Betty Buckley | |
|---|---|
 Buckley in 1977 in the show Eight is Enough | |
| Born | (1947-07-03)July 3, 1947 (age 78) Fort Worth, Texas, U.S. |
| Occupations | Actress, singer, music teacher |
| Years active | 1964–present |
| Spouse | |
| Relatives | Norman Buckley (brother) |
| Website | www |
Betty Buckley (born July 3, 1947)[1] is an American actress and singer. Buckley is the winner of aTony Award, and was nominated for an additional Tony Award, twoDaytime Emmy Awards, twoGrammy Awards, and anOlivier Award. In 2012, she was inducted into theAmerican Theater Hall of Fame.[2]
Buckley won the 1983Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her role asGrizabella in the originalBroadway production ofCats. She went on to playNorma Desmond inSunset Boulevard (1994–96) in both London and New York, receiving a 1995Olivier Award nomination forBest Actress in a Musical, and was nominated for the 1997Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical forTriumph of Love. Her other Broadway credits include1776 (1969),Pippin (1973), andThe Mystery of Edwin Drood (1985). From September 2018 to August 2019, she starred as the title role in the U.S. national tour ofHello, Dolly.[3]
Buckley starred in the TV seriesEight Is Enough from 1977 to 1981 and played gym teacherMiss Collins in the 1976 filmCarrie, before going on to star in the short-livedBroadway musical version ofCarrie in 1988, playingCarrie White's mother,Margaret. Her other film roles include Dixie Scott inTender Mercies (1983), Sondra Walker inFrantic (1988), Kathy inAnother Woman (1988) and Mrs. Jones inThe Happening (2008). She received aSaturn Award nomination for her role as Dr. Karen Fletcher in the 2016 filmSplit. Her other television credits include seriesOz (2001–03), andPreacher (2018).
A native ofFort Worth, Texas,[1] Buckley is known for the 1977–81 TV dramedyEight Is Enough. She joined the show in its second season when the original star,Diana Hyland, died after the first four episodes of season one, and her character Joan Bradford died as well. Buckley was cast as the widower's new romantic interest, Sandra Sue "Abby" Abbott, who became stepmother of the eight children to which the series' title refers.
Buckley appeared in the original movie version ofCarrie in 1976, playingMiss Collins, Carrie's gym teacher. In 1977, she recorded an uncredited solo on the song "Walking in Space", in the movieHair.
On television, she received twoDaytime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Program/Special, forNBC Special Treat - Bobby and Sarah (1984) andABC Afterschool Special - Taking a Stand (1989).
Her screen roles during the 1980s includeBruce Beresford's filmTender Mercies, where she played a country music singer and sang theAcademy Award-nominated song "Over You". She also appeared in theWoody Allen filmAnother Woman (1988),Roman Polanski'sFrantic (1988), Lawrence's Kasden'sWyatt Earp (1994).
From 2001 to 2003, she played the role of Suzanne Fitzgerald in seasons 4–6 of the HBO seriesOz.
She also has guest-starred in a number of television series, includingWithout a Trace,Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, andMonk. She guest-starred in a Christmas special of the TV seriesRemember WENN, created and written byRupert Holmes for the cable channelAmerican Movie Classics, in which she sang two Holmes original songs: "Christmas is Waiting", and "You Make It Christmas". She appeared as Marion Leckie, mother ofRobert Leckie in the HBO seriesThe Pacific, which aired in 2010.
Also in 2010, she appeared in the 18th episode ofMelrose Place as a food critic cast by her brotherNorman Buckley, who directed the episode. She also guest-starred in an episode of the Fox seriesThe Chicago Code. She was a recurring guest star onPretty Little Liars as Regina Marin, also directed by her brother Norman. In 2008, Buckley played Mrs. Jones inM. Night Shyamalan'sThe Happening. In 2017, Buckley was one of the stars of M. Night Shyamalan'sSplit, the number-one film at the box office for three weeks.[4]
Her other television credits include guest-starring as Meg's mother inThe Leftovers on November 30, 2015, appearing in five episodes of the 2017-2021 seriesSupergirl.[5] Buckley was also cast in season three of the seriesPreacher in 2018.[6]
Buckley made her Broadway debut in 1969 in the original production of the musical1776;[7] she has been called "The Voice of Broadway" byNew York magazine.
In 1982, Buckley starred asGrizabella in the original Broadway production of the musicalCats, which features the song "Memory". She stayed with the production for 18 months. For this role, she won aTony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.[8]
Buckley starred in both London (1994) and New York (1995) asNorma Desmond in the musicalSunset Boulevard.[9] For her role in the London production, she received anOlivier Award nomination forBest Actress in a Musical.[10]
In 1997, she starred as Hesione in the Broadway musicalTriumph of Love and received a Tony Award nomination forBest Actress in a Musical.
