| Doris Belack | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 26, 1926 New York City, New York |
| Died | October 4, 2011 (aged 85) New York City, New York |
| Occupation | Film, stage, television actress |
| Years active | 1955–2011 |
| Spouse | Philip Rose (m.1946–2011; his death) |
Doris Belack (February 26, 1926 – October 4, 2011) was an American character actress of stage, film and television.[1]
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Belack was born in 1926 in New York City, the younger daughter of Isaac and Bertha Belack, Jewish immigrants from Russia. She had one sibling, an older sister. In 1955, she performed on the record "Poetry of the Negro" with Sidney Poitier. The record was produced by her husband, Philip Rose.
Belack has been misidentified as the first "Mrs. Fish" to Abe Vigoda's character on Barney Miller. She was actually only a one episode replacement for actress Florence Stanley, who played "Mrs. Fish" ("Bernice Fish"). Before that, Belack was seen mainly in soap operas; she was the original Anna Wolek Craig on One Life to Live. She also appeared in Another World, The Edge of Night and The Doctors. Doris played the memorable part of the formidable soap opera producer in the comedy hit film Tootsie which also starred Dustin Hoffman.
Belack played the lead role in the short-lived television sitcom called Baker's Dozen as "Florence Baker", the no-nonsense captain of an undercover anti-crime unit of the NYPD. The show lasted a month on CBS. She guest starred on an episode of The Golden Girls in 1985 as Dorothy Zbornak's sister Gloria. From 1990 to 2001, she played the tough, sharp-tongued "Judge Margaret Barry", a recurring role on Law & Order and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Doris also played Maureen McReary in Grand Theft Auto IV and provided the voices of Mrs. Dink and Mrs. Wingo in the Nickelodeon show Doug. Her last television appearance was on a 2003 episode of Sex and the City.
Her husband, producer Philip Rose, died on May 31, 2011 (four months before her own death); they had been married for 65 years and had no children.[2]