Kay Lenz | |
---|---|
Born | Kay Ann Lenz March 4, 1953 [1] Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
Other names | Kay Ann Kemper |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1964–present |
Spouse |
Kay Ann Lenz (born March 4, 1953) is an American actress. She is the recipient of a Daytime Emmy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award, as well as nominations for a Golden Globe Award and a Saturn Award.
Lenz is best known for her title role in the film Breezy (1973), for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer – Female. She is also known for her roles in the film House (1985), as well as the television series Midnight Caller (1988–1989) and Reasonable Doubts (1991–1993). For her role in the episode "After It Happened" of Midnight Caller, she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series. She started her career with the stage name Kay Ann Kemper, switching to Kay Lenz after her third role, a brief appearance in American Graffiti (filmed in 1972).
Lenz was born in Los Angeles, California, to Ted Lenz, an actor and producer, and Kay Miller Lenz, who worked as a radio engineer and professional model. Her television debut was as a baby, held by a guest on a program that her father produced. [2]
Lenz began working as a child actress, beginning with appearances in three episodes of This Is the Life when she was 14. [2] She went on to appear in such television shows as The Andy Griffith Show (in the episode "Opie's Group" (1967) under the stage name Kay Ann Kemper) as well as in stage productions. She made a brief appearance billed as Kay Ann Kemper in American Graffiti (1973) as Jane, a girl at a dance. She achieved recognition for her title-role performance as the free spirit who captivates William Holden in Breezy (1973), directed by Clint Eastwood. [3] [4]
Lenz made guest appearances in The Streets of San Francisco , Gunsmoke , MacGyver , McCloud , Cannon , and Petrocelli , and played a lead role in the film White Line Fever (1975) before being cast in 1976 in the miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man , for which she was nominated for an Emmy Award. [5] She reprised her role for the sequel, Rich Man, Poor Man Book II (1977). Since the 1980s, she has played guest roles in numerous television series. [5] She appeared in Albert Brooks' short film for a Season 1 episode of Saturday Night Live .
In 1984, she appeared in Rod Stewart's music video for the song "Infatuation". She won a Primetime Emmy Award in 1989 for Midnight Caller . [6] [7] She was also nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards for her role as flinty lawyer Maggie Zombro in the police/legal drama Reasonable Doubts . [8] [5]
Lenz was the first wife of singer-actor David Cassidy. Of their April 3, 1977, marriage, [6] Lenz says:
I wasn’t used to that state-of-stardom lifestyle... When we eloped it was on the national news. All of a sudden I was getting mail from women telling me that they had three of his children. [6]
The couple divorced on December 28, 1983.[ citation needed ]
In November 2018, Lenz and her partner Dr. Mark Brown, lost their home in the Woolsey Fire in Malibu, California. [9]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1973 | American Graffiti | Jane | as Kay Ann Kemper |
1973 | Breezy | Edith Alice Breezerman | Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer - Female [2] |
1973 | Lisa, Bright and Dark | Lisa Schilling | |
1975 | White Line Fever | Jerri Kane Hummer | |
1976 | Moving Violation [10] | Cam Johnson | |
1976 | The Great Scout & Cathouse Thursday | Thursday | |
1978 | Mean Dog Blues | Linda Ramsey | |
1979 | The Passage | Leah Bergson | |
1981 | Swan Lake | Odille | Voice role |
1982 | Fast-Walking | "Little" Moke | |
1983 | Prisoners of the Lost Universe | Carrie Madison | |
1983 | Trial by Terror | Karen Armstrong | |
1985 | House | Sandy Sinclair | Nominated — Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress |
1987 | Death Wish 4: The Crackdown [11] | Karen Sheldon | |
1987 | Stripped to Kill | Detective Cody Sheenan | |
1988 | Fear | Sharon Haden | |
1989 | Headhunter | Katherine Hall | |
1989 | Physical Evidence | Deborah Quinn | |
1990 | Streets | Sargent | |
1991 | Shakespeare's Plan 12 from Outer Space | Sebastian | |
1992 | Falling From Grace | P.J. Parks | |
