Betsy Aidem

Last updated
Betsy Aidem
BETSY AIDEM 2024.jpg
Aidem in 2024
Born (1957-10-28) October 28, 1957 (age 66)
Occupation(s)Actress, director
Years active1982–present
Spouse
(m. 1987;div. 1996)
Children1

Betsy Aidem (born October 28, 1957) is an American actress.

Contents

Her film work includes The Bleeding House , See You in the Morning , A Vigilante , and Aeris . Her television work includes The High Life and The Americans , appearing in the latter in the episodes "Safe House" and "Covert War".

Her stage work includes Steel Magnolias and Five Women Wearing the Same Dress . She was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performance in Prayer for the French Republic. In 2007, she was given an Obie Award for "sustained excellence of performance" for her work Off-Broadway. [1]

Background

[2] Aidem first became interested in acting while she was in high school. Her debut was as a fairy in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream . [3] She is also a stage play director and her first professional production was in 2018, A Doll's House, Part 2 , which was a stage production of the Lucas Hnath comedy. [4] She was the first wife of William Fichtner and had a child with him. [5]

Career

Stage work

Midway through 2009, Aidem was in Nicki Bloom's Tender, a story about an act of violence that destroys a family. The play, directed by Daniela Topol, also starred Kerry Bishé, Michael Cullen, and Matt Dellapina. [6] In October 2018, she appeared as the loony and flamboyant Professor Carroway in Love Course which was about two eccentric neurotics, Carroway and Professor Burgess, teaching a course in romantic literature and two students who attend the course and end up teaching it. [7] [8]

Film work

Her earliest film work was in the 1982 film A Little Sex , where she played a passer-by. [9] In 1985, she appeared in the television film Kojak: The Belarus File as Elissa Barak. [10]

She appeared in Sarah Daggar-Nickson's 2018 film A Vigilante which starred Olivia Wilde, Morgan Spector and Kyle Catlett. [11] Also that year she was in Aeris , a film about a couple adopting a sick kitten. [12]

Television shows

Her work on television shows includes reoccurring roles on The High Life as Irene, [13] [14] and as Dr. Sloane on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit . [15] [16]

Stage appearances

TitleRoleDirectorYearNotes #
Balm in Gilead Kay John Malkovich 1984Off-Broadway
Crossing the BarPerformer Jerry Zaks 1985Off-Broadway
A Lie of the Mind Sally Sam Shepard 1985Off-Broadway
Steel Magnolias Shelby Pamela Berlin 1987Off-Broadway
Road Carol Simon Curtis 1987Off-Broadway
The Night Hank Williams DiedNellie Bess Powers Clark Christopher Ashley 1989Off-Broadway
Five Women Wearing the Same Dress Georgeanne Melia Bensussen 1993Off-Broadway
Teible and Her DemonTeible Daniel Gerroll 1994Off-Broadway
The Butterfly CollectionPerformer Bartlett Sher 2000Off-Broadway
Good ThingNancy Roy Jo Bonney 2001Off-Broadway
Sea of TranquilityPhyllisNeil Pepe2004Off-Broadway
Celebration and The Room JulieNeil Pepe2005Off-Broadway
Mary Rose Mrs. Moreland Tina Landau 2007Off-Broadway
CrookedEliseLiz Diamond2008Off-Broadway
TenderDaniela Topol2009Off-Broadway
The Metal ChildrenLynne / Roberta Cupp Adam Rapp 2010Off-Broadway
Dreams of Flying Dreams of FallingPerformerNeil Pepe2011Off-Broadway
Nikolai and the OthersLisa Sokoloff David Cromer 2013Off-Broadway
All the Way Lady Bird Johnson / various Bill Rauch 2014Broadway [17]
Mama's Boy Marguerite Oswald Brian P. Allen2015Regional [18]
Final FolliesWilma Trumbo/Professor Carroway David Saint 2018Off-Broadway
Prayer for the French Republic Marcelle Salomon Benhamou David Cromer 2022Off-Broadway
Leopoldstadt Grandma Emilia Patrick Marber 2022Original Broadway Production
Prayer for the French Republic Marcelle Salomon Benhamou David Cromer 2023Original Broadway Production

