Susan Anspach

American actress (1942–2018)

Susan Anspach

Anspach in 1979

Born|

Susan Florence Anspach

(1942-11-23)November 23, 1942

New York City, New York U.S.

Died| April 2, 2018(2018-04-02) (aged 75)

Los Angeles, California, U.S.

Occupation| Actress
Years active| 1964–2011
Spouses|

Mark Goddard

(m. 1970; div. 1978)​

Sherwood Ball

(m. 1982; div. 1988)​

Children| 2

Susan Florence Anspach (ONS-bok ; November 23, 1942 – April 2, 2018)[1] was an American stage, film and television actress who had roles in films during the 1970s and 1980s such as Five Easy Pieces (1970), Play It Again, Sam (1972), Blume in Love (1973), Montenegro (1981), Blue Monkey (1987), and Blood Red (1989).

## Early life

[edit]

Anspach was born and raised in Queens, New York City. Her mother was Gertrude (née Kehoe), a secretary and former singer of Scottish and Irish ancestry. Her father was Renald Anspach, a World War II Army veteran and later factory worker, who was of German-Jewish and English descent.[2] The couple met at the 1939 New York World's Fair. Anspach's grandfather had disapproved of the marriage and disowned his son.[3][4] Anspach was raised by her great-aunt until Anspach was six, when her aunt died. She went back to live with her parents in what grew to be an abusive home; she ran away at age 15. With the help of a Roman Catholic organization, she moved in with a family in Harlem.[4]

Anspach graduated from William Cullen Bryant High School in Long Island City in 1960.[5] She received a full scholarship to the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. She studied music and drama. Anspach made her professional debut in Thornton Wilder's one-act play Pullman Car Hiawatha at a summer theater in Maryland.[4][5] After college, she moved back to New York City.[1]

## Career

[edit]

Anspach starred in several Broadway and off-Broadway shows, including as Sheila, the female lead in the musical Hair. The production ran for 45 performances at the Cheetah Theatre. She was in a play with Al Pacino while at the Actors Studio.[4] She starred off-Broadway in 1965 in A View from the Bridge with Robert Duvall, Jon Voight, and Dustin Hoffman.[6]

Anspach first came to prominence in the 1970 film Five Easy Pieces, directed by Bob Rafelson and starring Jack Nicholson. Vincent Canby of The New York Times called her "one of America's most charming and talented actresses".[7] She followed this with a supporting role in Woody Allen's Play It Again, Sam (1972) and a more prominent role in Paul Mazursky's romantic comedy Blume in Love (1973), alongside George Segal and Kris Kristofferson.

Anspach originally was cast in the role of country singer Barbara Jean in the 1975 film Nashville, but her salary request exceeded the ensemble film's budget; she was replaced by Ronee Blakley.[8]

In her film career, Anspach starred in 19 features and eight television movies and also was featured in two series, The Yellow Rose and The Slap Maxwell Story (with Dabney Coleman). She guest-starred in the NBC romantic anthology series Love Story in 1973, in the episode "All My Tomorrows".[9]

## Personal life

[edit]

Anspach was raised in the Catholic faith of her mother. She said that the church and her psychoanalyst were her "parents" for close to 10 years of her youth.[10]

Anspach had a daughter, Catherine Curry (born October 15, 1968) with fellow Hair cast member Steve Curry.[11] She had a son, Caleb Goddard (born September 26, 1970), who she claimed was fathered by actor Jack Nicholson.[5] She married actor Mark Goddard in June 1970 and divorced him in October 1978. Goddard adopted both children.

Anspach married musician Sherwood Ball (son of musician-entrepreneur Ernie Ball) in 1982 and divorced him in 1988.[12][13]

### Activism

[edit]

Anspach marched with United Farm Workers head Cesar Chavez. She protested against the racist apartheid system of South Africa. Anspach also advocated for human rights in Central America.[14]

### Death

[edit]

Anspach died from heart failure on April 2, 2018, aged 75, in her Los Angeles home.[4]

## Filmography

[edit]

### Film

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes  | Ref.

|
|
|
|

1970  | The Landlord | Susan Enders  | Directed by Hal Ashby |
Five Easy Pieces | Catherine Van Oost  | Directed, produced, and story by Bob Rafelson |
1972  | Play It Again, Sam | Nancy  |

* Directed by Herbert Ross
* Based on the play of the same name by Woody Allen and the screenplay by Allen