1994 | Trapped in Space | Gillings | |
1995 | Gunfighter's Moon | Linda Yarnell | |
1995 | Shame II: The Secret | Ginny | Nominated — CableACE Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Movie or Miniseries |
1997 | A Gun, a Car, a Blonde | Peep/Madge | |
1998 | The Adventures of Ragtime | Detective Hill | |
2003 | Southside | Claire Coleman | |
2013 | The Secret Lives of Dorks | Mrs. Susie Gibson | |
2017 | The Downside of Bliss | Mary | |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1967 | The Andy Griffith Show | Phoebe (but mistakenly credited as Joy) | Episode: "Opie's Group" (as Kay Ann Kemper) |
1967 | The Monroes | Maudie Buchner | Episode: "Teaching The Tigers to Purr" (as Kay Ann Kemper) |
1972 | Ironside | Stephanie Tucker | Episode: "Cold Hard Cash" |
1972 | The Weekend Nun | Audree | ABC Movie of the Week |
1973 | Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law | Lucy | Episode: "A Girl Named Tham" |
1973 | A Summer Without Boys | Ruth Hailey | ABC Movie of the Week |
1973 | The Streets of San Francisco | Sarah Holt | Episode: "Harem" |
1974 | Love Story | Sara | Episode: "Time for Love" |
1974 | Gunsmoke | Lettie | Episode: "The Foundling" |
1974 | The ABC Afternoon Playbreak | Dorie | Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Special for episode: "Heart in Hiding" |
1974 | Unwed Father | Vicky Simmons | ABC Movie of the Week |
1974 | Nakia | Barbara | Episode: "The Hostage" |
1974 | Kodiak | Episode: "Death Chase " | |
1974 | McCloud | Eve Randall | Episode: "Barefoot Girls of Bleeker Street" |
1974 | Medical Center | Kitty Palumbo | Episode: "The Conspirators" |
1974 | The Underground Man | Sue Crandell | TV movie |
1974 | The F.B.I. Story: The FBI Versus Alvin Karpis, Public Enemy Number One | Shirley | TV movie |
1974 | Cannon | Sally | Episode: "The Avenger" |
1974 | The One | Shirley | TV movie |
1975 | Journey from Darkness | Sherry Williams | TV movie |
1975 | Petrocelli | Janet / Mary Wade | Episode: "Face of Evil" |
1976 | Rich Man, Poor Man | Kate Jordache | Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie |
1976 | The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson | Self | 1 episode |
1976 | Jigsaw John | Miriam Buckley | Episode: "Eclipse" |
1977 | Rich Man, Poor Man Book II | Kate Jordache | Miniseries |
1978 | How The West Was Won | Doreen | 3 episodes |
1978 | The Initiation of Sarah | Sarah Goodwin | TV movie |
1979 | Good Morning America | Self | Episode dated 24 July 1979 |
1979 | The Seeding of Sarah Burns | Sarah Burns | TV movie |
1979 | Sanctuary Of Fear | Carol Bain | TV pilot for unmade series, starring Barnard Hughes |
1980 | Escape | Barbara Chilcoate | TV movie |
1980 | The Hustler of Muscle Beach | Jenny O’Rourke | TV movie |
1982 | Insight | L.J. | Episode: "Matchpoint" |
1984 | Whiz Kids | Helen Langton | Episode: "Amen to Amen-Re" |
1984 | Hill Street Blues | Whitney Barnes | Episode: "The Other Side of Oneness" |
1984–1988 | Simon & Simon | Kris Caulfield/Lolita | 4 episodes |
1984–1987 | Hotel | Gail Matthews/Mary Morowsky | 2 episodes |
1984 | Magnum P.I. | Sally DeForest | Episode: "Let the Punishment Fit the Crime" |
1984 | The Fall Guy | Kim Donnelly | Episodes: "Losers Weepers" (Pts 1 and 2) |
1984 | Cagney & Lacey | Linda Mack | Episode: "Victimless Crime" |
1984 | Matt Houston | Cassie Stanley | Episode: "Stolen" |
1985 | Murder She Wrote | Nurse Jennie Wells | Episode: "Armed Response" |
1985 | Finder of Lost Loves | Ellen Ross | Episode: "Last Wish" |
1985 | Riptide | Brenda Malloy | Episode: "Still Goin' Steady" |
1985 | MacGyver | Kelly Neilson | Episode: "Last Stand" |
1986 | Heart of the City | Kathy Priester | 2 episodes |
1986 | Hunter | Alicia Fiori | Episode: "Scrap Metal" |
1987 | Mr. Belvedere | Sharon Rogers | Season 3 Episode #18: "Kevin's Older Woman" |
1987 | Charles in Charge | Joan Robinson | Episode: "The Undergraduate" |
1987 | Houston Knights | Elizabeth | Episode: "Home Is Where the Heart Is" |
1987 | Starman | Dr. Katherine Bradford | Episode: "The Probe" |
1987 | Moonlighting | Melissa | Episode: "Come Back Little Shiksa" |
1988 | Midnight Caller | Tina Cassidy | 3 episodes Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series (1989) Nominated —Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series (1990) |
1989 | Hardball | Connie Villanova | Episode: "Till Death Do Us Part" |
