Linda Lavin

Infobox actor
name = Linda Lavin


imagesize =
caption = Linda Lavin as Alice Hyatt on "Alice"
birthname =
birthdate = birth date and age|1937|10|15|mf=y
birthplace = Portland, Maine, United States
occupation =
yearsactive =
spouse = Steve Bakunas (2005–present)
Kip Niven (1982-1991)
Ron Leibman (1969-1981)
tonyawards =
awards =

Linda Lavin (born October 15, 1937) is an American singer and actress. She is perhaps best known for playing the title character in the US sitcom "Alice" and for her Broadway performances.

Biography

Early career

Born in Portland, Maine to musically-talented parents, Lavin has been onstage since the age of 5. Upon her graduation from the College of William and Mary she had already received her Actors' Equity Association card. Before her career in stage began she worked maintenace at The Velvet Touch in Flint, Michigan. She was a member of the Compass Players in the late 1950s. By the early 1960s Lavin made a name for herself in New York City on Broadway and appeared on the (both 1966) cast recordings of "The Mad Show" (on which her performance of Stephen Sondheim's "The Boy From..." gained note) and "It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman" (from which one of her numbers, "You've Got Possibilities," was the album's best-received song and, years later, was featured on a Pillsbury commercial).

Career

Hollywood

In 1967, Lavin made an appearance as Gloria Thorpe in a television version of the musical Damn Yankees with Phil Silvers. In 1969, Lavin married actor Ron Leibman, and by 1973 the couple had arrived in Hollywood.

After various guest appearances on episodic television series such as "The Nurses", "Rhoda", "Harry O" and "Kaz", Lavin landed a recurring role on "Barney Miller" during the first and second seasons. She left "Barney Miller" to star in the lead role in "Alice". The show was a popular hit for CBS, and ran from 1976 to 1985. The series was based on the Martin Scorsese-directed Ellen Burstyn film "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore". Lavin portrayed Alice Hyatt, the character that Burstyn played, and won an Oscar for. Lavin performed the series' theme song, "There's a New Girl in Town," which was written by David Shire and Alan and Marilyn Bergman and was updated for each of the first six seasons. [http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/televisiontvthemelyrics-50s60s70s/alice.htm] During the series' nine-season run, Lavin earned two Golden Globe awards and an Emmy nomination, as well as a great deal of experience directing, especially during the later seasons. Lavin also played Debbie Walden, the wizened and former landlady of the character Vera Louise Gorman-Novak. Debbie eventually moved into Vera's house, along with Vera's husband, Elliot Novak, and the pastor who married them.

Throughout her "Alice" years, Lavin was at one time the highest-paid actress on television. She made numerous television appearances outside of her sitcom, including hosting her own holiday special, "Linda in Wonderland".

Lavin made her feature film debut in "The Muppets Take Manhattan" (1984). Her only other feature film appearances are in "See You in the Morning" starring Jeff Bridges and Alain Resnais' "I Want to Go Home" opposite Gerard Depardieu. Both films were released in 1989.

Lavin was a popular actress of not only television shows but also telefilms. The number of telefilms Lavin has to her name include: "Damn Yankees!", "Sadbird", "The Morning After", "Jerry", "Like Mom, Like Me", "The $5.20 an Hour Dream", "A Matter of Life and Death", "Another Woman's Child", "Maricela", "Lena: My 100 Children", "Whitewash", "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes: The Annette Funicello Story", "Stolen Memories: Secrets from the Rose Garden", "For the Future: The Irvine Fertility Scandal", "The Ring", and "Best Friends for Life". These were first aired between 1967 and 1998.

She directed the 1990 telefilm "Flour Babies", and also directed theater, with her experiences from directing later "Alice" episodes. She acted in two sitcoms (1992's "Room for Two" and 1998's "Conrad Bloom"), and made numerous television guest appearances (including roles on , "The O.C.", "Touched by an Angel" and HBO's "The Sopranos").

Theatre

Lavin began her career with Broadway appearances in the musicals "A Family Affair" and "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever", and plays such as "Something Different", "The Riot Act", and "Cop-Out". Lavin first gained major notice for her appearance in the musical "It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman!".

In her early years, Lavin also appeared in numerous off-Broadway productions, including "Wet Paint", "Little Murders", and the musical "The Mad Show". Lavin won a Drama Desk Award for "Little Murders", and the Theatre World Award for "Wet Paint".

After her years on television, Lavin returned to the New York stage, where she appeared on the Broadway stage in shows such as "The Sisters Rosenweig", "Hollywood Arms", and "Gypsy", among many others.

