Linda Lavin

Linda Lavin

Birth : 1937-10-15, Portland, Maine, USA

History

Linda Lavin (born October 15, 1937) is an American actress and singer. She is known for playing the title character in the sitcom Alice and for her stage performances, both on and off-Broadway. After acting as a child, Lavin joined the Compass Players in the late 1950s. She began appearing on Broadway in the 1960s, earning notice in It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman in 1966 and receiving her first Tony Award nomination for Last of the Red Hot Lovers in 1970. She moved to Hollywood in 1973 and began to work on television, making recurring appearances on the sitcom Barney Miller before landing the title role on the hit comedy Alice, which ran from 1976 to 1985. She appeared in many telefilms and later she appeared in other TV works. She has also played roles in several feature films. In 1987, she returned to Broadway, starring in Broadway Bound (winning a Tony Award), Gypsy (1990), The Sisters Rosensweig (1993), The Diary of Anne Frank (1997–1998) and The Tale of the Allergist's Wife (2000–2001), among others. In 2010, she appeared as Ruth Steiner in Collected Stories, garnering her fifth Tony nomination. She starred in NBC's short-lived sitcom Sean Saves the World as Lorna and the CBS sitcom 9JKL. She also starred in the CBS sitcom B Positive. Description above from the Wikipedia article Linda Lavin, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Profile

