Susan Dey

Last updated

Susan Dey
The Partridge Family Susan Dey 1970.jpg
Publicity photo for The Partridge Family , 1970
Born
Susan Hallock Dey

(1952-12-10) December 10, 1952 (age 71)
Education Fox Lane High School
Occupations
  • Actress
  • model
  • producer
  • author
Years active1970–2004
Known for
Spouses
Lenny Hirshan
(m. 1976;div. 1981)
Bernard Sofronski
(m. 1988)
Children1

Susan Hallock Dey (born December 10, 1952) [1] is a retired American actress, known for her television roles as Laurie Partridge on the sitcom The Partridge Family from 1970 to 1974, and as Grace Van Owen on the drama series L.A. Law from 1986 to 1992. A three-time Emmy Award nominee and six-time Golden Globe Award nominee, she won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Drama Series for L.A. Law in 1988.

Contents

Early life and education

Dey was born in Pekin, Illinois, to Ruth Pyle (née Doremus) Dey, a nurse. [2] Ruth died in 1961, when Susan was eight. [2]

Dey attended Columbus Elementary School in Thornwood, New York. She later moved to Mount Kisco, New York, where she graduated from Fox Lane High School in 1970.[ citation needed ]

Career

Dey began her professional life as a model. Her first modeling break was the cover photo of a booklet by Pursettes tampons on first facts of menstruation for young girls, "Getting to Know Yourself."[ citation needed ]

She was cast as Laurie Partridge in the television series The Partridge Family from 1970 to 1974. [3] [4] She was 17 when she won the part with no previous acting experience. She briefly reprised that role for the Hanna-Barbera animated series, Partridge Family 2200 A.D. for two episodes, before being replaced by Sherry Alberoni. She returned to weekly network television in 1977 as the co-star of the short-lived sitcom Loves Me, Loves Me Not . [3]

Dey's first film role was as a passenger in the 1972 airline hijack movie Skyjacked , starring Charlton Heston. [5] In a 1977 made-for-television movie, Mary Jane Harper Cried Last Night , she portrayed a disturbed young mother with serious psychological problems who begins to take them out on her toddler daughter. [3] [6] Also in 1977, Dey starred opposite William Katt in First Love , directed by Joan Darling [3] [7] and appeared in the Barnaby Jones episode "Testament of Power" (1977).

Dey co-starred with Albert Finney in the 1981 science-fiction film Looker , written and directed by Michael Crichton. [3] She had a leading role in 1986's Echo Park as a struggling waitress-actress who takes a job as a stripper who delivers singing telegrams. [3] [8] She starred on L.A. Law from 1986 through 1992 as Los Angeles County deputy district attorney Grace Van Owen, who later became a judge. [3] She won a Golden Globe Award as Actress in a Leading Role – Drama Series for the role in 1988. [9] She was also nominated in each of the following four years. She was also nominated for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 1987, 1988, and 1989. [10]

She hosted a 1992 episode of Saturday Night Live . Later that year, she co-starred in the sitcom Love & War . [3] Although the show ran until 1995, Dey was replaced in 1993 by Annie Potts because producers reportedly felt she had "no chemistry" with co-star Jay Thomas. [11] In 1993, Dey produced and starred in Lies & Lullabies (later released on DVD as Sad Inheritance ), where she played a pregnant cocaine addict. [12]

Dey was mentioned in Shirley Jones's memoir as the only cast member who "consistently refused" to take part in Partridge Family reunions. [13]

In 1972, Dey was credited as the author of a book titled Susan Dey's Secrets on Boys, Beauty and Popularity. [14]

Personal life

During the production of The Partridge Family , Dey had romantic feelings for co-star David Cassidy. They eventually pursued a relationship when the show ended, but Cassidy broke it off as he did not share her feelings. In 1994, Cassidy disclosed details of his relationship with Dey in his autobiography C'mon, Get Happy ... Fear and Loathing on the Partridge Family Bus; he presumed this led to her severing contact with him. [15]

