Audra Lindley
Encyclopedia
Audra Marie Lindley 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
.
, California
, Lindley was the daughter of show business parents. She got her early start in Hollywood by being a stand-in, which eventually progressed to stunt work. Nothing panned out, and she went to New York in her mid-20s to work in theater. Among her many Broadway
plays were: On Golden Pond, Long Day's Journey into Night
, and Horse Heavens. She took time off to get married and raise five children. Upon resuming her career, she began to make steady appearances on television, including the role of Sue Knowles on the CBS
soap opera
Search for Tomorrow
, and a six-year stint as manipulative "Aunt Liz" Matthews on the NBC
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.
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). (Lindley wore a wig to maintain the character's exaggerated hairstyle.) The character and her husband, Mr. Roper (played by Norman Fell
), were spun off to their own show, The Ropers (1979), which was not a success. Lindley continued to appear steadily on television and in film, such as Revenge of the Stepford Wives
in 1980 and as Fauna, the owner of the "Bear Flag Restaurant," a Monterey, CA brothel
portrayed in the 1982 film Cannery Row
. In 1982, she appeared in the film Best Friends
starring Goldie Hawn
and Burt Reynolds
.
One of her last roles was a character part in the lesbian-themed film Desert Hearts
(1985
). Lindley wanted to reshoot one key scene. The director, Donna Deitch
, replied that they did not have the budget for reshooting. Lindley said that she would buy a portion of the film if Deitch let her do just that one take again. Deitch agreed, and Lindley kept her word. She also appeared in 1989's Troop Beverly Hills as outspoken director of the Wilderness Girls.
Lindley garnered further parts of all sizes 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 CBS
sitcom Cybill
. (She had previously played Shepherd's mother in the 1972 film The Heartbreak Kid
.)
on October 16, 1997, at Cedars Sinai Medical Center with a Cybill script by her hospital bedside.
She was married to and divorced from Dr. Hardy Ulm (1943–1960); they had five children. She later married and divorced James Whitmore
(1972–1979).
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actress, most famous for her role as landlady Helen Roper
Helen Roper
Helen Roper is a character on the situation comedy series, Three's Company and its later spin-off series The Ropers. In both shows, she is played by Audra Lindley....
on the sitcom Three's Company
Three's Company
Three's Company is an American sitcom that aired from March 15, 1977, to September 18, 1984, on ABC. It is based on the British sitcom, Man About the House....
and its spin-off, The Ropers
The Ropers
The Ropers is an American sitcom that ran from March 13, 1979 to May 22, 1980 on ABC. The series is a spinoff of Three's Company and based on the British sitcom George and Mildred...
.
Career
Born in Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, Lindley was the daughter of show business parents. She got her early start in Hollywood by being a stand-in, which eventually progressed to stunt work. Nothing panned out, and she went to New York in her mid-20s to work in theater. Among her many Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
plays were: On Golden Pond, Long Day's Journey into Night
Long Day's Journey Into Night
Long Day's Journey Into Night is a 1956 drama in four acts written by American playwright Eugene O'Neill. The play is widely considered to be his masterwork...
, and Horse Heavens. She took time off to get married and raise five children. Upon resuming her career, she began to make steady appearances on television, including the role of Sue Knowles on the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Search for Tomorrow
Search for Tomorrow
Search for Tomorrow is an American soap opera which premiered on September 3, 1951 on CBS. The show was moved from CBS to NBC on March 29, 1982. It continued on NBC until the final episode aired on December 26, 1986, a run of thirty-five years. At the time of its final broadcast it was the...
, and a six-year stint as manipulative "Aunt Liz" Matthews on the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
soap opera Another World
Another World (TV series)
Another World is an American television soap opera that ran on NBC from May 4, 1964 to June 25, 1999. It ran for a total of 35 years. It was created by Irna Phillips along with William J...
. She also had regular roles as Meredith Baxter
Meredith Baxter
Meredith Baxter , also known for some years as Meredith Baxter-Birney, is an American actress and producer. She is known for her acting roles including three television series: Family , an ABC television-network drama, Family Ties , an NBC television-network situation comedy, and Dan Vs. , a...
's mother in the sitcom Bridget Loves Bernie
Bridget Loves Bernie
Bridget Loves Bernie is an American television comedy program created by Bernard Slade, the creator of the 1970–74 ABC sitcom, The Partridge Family, based loosely on the premise of the 1920s’ Broadway play and 1940s’ radio show Abie's Irish Rose...
, as well as Lee Grant
Lee Grant
Lee Grant is an American stage, film and television actress, and film director. She was blacklisted for 12 years from film work beginning in the mid-1950s, but worked in the theatre, and would eventually win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Felicia Carp in the...
's best friend in Fay.
