Shirley Stoler
Shirley Stoler | |
---|---|
Born |
Brooklyn, New York, U.S. | March 30, 1929
Died |
February 17, 1999 69) New York City, New York, U.S. | (aged
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1970–1999 |
Shirley Stoler (March 30, 1929 – February 17, 1999) was an American actress best known for her roles in The Honeymoon Killers and Lina Wertmüller's Seven Beauties.
Early years
The eldest of four children born to Russian Jewish immigrant parents in Brooklyn who owned a used furniture store,[1]Stoler made her stage debut in 1955 and gained experience as a member of New York's experimental La Mama and Living Theatre companies. She had become a key underground player by the time she earned film fame in 1970 at age 41.
Film and TV career
Throughout her career, Stoler, a large and powerfully built woman who rarely smiled onscreen, often played scary villains in such films as Seven Beauties and The Honeymoon Killers and on television in an episode of Charlie's Angels. A character actress, as well as an occasional lead, Stoler appeared in small roles in Klute, The Deer Hunter, and Desperately Seeking Susan.
A highlight of her film career was her performance as the unnamed Nazi female prison commandant in Lina Wertmüller's Seven Beauties (1975), in which she played a cat and mouse game of seduction with the concentration camp inmate played by Giancarlo Giannini. A profile of Stoler was featured on the front page of the New York Times Arts section. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film of 1976 and garnered Wertmüller nominations for Best Director (a first for a woman) and Best Original Screenplay; Stoler's co-star Giannini was nominated for Best Actor.
Stoler also appeared on Broadway; in the daytime soap operas The Edge of Night as Frankie and One Life to Live as Roberta (nicknamed "Tiny"); and on Saturday morning television as Mrs. Steve on Pee-wee's Playhouse.
Death
Stoler lived in Manhattan, where she died at St. Vincent's Hospital and Medical Center from heart failure after a long illness, one month before her 70th birthday.[2]
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1970 | The Honeymoon Killers | Martha Beck | |
1971 | Klute | Momma Reese | |
1975 | Seven Beauties | Commandant | Italian title: Pasqualino Settebellezze |
1976 | A Real Young Girl | Grocer in Aupom | French title: Une vraie jeune fille |
1978 | The Deer Hunter | Steven's Mother | |
1979 | Charlie's Angels | Big Aggie | Episode: "Caged Angel" |
1980 | Skag | Dottie Jessup | 5 episodes |
1980 | Seed of Innocence | Corky | Alternative title: Teen Mothers |
1980 | Below the Belt | Trish | |
1980 | The Edge of Night | Frankie | Unknown episodes |
1981 | Second-Hand Hearts | Maxy | |
1983 | The Brass Ring | Marge | Television movie |
1983 | Bring 'Em Back Alive | Episode: "The Shadow Women of Chung Tai" | |
1983 | The Powers of Matthew Star | Tattoo Artist | Episode: "The Quadrian Caper" |
1984 | A Stroke of Genius | ||
1984 | Splitz | Dean Hunta | |
1985 | Desperately Seeking Susan | Jail matron | |
1985 | Brass | Woman in window | Television movie |
1986 to 1987 | Pee-wee's Playhouse | Mrs. Steve | 4 episodes |
1986 to 1987 | One Life to Live | Roberta "Tiny" Coleman | Unknown episodes |
1987 | Three O'Clock High | Eva | |
1988 | Shakedown | Irma | |
1988 | Sticky Fingers | Reeba | |
1989 | Kate & Allie | Episode: "Wanted: One Husband" | |
1989 | In the Heat of the Night | Adah Boone | Episode: "The Pig Woman of Sparta" |
1990 | Miami Blues | Edie Wulgemuth | |
1990 | Frankenhooker | Spike the Bartender | |
1990 | Sons | German housewife | |
1991 | Law & Order | Charlie Maylen | Episode: "Misconception" |
1992 | Topsy and Bunker: The Cat Killers | Grace | |
1992 | Mac | Customer | |
1992 | Malcolm X | Mrs. Swerlin | |
1993 | Me and Veronica | Shouting Woman | |
1997 | The Deli | Irma | |
2016 | Chief Zabu | Joan Ironwood | Shot in 1986 |
References
- ↑ Profile, news.google.com; accessed May 15, 2016.
- ↑ "Shirley Stoler, 69, Actress Hailed For Her Role in 'Seven Beauties'". The New York Times. 1999-02-28. Retrieved 2008-10-26.