Linda Lavin
Linda Lavin

Movies

Being the Ricardos
Older Madelyn Pugh
Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz face a crisis that could end their careers and another that could end their marriage.
On Broadway
Self (archive footage)
An all-star cast tells the inside story of the Broadway theater, and how it came back from the brink thanks to innovative work, a new attention to inclusion and a sometimes uneasy balance between art and commerce. Legends of the stage and screen—including Helen Mirren, Christine Baranski, August Wilson, James Corden, Alec Baldwin, John Lithgow, Viola Davis, Hugh Jackman and Ian McKellen—take us behind the scenes of Broadway's most groundbreaking and beloved shows, from A Chorus Line to Hamilton. Iconic performances by Lin Manuel Miranda, Patti LuPone, Bernadette Peters, James Earl Jones and Mandy Patinkin lead the way on a hurly burly ride through Times Square, once again the main street of American show business in this documentary directed by Academy-Award nominee Oren Jacoby.
Naked Singularity
Judge Cymbeline
When a successful New York public defender loses his first case, he is pulled into a drug heist by a former client in an effort to beat the broken system at its own game.
Take Me to the World: A Sondheim 90th Birthday Celebration
Performer
To celebrate the 90th birthday of Broadway songwriting great Stephen Sondheim, an A-list group of performers sing songs of inspiration from his songbook in a concert event filmed in their homes. Hosted and co-produced by Raúl Esparza, the acclaimed one-night-only event was created as a benefit for ASTEP (Artists Striving to End Poverty).
Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase
Flora
Nancy Drew, a smart high schooler with a penchant for keen observation and deduction, stumbles upon the haunting of a local home. A bit of an outsider struggling to fit into her new surroundings, Nancy and her pals set out to solve the mystery, make new friends, and establish their place in the community
Girls Weekend
Marie
When a queer daughter returns home to Las Vegas for a "girls weekend" with her estranged homophobic sister and people-pleasing mother, her gun-toting dad lets it slip that her mother's cancer is back with a vengeance, forcing her to decide whether or not she can rejoin her family.
Betty White: First Lady of Television
Self
The definitive look at Betty White's life and career. As the only authorized documentary on Betty ever made, this film is packed with hilarious clips from her long career. Plus comments from friends and co-stars.
How to Be a Latin Lover
Millicent
An aging Latin lover gets dumped by his sugar mama and must fend for himself in a harsh world.
My Bakery in Brooklyn
Isabelle
Brooklyn, New York. After the sudden death of their aunt Isabelle, Vivien and Chloe inherit her historic bakery. Vivien wants to keep up the tradition; Chloe feels that the business needs to be modernized. But when notified that they are about to be evicted, the two do not hesitate to work together to preserve the family legacy.
Manhattan Night
Norma
Porter Wren is a Manhattan tabloid writer with an appetite for scandal. On the beat he sells murder, tragedy, and anything that passes for the truth. At home, he is a dedicated husband and father. But when Caroline, a seductive stranger asks him to dig into the unsolved murder of her filmmaker husband Simon, he is drawn into a very nasty case of sexual obsession and blackmail--one that threatens his job, his marriage, and his life.
The Intern
Patty
70-year-old widower Ben Whittaker has discovered that retirement isn't all it's cracked up to be. Seizing an opportunity to get back in the game, he becomes a senior intern at an online fashion site, founded and run by Jules Ostin.
A Short History of Decay
Sandy Fisher
A failed Brooklyn writer, Nathan Fisher, visits his ailing parents in Florida. His mother has Alzheimer's and his father has recently had a stroke and his girlfriend has recently broken up with him.
Wanderlust
Shari
Rattled by sudden unemployment, a Manhattan couple surveys alternative living options, ultimately deciding to experiment with living on a rural commune where free love rules.
The Back-Up Plan
Nana
When Zoe tires of looking for Mr. Right, she decides to have a baby on her own. But on the day she's artificially inseminated, she meets Stan, who seems to be just who she's been searching for all her life. Now, Zoe has to figure out how to make her two life's dreams fit with each other.
The Best of The Tony Awards: The Plays
Marjorie (segment "The Tale of the Allergist's Wife")
The Great White Way comes into your living room via this disc of rare performances from some of Broadway's brightest luminaries. Culled from clips from the Tony Awards shows, this unique collection features acting powerhouses James Earl Jones, Annette Bening, Joan Allen, Joe Mantegna, Gary Sinise and Maggie Smith, among others, performing works by such playwrights as August Wilson, David Mamet, Wendy Wasserstein and more.
The Lady in Question Is Charles Busch
archival footage (The Allergist's Wife)
Tender and upbeat, THE LADY IN QUESTION IS CHARLES BUSCH is the affectionate and entertaining tribute to actor, writer, drag performer, and glamorous leading lady Charles Busch.
Best Friends for Life
Sarah "Coop" Cooper
Sarah and Harriet have been best friends since childhood. They married at the same time, had children within the same year and now find themselves facing uncertain futures after the sudden deaths of their husbands. Though they have much in common, Sarah is a relaxed nature lover, while Harriet is intense and set in her ways. Sarah has been able to move on with her life with the help of her mother, her maid Katie and Will, the new man in her life. Harriet is unable to cope with her loss and her relationship with her daughter Pammy is strained. When Harriet is diagnosed with a serious illness, she and Sarah learn a lesson about love and friendship.
The Ring
Ruth Liebman
During WW II, a young German woman is separated from her family and imprisoned by the Nazis. After being freed she falls in love with and marries a German officer. When Berlin falls to the Russians, and her husband killed, she flees to America, carrying his unborn child, all the while not giving up hope that she will find her family, tied together by her mother's ring.
For the Future: The Irvine Fertility Scandal
Marilyn Killane
John and Debbie Challender have been trying to conceive a child for ten years. Because this hasn't worked they adopted a son, but Debbie still feels she has missed out on something not knowing what it's like to feel life inside of her. They decide to seek treatment from a so-called 'miracle doctor' Ash at Irvine University. Although John doesn't like the doctor they go ahead with the treatment, which almost kills Debbie. All ends well though and they become the parents of another son. Meanwhile the office manager of Dr. Ash's clinic become more and more suspicious when she finds out that some of his nurses are not licensed RN's.
Stolen Memories: Secrets from the Rose Garden
Earline
A young boy goes to spend the summer with his aunts in the South. He finds himself drawn to Jessica, who the other aunts describe as "slow," and he eventually discovers there's more to Jessica and his other aunts than meets the eye.
A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes: The Annette Funicello Story
Virginia Funicello
This highly-rated television film covers the life of American movie/TV/pop music idol Annette Funicello. The movie starts with the move of her family from New York to California, where in 1955 shy Annette becomes one of the cast of The Mickey Mouse Club. The movie covers her child stardom, her teen idol years, her singing career with big hits like "Tall Paul", her romance with Paul Anka, her classic beach party films with Frankie Avalon, and her first marriage. It also shows her large comeback in the late 1980s and her second marriage, and the day when she found out she had multiple sclerosis.