Partial filmography

TitleRoleDirectorYearNotes
A Little Sex Passerby Bruce Paltrow 1982
Kojak: The Belarus File Elissa Barak Robert Markowitz 1985
See You in the Morning Larry's Sister-in-Law Alan J. Pakula 1989
Fool's FireLady Angela Julie Taymor 1992
Nine Months Gail's Nurse Chris Columbus 1995
Music of the Heart Mrs Lamb Wes Craven 1999
You Can Count on Me Minister Kenneth Lonergan 2000
Maze Lydia Rob Morrow 2000
Far from Heaven Pool Mother Todd Haynes 2002
People I Know Talia Greene Dan Algrant 2002
Winter Passing Nurse Adam Rapp 2005
Confess Julie Bradford Stefan Schaefer 2005
The Attic Ms. Kettering Mary Lambert 2007
Motherhood Jordan's Mom Katherine Dieckmann 2009
The Bleeding MarilynPhilip Gelatt2011
Mr. Popper's Penguins Tavern Hostess Mark Waters 2011
The Oranges Anne Allen Julian Farino 2011
Margaret Abigail Kenneth Lonergan 2011
Arbitrage Vogler's Secretary Nicholas Jarecki 2012
The Greatest Showman Mrs. Carlyle Michael Gracey 2017
A Vigilante Andrea Shaund Sarah Daggar-Nickson 2018

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References

  1. Obie Awards 2007 List accessed 05-05-2024
  2. Playbill , September 12, 2018 - Off-Broadway News, Final Follies, a Trio of One-Act Plays by A.R. Gurney, Begins Off-Broadway By Olivia Clement Archived 2019-01-19 at the Wayback Machine
  3. Broadway World , Oct. 10, 2016 - BWW Interview: Betsy Aidem and MAMA'S BOY at George Street Playhouse 10/18 to 11/6 by Marina Kennedy Archived 2019-01-19 at the Wayback Machine
  4. New Jersey Stage , 11/19/2018 - A Look At Betsy Aidem, Director of "A Doll's House, Part 2" at George Street Playhouse By Charles Paolino Archived 2019-01-19 at the Wayback Machine
  5. The Globe and Mail , February 25, 2011 - There's more to William Fichtner than crazy roles Johanna Schneller Archived 2020-12-02 at the Wayback Machine
  6. TheaterMainia, June 23, 2009 - THEATER NEWS, Ari Graynor, Doug Kreeger, Peter Scanavino, Ally Sheedy, et al. Set for 2009 Summer Play Festival - Brian Scott Lipton Archived 2019-03-27 at the Wayback Machine
  7. The New York Observer , 10/04/18 - REVIEW, A.R. Gurney Listened to Critics, Wrote This Triptych of Stupidity By Rex Reed Archived 2019-03-27 at the Wayback Machine
  8. New York Theatre Guide, October 8, 2018 - Review of Primary Stages' Final Follies at Cherry Lane Theatre - Review By: David Walters Archived 2019-03-27 at the Wayback Machine
  9. Rotten Tomatoes - Betsy Aidem, Filmography, Movies Archived 2019-03-18 at the Wayback Machine
  10. Unsold Television Pilots: 1955-1989, By Lee Goldberg - 2046. The Return of Kojak (aka Kojak: The Belarus File) Archived 2022-08-11 at the Wayback Machine
  11. The Hollywood Reporter , 3/11/2018 - 'A Vigilante': Film Review | SXSW 2018 by John DeFore Archived 2019-01-19 at the Wayback Machine
  12. Rotten Tomatoes - Aeris (2018) Archived 2020-07-31 at the Wayback Machine
  13. Variety Magazine , November 4, 1996 - The High Life By Jeremy Gerard Archived 2019-01-19 at the Wayback Machine
  14. Single Season Sitcoms of the 1990s: A Complete Guide, By Bob Leszczak - Page 84 Single Season Sitcoms of the 1990s Archived 2022-08-11 at the Wayback Machine
  15. TV.com - Betsy Aidem, Credits, Guest Star Archived 2019-01-19 at the Wayback Machine
  16. Who Was Who on TV, Volume 2, By Norman Chance - Page 282 Archived 2022-08-11 at the Wayback Machine
  17. Broadway World - Betsy Aidem Broadway and Theatre Credits, Stage Performances Archived 2019-01-25 at the Wayback Machine
  18. Boyle, April (Nov 3, 2015). "Theater Review: 'Mama's Boy' an intriguing play about Oswald family". Portland Press Herald. Archived from the original on August 11, 2022. Retrieved Dec 27, 2020.