Susan Anspach

Susan Florence Anspach (ONS-bok November 23, 1942 – April 2, 2018)[2] was an American stage, film and television actress, who was best known for her roles in films during the 1970s and 1980s such as Five Easy Pieces (1970), Play It Again, Sam (1972), Blume in Love (1973), Montenegro (1981), Blue Monkey (1987), and Blood Red (1989).

Susan Anspach
Anspach in 1979
Born	Susan Florence Anspach (1942-11-23)November 23, 1942 Queens, New York City, U.S.
Died	April 2, 2018(2018-04-02) (aged 75) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1961–2009
Spouse(s)	Mark Goddard ​ ( m. 1970; div. 1978) Sherwood Ball ​ ( m. 1982; div. 1988)
Children	2
Parents	Renald Anspach (father) Gertrude Kehoe (mother)
Relatives	Robert Anspach (brother)[1]

Early life

Anspach was born and raised in Queens, New York City, the daughter of Gertrude (née Kehoe), a secretary and singer, and Renald Anspach, a World War II Army veteran and later factory worker. The couple met at the 1939 New York World's Fair. Anspach's grandfather had disapproved of the marriage because he thought that Gertrude, in his view, had married down. He disowned his daughter.[3][1] Anspach was raised by her great aunt until Anspach was six, when her aunt had died. She went back to live with her parents. Because of neglect and physical abuse, she left her parents at age 15. With the help of a Roman Catholic organization, she was with a family in Harlem.[1]

Anspach graduated from William Cullen Bryant High School in Long Island City in 1960.[4] She received a full scholarship to the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. She studied music and drama. Anspach made her professional debut in Thornton Wilder’s one-act play Pullman Car Hiawatha at a summer theater in Maryland.[1][4] After college, she moved back to New York City.[2]

Career

Anspach starred in several Broadway and off-Broadway shows, including as the female lead (Sheila) in the musical Hair, which shocked some audiences with its antiwar messages, celebration of nonmarital sex, and an all-nude scene. The musical ran for 45 performances at the Cheetah Theatre. She was in a play with Al Pacino while at the Actors Studio.[1] Anspach first came to prominence in the 1970 film Five Easy Pieces, directed by Bob Rafelson and starring Jack Nicholson. Vincent Canby of The New York Times called her "one of America's most charming and talented actresses".[5] She followed this with a supporting role in Woody Allen's Play It Again, Sam (1972) and a more prominent role in Paul Mazursky's romantic comedy Blume in Love (1973), alongside George Segal and Kris Kristofferson.

Anspach originally was cast in the role of country singer Barbara Jean in the 1975 film Nashville, but her salary request exceeded the ensemble film's budget; she was replaced by Ronee Blakley.[6]

She starred off-Broadway in 1965 in A View from the Bridge with Robert Duvall, Jon Voight, and Dustin Hoffman.[7]

In her film career, Anspach starred in 19 features and eight television movies and also was featured in two series, The Yellow Rose and The Slap Maxwell Story (with Dabney Coleman). She guest-starred in the episode "All My Tomorrows" of the NBC romantic anthology series Love Story in 1973.[8]

Personal life and death

Anspach was Roman Catholic. She said that the church and her psychoanalyst were her "parents" for close to 10 years of her youth.[9]

Anspach had a daughter, Catherine Goddard (born October 15, 1968) with fellow Hair cast member Steve Curry, according to his October 6, 2014, obituary in The New York Times.[10] She had a son, Caleb Goddard, in 1970, whom she claims was fathered by actor Jack Nicholson.[4] She married actor Mark Goddard in 1970 and divorced him in 1978. Goddard adopted both children. Anspach married musician Sherwood Ball in 1982 and divorced him in 1988.[11]

Death

Anspach died from heart failure on April 2, 2018, aged 75, in her Los Angeles home.[1]

