Zohra Lampert

Zohra Lampert (born May 13, 1931) is an American actress, who has had roles on film, television, and stage, including as the title character in the 1971 cult horror film Let's Scare Jessica to Death;[1] she also starred alongside Natalie Wood and Warren Beatty in the 1961 Splendor in the Grass. Lampert achieved critical acclaim for her work on Broadway as well, earning two Tony Award nominations for her roles in Look What We've Come Through (1962) and Mother Courage and Her Children (1963). She won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her role in a 1975 episode of Kojak.

Zohra Lampert
Lampert in 1953
Born	(1931-05-13) May 13, 1931 New York City, New York, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Chicago
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1954-2016
Spouse(s)	Bill Alton ( m. 1957⁠–⁠1958) Jonathan Schwartz ​ ( m. 2010)

Early life

Lampert was born in New York City,[2] the daughter of Russian-Jewish immigrants Rachil Eriss, a draper and hatmaker, and Morris Lampert, an architect and ironworker.[3] Lampert attended New York's High School of Music & Art, and then the University of Chicago. She was married to actor Bill Alton [4] from 1957 to 1958.

Career

Lampert studied acting at HB Studio.[5] After working on minor stages for several years, including a stint as a member of the Second City troupe in Chicago, she performed on Broadway in a Tony-nominated performance in 1961's Look We've Come Through. She scored with a pair of small, noteworthy performances in the films Pay or Die and Splendor in the Grass. In the 1960s/1970s, she was active in supporting roles in film and television, and won an Emmy for her performance as a gypsy in an episode of Kojak ("Queen of the Gypsies", 1975). She co-starred with Gena Rowlands in John Cassavetes' Opening Night (1977).

She was a regular in the sitcom The Girl with Something Extra and the medical drama Doctors' Hospital. During the early 1970s, she originated the role of Ellie Jardin on the CBS soap Where the Heart Is until her character was killed off in 1972. In 1986, she appeared in an episode of Knight Rider (season 4, "Hills of Fire"). She worked less during the 1980s and 1990s. She appeared in The Exorcist III (playing actor George C. Scott's wife) and the offbeat 1999 film The Eden Myth.

For several years in the 1980s, Lampert appeared as the spokesperson for Goya Beans.

Later years

After a ten-year absence from films, Lampert returned to acting in supporting roles in two films: The Hungry Ghosts (2009) and Zenith (2010). In March 2010, she married broadcaster and novelist Jonathan Schwartz in New York City.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
1959	Odds Against Tomorrow	Girl in Bar		[6]
1960	Pay or Die	Adelina Saulino		[6]
1961	Posse from Hell	Helen Caldwell		[6]
1961	Splendor in the Grass	Angelina		[6]
1961	Hey, Let's Twist!	Sharon		[6]
1966	A Fine Madness	Evelyn Tupperman		[6]
1968	Bye Bye Braverman	Etta Rieff		[6]
1969	Some Kind of a Nut	Bunny Erickson		[6]
1971	Let's Scare Jessica to Death	Jessica		[6]
1977	Opening Night	Dorothy Victor		[6]
1984	Alphabet City	Mama		[6]
1984	Teachers	Mrs. Pilikian		[6]
1989	American Blue Note	Louise		[6]
1990	Stanley & Iris	Elaine		[6]
1990	The Exorcist III	Mary Kinderman		[6]
1992	Alan & Naomi	Mrs. Liebman		[6]
1992	Last Supper		Short film	[6]
1994	The Last Good Time	Barbara		[6]
1999	The Eden Myth	Alma Speck		[6]
2009	The Hungry Ghosts	Ruth		[7]
2010	Zenith	Ms. Minor		[6]
2014	Sexual Secrets	Alma Speck