1989 | ABC Afterschool Special | Bonnie Green | Episode: "Private Affairs" |
1989 | Murder by Night | Karen Hicks | TV movie |
1991 | Reasonable Doubts | Maggie Zombro | Recurring role (season 1); main role (season 2); 32 episodes Viewers for Quality Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Quality Drama Series (1993) Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (1993) |
1992–1993 | Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa | Cowlamity Kate Cudster | Voice role |
1993 | An Evening at the Improv | Self-Host | Episode #12.8 |
1994 | The Tick | American Maid | Voice role; 25 episodes |
1995 | Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman | Constance Hunter | Episode: "Whine Whine Whine" |
1996 | Touched by an Angel | Rocky McCann | Episode: "The Journalist" |
1997 | Journey of the Heart | Marvelle | Television film |
1999 | Mysteries and Scandals | self | Episode about William Holden |
2000 | ER | Karen Palmieri | Episode: "Homecoming" |
2000 | The Magnificent Seven | Ella Gaines | Episode: "Obsession" |
2000–2001 | Cover Me | Lisa Ramone | 2 episodes |
2001 | Once and Again | Stephanie Arlen | 2 episodes |
2002 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Linda Cavanaugh | Episode: "Guilt" |
2003 | The Agency | Police Interrogator | Episode: "Coventry" |
2003 | JAG | Judge Smith | Episode: "A Merry Little Christmas" |
2007 | House, M.D. | Mrs Bradberry | Episode: "Alone" |
2008 | NCIS | Connie Quinn Wheeler | Episode: "Silent Night" |
2009 | Cold Case | Hillary Rhodes | Episode: "November 22" |
2010 | The Closer | Mrs Tatem | Episode: "In Custody" |
2011 | Southland | Naomi Chester | Episode: "Fixing a Hole" |
2013 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Laura Sidle | Episode: "Forget Me Not" |
2014 | Bones | Harriet White | Episode: "Big in the Philippines" |
2015 | Adventure Time | Bird Woman/Gunther | Voice role; 1 episode |
Anne Bancroft was an American actress and director. Respected for her acting prowess and versatility, Bancroft received an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, two Tony Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Cannes Film Festival Award. She is one of 24 thespians to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting.
Joan Mary Cusack is an American actress. She received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her roles in the comedy-drama Working Girl (1988) and the romantic comedy In & Out (1997). Her other starring roles include those in Toys (1992), Addams Family Values (1993), Nine Months (1995), Cradle Will Rock (1999), Where the Heart Is (2000), Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003), School of Rock (2003), and Kit Kittredge: An American Girl (2008). She has also provided the voice of Jessie in the Toy Story franchise (1999–present), for which she won an Annie Award, and Abby Mallard in Chicken Little (2005).
Morgan Fairchild is an American actress. She began acting in the early 1970s and has had roles in several television series since then.
Roxana Zal is an American former actress and fashion designer. In 1984, at the age of 14, she became the youngest Primetime Emmy Award winner for her title role in the television film Something About Amelia.
Colleen Rose Dewhurst was a Canadian-American actress mostly known for theatre roles. She was a renowned interpreter of the works of Eugene O'Neill on the stage, and her career also encompassed film, early dramas on live television, and performances in Joseph Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival. One of her last roles was playing Marilla Cuthbert in the Kevin Sullivan television adaptations of the Anne of Green Gables series and her reprisal of the role in the subsequent TV series Road to Avonlea. In the United States, Dewhurst won two Tony Awards and four Emmy Awards for her stage and television work. In addition to other Canadian honors over the years, Dewhurst won two Gemini Awards for her portrayal of Marilla Cuthbert; once in 1986 and again in 1988. It is arguably her best known role because of the Kevin Sullivan produced series’ continuing popularity and also the initial co-production by the CBC; allowing for rebroadcasts over the years on it, and also on PBS in the United States. The initial broadcast alone was seen by millions of viewers.
