–present |
| Spouses |
|
Alice Hirson (born March 10, 1929) is an American actress best known for her roles on television. She began her career on stage, before roles on daytime soap operas. She is best known for her roles as Mavis Anderson in the CBS prime time soap opera Dallas and as Lois Morgan, the mother of the title character on the ABC sitcom Ellen .
Hirson was born Alice C. Thorsell in New York City on March 10, 1929. [1]
She began her career on off-Broadway stage, before roles in 1960s plays Traveller Without Luggage and The Investigation . [2]
Hirson began her television career appearing on the classic anthology series Hallmark Hall of Fame and Starlight Theatre . From 1969 to 1970, she was a regular cast member on the CBS daytime soap opera The Edge of Night , playing the role of Stephanie Martin. She played the role of Marcia Davis on Another World and its spin-off Somerset from 1970 to 1972. From 1972 to 1976, Hirson starred as Eileen Riley Siegel on ABC's One Life to Live . [3] She also had a recurring role on General Hospital in 1982.
After leaving daytime television, Hirson began playing supporting roles on prime time. In 1977, she appeared in made-for-television movies The Death of Richie , Alexander: The Other Side of Dawn , and Having Babies II , and the following year co-starred opposite Cicely Tyson in A Woman Called Moses . Hirson also guest-starred on Maude , The Waltons , Family , Barnaby Jones , Flamingo Road , Barney Miller , Quincy, M.E. , St. Elsewhere , Hotel , and Full House . From 1982 to 1988, Hirson played the recurring role of Mavis Anderson, friend and confidante of Miss Ellie Ewing (Barbara Bel Geddes) in the CBS prime time soap opera, Dallas .
In 1992, Hirson was a regular cast member on the short-lived NBC sitcom Home Fires starring Kate Burton. From 1994 to 1998, she played the role of Lois Morgan, the mother of Ellen DeGeneres' character on the ABC comedy series, Ellen . [4] From 1996 to 2006, she appeared in eight episodes of The WB family drama series, 7th Heaven playing Jenny Jackson, mother of Annie Camden (Catherine Hicks), whose illness and death occurred as the series began in 1996. She also had recurring roles on Murphy Brown and The Secret Life of the American Teenager , and guest-starred on Law & Order , ER , NYPD Blue , Judging Amy , Just Shoot Me! , and Cold Case .
Hirson made her film debut in the 1971 crime comedy The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight . In 1979, she appeared in the horror film Nightwing and played the First Lady of the United States in the comedy-drama Being There . She also appeared in Private Benjamin , Revenge of the Nerds , Mass Appeal , Blind Date , Bride of Boogedy , The Big Picture , The Glass House , and The Lost .
In 1964, Hirson met actor Stephen Elliott. They were married from 1980 until Elliott's death in 2005. [5] She was previously married to dramatist Roger O. Hirson. [6]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight | The Mayor's Wife | |
| 1979 | Nightwing | Claire Franklin | |
| 1979 | Being There | First Lady | |
| 1980 | Private Benjamin | Mrs. Thornbush | |
| 1984 | Revenge of the Nerds | Mrs. Lowe | |
| 1984 | Mass Appeal | Mrs. Hart | |
| 1987 | Blind Date | Muriel Bedford | |
| 1989 | The Big Picture | Mrs. Chapman | |
| 1993 | Stepmonster | Shirley | |
| 2001 | The Glass House | Mrs. Morgan | |
| 2006 | The Lost | Mrs. Griffith |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1951 | Starlight Theatre | Alice | Episode: "Miss Buell" |
| 1952 | Hallmark Hall of Fame | Lucy | Episode: "Anne Bradstreet, Puritan Poetess" |