She serves as a board member of the Rape Treatment Center at UCLA Medical Center, and co-narrated a documentary on campus rape with former L.A. Law co-star Corbin Bernsen. [16] She suffered from anorexia during the run of The Partridge Family. [17]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1972 The Candidate Girl in Crowd
1972 Skyjacked Elly Brewster
1977 First Love Caroline
1981 Looker Cindy Fairmont
1986 Echo Park May
1987The Trouble with DickDiane
1998AvengedMargo
2003RainDianna Davis

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1970–74 The Partridge Family Laurie Partridge96 episodes
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film
1973 Circle of Fear PeggyEpisode: "Doorway to Death"
1973 Goober and the Ghost Chasers Laurie Partridge (voice)8 episodes
1973Terror on the BeachDeeDee GlynnTelevision film
1974 Partridge Family 2200 A.D. Laurie Partridge (voice)2 episodes
1975 The Rookies AngelEpisode: "Angel"
1975 Hawaii Five-O Susan BradshawEpisode: "Target? the Lady"
1975 S.W.A.T. Janice2 episodes
1975 Cage Without a Key Valerie SmithTelevision film
1976 The Quest Charlotte RoseeEpisode: "The Captive"
1976 The Streets of San Francisco Barbara RossEpisode: "The Thrill Killers" (filmed as a two-hour episode; aired in two parts)
1977 Mary Jane Harper Cried Last Night Rowena HarperTelevision film
1977 Loves Me, Loves Me Not Jane Benson6 episodes
1977 Barnaby Jones Linda JasonEpisode: "Testament of Power"
1978 Little Women Jo MarchTelevision miniseries
1980 The Comeback Kid Megan BarrettTelevision film
1983 Sunset Limousine Julie PrestonTelevision film
1983–84 Emerald Point N.A.S. Celia Mallory22 episodes
1983 Malibu Linda HarveyTelevision film
1984Love Leads the WayBethTelevision film
1986–92 L.A. Law Grace Van Owen110 episodes
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama (1989–92)
Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (1987–89)
Nominated—Viewers for Quality Television Award for Best Actress in a Quality Drama Series
1992–93 Love & War Wallis "Wally" Porter23 episodes
1992Bed of LiesVicky DanielTelevision film
1993 Lies and Lullabies Christina KinseyTelevision film (aka Sad Inheritance)
1994Beyond BetrayalJoanna/Emily DoyleTelevision film
1995 Deadly Love Rebecca BarnesTelevision film
1995 Blue River Mrs. SellersTelevision film
1997Bridge of TimeMadeleine ArmstrongTelevision film
1999 Family Law Karen HersheyEpisode: "Holt vs. Holt"
2002 L.A. Law: The Movie Grace Van OwenTelevision film
2002 Disappearance Patty HenleyTelevision film
2004 Third Watch Dr. Breene2 episodes

Related Research Articles

<i>The Partridge Family</i> American musical sitcom

The Partridge Family is an American musical sitcom created by Bernard Slade, which was broadcast in the United States from September 25, 1970, to August 24, 1974, on ABC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Annie Potts</span> American actress (born 1952)

Anne Hampton Potts is an American actress. She was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Corvette Summer (1978) and won a Genie Award for Heartaches (1981), before appearing in Ghostbusters (1984), Pretty in Pink (1986), Jumpin' Jack Flash (1986), Who's Harry Crumb? (1989), and Ghostbusters II (1989). She voiced Bo Peep in the first, second and fourth films of the Toy Story franchise and in various Disney video games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sally Field</span> American actress

Sally Margaret Field is an American actress. Known for her extensive work on screen and stage, she has received many accolades throughout her career spanning over five decades, including two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and three Primetime Emmy Awards, in addition to nominations for a Tony Award and two British Academy Film Awards. She was presented with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2014, the National Medal of Arts in 2014, the Kennedy Center Honor in 2019, and the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Brolin</span> American actor (born 1940)