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1954	A Time to Live	Greta Powers	TV series
1958	Decoy	Anne / Norma Hart	"High Swing", "Cry Revenge"
1960	Cradle Song	Sister Maria Jesus	TV film
1960	Route 66	Sue Ellis	"Layout at Glen Canyon"
1961	The Defenders	Florence Meech / Eve Gideon Tubberbye	"The Prowler", "Gideon's Follies"
1962	Sam Benedict	Sarah Friedman	"Hear the Mellow Wedding Bells"
1963	The Alfred Hitchcock Hour	Marie Petit	"A Tangled Web"
1963	Dr. Kildare	Rose Kemmer / Myra Krolik	"The Thing Speaks for Itself", "A Place Among the Monuments"
1963	Naked City	Clara Espuella	"Barefoot on a Bed of Coals"
1964	The Reporter	Molly Gresham	"Super-Star"
1965	The Man from U.N.C.L.E.	Kay Lorrison	"The Mad, Mad Tea Party Affair"
1965	Slattery's People	Asst. District Atty. Arlene Mancuso	"Question: Who Are You Taking to the Main Event, Eddie?"
1965	The Trials of O'Brien	Penelope	"How Do You Get to Carnegie Hall?"
1967	I Spy	Zili	"Blackout"
1969	Then Came Bronson	Mary Draper	"Amid Splinters of the Thunderbolt"
1970	The F.B.I.	Mary Cochella	"Deadfall"
1970–71	Where the Heart Is	Ellie Jardin	TV series
1972	Love, American Style	Nancy Ellis	"Love and the Jinx"
1973	The Connection	Hannah	TV film
1973	The Bob Newhart Show	Janine	"Motel"
1973–74	The Girl with Something Extra	Anne	Recurring role
1975	Ladies of the Corridor	Mildred Tynan	TV film
1975	One of Our Own	Dr. Norah Purcell	TV film
1975	Kojak	Marina Sheldon	"Queen of the Gypsies"
1975–76	Doctors' Hospital	Dr. Norah Purcell	Main role
1976	Serpico	Anne	"Trumpet of Time"
1976	Hawaii Five-0	Anita Newhall	"Let Death Do Us Part"
1977	Hunter	Deedee	"The K Group: Parts 1 & 2"
1977	Mixed Nuts	Dr. Sarah Allgood	TV short
1977	Switch	Lita Verassiere	"Fade Out"
1978	Quincy, M.E.	Lynn Peters	"Passing"
1978	Black Beauty	Polly Barker	TV miniseries
1978	Kojak	Dr. Ellen Page	"The Halls of Terror"
1978	Hawaii Five-0	Gloria Kozma	"Small Potatoes"
1978	Lady of the House	Julia de Paulo	TV film
1979	The Suicide's Wife	Sharon Logan	TV film
1980	The Girl, the Gold Watch & Everything	Wilma Farnham	TV film
1980	Children of Divorce	Mrs. Goldsmith	TV film
1981	Secrets of Midland Heights	Mme. Zeena	"Letting Go"
1981	The Girl, the Gold Watch & Dynamite	Wilma Farnham	TV film
1982	Romance Theatre		TV series
1984	American Playhouse	Esther Mirkin	"The Cafeteria"
1984	Airwolf	Dr. Lisa Holgate	"Echoes from the Past"
1985	Izzy and Moe	Esther Einstein	TV film
1986	The Equalizer	Veronica Whitney	"Torn"
1986	Knight Rider	Tess Hubbard	"Hills of Fire"
1986	Trapper John, M.D.		"Fall of the Wild"

Accolades

Year	Nominated work	Award	Category	Outcome	Ref.
1962	Look What We've Come Through	Tony Award	Best Featured Actress in a Play	Nominated	[8]
1963	Mother Courage and Her Children	Tony Award	Best Featured Actress in a Play	Nominated	[8]
1974	Kojak	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series	Won	[9]

References

1. Greenspun, Roger (August 28, 1971). "Let s Scare Jessica to Death (1971) Screen: Hippie Vampire:' Let's Scare Jessica to Death' Arrives". The New York Times.
2. "Zohra Lampert". AllMovie. Archived from the original on March 26, 2019.
3. "Zohra Lampert Biography (1937-)". www.filmreference.com. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
4. "Bill Alton". IMDb. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
5. HB Studio Alumni
6. "Zohra Lampert Filmography". AllMovie. Archived from the original on June 28, 2019.
7. Pyne, Daniel (October 4, 2010). "Michael Imperioli Feeds The Hungry Ghosts". MovieMaker. Archived from the original on June 28, 2019.
8. "Zohra Lampert Tony Awards". Broadway World. Archived from the original on June 28, 2019.
9. "Zohra Lampert". Emmys. Television Academy. Archived from the original on June 28, 2019.

External links

• Zohra Lampert on IMDb