- Concetta Tomei
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Concetta Tomei Born December 30, 1945
Kenosha, WisconsinConcetta Tomei (born December 30, 1945) is an American theatre, film and television character actress, best known for her roles as Maj. Lila Garreau on the ABC series China Beach (1988–1991) and as Lynda Hansen on the NBC series Providence (1999–2002).
Contents
Biography
Early life
Tomei was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin. She earned a degree in education from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and worked four years as a school teacher before deciding to pursue her love of theatre at the Goodman Theatre School in Chicago, Illinois. She earned a BFA and moved to Houston, Texas, where she worked for the Alley Theatre for two years before moving to New York City. In the Milwaukee area, she studied at Sunset Playhouse with Alan Furlan.[1]
Career
Tomei appeared in the original cast of several pioneering Off-Broadway productions, including Caryl Churchill's Cloud Nine and Larry Kramer's The Normal Heart. She appeared opposite Kevin Kline in the New York Shakespeare Festival's Richard III[2] (winning New York's Bayfield Shakespearean award for her performance) and starred with David Bowie in the Broadway production of The Elephant Man, continuing in the national tour.
In the 1980s, she moved to California and appeared in many regional theatres, including Los Angeles' Mark Taper Forum, the Oregon Contemporary Theatre, and San Francisco's ACT. She also appeared in recurring roles in TV series, including Providence, China Beach, Picket Fences, Max Headroom, and Judging Amy.
In 1991 she guest appeared in Season 3 Episode 10 of the TV sitcom Wings titled "The Late Mrs. Biggins" where she played the former wife of Roy Biggins.
She starred in the 1992 Television miniseries The Burden of Proof. In 2006, she returned to Off-Broadway with an acclaimed performance in Sarah Ruhl's The Clean House. Also in 2006, Tomei guest appeared in an episode of The King of Queens. In 2007 she appeared opposite Kevin Kline and Jennifer Garner in the hit Broadway production of Cyrano.
From 2003 to 2011, Tomei played guest roles on TV shows, such as Judging Amy, 7th Heaven, Second Time Around, The King of Queens, Weeds, Numb3rs, Kitchen Confidential, The Closer, Cold Case, Ghost Whisperer, Nip/Tuck, Rubicon and Necessary Roughness.
She is an animal rights activist.[citation needed]
Notes
- ^ "The Milwaukee Journal". February 20, 1980. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=0CMWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=CRIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4269,3836183&dq=concetta+tomei+sunset+playhouse&hl=en.
- ^ Simon, John (July 25, 1983). "Tricky Dicky". New York Magazine. http://books.google.com/books?id=luICAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA65&dq=%22Concetta+Tomei%22&ei=A7lsS_uhGqCeygSSvMj3DQ&cd=9#v=onepage&q=%22Concetta%20Tomei%22&f=false.
External links
Categories:- 1945 births
- American film actors
- American stage actors
- American television actors
- Living people
- People from Kenosha, Wisconsin
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