June Lockhart is an American retired actress, beginning a film career in the 1930s and 1940s in such films as A Christmas Carol and Meet Me in St. Louis. She acted primarily in 1950s and 1960s television and with performances on stage and in film. On two television series, Lassie and Lost in Space, she played mother roles. Lockhart also portrayed Dr. Janet Craig on the CBS television sitcom Petticoat Junction (1968–70). She is a two-time Emmy Award nominee and a Tony Award winner. With a career spanning nearly 90 years, Lockhart is one of the last surviving actors from the Golden Age of Hollywood.
Suzanne Pleshette was an American actress. Pleshette was known for her roles in theatre, film, and television. She was nominated for three Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. For her role as Emily Hartley on the CBS sitcom The Bob Newhart Show (1972–1978) she received two nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.
Jean Elizabeth Smart is an American actress. Her work includes both comedy and drama, and her accolades include six Primetime Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and nominations for a Tony Award and a Grammy Award.
Janel Moloney is an American actress, best known for her role as Donna Moss on the television series The West Wing, a role for which she received nominations for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2002 and 2004. From 2014 to 2017, she starred on the HBO drama The Leftovers.
Barbara Hale was an American actress who portrayed legal secretary Della Street in the dramatic television series Perry Mason (1957–1966), earning her a 1959 Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. She reprised the role in 30 Perry Mason made-for-television movies (1985–1995).
Midnight Caller is an American drama television series created by Richard DiLello, which aired on NBC from October 25, 1988, to May 10, 1991. It was one of the first television series to address the dramatic possibilities of the then-growing phenomenon of talk radio.
Wilma Jeanne Cooper was an American actress, best known for her role as Katherine Chancellor on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless (1973–2013). At the time of her death, she had played Katherine for nearly 40 years, and her name appears on the list of longest-serving soap opera actors in the United States.
Pamela Adlon is an American actress, writer and director. She is known for voicing Bobby Hill in the animated comedy series King of the Hill (1997–2010), for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award. She also voiced Baloo in Jungle Cubs (1996–1998), the title role in the Pajama Sam video game series (1996–2001), Lucky in 101 Dalmatians: The Series (1997–1998), Margaret "Moose" Pearson in Pepper Ann (1997–2000), Ashley Spinelli in Recess (1997–2001), Otto Osworth in Time Squad (2001–2003), and Brigette Murphy in Milo Murphy's Law (2016–2019), among numerous others.
Cherry Jones is an American actress. She started her career in theater as a founding member of the American Repertory Theater in 1980 before transitioning into film and television. Celebrated for her dynamic roles on stage and screen, she has received various accolades, including three Primetime Emmy Awards and two Tony Awards, as well as nominations for an Olivier Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
Ann Jillian is a former American actress and singer whose career began as a child actress in 1960. She is best known for her role as the sultry Cassie Cranston on the 1980s sitcom It's a Living.
Carrie Preston is an American actress, director, and producer. She is best known for her roles as Arlene Fowler in the HBO fantasy drama series True Blood (2008–2014) and as Elsbeth Tascioni in the CBS legal drama series The Good Wife (2010–2016), the Paramount+ legal drama spinoff series The Good Fight (2017–2022), and crime comedy-drama spinoff series Elsbeth (2024–present), also on CBS. For her work on The Good Wife, Preston received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series.
Breezy is a 1973 American romantic drama film directed by Clint Eastwood, produced by Robert Daley, and written by Jo Heims. The film stars William Holden and Kay Lenz, with Roger C. Carmel, Marj Dusay, and Joan Hotchkis in supporting roles. It is the third film directed by Eastwood and the first without him starring in it.
Lois June Nettleton was an American film, stage, radio and television actress. She received three Primetime Emmy Award nominations and won two Daytime Emmy Awards.
Christina Applegate is an American actress. After appearing in several roles since early childhood, she gained recognition for starring as Kelly Bundy in the comedy sitcom Married... with Children (1987–1997). Applegate established a successful film and television career in her adult years, winning a Primetime Emmy Award as well as gaining nominations for four Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award.
"After It Happened" is a 1988 episode of the NBC television series Midnight Caller. The controversial episode tells the story of a bisexual man who is deliberately infecting people with HIV, including series lead character Jack Killian's ex-girlfriend. Activists for HIV/AIDS awareness and LGBT rights disrupted filming, citing concerns over the negative portrayal of bisexual and HIV-positive people and fears that the show would make people with AIDS the targets of violence. Series executives made some changes to the script in response to these concerns, but activists were still displeased.
...David Cassidy when they married in 1977, just 2½ months after meeting on a blind date.