Activism

Anspach marched with United Farm Workers head Cesar Chavez. She protested the racist apartheid system of South Africa. Anspach also advocated for human rights in Central America.[12]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
1970	The Landlord	Susan Enders	Directed by Hal Ashby
	Five Easy Pieces	Catherine Van Oost	Directed, produced, and story by Bob Rafelson
1972	Play It Again, Sam	Nancy	Directed by Herbert Ross Based on the play of the same name by Woody Allen and the screenplay by Allen
1973	Blume in Love	Nina Blume	Directed, written, and produced by Paul Mazursky
1978	The Big Fix	Lila	Comedy–drama film directed by Jeremy Kagan Based on the novel of the same name by Roger L. Simon and screenplay by Simon.	[13][14]
1979	Running	Janet	Sports drama film directed by Steven Hilliard Stern
1981	The Devil and Max Devlin	Penny Hart	Fantasy–comedy film directed by Steven Hilliard Stern
	Gas	Jane Beardsley	Canadian comedy film directd by Les Rose
	Montenegro	Marilyn Jordan	Swedish black comedy film by Serbian director Dušan Makavejev Also known as Montenegro – Or Pigs and Pearls
1984	Misunderstood	Lily	Drama film directed by Jerry Schatzberg Based on the 1869 novel Misunderstood by Florence Montgomery Previously been adapted as the 1966 Italian film Incompreso	[15][16]
1987	Blue Monkey	Dr. Judith Glass	Horror film directed by William Fruet
	Heaven and Earth	Karen McKeon
1988	Into the Fire	Rosalind Winfield	Thriller film directred by Graeme Campbell
1989	The Rutanga Tapes	Kate Simpson
	Blood Red	Widow	Drama film directed by Peter Masterson
	Back to Back	Madeline Hix
2009	Wild About Harry	Martha	Drama film directed by Gwen Wynne and co-written by Wynne & Mary Beth Fielder
2011	Inversion	Edna Boswell	(final film role)

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
1964	The Nurses	Harriet Ravensel	Episode: "So Some Girls Play the Cello" (S 3:Ep 10) Also known as The Doctors and the Nurses
1965	The Patty Duke Show	Susan	Episode: "Will the Real Sammy Davis Please Hang Up?" (S 2:Ep 25)
	The Defenders	Jackie Dowling	Episode: "A Matter of Law and Disorder" (S 4:Ep 26)
	The Patty Duke Show	Susan	Episode: "Cathy, the Rebel" (S 2:Ep 31)
	The Nurses	Leora	Episode: "The Heroine" (S 3:Ep 29) Also known as The Doctors and the Nurses
1966	The Journey of the Fifth Horse	Miss Gruboy / Elizaveta	Made-for-TV-Movie directed by Larry Arrick and Earl Dawson
1969	Judd, for the Defense	Nan Dawes	Episode: "Runaway" (S 2:Ep 23)
1973	Love Story	Lee McKinley	Episode: "All My Tomorrows" (S 1:Ep 2)
1975	For the Use of the Hall	Terry	Made-for-TV-Movie directed by Lee Grant
1976	McMillan & Wife	Lt. Kit Boone	Episode: "Point of Law" (S 5:Ep 7)
	I Want to Keep My Baby!	Donna Jo Martelli	Made-for-TV-Movie directed by Jerry Thorpe
	The Secret Life of John Chapman	Wilma	Made-for-TV-Movie directed by David Lowell Rich Based on Appleseed: The Life and Legacy of John Chapman by John R. Coleman	[17]
1977	Rosetti and Ryan	Beverly Dresden	Episode: "Men Who Love Women" (Pilot)	[18]
	Mad Bull	Christina Sebastiani	Made-for-TV-Movie directed by Walter Doniger and Len Steckler
1979	The Last Giraffe	Betty Leslie-Melville	Made-for-TV-Movie directed by Jack Couffer Based on Raising Daisy Rothschild by Leslie-Melville	[19]
1980	Portrait of an Escort	Jordan West	Made-for-TV-Movie directed by Steven Hilliard Stern
1982	The First Time	Lucy Dillon	Made-for-TV-Movie directed by Noel Nosseck
1982	Deadly Encounter	Chris Butler	Made-for-TV-Movie directed by William A. Graham
1984	Gone Are the Dayes	Phyllis Daye	Made-for-TV-Movie directed by Gabrielle Beaumont
1989	Murder, She Wrote	Lois Fricksey	Episode: "Dead Letter" (S 6:Ep 6)
2002	Dancing at the Harvest Moon	Julia	Made-for-TV-Movie directed Bobby Roth

