Brenda Vaccaro | |
|---|---|
 Vaccaro inWhere It's At (1969) | |
| Born | Brenda Buell Vaccaro (1939-11-18)November 18, 1939 (age 86) Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Education | Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1961–present |
| Spouses | |
| Partner | Michael Douglas (1971–1976) |
Brenda Buell Vaccaro (born November 18, 1939)[1] is an American stage, film and television actress. In a career spanning over half a century, she received oneAcademy Award nomination, threeGolden Globe Award nominations (winning one), fourPrimetime Emmy Award nominations (winning one), and threeTony Award nominations.
Vaccaro was born inBrooklyn, New York, to Italian-American parents Christine M. Pavia and Mario A. Vaccaro, a restaurateur.[2] She was raised in Dallas, Texas, where her parents, in 1943, founded Mario's Restaurant,[3] and where she graduated fromThomas Jefferson High School.[4]
At 17, she returned to New York City to study acting under the guidance ofSanford Meisner at theNeighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre, and made her Broadway debut in the short-lived 1961 comedyEverybody Loves Opal, for which she won aTheatre World Award.[5]
Vaccaro's Broadway credits includeThe Affair (1962),Cactus Flower (1965), the musicalHow Now, Dow Jones (1967),The Goodbye People (1968), the female version ofThe Odd Couple (1985), andJake's Women (1992).[6] The husky-voiced actress is a three-timeTony Award nominee, for Best Featured Actress in a Play (Cactus Flower), Best Actress in a Musical (Dow Jones), and Best Actress in a Play (The Goodbye People).[7] She was featured on the May 29, 1970 cover ofLife magazine.[8]
Vaccaro appeared withDustin Hoffman andJon Voight in the 1969 filmMidnight Cowboy, for which she was nominated for aGolden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress. She playedEthel Rosenberg inStanley Kramer'sJudgment: The Trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg in 1974, and for her performance in the 1975film adaptation ofJacqueline Susann'sOnce Is Not Enough, she gained anAcademy Award nomination and won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress.[9][10]
Additional screen credits includeAirport '77;Capricorn One;The Pride of Jesse Hallam,Supergirl;The Mirror Has Two Faces;Heart of Midnight;Zorro, The Gay Blade; andDeath Weekend, also known asHouse by the Lake.
Her television credits include the title role in the 1976 seriesSara, a number of television movies, and a regular role in the short-lived 1984 seriesPaper Dolls, in addition to guest appearances onBanacek,The Fugitive,The Defenders,Coronet Blue,The Name of the Game,Marcus Welby, M.D.,McCloud,The Streets of San Francisco,The Love Boat,St. Elsewhere,Murder, She Wrote,The Golden Girls,Columbo,Touched by an Angel,Friends (as the mother ofMatt LeBlanc's "Joey"),The King of Queens, andNip/Tuck. She was nominated for anEmmy Award three times and won for Best Supporting Actress in Comedy-Variety, Variety or Music forThe Shape of Things in 1974.[11]
Vaccaro was lampooned byAndrea Martin onSCTV for a groundbreaking 1980 commercial appearance forfeminine hygiene products.[12]
She supplied the voice forJohnny Bravo's mother Bunny Bravo in the animated cartoon series. She was the first voice of Jay's (Jon Lovitz)'s ex-wife Ardeth onThe Critic. She made an appearance onThe Smurfs as Scruple, an apprentice ofGargamel, oppositePaul Winchell.
After ill health forcedValerie Harper to bow out of the production ofNice Work If You Can Get It at theOgunquit Playhouse (Maine), Vaccaro took over the role of Millicent Winter for the remaining performances of the limited run from August 4–15, 2015.[13]
She played Jack Kevorkian's (Al Pacino)'s sister inYou Don't Know Jack (2010). She plays Gloria Marquette in theSex and the City reboot,And Just Like That...[14]
She entered a nearly seven-year relationship withSummertree co-starMichael Douglas in 1971.[12] She guest-starred in twoepisodes ofThe Streets of San Francisco, the TV crime drama in which Douglas co-starred from 1972 to 1977.