James Brolin is an American actor. Brolin has won two Golden Globes and an Emmy. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on August 27, 1998. He is the father of actor Josh Brolin and the husband of Barbra Streisand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katherine Helmond</span> American actress (1929–2019)

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stockard Channing</span> American actress (born 1944)

Stockard Channing is an American actress. She played Betty Rizzo in the film Grease (1978) and First Lady Abbey Bartlet in the NBC television series The West Wing (1999–2006). She also originated the role of Ouisa Kittredge in the stage and film versions of Six Degrees of Separation; the 1993 film version earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. She was also one of two comic foils of The Number Painter on Sesame Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shelley Long</span> American actress and comedian (born 1949)

Shelley Long is an American actress, singer, and comedian. For her role as Diane Chambers on the hit sitcom Cheers, Long received five Emmy nominations, winning in 1983 for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. She also won two Golden Globe Awards for the role. Long reprised her role as Diane Chambers in three episodes of the spin-off Frasier, for which she received an additional guest star Emmy nomination. In 2009, she began playing the recurring role of DeDe Pritchett on the ABC comedy series Modern Family.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katharine Ross</span> American actress and author (born 1940)

Katharine Juliet Ross is an American actress on film, stage, and television. Her accolades include an Academy Award nomination, a BAFTA Award, and two Golden Globe Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juliet Mills</span> British-American actress (born 1941)

Juliet Maryon Mills is a British-American actress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susan Lucci</span> American actress (born 1946)

Susan Victoria Lucci is an American actress and television host. She is known for portraying Erica Kane on the ABC daytime drama All My Children during that show's entire network run from 1970 to 2011. The character is considered an icon, and she was called "Daytime's Leading Lady" by TV Guide, with The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times citing her as the highest-paid actor in daytime television. As early as 1991, her salary had been reported as over $1 million a year. During her run on All My Children, Lucci was nominated 21 times for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. She won only once, in 1999, after the 19th nomination; her status as a perpetual nominee for the award had attracted significant media attention since the late 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kristy McNichol</span> American actress (b. 1962)

Christina Ann McNichol is an American former actress. Beginning her career as a child actress, she rose to fame in 1976 with her portrayal of teenaged daughter Letitia "Buddy" Lawrence in the TV drama Family for which she won two Emmy Awards. Subsequent roles included Angel in the film Little Darlings, Polly in Only When I Laugh, and Barbara Weston in the TV sitcom Empty Nest. McNichol retired from acting in 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wendie Malick</span> American actress (born 1950)

Wendie Malick is an American actress and former fashion model, known for her roles in various television comedies. She starred as Judith Tupper Stone in the HBO sitcom Dream On, and as Nina Van Horn in the NBC sitcom Just Shoot Me!, for which she was nominated for two Primetime Emmys and a Golden Globe Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meredith Baxter</span> American actress and producer (born 1947)

Meredith Ann Baxter is an American actress and producer. She is known for her roles on the CBS sitcom Bridget Loves Bernie (1972–1973), ABC drama series Family (1976–1980) and the NBC sitcom Family Ties (1982–1989). A five-time Emmy Award nominee, one of her nominations was for playing the title role in the 1992 TV film A Woman Scorned: The Betty Broderick Story.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lesley Ann Warren</span> American singer-actress

Lesley Ann Warren is an American actress, singer and dancer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yvette Mimieux</span> American actress (1942–2022)

Yvette Carmen Mimieux was an American film and television actress who was a major star of the 1960's and 1970's. Her breakout role was in The Time Machine (1960). She was nominated for three Golden Globe Awards during her acting career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frances Conroy</span> American actress

