Blanche Baker
Blanche Baker | |
---|---|
Born | Blanche Garfein December 20, 1956 New York City, U.S. |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1978–present |
Spouses | Bruce Van Dusen
(m. 1983; div. 2002)Mark Magill (m. 2003) |
Children | 4 |
Parent(s) | Carroll Baker (mother) Jack Garfein (father) |
Blanche Baker (born December 20, 1956
Early life and education
Born Blanche Garfein in New York City, she is the daughter of actress
Career
Television
Blanche Baker made her television debut playing the character Anna Weiss in the miniseries
She has subsequently appeared in the TV movies Mary and Joseph: A Story of Faith (1979) as Mary, The Day the Bubble Burst (1982), The Awakening of Candra (1983) as Candra Torres, Embassy (1985), Nobody's Child (1986), and Taking Chance (2009). She also has appeared on many TV series.
Theatre
In 1980–81, she originated the lead role in Edward Albee's stage adaptation of Vladimir Nabokov's novel Lolita. During out-of-town tryouts and in New York, the play was picketed by feminists, including Women Against Pornography, who were outraged by the theme of pedophilia.[6]
The troubled production opened on Broadway on March 19, 1981, after 31 previews and closed after only 12 performances.[7] Frank Rich of The New York Times gave the play a bad review, terming it "the kind of embarrassment that audiences do not quickly forget or forgive." Baker was mentioned by Rich in only one line. "In the title role, here a minor figure, the 24-year-old Miss Baker does a clever job of impersonating the downy nymphet; she deserves a more substantial stage vehicle soon."[8]
Baker originated the role of Shelby in the first production of Steel Magnolias Off-Broadway in 1987.[10]
Film
Baker made her movie debut in the political drama The Seduction of Joe Tynan (1979). Other film appearances include Sixteen Candles (1984), Cold Feet (1984) and Taking Chance (2009).
Personal life
Baker married movie director Bruce vanDusen on October 1, 1983.[11] They had three children before divorcing in 2002.[12]
Baker remarried in 2003, to Mark McGill. They have one son.[12]
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1979 | French Postcards | Laura | |
1979 | The Seduction of Joe Tynan | Janet | |
1982 | The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet | Juliet | |
1983 | Cold Feet | Leslie Christo | |
1984 | Sixteen Candles | Ginny Baker | |
1986 | Raw Deal | Amy Kaminski | |
1988 | Shakedown | Gail Feinberger | |
1988 | Bum Rap | Lisa DuSoir | |
1990 | The Handmaid's Tale | Ofglen | |
1991 | Livin' Large | Kate Penndragin | |
1994 | Dead Funny | Barbara | |
2006 | Underdogs | Marie | |
2006 | The Rehearsal | Marie | Short film |
2007 | The Girl Next Door | Ruth Chandler | |
2008 | 3rd of July | Mrs. Shaw | Short film |
2008 | Jersey Justice | Polly O'Bannon | |
2009 | Science Fair (Or: Migratory Patterns & the Flight of the March Brown Mayfly) | Mom | Short film |
2009 | Jackrabbit Sky | Evelyn Boden | |
2010 | An Affirmative Act | Lori Belmont | |
2010 | Three Chris’s | Dolores Kelly | |
2011 | Fake | Mrs. Needham | |
2011 | The Grand Theft | Barbara Blushe | |
2011 | The Life Zone | Dr. Victoria Wise | |
2011 | Whisper Me a Lullaby | Aunt Jane | |
2011 | Untitled Folder | Mom | Short film |
2011 | Hell Grace | Mother | Short film |
2012 | Hypothermia | Hellen Pelletier | |
2012 | Ruth Madoff Occupies Wall Street | Ruth Madoff | Short film |
2012 | The Coffee Klash | Gayle | Short film |
2012 | Curiosity Killed the Cat | Gayle | |
2013 | Truth | Dr. Carter Moore | |
2013 | Classless | Principle Saunders | Short film |
2013 | Scallywag | Mom | Short film |
2014 | Deep in the Darkness | Zellis | |
2014 | The Coffee Shop | Gayle | |