Whitewash
Ms. Steunberg (voice)
When Helene Angel walks home from school with her older brother she is attacked by a street gang and painted white. The effect on Helene and her family is devastating. Helene locks herself in her room, her brother blames himself for not having successfully defended his sister, and the media descends on their neighborhood, completely disrupting her small family. But an outpouring of love and understanding from Helene's friends, classmates and family helps her face what has happened and draws the community together. Inspired by actual events, WHITEWASH conveys a powerful message that transcends age and race, told in an entertaining way perfect for children of all ages.
The Sunset Gang
Herself - Host
Three stories about the Jewish elderly in Florida: in "Yiddish," a man and a woman, both married to others, form a bond through their native language; in "The Detective," a married couple who have grown apart come together again as they pursue a thief in the neighborhood; and in "The Home," a woman struggles against her grown children, who want to place her in a nursing facility.
Night Of 100 Stars III
Self
A celebrity benefit for The Actors' Fund of America, featuring music, songs, dance and comedy.
I Want to Go Home
Lena Apthrop
Joey Wellman, an American cartoonist from Cleveland now largely forgotten at home, visits France with his partner Lena to attend an exhibition in Paris about the comic strip (bande dessinée) which features his work. He also hopes to be reconciled with his daughter Elsie who has been a student in Paris for two years, in flight from the American culture of which she sees her father as a typical example. Elsie is naively infatuated with French literature, and is trying to secure an introduction to the brilliant university professor Christian Gauthier, an expert on Flaubert but also an enthusiast for comic books. The meeting of father and daughter goes badly, but Elsie is persuaded to join Joey and Lena for the weekend at the country house of Gauthier's mother, Isabelle. During a comic-themed masquerade party, all of the characters are made to reconsider their present and past relationships.
See You in the Morning
Sidney
Three years after his divorce from his model-wife is the psychologist Larry Livingstone ready for a new commitment. He falls in love with the young widow Beth who has two children. But Beth and the children are still in mourning over their dead husband and father and Larry finds it a bit difficult to penetrate their reservations. Larry himself has to deal with his ex-wife and his love for his own two kids. Slowly both Beth and the children realise that they have to go on with their lives and that they have been giving a second chance.
Lena: My 100 Children
Lena Kuchler-Silberman
At the end of World War II Lena Kuchler arrives at a refuge camp in search of her disappeared family members. But at this place she can get no information in her case but only encounters hungry children.
A Place to Call Home
Executive Producer
Sam Gavin decides to relocate his family from Houston, Texas to a sheep station in Australia to protect his eleven children from the "destructive influences" of modern American society. Because of business obligations, he fails to join them and, more or less, abandons his wife, Liz, to the hardships of her new surroundings. Mother and children are determined to make a go of it.
A Place to Call Home
Liz Gavin
Sam Gavin decides to relocate his family from Houston, Texas to a sheep station in Australia to protect his eleven children from the "destructive influences" of modern American society. Because of business obligations, he fails to join them and, more or less, abandons his wife, Liz, to the hardships of her new surroundings. Mother and children are determined to make a go of it.
Maricela
Mrs. Gannett
Maricela and her mother Eugenia have fled El Salvador for the US with hopes of building a better life. Unable to find work in her profession as a school teacher, Eugenia becomes a live-in housekeeper to the affluent Gannett family. Conflict occurs when Maricela clashes with teenage Stacy Gannett, who resents her presence at home and at school. Can Maricela win Stacy's friendship and still remain true to her own ideals and values?
Night of 100 Stars II
Self
This special is the second "Night of 100 Stars" to benefit The Actors Fund of America. Edited from a seven-hour live entertainment marathon that was taped February 17, 1985, at New York's Radio City Music Hall, this sequel to the 1982 "Night of 100 Stars" special features 288 celebrities.
The Muppets Take Manhattan
Kermit's Doctor
When the Muppets graduate from Danhurst College, they take their song-filled senior revue to New York City, only to learn that it isn't easy to find a producer who's willing to back a show starring a frog and a pig. Of course, Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy won't take no for an answer, launching a search for someone to take them to Broadway.
Another Woman's Child
Co-Producer
Mike and Terry DeBray are a happily married couple whose lives change when the young daughter that Tony fathered out of wedlock suddenly appears and comes into their lives.
Another Woman's Child
Terry DeBray
Mike and Terry DeBray are a happily married couple whose lives change when the young daughter that Tony fathered out of wedlock suddenly appears and comes into their lives.
Night of 100 Stars
Self
The most glittering, expensive, and exhausting videotaping session in television history took place Friday February 19, 1982 at New York's Radio City Music Hall. The event, for which ticket-buyers payed up to $1,000 a seat (tax-deductible as a contribution to the Actors' Fund) was billed as "The Night of 100 Stars" but, actually, around 230 stars took part. And most of the audience of 5,800 had no idea in advance that they were paying to see a TV taping, complete with long waits for set and costume changes, tape rewinding, and the like. Executive producer Alexander Cohen estimated that the 5,800 Radio City Music Hall seats sold out at prices ranging from $25 to $1,000. The show itself cost about $4 million to produce and was expected to yield around $2 million for the new addition to the Actors Fund retirement home in Englewood, N. J. ABC is reputed to have paid more than $5 million for the television rights.
A Matter of Life and Death
Nurse Joy Ufema
The true story of a nurse who spent her life caring for terminally ill patients.
Linda in Wonderland
Herself/Alice Hyatt/Sam Butler
“Linda In Wonderland” is Linda Lavin’s variety television special that aired on Thanksgiving Day, 1980. Special guests include; Lynn Redgrave, Anthony Newley and Ron Leibman. Her characters of “Alice Hyatt” and “Sam Butler” from her television show “Alice” also make appearances as Ms. Lavin plays dual roles for both. Ms. Lavin and her guests perform Broadway and other musical numbers in various settings and medleys, mixed in with solo performances and Linda giving us a little background about herself growing up, along with some humor and pizzazz.
The $5.20 an Hour Dream
Ellen Lissick
A debt-ridden divorced mother and factory worker strives to get a higher-paying job on the traditionally all-male main assembly line.
Like Mom, Like Me
Althea Gruen
A middle-aged mom and her teenage daughter adjust to life together after Dad's affair breaks up the family.
The Morning After
Toni
A successful public relations man's refusal to admit his alcoholism jeopardizes his career, his family and his life. ABC Movie of the Week.
Damn Yankees
Gloria Thorpe
Joe Boyd, an aging Washington Senators fan, would sell his soul for the Senators to beat the New York Yankees and win the pennant. Enter Mr. Applegate, who offers to turn Boyd into Joe Hardy, a powerful young baseball player, in exchange for his soul. When Boyd agrees, he becomes Hardy and leads the Senators on a winning streak. When he starts to miss his wife, though, and questions the deal, Applegate sends temptress Lola into the mix.