References

Citations

1. Gates, Anita (April 5, 2018). "Susan Anspach, 75, Dies; Daring Actress in Maverick Films". The New York Times. New York City: The New York Times Company.
2. Haring, Bruce (April 5, 2018). "Susan Anspach Dies: 'Five Easy Pieces' & 'Play It Again, Sam' Actress Was 75". Deadline Hollywood. United States: Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
3. Windeler, Robert (November 20, 1978). "It's Easier to Pull a Rabbit Than a Career Out of a Hat—Unless You're Susan Anspach". People. United States: Time Inc. and Meredith Corporation. Retrieved July 22, 2014.
4. Brockington, Ariana (April 5, 2018). "Susan Anspach, 'Five Easy Pieces' and 'Blume in Love' Actress, Dies at 75". Variety. Los Angeles: Variety Media, LLC. (Penske Media Corporation). Retrieved February 25, 2019.
5. Canby, Vincent (November 8, 1981). "Makavejev'S 'Montenegro,' Set In Sweden". The New York Times. New York City: The New York Times Company. Retrieved January 5, 2017.
6. Robert Altman in his DVD commentary to Nashville, Paramount DVD, 2000 release
7. Bergan, Ronald (April 11, 2018). "Susan Anspach obituary, Actor who starred in 'Five Easy Pieces' and 'Play It Again, Sam'". The Guardian. Kings Place, London: Guardian Media Group. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
8. "Love Story". TV.com. United States: CBS Interactive. Retrieved February 24, 2016.
9. "Susan Anspach obituary: ethereal star of New Hollywood". BFI National Archive. United Kingdom: British Film Institute.
10. "Steve Curry obituary". The New York Times. New York City: The New York Times Company. October 6, 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
11. Barnes, Mike (April 5, 2018). "Susan Anspach, Actress in 'Five Easy Pieces' and 'Blume in Love,' Dies at 75". The Hollywood Reporter. Los Angeles: Billboard-Hollywood Reporter Media Group (Valence Media). Retrieved February 25, 2019.
12. Associated Press (April 9, 2018). "Susan Anspach, who starred in 'Five Easy Pieces' and 'Blume in Love,' dead at 75". USA Today. McLean, Virginia: Gannett Corporation. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
13. Canby, Vincent (November 19, 1978). "The Big Fix Film Review". The New York Times. New York City: The New York Times Company. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
14. Simon, Roger L. (1973). The Big Fix (1st ed.). San Francisco: Straight Arrow Books. ISBN 978-0879320485.
15. Montgomery, Florence (1869). Misunderstood. New York City: Anson D. F. Randolph & Company. ASIN QBAAAAQAAJ.
16. Zambenedetti 2014, p. 52. sfn error: no target: CITEREFZambenedetti2014 (help)
17. Snyder, Susan (September 7, 2016). "John R. Coleman, former Haverford College president and jack of all trades, dies at 95". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia: Philadelphia Media Network. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
18. Terrace 1985, p. 355.
19. Leslie-Melville, Betty (1977). Raising Daisy Rothschild (Hard cover ed.). New York City: Simon & Schuster. ASIN B000RWW0VS.

Sources

• Alberto Zambenedetti, ed. (2014). World Film Locations: Florence. United Kingdom: Intellect Ltd. p. 52. ISBN 978-1783203604.
• Terrace, Vincent (1985). Encyclopedia of Television Series, Pilots and Specials. 2. New York City: Zoetrope Publishing. p. 355. ISBN 978-0918432612.

External links

• Susan Anspach on IMDb
• Susan Anspach at the Internet Broadway Database
• Susan Anspach at the University of Wisconsin's Actors Studio audio collection
• Susan Anspach at AllMovie
• Susan Anspach(Aveleyman)