Betty Buckley

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Betty Lynn Buckley (born July 3, 1947) is an American theater, film, and television actress.

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[edit] Biography

Buckley was born in Fort Worth, Texas, to Ernest Buckley (who was born in South Dakota) and Betty Bob on July 3, 1947; she is the eldest of their four children. She has three brothers.

She was crowned "Miss Fort Worth" in 1966 and was runner-up in the Miss Texas competition. Buckley was then invited to perform at the Miss America pageant in Atlantic City. For a time she worked as a reporter for the Fort Worth newspaper, but went to New York City in 1969 at the age of 22, where she landed a part in 1776.

Buckley was married in 1972 and divorced in 1979, and has never had children. She currently lives on a ranch in Parker County, Texas, and participates in NCHA cutting horse competitions.

[edit] Stage and screen career

Buckley made her Broadway debut in 1969 and has been called "The voice of Broadway!" by New York Magazine. Her rendition of "Memory" in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats established her reputation. Buckley has recorded 12 solo albums and now concertizes extensively across the U.S. each year. She is also a composer - her first recording contains mostly songs she wrote.

Buckley very much enjoys the music of country music singer-songwriter Mary Chapin Carpenter and covers Carpenter's songs during her shows. She has professed that the country singer is among her favorite "musical-poet-songwriter-singers." Carpenter once attended one of Buckley's performances and afterwards presented her with a personal letter of thanks. Buckley keeps the note in a frame and has said that receiving it was "one of the highlights of my life." It is a story the singer frequently shares during her live show.[citation needed]

Buckley sang "Memory" from Cats at the Kennedy Center Honors in December 2006 as part of the tribute to Andrew Lloyd Webber.

In 2007, Buckley will appear with Quintessence at Lincoln Center in its Great American Songbook series.

[edit] On Broadway, Buckley has appeared in:

She is perhaps best known for the 1977-81 TV dramedy Eight is Enough. She joined the show in its second season after the original star, Diana Hyland, died after the first four episodes of season 1. Hyland's character (Joan Bradford) died, and Buckley was cast as Sandra Sue Abbott (nicknamed Abby), who went on to become stepmother to the 'eight' (kids) the series' title refers to.

Buckley also gave a much-remembered performance in the original movie version of Carrie in 1976. She played Miss Collins, Carrie's gym teacher. In 1977, she recorded a solo on the song "Walking in Space," in the movie Hair.

She played the role of a country singer in Bruce Beresford's film Tender Mercies (1982), in which she sang the awarded song "Over You." She also appeared in the Woody Allen's film Another Woman (1988) and in Roman Polanski's Frantic (1988). In 2001-03, she played a role in seasons 4-6 of the HBO series Oz. She also has guest-starred in a number of television series, including Without a Trace, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and Monk.

[edit] Current career

Buckley has made 12 solo albums and now performs extensively across the U.S. each year in such venues as the Cafe Carlyle and The Blue Note in New York City and the Cinegrill in Los Angeles. She frequently performs with her band, Quintessence. One of Quintessence's members is Kenny Werner, well-known jazz pianist - he has played and arranged for her for over 16 years. They continue to work closely together on arrangements for songs they perform.

A new album with Quintessence is due out in 2007.

[edit] External links


Preceded by
Liliane Montevecchi
for Nine		 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical
1983
for Cats		 Succeeded by
Lila Kedrova
for Zorba
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