June Havoc saw Lavin's performance as Rose Hovick in "Gypsy", and sent Lavin a photo of Havoc's mother, the real Rose Hovick, with a note of appreciation for Lavin's particular portrayal of Mama Rose. [http://www.aislesay.com/FTR-LAVIN.html]

She won a Tony Award in 1987 for her highly-praised role in Neil Simon's play "Broadway Bound". Her memorable scene where she describes her chance meeting with movie star George Raft, whom she gets to dance with, was one of the play's many highlights. Her first Tony nomination was for another Neil Simon play, "Last of the Red Hot Lovers", in 1970. "Last of the Red Hot Lovers" was one of Lavin's last Broadway credits before she moved to Hollywood.

She was also nominated for Tonys for her work in "The Diary of Anne Frank", in which she played Mrs. Van Daan, opposite Natalie Portman; and for Charles Busch's "The Tale of the Allergist's Wife" co-starring Tony Roberts and Michele Lee.

In 1987, Lavin also won her second Drama Desk Award for "Broadway Bound". She received Drama Desk nominations for her subsequent roles in "The Diary of Anne Frank" and "The Tale of the Allergist's Wife". She also earned a Drama Desk nomination for her role in "Death-Defying Acts", an off-Broadway play for which she also won a Best Actress Obie Award and the Lucille Lortel Award.

Lavin appeared as Ruth Steiner in the play "Collected Stories", and reprised her role for a PBS production of the work, and in 1997, Lavin founded The Linda Lavin Foundation in Wilmington, North Carolina, which focuses upon eleven- to fourteen-year-old girls.

In Wilmington, she often directs for the stage. One of her directorial credits there is an innovative 1998 production of William Shakespeare's "As You Like It" performed in a Brazilian jazz style.

Lavin also has taught master classes for New York University's Performing Arts Division.

Personal life

Lavin has been married three times. Her first marriage to Ron Liebman ended in divorce in 1981. Her second marriage to Kip Niven, who played the boyfriend of Beth Howland's character, Vera, ended in divorce in 1991. While Lavin has no biological children, she is the stepmother to Kip's children Jim and Kate Niven and the grandmother to Jim's sons Grayson and Talen.

Lavin later married actor, artist and musician Steve Bakunas in 2005. The couple resides in Wilmington, North Carolina where they are committed community members working together to rehabilitate impoverished neighborhoods including renovating many homes, donating a park to the city and creating a community theater.

Work

Filmography

* "The Sopranos:" "No Show" 2002
* "Collected Stories", 2002 (filmed play)
* "Best Friends for Life", 1998
* "Conrad Bloom", 1998 (sitcom)
* "For the Future", 1996
* "The Ring", 1996
* "Secrets from the Rose Garden", 1996
* "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes"
* "Whitewash", 1994
* "Room for Two", 1992 (sitcom)
* "See You in the Morning", 1989
* "I Want to Go Home", 1989
* "A Place to Call Home", 1987
* "Maricella", 1986
* "The Muppets Take Manhattan", 1984
* "Another Woman's Child", 1983
* "My 100 Children", 1983
* "A Matter of Life and Death", 1981
* "The $5.20 an Hour Dream", 1980
* "Like Mom, Like Me", 1978
* "Alice", 1976 (sitcom)
* "Barney Miller", 1975 (dramedy)
* "Jerry", 1974
* "The Morning After", 1974
* "Damn Yankees", 1967

tage

* "The New Century:" by Paul Rudnick, 2008
* "Hollywood Arms" by Carol Burnett, 2002
* "The Tale of the Allergist's Wife" by Charles Busch, 2000-2001
* "The Diary of Anne Frank"
* "Cakewalk", 1996 (off-Broadway)
* "Death Defying Acts", 1995
* "The Sisters Rosenwieg", 1993
* "Gypsy", 1990
* "Broadway Bound", 1986-1987
* "The Enemy is Dead", 1973
* "Paul Sills' Story Theater", 1970
* "The Last of the Red Hot Lovers", 1969-1970
* "Cop-Out", 1969
* "Little Murders",
* "Something Different", 1967
* "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever", 1967
* "The Mad Show", 1966 (off-Broadway)
* "It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman" 1966
* "Wet Paint", 1964-1965
* "The Riot Act", 1963
* "A Family Affair"

External links

*ibdb|49068
*imdb|0492089
*tv.com person|
*voice actor|
*ymovies name|1800094343
* [http://www.geocities.com/classics4ever/alice/cast/lavin/linda.htm Linda's Bio (from ALICE Website)]

###@@@KEY@@@###succession box
title=Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play
years=1986-1987
for "Broadway Bound"
before=Lily Tomlin
for "The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe"
after=Stockard Channing
for "Women in Mind"