Buckley sang "Memory" fromCats at theKennedy Center Honors in December 2006 as part of the tribute to Andrew Lloyd Webber.[11] In 2007, Buckley appeared with Quintessence atLincoln Center in itsGreat American Songbook series.
Buckley participated in a reading of the musicalRuthless! in September 2010, playing the role of Sylvia St. Croix/Ruth DelMarco. She then played Mrs. White in the off-Broadway comedyWhite's Lies from March–May 2010. In 2011, Buckley starred in theDallas Theater Center production ofArsenic and Old Lace byJoseph Kesselring withTovah Feldshuh.[12]
In 1988, Buckley starred as Margaret White inCarrie: The Musical.
On January 28, 2013, she was inducted into TheAmerican Theater Hall of Fame. From January–March 2013, she starred in the London Premiere ofJerry Herman'sDear World, receiving rave reviews.[13] The musical was directed and choreographed byGillian Lynne, with whom Buckley had previously worked onCats.
In September 2013, she starred in the world premiere ofHorton Foote'sThe Old Friends at theSignature Theatre off-Broadway. She repeated her performance in 2014 at Houston's famed Alley Theatre.
In May 2015, it was announced that Buckley would appear as Big Edie in the musical,Grey Gardens[14] at Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor, NY. The production ran August 4, 2015 through August 30, 2015. She reprised the role from July 13 to August 14, 2016, at theAhmanson Theatre in Los Angeles.
On February 12, 2018, it was announced that Buckley would portray the title role in the first national tour of the 2017Broadway revival ofHello, Dolly!, beginning performances in October 2018 in theConnor Palace at Cleveland'sPlayhouse Square.[15] Buckley dedicated the January 15th, 2019 performance inSan Diego toCarol Channing following her death.[16] Ms. Buckley finished her leg of the tour in September 2019 and prepared concerts scheduled in early 2020 at theCafe Carlyle in NYC and other venues.
Hope, Buckley's 18th solo album, was released on June 8, 2018, and she continues to appear in concert across the U.S. each year. She is also a composer; her first recording contains mostly songs she wrote. She is also featured on many Broadway compilation recordings, and on the original cast recording of1776; the original Broadway recording ofCats; the London recording ofPromises, Promises;Triumph of Love andThe Mystery of Edwin Drood.[citation needed]
In 2002, Buckley was nominated for a Grammy Award in theBest Traditional Pop Vocal Album Category, for her albumStars and the Moon: Live at the Donmar, which was recorded at theDonmar Warehouse Theatre in London. This was her second Grammy nomination; she had previously been nominated in 2000, in theBest Spoken Word Album category forThe Diaries of Adam and Eve.
Her albumsQuintessence and1967 were released byPlaybill Records in February 2008.Quintessence features jazz arrangements of standards by her former collaborator, jazz pianistKenny Werner; while1967 is a recording produced byT-Bone Burnett, and made when Buckley was just 19.[citation needed]
Her albumBootleg: Boardmixes From the Road was released in 2010, and her recording of her hit show at Feinstein's at the Regency with pianist/collaboratorChristian Jacob, entitledAh, Men: The Boys of Broadway debuted on 28 August 2012.[citation needed]
Her albumGhostlight was produced by the T Bone Burnett and was released on September 16, 2014.[17]
Buckley was married to Peter Flood in 1972,[18] divorced in 1979, and has no children.[citation needed]
She has received two honorary doctorates for her contributions to musical theater-one fromThe Boston Conservatory and the other fromMarymount Manhattan College.[19]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Carrie | Miss Collins | |
| 1983 | Tender Mercies | Dixie | |
| 1987 | Wild Thing | Leah | |
| 1988 | Frantic | Sondra Walker | |
| Another Woman | Kathy | ||
| 1992 | Rain Without Thunder | Beverly Goldring | |
| 1994 | Last Time Out | Maxine Black | |
| Wyatt Earp | Virginia Earp | ||
| 1995 | Ride for Your Life | Short film | |
| 1998 | Of Love & Fantasy | Dr. Tania Brandt | Video |
| 1999 | Simply Irresistible | Aunt Stella | |