1973  | Blume in Love | Nina Blume  | Directed, written, and produced by Paul Mazursky |
1978  | The Big Fix | Lila  |

* Comedy–drama film directed by Jeremy Kagan
* Based on the novel of the same name by Roger L. Simon and screenplay by Simon.

| [15][16]
1979  | Running | Janet  | Sports drama film directed by Steven Hilliard Stern |
1981  | The Devil and Max Devlin | Penny Hart  | Fantasy–comedy film directed by Steven Hilliard Stern |
Gas | Jane Beardsley  | Canadian comedy film directed by Les Rose  |
Montenegro | Marilyn Jordan  |

* Swedish black comedy film by Serbian director Dušan Makavejev
* Also known as Montenegro – Or Pigs and Pearls

1984  | Misunderstood | Lily  |

* Drama film directed by Jerry Schatzberg
* Based on the 1869 novel Misunderstood by Florence Montgomery
* Previously been adapted as the 1966 Italian film Incompreso

| [17][18]
1987  | Blue Monkey | Dr. Judith Glass  | Horror film directed by William Fruet |
Heaven and Earth | Karen McKeon  |  |
1988  | Into the Fire | Rosalind Winfield  | Thriller film directed by Graeme Campbell |
1989  | The Rutanga Tapes | Kate Simpson  |  |
Blood Red | Widow  | Drama film directed by Peter Masterson |
Back to Back | Madeline Hix  |  |
2009  | Wild About Harry | Martha  | Drama film directed by Gwen Wynne and co-written by Wynne & Mary Beth Fielder |
2011  | Inversion | Edna Boswell  | (final film role)  |

### Television

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes  | Ref.

|
|
|
|

1964  | The Nurses | Harriet Ravensel  |

* Episode: "So Some Girls Play the Cello" (S 3:Ep 10)
* Also known as The Doctors and the Nurses

1965  | The Patty Duke Show | Susan  | Episode: "Will the Real Sammy Davis Please Hang Up?" (S 2:Ep 25)  |
The Defenders | Jackie Dowling  | Episode: "A Matter of Law and Disorder" (S 4:Ep 26)  |
The Patty Duke Show | Susan  | Episode: "Cathy, the Rebel" (S 2:Ep 31)  |
The Nurses | Leora  |

* Episode: "The Heroine" (S 3:Ep 29)
* Also known as The Doctors and the Nurses

1966  | The Journey of the Fifth Horse | Miss Gruboy / Elizaveta  | Made-for-TV-Movie directed by Larry Arrick and Earl Dawson  |
1969  | Judd, for the Defense | Nan Dawes  | Episode: "Runaway" (S 2:Ep 23)  |
1973  | Love Story | Lee McKinley  | Episode: "All My Tomorrows" (S 1:Ep 2)  |
1975  | For the Use of the Hall | Terry  | Made-for-TV-Movie directed by Lee Grant |
1976  | McMillan & Wife | Lt. Kit Boone  | Episode: "Point of Law" (S 5:Ep 7)  |
I Want to Keep My Baby! | Donna Jo Martelli  | Made-for-TV-Movie directed by Jerry Thorpe |
The Secret Life of John Chapman | Wilma  |

* Made-for-TV-Movie directed by David Lowell Rich
* Based on Appleseed: The Life and Legacy of John Chapman by John R. Coleman

| [19]
1977  | Rosetti and Ryan | Beverly Dresden  | Episode: "Men Who Love Women" (Pilot)  | [20]
Mad Bull | Christina Sebastiani  | Made-for-TV-Movie directed by Walter Doniger and Len Steckler |
1979  | The Last Giraffe | Betty Leslie-Melville |

* Made-for-TV-Movie directed by Jack Couffer
* Based on Raising Daisy Rothschild by Leslie-Melville

| [21]
1980  | Portrait of an Escort | Jordan West  | Made-for-TV-Movie directed by Steven Hilliard Stern |
1982  | The First Time | Lucy Dillon  | Made-for-TV-Movie directed by Noel Nosseck |
1982  | Deadly Encounter | Chris Butler  | Made-for-TV-Movie directed by William A. Graham |
1983  | The Yellow Rose | Grace McKenzie  | 9 episodes (regular cast, one season)
1984  | Gone Are the Dayes | Phyllis Daye  | Made-for-TV-Movie directed by Gabrielle Beaumont |
1986  | The Hitchhiker | Claudia Reynolds  | Episode: "Dead Man's Curve" (S 3:Ep 8)
1989  | Murder, She Wrote | Lois Fricksey  | Episode: "Dead Letter" (S 6:Ep 6)  |
2002  | Dancing at the Harvest Moon | Julia  | Made-for-TV-Movie directed Bobby Roth |