| 1968 | N.Y.P.D. | The 2nd Nurse | Episode: "Encounter on a Rooftop" |
| 1970 | Another World | Marsha Davis | 43 episodes |
| 1972 | Particular Men | Louisa Rayner | Television film |
| 1972–1976 | One Life to Live | Eileen Riley Siegel | 59 episodes |
| 1977 | The Death of Richie | Mrs. Blair | Television film |
| 1977 | Maude | Ed's Wife | Episode: "Maude's Reunion" |
| 1977 | Alexander: The Other Side of Dawn | Judge White | Television film |
| 1977 | Having Babies II | Mimi | |
| 1977 | The Waltons | Jane Stephens | 2 episodes |
| 1977–1983 | Quincy, M.E. | Various roles | 3 episodes |
| 1978 | Loose Change | Rosemary | Miniseries |
| 1978 | Family | Ruth Green | Episode: "Fear of Shadows" |
| 1978 | Kate Bliss and the Ticker Tape Kid | Beth Dozier | Television film |
| 1978 | Barnaby Jones | Emily Warren | Episode: "Nest of Scorpions" |
| 1978 | A Woman Called Moses | Miss Rodham | 2 episodes |
| 1979 | The Ropers | Mrs. Eastham | Episode: "The Doris Letters" |
| 1979 | Paris | Mrs. Dalton | Episode: "Friends and Enemies" |
| 1979 | ABC Afterschool Special | Grace Harris | Episode: "A Special Guest" |
| 1979 | Julie Farr, M.D. | Emily | Episode: "Captive" |
| 1980 | If Things Were Different | Karen Evans | Television film |
| 1980 | When the Whistle Blows | Dottie Jenkins | 4 episodes |
| 1981 | Flamingo Road | Mary Troy | Episode: "A Mother's Revenge" |
| 1981 | Taxi | Woman Customer | Episode: "On the Job: Part 1" |
| 1981 | Barney Miller | Dorothy St. Clair | Episode: "The Vests" |
| 1982 | The Rules of Marriage | Eva Hewlitt | Television film |
| 1982 | General Hospital | Mrs. Van Gelder | 4 episodes |
| 1982 | Miss All-American Beauty | Marjorie Butterfield | Television film |
| 1982–1988 | Dallas | Mavis Anderson | 26 episodes |
| 1983 | St. Elsewhere | Anne Overland | Episode: "Release" |
| 1983 | Sitcom | Betty Gooseberry | Television film |
| 1985 | Hotel | Helen Riley | Episode: "Skeletons" |
| 1985 | Slickers | Dear Clinton | Television film |
| 1985 | The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo | Voice | 13 episodes |
| 1986 | Foley Square | Mrs. Dobbs | Episode: "The Star" |
| 1986 | Crossings | Eleanor Roosevelt | Episode #1.2 |
| 1986 | Matlock | Hazel | Episode: "Diary of a Perfect Murder" |
| 1986 | If Tomorrow Comes | Mrs. Stanhope | Episode #1.1 |
| 1986, 1987 | The Magical World of Disney | Various roles | 2 episodes |
| 1987 | Starman | Ida Schwartzman | Episode: "Barriers" |
| 1987 | Full House | Claire Tanner | 3 episodes |
| 1987, 1988 | Houston Knights | Beverly / John's Wife | 2 episodes |
| 1990 | Equal Justice | Mrs. Williams | Episode: "The Price of Justice" |
| 1990 | Psycho IV: The Beginning | Mother | Television film |
| 1990, 1996 | Murphy Brown | Bootsie Sherwood | 3 episodes |
| 1991 | Dear John | Mrs. Morris | Episode: "Brothers" |
| 1992 | Home Fires | Grandma | 12 episodes |
| 1993 | Law & Order | Jewel | Episode: "Right to Counsel" |
| 1993 | Loving | Dr. Lisa Helman | 4 episodes |
| 1994–1998 | Ellen | Lois Morgan | 28 episodes |
| 1996–2006 | 7th Heaven | Jenny Jackson | 8 episodes |
| 1999 | ER | Mrs. Anderson | Episode: "Last Rites" |
| 2000 | Godzilla: The Series | Peg Chapman | Episode: "Wedding Bells Blew" |
| 2000–2002 | Baby Blues | Mrs. Johnson | 3 episodes |
| 2001 | NYPD Blue | Karen Redding | Episode: "In the Wind" |
| 2001 | Determination of Death | Edith | Television film |
| 2001 | Judging Amy | Alison Loomis | Episode: "Surprised by Gravity" |
| 2003 | Just Shoot Me! | Helen Korsh | Episode: "The Last Temptation of Elliot" |