2014 | Lady Peacock | Angie | |
2015 | Chasing Yesterday | Linda | |
2017 | Coin Heist | Mrs. Cunningham | |
2017 | Splitting Image | Karen | |
2018 | My Daughter Vanished | Helen | |
2019 | Zoe | Zoe’s Mother | Short film |
2021 | Alice Fades Away | Roxy | |
2023 | Perception | Margaret | Short film |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1978 | Holocaust
|
Anna Weiss | Television mini-series; Emmy Award for Supporting Actress in a Miniseries
|
1979 | Mary and Joseph: A Story of Faith | Mary | Television film |
1981 | The Awakening of Candra | Candra Torres | Television film |
1982 | The Day the Bubble Burst | Joan Slezsak | Television film |
1985 | The Equalizer | Allison Webster | Episode: "Desperately" |
1985 | Embassy | Megan Hillyer | Television film |
1986 | Nobody's Child | Shari | Television film |
1987 | Spenser: For Hire | Carolyn Tomlinson | Episode: "Personal Demons" |
1991 | The Trials of Rosie O'Neill | Unknown | Episode: "Domestic Silence" |
1991 | Davis Rules | Cindy | Episode: "Everybody Comes to Nick's" |
1992 | In the Heat of the Night | Jenny Sawyer | Episode: "Love, Honor & Obey" |
1992 | Law & Order | Lucy Neven | Episode: "Star Struck" |
1994 | Clarissa Explains It All | Chelsea Chipley | Episode: "Janet and Clarissa, Inc." |
2005 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Miriam Engles | Episode: "Diamond Dogs" |
2009 | Taking Chance | Chris Phelps | Television film |
2013 | The Chris Gethard Show | Herself | Episode: "#119: Scare the Shit Out of Bethany" |
2014 | Wishin' and Hopin' | Sister Filomena | Television film |
As director
- 2017 - Streetwrite
- 2019 - Make America Safe[13]
References
- ProQuest 2905257080.
Musician Alan Parsons is 75. Actor Jenny Agutter ('Call the Midwife') is 71. Actor Michael Badalucco ('The Practice') is 69. Actor Blanche Baker ('Shakedown,' 'Holocaust') is 67. Singer Billy Bragg is 66.
See also:- "Chatter: Broadway". The News Journal. December 20, 1998. p. A4. ProQuest 2613813566.
Actress Jenny Agutter, 46. Actress Blanche Baker, 42. Rock singer
- "Chatter: Broadway". The News Journal. December 20, 1998. p. A4.
- ^ "Ruth Madoff Occupies Wall Street — van Nguyen". Archived from the original on December 29, 2016. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
- ^ Lynch, Jason. "Her Bronze Mettle: Following Her Turn in Sixteen Candles, Blanche Baker Sculpted a Life Beyond Hollywood". People Magazine. March 4, 2002. Retrieved 6 May 2015. "Baker returned to the U.S. and enrolled at Wellesley College in 1974 but got the acting bug and dropped out two years later to study both art and acting in New York City."
- ^ HB Studio Alumni
- ^ "'Mary and Joseph' Filming". The Kentucky New Era. July 24, 1979. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
- ^ Devries, Hillary (March 3, 1981). "Protesters to picket 'Lolita'". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved December 29, 2011.
- ^ "Lolita". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved December 29, 2011.
- ^ Rich, Frank. "STAGE: ALBEE'S ADAPTATION OF 'LOLITA' OPENS". The New York Times. Retrieved December 29, 2011.
- ^ Donovan, Mark. "Lolita, Broadway's Bomb of the Year, Detonates Edward Albee, Bemuses Donald Sutherland and Illuminates a Lovely Survivor, Blanche Baker". Time-Life. Retrieved December 29, 2011.
- ^ Gussow, Mel (March 27, 1987). "Stage: 'Steel Magnolias,' A Louisiana Story". The New York Times.
- )
- ^ a b "'Sixteen Candles' Cast: Where Are They Now?". Us Weekly. October 11, 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
- ^ "NEW YORK SHORT FILM FESTIVAL BLOCK 10". cinemavillage.com. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
External links
- Blanche Baker at IMDb
- Blanche Baker at AllMovie