She has been friends withBarbra Streisand since they both appeared on Broadway in the early 1960s. Streisand directed her inThe Mirror Has Two Faces.[15][9]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | Naked City | Rosa Alloro | Episode: "The Corpse Ran Down Mulberry Street" |
| 1963 | The Fugitive | Joanne Spencer | Episode: "See Hollywood and Die" |
| 1966 | Vacation Playhouse | Jenny Penny | Episode: "My Lucky Penny" |
| 1969 | The F.B.I. | Gerri Coates, the waitress | Episode: "Scapegoat" |
| 1971 | What's a Nice Girl like You...? | Shirley | Television movie |
| 1972 | Marcus Welby, M.D. | Marilyn Hoffman | Episode: "House of Mirrors" |
| 1972 | The Streets of San Francisco | Police Officer Sherry Reese | Episode: "Act of Duty" |
| 1972 | McCloud | Police Officer Margaret Sereno | Episode: "The Park Avenue Rustlers" |
| 1972 | Banacek | Sharon Clark | Episode: "To Steal a King" |
| 1973 | Honor Thy Father | Rosalie Bonnano | Television movie |
| 1973 | The Shape of Things | Herself | Television special Primetime Emmy Award for Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program |
| 1974 | The Streets of San Francisco | Hit Woman Sidney (AKA Sally Banning) | Episode: "The Most Deadly Species" |
| 1976 | Sara | Sara Yarnell | 12 episodes Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series |
| 1976 | Territorial Men | Sara Yarnell | Television movie – compiled from footage shot for the television seriesSara |
| 1977 | Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey | Tilly (voice) | Television special |
| 1979 | Dear Detective | Det. Sgt. Kate Hudson | 4 episodes |
| 1980 | Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones | Jane Briggs | Television movie |
| 1981 | A Long Way Home | Lillian Jacobs | Television movie |
| 1981 | The Star Maker | Dolores Baker | Television movie |
| 1981 | The Pride of Jesse Hallam | Marion Galucci | Television movie |
| 1983 | Fame | Herself | Episode: "Blood Sweat & Circuits" |
| 1984 | Paper Dolls | Julia Blake | 13 episodes |
| 1984 | St. Elsewhere | Rose Orso | Episode: "The Women" |
| 1984 | The Love Boat | Eleanor Savage | 2 episodes |
| 1984–1989 | The Smurfs | Scruple / various (voice) | 53 episodes |
| 1985 | Deceptions | Helen Adams | Television movie |
| 1985 | Care Bears | Auntie Freeze (voice) | 2 episodes; uncredited |
| 1986–1987 | Hollywood Squares | Herself | Episodes airing December 22-26, 1986 & March 9-13, 1987 |
| 1987 | The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones | Didi (voice) | Television movie |
| 1988 | Murder, She Wrote | Mimi Harcourt | Episode: "Just Another Fish Story" |
| 1990 | Murder, She Wrote | Didi Blair | Episode: "The Fixer-Upper" |
| 1990 | Murder, She Wrote | Sheila Kowalski Finley | Episode: "The Family Jewels" |
| 1990 | The Golden Girls | Angela Petrillo | Episode: "Ebbtide's Revenge" Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series |
| 1990 | Columbo | Jess McCurdy | Episode: "Murder in Malibu" |
| 1990 | Stolen: One Husband | Lisa Jarrett | Television movie |
| 1991 | Darkwing Duck | Slim (voice) | Episode: "You Sweat Your Life" |
| 1992 | Civil Wars | Actress | Episode: "Oceans White the Phone" |
| 1992 | Red Shoe Diaries | Martha | Television movie |
| 1992 | Goof Troop | Gilda (voice) | Episode: "Date with Destiny" |
| 1994 | Following Her Heart | Cecile | Television movie |
| 1994 | The Critic | Ardeth (voice) | 5 episodes |
| 1994–1995 | Captain Planet and the Planeteers | Chi / Marge (voice) | 2 episodes |
| 1995 | Friends | Gloria Tribbiani | Episode: "The One with the Boobies" |
| 1996 | Touched by an Angel | Al | Episode: "Out of the Darkness" |
| 1996 | Siegfried & Roy: Masters of the Impossible | (voice) | Unknown episodes |
| 1997 | What a Cartoon! | Melissa (voice) | Episode: "Johnny Bravo and the Amazon Women" |
| 1997 | Ally McBeal | Karen Horowitz | Episode: "The Attitude" |
| 1997–1999 | Spawn | Additional voices | 5 episodes |
| 1997–2004 | Johnny Bravo | Bunny Bravo / various (voice) | 55 episodes |
| 1998 | The King of Queens | Sheila Rednester | Episode: "Paternal Affairs" |
| 2001 | Becker | Bob's Mother | Episode: "The Ghost of Christmas Presents" |
| 2002 | Just a Walk in the Park | Selma Williams | Television movie |
| 2004 | Just Desserts | Lina | Television movie |
| 2005 | American Dad! | Strip Club Manager (voice) | Episode: "Stan Knows Best" |
| 2006 | Nip/Tuck | Beatrice Madsen | Episode: "Diana Lubey" |
| 2006 | The War at Home | Barbara | Episode: "The West Palm Beach Story" |
| 2010 | You Don't Know Jack | Margo Janus | Television movie Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie |
| 2011 | Johnny Bravo Goes to Bollywood | Bunny Bravo (voice) | Television film |
| 2017 | Gypsy | Claire Rogers | 8 episodes |
| 2017 | Superior Donuts | Ellen | Episode: "Get It, Arthur" |
| 2018 | Summer Camp Island | Godmonster (voice) | Episode: "Monster Visit" |
| 2020 | The Boss Baby: Back in Business | Midge Marksberry (voice) | Episode: "Teambuilding" |
| 2021 | And Just Like That... | Gloria Marquette | 2 episodes |
| Year | Title | Role(s) | Venue | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | Everybody Loves Opal | Gloria | Longacre Theatre | Broadway debut | [16][17] |
| 1962 | The Affair | Laura Howard | Henry Miller's Theater | [18] | |
| 1963 | Children From Their Games | Melissa Peabody | Morosco Theatre | [19] | |
| 1965 | Cactus Flower | Toni | Royale Theatre | Tony Award nomination | [20] |
| 1967 | The Natural Look | Reedy Harris | Longacre Theatre | [21] | |
| 1967 | How Now, Dow Jones | Cynthia | Lunt-Fontanne Theatre | Tony Award nomination | [22] |
| 1968 | The Goodbye People | Nancy Scott | Ethel Barrymore Theatre | Tony Award nomination | [23] |
| 1971 | Father's Day | Louise | John Golden Theatre | [24] | |
| 1985 | The Odd Couple | Olive Madison | Broadhurst Theatre | [25] | |
| 1992 | Jake's Women | Karen | Neil Simon Theatre | [26] | |
| 2015 | Nice Work If You Can Get It | Millicent Winter | Ogunquit Playhouse | [27] |