## References

[edit]

### Citations

[edit]

1. ^ a b Haring, Bruce (April 5, 2018). "Susan Anspach Dies: 'Five Easy Pieces' & 'Play It Again, Sam' Actress Was 75". Deadline Hollywood. Los Angeles, California: Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
2. ^ "Susan Anspach obituary".
3. ^ Windeler, Robert (November 20, 1978). "It's Easier to Pull a Rabbit Than a Career Out of a Hat—Unless You're Susan Anspach". People. New York City: Time Inc. Retrieved July 22, 2014.
4. ^ a b c d e Gates, Anita (April 5, 2018). "Susan Anspach, 75, Dies; Daring Actress in Maverick Films". The New York Times. New York City.
5. ^ a b c Brockington, Ariana (April 5, 2018). "Susan Anspach, 'Five Easy Pieces' and 'Blume in Love' Actress, Dies at 75". Variety. Los Angeles, California: Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
6. ^ Bergan, Ronald (April 11, 2018). "Susan Anspach obituary, Actor who starred in 'Five Easy Pieces' and 'Play It Again, Sam'". The Guardian. Kings Place, London. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
7. ^ Canby, Vincent (November 8, 1981). "Makavejev'S 'Montenegro,' Set In Sweden". The New York Times. New York City. Retrieved January 5, 2017.
8. ^ Robert Altman in his DVD commentary to Nashville, Paramount DVD, 2000 release
9. ^ "Love Story". TV.com. New York City: CBS Interactive. Retrieved February 24, 2016.
10. ^ "Susan Anspach obituary: ethereal star of New Hollywood". BFI National Archive. London, England: British Film Institute.
11. ^ "Steve Curry obituary". The New York Times. New York City. October 6, 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
12. ^ Sherwood Ball. stormalliancemedia.com.
13. ^ Barnes, Mike (April 5, 2018). "Susan Anspach, Actress in 'Five Easy Pieces' and 'Blume in Love,' Dies at 75". The Hollywood Reporter. Los Angeles, California: Billboard-Hollywood Reporter Media Group (Valence Media). Archived from the original on May 11, 2022. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
14. ^ "Susan Anspach, who starred in 'Five Easy Pieces' and 'Blume in Love,' dead at 75". USA Today. McLean, Virginia: Gannett Corporation. Associated Press. April 9, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
15. ^ Canby, Vincent (November 19, 1978). "The Big Fix Film Review". The New York Times. New York City. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
16. ^ Simon, Roger L. (1973). The Big Fix (1st ed.). San Francisco: Straight Arrow Books. ISBN 978-0879320485.
17. ^ Montgomery, Florence (1869). Misunderstood. New York City: Anson D. F. Randolph & Company. ASIN QBAAAAQAAJ.
18. ^ Zambenedetti 2014, p. 52.
19. ^ Snyder, Susan (September 7, 2016). "John R. Coleman, former Haverford College president and jack of all trades, dies at 95". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia: Philadelphia Media Network. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
20. ^ Terrace 1985, p. 355.
21. ^ Leslie-Melville, Betty (1977). Raising Daisy Rothschild (Hard cover ed.). New York City: Simon & Schuster. ASIN B000RWW0VS.

### Sources

[edit]

* Zambenedetti, Alberto, ed. (2014). World Film Locations: Florence. United Kingdom: Intellect Ltd. p. 52\. ISBN 978-1783203604.
* Terrace, Vincent (1985). Encyclopedia of Television Series, Pilots and Specials. Vol. 2\. New York City: Zoetrope Publishing. p. 355\. ISBN 978-0918432612.

## External links

[edit]

* Susan Anspach at IMDb
* Susan Anspach at the Internet Broadway Database
* Susan Anspach at the University of Wisconsin's Actors Studio audio collection

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* FAST
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany
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* BnF data
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Artists|

* MusicBrainz

Other|

* IdRef

*[m.]: married
*[div.]: divorced
*[Ref.]: Reference