Frances Hardman Conroy is an American actress. She is best known for playing Ruth Fisher on the television series Six Feet Under (2001–2005), for which she won a Golden Globe and three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and received four Primetime Emmy Awards nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. She is also known for playing the older version of Moira O'Hara in season one of the television anthology series American Horror Story, which garnered Conroy her first Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress on Television nomination, and as well a Primetime Emmy Awards nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie. Conroy subsequently portrayed The Angel of Death, Myrtle Snow, Gloria Mott, Mama Polk, Bebe Babbitt, and Belle Noir on seven further seasons of the show: Asylum, Coven, Freak Show, Roanoke, Cult, Apocalypse, and Double Feature, respectively. Conroy is the fourth actor who has appeared in most seasons of the show. For her performances in Coven & Double Feature, she was nominated again for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karen Valentine</span> American actress

Karen Valentine is an American actress. She is best known for her role as young idealistic schoolteacher Alice Johnson in the ABC comedy drama series Room 222 from 1969 to 1974, for which she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 1970, and received a Golden Globe Award nomination in 1971. She later went to star in her own short-lived sitcom Karen (1975), and played leading roles in the Disney films Hot Lead and Cold Feet (1978) and The North Avenue Irregulars (1979).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joanna Cassidy</span> American actress (born 1944)

Joanna Cassidy is an American actress and former model. She began working as a model in the 1960s and made her professional acting debut in 1973, appearing in the thriller films The Laughing Policeman and The Outfit. She later starred in films Bank Shot (1974), The Late Show (1977) and went to star in the short-lived television series The Roller Girls (1978) and 240-Robert (1979). In 1982, she played replicant Zhora Salome in science fiction film Blade Runner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kay Lenz</span> American actress (born 1953)

Kay Ann Lenz 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conchata Ferrell</span> American actress (1943–2020)

Conchata Galen Ferrell was an American actress. She played Berta the housekeeper on the sitcom Two and a Half Men from 2003 to 2015, and received two nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for the role. Ferrell had previously been nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her performance in L.A. Law.

References

  1. Green, Joseph (1994). The Partridge Family Album. Harper Perennial. pp. 10, 306. ISBN   9780060950750.
  2. 1 2 "Obituary". The New York Times. July 21, 1961.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Susan Dey". TV Guide. TV Guide . Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  4. "The Partridge Family (TV Show) 1970". TV Guide. TV Guide . Retrieved August 18, 2018.
  5. Soares, Emily. "Skyjacked (1972)". TCM.com. Turner Classic Movies (TCM). Retrieved August 16, 2018.
  6. "Mary Jane Harper Cried Last Night (1977)". TCM.com. Turner Classic Movies (TCM). Retrieved August 16, 2018.
  7. Maslin, Janet (November 5, 1977). "First Love, Film of the 70's, Misogynistic on Ugly Affair". The New York Times .
  8. Ebert, Roger (April 25, 1986). "Echo Park (1986)". RogerEbert.com. Chicago Sun-Times.
  9. "Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series - Drama (1988)". GoldenGlobes.com. Golden Globe Awards. Archived from the original on March 24, 2019. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
  10. "39th Emmy Awards Nominees and Winners : OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES - 1987". Emmys.com. Emmy Awards . Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  11. The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present Ballantine Books. 2003. p. 705. 0-345-45542-8
  12. Scott, Tony (March 11, 1993). "ABC Sunday Night Movie Lies and Lullabies". Variety. Variety.
  13. Nguyen, Vi-An (July 29, 2013). "7 Surprising Secrets of the Partridge Family Cast from Shirley Jones's Memoir". Parade.com. Parade Publications. Archived from the original on May 12, 2015. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
  14. Dey, Susan (May 10, 1972). Susan Dey's secrets on boys, beauty, & popularity. Scholastic Book Service.
  15. "DAVID CASSIDY AND SUSAN DEY: INSIDE AN UNREQUITED LOVE ON 'THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY' BUS". Inquisitr. 2017. Archived from the original on November 21, 2017. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  16. Campus Rape. Rape Treatment Center, Santa Monica Hospital Medical Center. 1990. OCLC   21500123.
  17. Mathews, Jay (October 5, 1989). "SUSAN DEY, LIGHT-YEARS FROM THE CHILD STAR". Washington Post. Retrieved January 2, 2020.

Sources