Bridgette Andersen

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Bridgette Andersen
Born
Bridget Marriah Andersen

(1975-07-11)July 11, 1975
Inglewood, California, US
DiedMay 18, 1997(1997-05-18) (aged 21)
Los Angeles County,
California, US
Occupation(s)Actress and model
Years activeLate 1970s – 1987

Bridgette Andersen (July 11, 1975 – May 18, 1997) was an American child actress and child model. She starred in 1982's Savannah Smiles, for which she received her first of four Youth in Film Award nominations.

Personal life

In Inglewood, California, Bridget Marriah Andersen[1] was born on July 11, 1975, to Frank and Teresa Andersen.[2] By April 1982, she lived in Malibu, California,[3] with her parents, younger sister Angelica,[2] and two brothers. As an infant, Angelica appeared in television advertisements for Bank of America and Mervyn's.[4]

A reader since age two-and-a-half, the Havre Daily News reported that six-year-old Andersen had "a staggering IQ". Her favorite author was Ernest Hemingway, and her favorite book was The Old Man and the Sea.[5] A fan of the TV series Diff'rent Strokes and Silver Spoons, she decided to pursue acting, and aspired to produce and direct films as well.[4]

On May 18, 1997,

heroin overdose,[6] in Los Angeles County, California,[7] at the age of 21.[8]

Career

During a February 1983 interview with Johnny Carson on his late-night show, Andersen related a family anecdote of her trying to climb into the television and play with Our Gang ("The Little Rascals") at age two. Caught by her father, she was taught about actors and acting, whereafter she secured a talent agent and began acting.[4] She spent three years fashion modeling and acting in television advertisements. She also appeared in television shows including King's Crossing and Washington Mistress.[3]

In 1982, Andersen starred as Savannah Driscoll in the film Savannah Smiles. Writer and co-star Mark Miller was inspired by[9]—and wrote the part for—his daughter, Savannah Miller. However, when the film was ready to shoot, Ms. Miller was too old for the part at age eleven,[5] so Mark Miller auditioned almost 150 children before discovering and choosing Andersen for the part.[9] In a contemporary interview, Andersen opined that she and the Driscoll character were "like twins! We do the same things."[5] According to The Cumberland Times, only three months after the release of Savannah Smiles, Miller was already writing another script to star Andersen.[9]

That same year, Andersen portrayed the six-year-old Mae West in the biographical television film, Mae West.[3] In 1983, Andersen explained that she preferred working in films versus television because they gave her more to do.[4] During the 1983–84 run of The Mississippi, Anderson was nominated for a Youth in Film Award ("Best Young Actress - Guest in a Television Series") for her work thereon.[10] Andersen went on to star in the short-lived CBS sitcom, Gun Shy; she portrayed Celia, one of two children won in a card game by Barry Van Dyke's Russell Donovan.[11]

In her teenage years, Andersen had trouble finding acting work.[7][12]

Credits

Film performances
Year Title Role Citation(s)
1982 Savannah Smiles Savannah Driscoll [9]
1983 Nightmares Brooke Houston [13]
1985 A Summer to Remember Jill [13]
1985 Fever Pitch Amy Taggart [14]
1987 Too Much Suzy [13]
Television performances
Year Title Role Episode(s) Citation(s)
1982 Washington Mistress Jenny Reynolds [13]
1982 King's Crossing [3]
1982 Mae West Mae West (age six) Television film [3]
1983 Gun Shy Celia Six episodes [11]
1983 Faerie Tale Theatre Gretel "Hansel and Gretel" [5]
1984 Remington Steele Angel "Blood Is Thicker Than Steele" [15]
1984 The Return of Marcus Welby, M.D. Alison Lattimer Television film [13]
1986 The Golden Girls Charley "
The Truth Will Out
" 		[15]
1986 Between Two Women Kate Petherton Television film [13]
1986 The Parent Trap II Mary Grand Television film [16]
1987 CBS Summer Playhouse Jamie Wilde "Doctors Wilde" [13]

Awards nominations

Year(s) Award Category Title of work Result
1981–82 4th Youth in Film Awards Best Young Motion Picture Actress Savannah Smiles Nominated[17]
1982–83 5th Youth in Film Awards Best Young Actress in a Comedy Series Gun Shy Nominated[18]
1983–84 6th Youth in Film Awards Best Young Actress - Guest in a Television Series The Mississippi Nominated[10]
1984–85 7th Youth in Film Awards Exceptional Performance by a Young Actress in a Television Special or Mini-Series A Summer to Remember Nominated[19]

Legacy

In 2015, actress Amber Tamblyn published her third book of poetry—Dark Sparkler—"featuring elegies to late actresses both legendary and unknown, all who suffered untimely deaths." Andersen is the subject of one such poem, as is pornographic film actor Shannon Michelle Wilsey (1970–1994), whose stage name "Savannah" was derived from Andersen's Savannah Smiles.[7] Wilsey's poem is written as "a meta-poem, where she's writing for Bridgette Andersen, and telling her how they're the same."[12]

When

MVD Rewind Collection, among the bonus materials included was "a featurette about the memories of Andersen".[20]

References

  1. ^ a b Social Security Applications and Claims, 1936–2007, Social Security Administration – via Ancestry.com
  2. ^
    ISSN 0739-5507
    .
  3. ^ a b c d e "Andersen is precocious actress". Havre Daily News. April 23, 1982. p. 18.
  4. ^ a b c d The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Season 22. Episode 26. February 18, 1983. NBC.
  5. ^ a b c d Triplett, Gene (May 16, 1982). "Interview is almost too much for Gene". The Oklahoman. Archived from the original on August 24, 2018. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  6. ^ Smetanka, Andy (September 4, 2003). "Dead end kids". Colorado Springs Independent. Archived from the original on September 13, 2015. Retrieved August 18, 2018. Or, how Hollywood eats its child actors
  7. ^
    ISSN 1073-9122. Archived from the original
    on August 20, 2018. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  8. OCLC 30050468
    . Bridgette Andersen, who played Savannah, worked at times following this movie, including in the TV comedy 'Gun Shy.'
  9. ^
    The Cumberland News
    . June 26, 1982. p. 22.
  10. ^
    Youth in Film Association. 1983–84. Archived from the original
    on May 6, 2016. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
  11. ^
    ISBN 978-0-7864-9958-8
    .
  12. ^
    ISSN 0737-8254. Archived from the original
    on June 24, 2017. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g "Filmography for Bridgette Andersen". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on January 22, 2019. Retrieved January 22, 2019.
  14. OCLC 320541675. Archived
    from the original on October 20, 2017. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  15. ^
    ISSN 0039-8543. Archived from the original
    on September 29, 2018. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
  16. ^ Ferber, Taylor (February 27, 2016). "Disney Child Stars Who Met With Incredibly Tragic Fates". VH1. Archived from the original on July 9, 2016. Retrieved April 2, 2024. Unfortunately, no one ever saw any of this coming.
  17. Youth in Film Association. 1981–82. Archived from the original
    on March 10, 2008. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
  18. Youth in Film Association. 1982–83. Archived from the original
    on April 3, 2011. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
  19. Youth in Film Association. 1984–85. Archived from the original
    on November 14, 2010. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
  20. ^ Barta, Preston (May 18, 2018). "DVD reviews: 'Die Hard' turns 30 with high-definition explosions". Denton Record-Chronicle. Bill Patterson. Archived from the original on May 22, 2018. Retrieved April 2, 2024.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bridgette_Andersen&oldid=1217138525"