Phyllis Frelich
Phyllis Frelich | |
---|---|
Born | Phyllis Annetta Frelich February 29, 1944 |
Died | April 10, 2014 Temple City, California, U.S. | (aged 70)
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1970–2011 |
Phyllis Annetta Frelich (February 29, 1944 – April 10, 2014) was a
Early life
Frelich was born to deaf parents Esther (née Dockter) and Philip Frelich.[1] She was one of nine siblings. Her parents were alumni of the North Dakota School for the Deaf.[2] At Gallaudet she completed a degree in library science, but also participated in theater. It was there that she was seen performing by David Hays, one of the founders of the National Theater of the Deaf, who asked her to join the theater company.[3]
Career
Frelich originated the leading female role in the
Frelich was elected to the ninety-member Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Board in Hollywood, the highest policy-making body in the entertainment industry in 1991. She was the first deaf actress to be recognized in the United States.[6]
In 1991, Frelich starred with Patrick Graybill in The Gin Game at the Deaf West Theatre in Los Angeles drawing critical acclaim on their aesthetic art of American Sign Language. This performance was adapted from D. L. Coburn's play and was directed by Linda Bove, with Deaf West Theatre artistic director Ed Waterstreet.[6]
Death
Frelich died on April 10, 2014, at her home in Temple City, California at the age of 70 in April 2014 from progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), a rare degenerative neurological disease for which there are no treatments.[7]
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1992 | Judgement | District Attorney | |
1997 | Santa Fe | Dr. Joyce Ginsberg | |
2002 | Children on Their Birthdays | Mrs. Bobbit |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1981 | Barney Miller | Madeline Schaefer | Episode: "Stormy Weather" |
1985 | Gimme a Break! | Martha | Episode: "Earthquake" |
1985 | Love Is Never Silent | Janice Ryder | TV movie |
1986 | Spenser: For Hire | Joan Cugell | Episode: "When Silence Speaks" |
1987 | Santa Barbara | Sister Sarah | Recurring role, 31 episodes |
1989 | Bridge to Silence | Amanda Wingfield | TV movie |
1991 | Hunter
|
Barbara Collins | Episode: "Cries of Silence" |
1992 | L.A. Law | Suzanne Bidwell | Episode: "My Friend Flicker" |
1998 | Pacific Blue | Helena | Episode: "Broken Dreams" |
1998–1999 | ER | Dr. Lisa Parks | 2 episodes |
1999 | Diagnosis: Murder | Frances Lamar | Episode: "Today Is the Last Day of the Rest of My Life" |
2004 | Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye | Helga | Episode: "The Holocaust Survivor" |
2008 | Sweet Nothing in My Ear | Sally | TV movie |
2011 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Mrs. Betty Grissom | Episode: "The Two Mrs. Grissoms", (final appearance) |
References
- ^ "Philip Frelich". Inforum: The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. December 6, 2006. Archived from the original on April 21, 2014. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
- ^ "Obituary for Philip Frelich at Gilbertson Funeral Home". www.gilbertsonfuneralhome.com. Retrieved 2020-11-04.
- ^ New York Times. Retrieved April 21, 2014.
- ^ Weber, Bruce. "Phyllis Frelich, Tony-Winning Actress and Deaf Activist, Dies at 70" The New York Times, April 14, 2014
- ^ "National Association of the Deaf - NAD". www.nad.org.
- ^ ISBN 0-313-29170-5.
- ^ Notice of death of Phyllis Frelich Archived 2014-04-14 at the Wayback Machine, silentgrapevine.com; accessed April 13, 2014.
- Moore, Matthew S. (1996). Great Deaf Americans: the second edition. Rochester, NY: Deaf Life Press. ISBN 9780963401663.
- Davis, Anita Davis (1996). Discoveries: Significant Contributions of Deaf Women and Men. Hillsboro, Or: Butte Publications.
Further reading
- Moore, Matthew; Panara, Robert (1996). Great Deaf Americans : The Second Edition (2nd ed.). Rochester, N.Y: Deaf Life Press. ISBN 978-0-9634016-6-3.
External links
- "Phyllis Frelich – Overview". MSN Movies. 2008. Archived from the original on 2009-10-25. Retrieved 2008-11-14.
- Phyllis Frelich at the Internet Broadway Database
- Phyllis Frelich at IMDb