| 2002 | New World Order | Rose Kross | |
| 2004 | Mummy an' the Armadillo | Let | |
| 2008 | The Happening | Mrs. Jones | |
| 2011 | 5 Time Champion | Fran | |
| 2016 | Split | Dr. Karen Fletcher | |
| 2024 | Imaginary | Gloria | |
| 2025 | By Design | Cynthia | |
| Eternity | old Joan Culter |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Ryan's Hope | Divorced Lady | Episode: "1.405" |
| 1977 | The Rubber Gun Squad | Rosie | TV movie |
| 1977–1981 | Eight Is Enough | Sandra Sue 'Abby' Abbott Bradford | 102 episodes |
| 1981 | The Ordeal of Bill Carney | Barbara Slaner | TV movie |
| 1984 | Special Treat | Mrs. Lawson | Episode: "Bobby and Sarah" |
| 1984 | The Three Wishes of Billy Grier | Nancy Grier | TV movie |
| 1985 | Evergreen | Mrs. Bradford | TV miniseries |
| 1987 | Roses Are for the Rich | Ella | TV movie |
| 1987 | Cagney & Lacey | Marci Bruckman | Episode: "You've Come a Long Way, Baby" |
| 1989 | ABC Afterschool Specials | Lillian Robinson | Episode: "Taking a Stand" |
| 1989 | Babycakes | Wanda | TV movie |
| 1991 | L.A. Law | Elisa Chandler | 2 episodes: "Something Old, Something Nude" "TV or Not TV" |
| 1992 | Mathnet | Sally Storm | Episode: "The Case of the Mystery Weekend" |
| 1992 | Bonnie & Clyde: The True Story | Mrs. Parker | TV movie |
| 1992 | Square One TV | Sally Storm | 3 episodes |
| 1993 | Tribeca | Ruth | Episode: "The Rainmaker" |
| 1994 | Betrayal of Trust | Dr. Jan Galanti | TV movie |
| 1996 | Critical Choices | Dr. Margaret Ludlow | TV movie |
| 1996 | Remember WENN | Gloria Redmond | Episode: "Christmas in the Airwaves" |
| 2001–2003 | Oz | Suzanne Fitzgerald | 18 episodes |
| 2003 | Monk | Mrs. Fleming | Episode: "Mr. Monk Goes to the Theater" |
| 2004 | The Jury | Carla Kohler | Episode: "Last Rites" |
| 2005 | Vinegar Hill | Mary Margaret Grier | TV movie |
| 2006 | Brothers & Sisters | Iva March | Episode: "Unaired Pilot" |
| 2006 | Without a Trace | Catherine Ryder | Episode: "Expectations" |
| 2006 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Attorney Walsh | 3 episodes: "Manipulated", "Clock", "Lunacy" |
| 2010 | Melrose Place | Bernadette Reese | Episode: "Sepulveda" |
| 2010 | The Pacific | Marion Leckie | Episode: "Home" |
| 2011 | The Chicago Code | Sister Paul | Episode: "Hog Butcher" |
| 2011 | Pretty Little Liars | Regina Marin | Episode: "I Must Confess" |
| 2013 | Episode: "She's Better Now" | ||
| 2014 | Getting On | Dottie Levy | Episode: "Is Soap A Hazardous Substance?" |
| 2015 | The Leftovers | Jane | Episode: "Ten Thirteen" |
| 2016 | Chicago Med | Olga Barlow | Episode: "Extreme Measures" |
| 2017–2020 | Supergirl | Patricia Arias | 4 episodes |
| 2018 | Preacher | Madame Marie L'Angelle | Season 3 |
| 2021 | Supergirl | Owl (voice) | Episode: "Dream Weaver" |
| 2021–2022 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Trial Division Chief Lorraine Maxwell | Recurring role (seasons 23-24) |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | 1776 | Martha Jefferson | 46th Street Theatre |
| 1969 | Promises, Promises | Fran Kubelik | Prince of Wales Theatre |
| 1972 | What's A Nice Girl Like You Doing in a State Like This | Off-broadway | |
| 1973 | Pippin | Catherine (replacement) | Imperial Theatre |
| 1980–1981 | I'm Getting My Act Together and Taking it on the Road | Heather | Circle in the Square Theatre Downtown Huntington Hartford Theatre, Los Angeles |
| 1982–1984 | Cats | Grizabella | Winter Garden Theatre |
| 1985 | Song and Dance | Emma (replacement) | Royale Theatre |
| 1985 | Drood | Edwin Drood / Miss Alice Nutting | Shakespeare in the Park Imperial Theatre |
| 1985 | Juno's Swans | Second Stage Theatre | |
| 1988 | Carrie | Margaret White | Virginia Theatre |
| 1992 | The Threepenny Opera | Jenny Diver | Williamstown Theatre Festival |
| 1992 | Gypsy | Mama Rose | Arizona Civic Light Opera |
| 1993 | The Fourth Wall | Chicago Opera Theatre | |
| 1994–1996 | Sunset Boulevard | Norma Desmond (replacement) | Adelphi Theatre Minskoff Theatre |
| 1997 | Triumph of Love | Hesione | Royale Theatre |
| 1998 | Gypsy | Mama Rose | Paper Mill Playhouse |
| 1998 | Camino Real | Hartford Stage | |