| 2008 | Cold Case | Judy McShane | Episode: "Glory Days" |
| 2008–2011 | The Secret Life of the American Teenager | Mimsy | 6 episodes |
| 2010 | Starstruck | Grandma Olson | Television film |
| 2011 | Men of a Certain Age | Connie | 2 episodes |
| 2019 | Will & Grace | Justice Ginsburg | Episode: "Supreme Courtship" |
| 2021 | Trash Truck | Mrs. Perry | Episode: "Pranks" |
Judith Ellen Light is an American actress. She made her professional stage debut in 1970, before making her Broadway debut in the 1975 revival of A Doll's House. Her breakthrough role was in the ABC daytime soap opera One Life to Live from 1977 to 1983, where she played the role of Karen Wolek; for this role, she won two consecutive Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 1980 & 1981. In 2024, Light won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for Poker Face.
Katherine Marie Helmond was an American actress. Over an acting career spanning six decades, she was best known for her starring role as Jessica Tate on the sitcom Soap (1977–1981) and her co-starring role as Mona Robinson on Who's the Boss? (1984–1992). Helmond also played Doris Sherman on Coach (1995–1997) and Lois Whelan on Everybody Loves Raymond (1996–2004). She also appeared as a guest on several talk and variety shows.
Morgan Fairchild is an American actress. She began acting in the early 1970s and has had roles in several television series since.
Daniel Lester Gauthier is an American actor best known for his roles as Kevin Buchanan on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live, Matt Liston on the sitcom Ellen, Brad Powell in the 1989 film Teen Witch and Lt. John McKay of the military drama series Tour of Duty.
Jessica Collins is an American actress. She is best known for portraying Dinah Lee Mayberry on the ABC soap opera Loving (1991–1994) and Avery Bailey Clark on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless (2011–2015), for which she won a Daytime Emmy. She also starred as Meredith Davies on Fox's Tru Calling, and appeared in recurring and guest roles in many other shows.
Donna Mills is an American actress. She began her television career in 1966 with a recurring role on The Secret Storm, and in the same year appeared on Broadway in Woody Allen's comedy Don't Drink the Water. She made her film debut the next year in The Incident. She then starred for three years on the soap opera Love is a Many Splendored Thing (1967–70), before starring as Tobie Williams, the girlfriend of Clint Eastwood's character in the 1971 cult thriller Play Misty for Me. Mills played the female lead in the heist film Murph the Surf (1975), and had starring roles in a number of made-for-television movies during the 1970s.
Kathleen Noone is an American actress. She began her career as a singer in nightclubs and performed in musicals off-Broadway before making her television debut in the CBS daytime soap opera, As the World Turns (1975–1976).
Susan Sullivan is an American actress, who is best known for her roles as Lenore Curtin Delaney on the NBC daytime soap opera Another World (1971–76), as Lois Adams on the ABC sitcom It's a Living (1980–81), as Maggie Gioberti Channing on the CBS primetime soap opera Falcon Crest (1981–90), as Kitty Montgomery on the ABC sitcom Dharma & Greg (1997–2002), and as Martha Rodgers on Castle (2009–2016). She earned an Emmy nomination for Lead Actress for the role of Julie Farr in the 1978 series Julie Farr, M.D. and a Golden Globe nomination for Supporting Actress for her role in Dharma & Greg.
