Phyllis Frelich | |
|---|---|
 Publicity Photo of Phyllis Frelich | |
| Born | Phyllis Annetta Frelich (1944-02-29)February 29, 1944 |
| Died | April 10, 2014(2014-04-10) (aged 70) Temple City, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1970–2011 |
Phyllis Annetta Frelich (February 29, 1944 – April 10, 2014) was adeaf American actress. She was the first deaf actor to win aTony Award.
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]
Frelich originated the leading female role in theBroadway production ofChildren of a Lesser God, written byMark Medoff. That play was specially written for her, and based to some extent on her relationship with her husband Robert Steinberg.[4]Children won the Tony for Best Play; Frelich won the 1980 Best ActressTony Award and her co-star,John Rubinstein, won the Best ActorTony Award.[3] Frelich was the first deaf actor or actress to win a Tony Award.[5]Marlee Matlin played Frelich's role in the film version, for which she won theAcademy Award for Best Actress. Frelich later starred in other plays written by Medoff, includingThe Hands of Its Enemy andPrymate.[3] She was nominated for anEmmy Award for her performance in the 1985 television movieLove Is Never Silent. On the original air date of February 9, 1985, she appeared as a guest in theGimme A Break! episode "The Earthquake". Frelich appeared in the recurring role of Sister Sarah onSanta Barbara. Her last acting role was in an episode ofCSI: Crime Scene Investigation in 2011.[3]
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 inThe Gin Game at theDeaf 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 byLinda Bove, with Deaf West Theatre artistic directorEd Waterstreet.[6]
Frelich died on April 10, 2014, at her home inTemple City, California at the age of 70 in April 2014 fromprogressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), a rare degenerative neurological disease for which there are no treatments.[7]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Judgement | District Attorney | |
| 1997 | Santa Fe | Dr. Joyce Ginsberg | |
| 2002 | Children on Their Birthdays | Mrs. Bobbit |
| 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) |
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