Audra Lindley
Audra Marie Lindley (September 24, 1918 – October 16, 1997) was an American actress, most famous for her role as landlady Helen Roper on the sitcom Three's Company and its spin-off The Ropers.[2]
Audra Lindley | |
|---|---|
 Lindley in Fay (1975) | |
| Born | Audra Marie Lindley September 24, 1918 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Died | October 16, 1997 (aged 79)[1] Los Angeles, California, U.S.[1] |
| Resting place | Woodlawn Memorial Cemetery, Santa Monica |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1941–1997 |
| Spouse(s) | Hardy Ulm
(m. 1943; died 1970) |
| Children | 5 |
Life and career
Born in Los Angeles, California, Lindley got her early start in Hollywood as a stand-in, which eventually progressed to stunt work, and she eventually became a contract player with Warner Bros.
In 1943, she went to New York in her mid-20s to work in theater. Among her many Broadway plays during her long career were: On Golden Pond, Long Day's Journey into Night, and Horse Heavens. After a break from acting to raise five children, she began to make steady appearances on television in the early 1960s, including the role of Sue Knowles on the soap opera Search for Tomorrow, and a five-year stint as manipulative Aunt Liz Matthews on the soap opera Another World. She also had regular roles as Meredith Baxter's mother in the sitcom Bridget Loves Bernie as well as Lee Grant’s best friend in Fay.[3] In 1971, she starred in Taking Off, the first American film of Milos Forman.[3] She had guest roles on The Love Boat in 1978 and 1979 (season 2, episodes 1 & 2 and season 4, episode 18).
Her greatest fame arrived when she began playing the wisecracking, perpetually unfulfilled, and sexually frustrated Helen Roper on the hit sitcom Three’s Company (1977–79), in which she wore a wig to maintain the character’s exaggerated hairstyle.[3] The character and her husband, Mr. Roper (played by Norman Fell), were spun off to their own show, The Ropers (1979–80), which was cast in a difficult time slot and lasted only two seasons.[4]
Lindley continued to appear steadily on television and in films, such as Revenge of the Stepford Wives in 1980 and as Fauna, the owner of a brothel in the 1982 film Cannery Row. In 1982, she appeared in the film Best Friends, starring Goldie Hawn and Burt Reynolds.
She had a supporting role in the lesbian-themed film Desert Hearts (1985).[5] In 1987, she had a supporting role as Judith Light's mother in the TV movie Dangerous Affection. She also appeared in 1989's Troop Beverly Hills as outspoken director of the Wilderness Girls. Also in 1989, she was the main character of an episode of the horror anthology series Tales from the Crypt. In 1991 she starred in an episode of the horror anthology series The Hidden Room. She garnered parts in various TV films and series, including playing Phoebe Buffay's grandmother on Friends, and her last, a recurring role as Cybill Shepherd's mother on the sitcom Cybill and had previously played Shepherd's mother in the 1972 film The Heartbreak Kid.[6]
Personal life and death
She was married to Hardy Ulm, with whom she had five children, from 1943 until his death in 1970.[3][7] She was then married to actor James Whitmore from 1972 to 1979.[8] Lindley died of leukemia on October 16, 1997, at Cedars Sinai Medical Center. She was age 79.[1]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 | Manpower | Nurse | Uncredited |
| 1941 | One Foot in Heaven | Mother | Uncredited |
| 1941 | Dangerously They Live | Nurse | Uncredited |
| 1942 | The Male Animal | Student | Uncredited |
| 1971 | Taking Off | Ann Lockston | |
| 1972 | The Heartbreak Kid | Mrs. Corcoran | |
| 1979 | When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder? | Ceil Ryder | |
| 1982 | Cannery Row | Fauna Flood | |
| 1982 | Best Friends | Ann Babson | |
| 1985 | Desert Hearts | Frances Parker | |
| 1985 | Zoo Ship | Voice | |
| 1988 | Spellbinder | Mrs. White | |
| 1989 | Troop Beverly Hills | Frances Temple | |
| 1994 | The New Age | Sandi Rego | |
| 1995 | Sudden Death | Mrs. Ferrara | |
| 1996 | Shoot the Moon | Blanche Gaskins | |
| 1997 | The Relic | Dr. Matilda Zwiezic |
References
- "Audra Lindley; Television, Stage Actress". Los Angeles Times. October 19, 1997.
- "Three's Company". TV Guide. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
- Lyman, Rick (October 25, 1997). "Audra Lindley, 79, Actress; Played a Sex-Starved Wife". The New York Times.
- "The Ropers". TV Guide.
- "Audra Linley". Filmbug. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
- "Audra Lindley, Actress". Variety. October 28, 1997. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
- "Aaron Hardy Ulm, Doctor and Lawyer". The New York Times. April 28, 1970. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
- Berkvist, Robert (February 7, 2009). "James Whitmore, Character Actor Skilled in One-Man Shows, Dies at 87". The New York Times.
External links
- Audra Lindley at IMDb
- Audra Lindley at the Internet Broadway Database
- Audra Lindley at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
- Audra Lindley at Find a Grave
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