| 2003 | Elegies: A Song Cycle | Lincoln Center | |
| 2003 | The Threepenny Opera | Jenny Diver | Williamstown Theatre Festival |
| 2010 | White's Lies | Mrs. White | New World Stages |
| 2011 | Arsenic and Old Lace | Martha Brewster | Dallas Theater Center |
| 2013 | Dear World | Countess Aurelia | Charing Cross Theatre, London |
| 2013–2014 | The Old Friends | Gertrude | Pershing Square Signature Center Alley Theatre, Houston |
| 2015 | Follies | Carlotta Campion | Royal Albert Hall, London |
| 2015–2016 | Grey Gardens | Big Edie | Bay Street Theater, Sag Harbour, New York Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles |
| 2018–2019 | Hello, Dolly! | Dolly Gallagher Levi | National Tour |
| Name | Year | Label | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Betty Buckley | 1985 | Rizzoli | |
| Children Will Listen | 1993 | Sterling | |
| With One Look | 1994 | Sterling | |
| New Ways to Dream – Songs from Sunset Boulevard | 1994 | Really Useful | |
| The London Concert | 1995 | Sterling | Recorded March 19, 1995 |
| An Evening at Carnegie Hall | 1996 | Sterling | Recorded June 10, 1996 |
| Betty Buckley's Broadway | 1996 | Sterling | Compilation album |
| Much More | 1997 | Sterling | |
| Betty Buckley (15 Year Anniversary Re-Release) | 2000 | KO | |
| Heart to Heart | 2000 | KO | |
| The Doorway | 2001 | Fynsworth Alley | |
| Stars and the Moon – Live at the Donmar | 2001 | Concord | Recorded August 31 and September 1, 2000 |
| 1967 | 2007 | Playbill | Recorded in 1967, released 40 years later |
| Quintessence | 2008 | Playbill | |
| Bootleg: Boardmixes from the Road | 2010 | Practical Magic | |
| Ah, Men! The Boys of Broadway | 2012 | Palmetto | Songs sung by men on Broadway |
| Ghostlight | 2014 | Practical Magic | Produced byT Bone Burnett |
| Story Songs | 2017 | Palmetto | |
| Hope | June 8, 2018 | Palmetto |
| Show | Cast | Year | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1776 | Original Broadway Cast | 1969 | Martha Jefferson |
| Promises, Promises | Original London Cast | 1969 | Fran Kubelik |
| Hair | Film Soundtrack | 1979 | |
| I'm Getting My Act Together and Taking It on the Road | Off-Broadway Cast | 1980 | Heather |
| Cats | Original Broadway Cast | 1982 | Grizabella |
| The Mystery of Edwin Drood | Original Broadway Cast | 1985 | Edwin Drood / Dick Datchery / Miss Alice Nutting |
| Prom Queens Unchained | Studio Cast | 1997 | |
| The Civil War | Concept Album | 1998 | |
| Triumph of Love | Original Broadway Cast | 1998 | Hesione |
| Elegies, A Song Cycle | Original Off-Broadway Cast | 2003 |
| Album | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall | 1992 | Sings "Children Will Listen" |
| George & Ira Gershwin: A Musical Celebration | 1993 | Sings "How Long Has This Been Going On?" |
| Mathis on Broadway | 2000 | Sings "Children Will Listen" and "Our Children" |
| The Maury Yeston Songbook | 2003 | Sings "I Had a Dream About You" and "Be on Your Own" |
| The Diaries of Adam and Eve, by Mark Twain | ?? | Reads the part of Eve |
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Tony Award | Best Featured Actress in a Musical | Cats | Won |
| Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Actress in a Musical | Nominated | ||
| 1985 | Daytime Emmy Award | Outstanding Performer in a Children's Program/Special | NBC Special Treat: Bobby and Sarah | Nominated |
| 1989 | ABC Afterschool Special: Taking a Stand | Nominated | ||
| 1995 | Olivier Award | Best Actress in a Musical | Sunset Boulevard | Nominated |
| 1998 | Tony Award | Best Actress in a Musical | Triumph of Love | Nominated |
| Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical | Nominated | ||
| 2000 | Grammy Award | Best Spoken Word Album | The Diaries of Adam and Eve | Nominated |
| 2002 | Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album | Stars and the Moon: Live at the Donmar | Nominated | |
| 2014 | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play | The Old Friends | Nominated |
| 2016 | Fright Meter Awards | Best Actress | Split | Won |
| 2017 | Saturn Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Nominated |
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