Vanessa Bell Calloway is an American actress. Beginning her career as a dancer, Bell Calloway became known for her film roles as Princess Imani Izzi in the 1988 comedy Coming to America, as well as for her roles in What's Love Got to Do with It (1993), The Inkwell (1994), Crimson Tide (1995), and Daylight (1996). Bell Calloway had several starring roles on television series and movies, include first African American prime time soap opera, Under One Roof (1995). She later played recurring roles on Hawthorne and Shameless. In 2016, she appeared in comedy-drama film Southside with You, and began starring as Lady Ella Johnson in the Bounce TV prime time soap opera, Saints & Sinners. Bell Calloway is a nine-time NAACP Image Award nominee.
Patrika Darbo is an American actress. She made her big screen debut appearing in the 1988 romantic comedy film It Takes Two and later appeared in The 'Burbs (1989), Daddy's Dyin': Who's Got the Will? (1990), Spaced Invaders (1990), Leaving Normal (1992), In the Line of Fire (1993) and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997). Darbo played Roseanne Barr in the 1994 biographical television film Roseanne & Tom: Behind the Scenes.
Natalie Zea is an American actress known for her performances on television. Zea began her acting career in theatre. Her first major role was on the NBC daytime soap opera Passions (2000–2002), where she played the role of Gwen Hotchkiss. Her breakout role was on the ABC primetime soap opera Dirty Sexy Money as socialite Karen Darling, where she starred from 2007 to 2009. Zea also has made many guest appearances on television, starred in a number of independent and made-for-television movies, and had recurring roles in The Shield, Hung, Californication, and The Unicorn.
Holland Virginia Taylor is an American actress. She won the 1999 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Judge Roberta Kittleson on ABC's The Practice (1998–2003) and she received four Primetime Emmy Award nominations for her portrayal of Evelyn Harper on the CBS comedy Two and a Half Men (2003–15).
Sharon Elizabeth Lawrence is an American actress. From 1993 to 1999, she starred as Sylvia Costas in the ABC drama series, NYPD Blue. The role garnered her three Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series, and Satellite Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama. She received three additional Emmy Awards nominations for her later television performances.
Tamara A. Townsend is an American actress and singer. Townsend is best known for her roles as Wendy Reardon on the NBC daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives (1994–96), and Greta McClure, Eddie's girlfriend on the ABC/CBS sitcom Family Matters (1995–98). From 2015 to early 2018, she starred as Kira Cooper, the mother of K.C. Cooper, on the Disney Channel series K.C. Undercover.
Valerie Mahaffey is an American character actress and producer. She began her career starring in the NBC daytime soap opera The Doctors (1979–81), for which in 1980 she was nominated for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.
Celia Weston is an American character actress. Weston received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for her performance in Dead Man Walking (1995), and also had supporting roles in more than 40 movies, including The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), In the Bedroom (2001), Hulk (2003), and The Village (2004). On television, she is best known for her role as Jolene Hunnicutt in the CBS sitcom Alice (1981–85).
Kimberly Hawthorne is an American actress. She began her career appearing on Broadway and daytime soap operas, before landing supporting roles on the prime time dramas. From 2000 to 2005, Hawthorne was regular cast member in the CBC Television police drama, Da Vinci's Inquest. From 2016 to 2020, she starred as Kerissa Greenleaf in the Oprah Winfrey Network drama series, Greenleaf.
Robin Riker is an American actress and author. She made her big screen debut in the 1980 horror film Alligator and later went to star in the Showtime comedy series Brothers (1984–1989).
DeLane Matthews is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Beth Barry in the CBS television sitcom Dave's World from 1993 to 1997.
Kelli Amanda Goss is an American film and television actress. She began her career appearing in a recurring roles in the Nickelodeon comedy series Big Time Rush (2010–13) and on the CBS daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless (2013–15). From 2016 to 2020, Goss played the role of Heather Roth in the Netflix comedy series The Ranch. From 2021 to 2022, she played main character Vanessa on the CBS sitcom United States of Al.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