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). (Lindley wore a wig to maintain the character's exaggerated hairstyle.) The character and her husband, Mr. Roper (played by Norman Fell
Norman Fell
Norman Fell , born Norman Noah Feld, was an American actor of film and television, most famous for his role as landlord Mr. Roper on the sitcom Three's Company and its spin-off, The Ropers.-Early life:...
), were spun off to their own show, The Ropers (1979), which was not a success. Lindley continued to appear steadily on television and in film, such as Revenge of the Stepford Wives
Revenge of the Stepford Wives
Revenge of the Stepford Wives is a 1980 made-for-television sci-fi/horror film inspired by the Ira Levin novel The Stepford Wives. It was directed by Robert Fuest with a screenplay by David Wiltse. Sharon Gless, Julie Kavner, Don Johnson, Arthur Hill, and Audra Lindley starred in the film...
in 1980 and as Fauna, the owner of the "Bear Flag Restaurant," a Monterey, CA brothel
Brothel
Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...
portrayed in the 1982 film Cannery Row
Cannery Row (film)
Cannery Row is the title of a 1982 film directed by David S. Ward. It stars Nick Nolte and Debra Winger.Like the 1955 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Pipe Dream, the movie is adapted from John Steinbeck's novels Cannery Row and Sweet Thursday and contains many of the same plot elements...
. In 1982, she appeared in the film Best Friends
Best Friends (film)
Best Friends is a 1982 feature film starring Burt Reynolds and Goldie Hawn. It is loosely based on the true story of the relationship between its writers, Barry Levinson and Valerie Curtin. The film is a drama as well as a romantic comedy.-Plot:...
starring Goldie Hawn
Goldie Hawn
Goldie Jeanne Hawn is an American actress, film director, producer, and occasional singer. Hawn is known for her roles in Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, Private Benjamin, Foul Play, Overboard, Bird on a Wire, Death Becomes Her, The First Wives Club, and Cactus Flower, for which she won the 1969...
and Burt Reynolds
Burt Reynolds
Burton Leon "Burt" Reynolds, Jr. is an American actor. Some of his memorable roles include Bo 'Bandit' Darville in Smokey and the Bandit, Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, Bobby "Gator" McCluskey in White Lightning and sequel Gator, Paul Crewe and Coach Nate Scarborough in The Longest Yard and its...
.
One of her last roles was a character part in the lesbian-themed film Desert Hearts
Desert Hearts
Desert Hearts is a 1985 lesbian-themed romantic drama film loosely based on the Jane Rule novel Desert of the Heart. Directed by Donna Deitch, the film stars Helen Shaver and Patricia Charbonneau with a supporting performance by Audra Lindley....
(1985
1985 in film
-Events:* 3 December - Roger Moore steps down from the role of James Bond after twelve years and seven films. He is replaced by Timothy Dalton.* The Academy Award for Best Picture was won by Out Of Africa, while the highest grossing film was Back to the Future.* Bliss wins AFI Award for best Movie...
). Lindley wanted to reshoot one key scene. The director, Donna Deitch
Donna Deitch
Donna Deitch is an American film and television director best known for her 1986 film Desert Hearts. The film was groundbreaking as one of the first releases to depict a lesbian love story in a generally mainstream, albeit art house, vein but with positive and respectful themes...
, replied that they did not have the budget for reshooting. Lindley said that she would buy a portion of the film if Deitch let her do just that one take again. Deitch agreed, and Lindley kept her word. She also appeared in 1989's Troop Beverly Hills as outspoken director of the Wilderness Girls.
Lindley garnered further parts of all sizes in various TV films and series, including playing Phoebe Buffay
Phoebe Buffay
Phoebe Buffay-Hannigan is a fictional character on the U.S. television sitcom Friends , portrayed by Lisa Kudrow...
's grandmother on Friends
Friends
Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
, and her last, a recurring role as Cybill Shepherd
Cybill Shepherd
Cybill Lynne Shepherd is an American actress, singer and former model. Her best known roles include starring as Jacy in The Last Picture Show, as Betsy in Taxi Driver, as Madeleine Spencer in Psych, as Maddie Hayes on Moonlighting, as Cybill Sheridan on Cybill, and as Phyllis Kroll on The L...
's mother on the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
sitcom Cybill
Cybill
Cybill is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre, which aired on CBS from January 2, 1995 to July 13, 1998. Starring Cybill Shepherd, the series revolves around Cybill Sheridan, a twice-divorced single mother of two and struggling actress in her 40s, who has never gotten her show...
. (She had previously played Shepherd's mother in the 1972 film The Heartbreak Kid
The Heartbreak Kid (1972 film)
The Heartbreak Kid is a 1972 dark romantic comedy film directed by Elaine May, written by Neil Simon, and starring Charles Grodin, Jeannie Berlin, and Cybill Shepherd...
.)
Death
Lindley died of leukemiaLeukemia
Leukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...
on October 16, 1997, at Cedars Sinai Medical Center with a Cybill script by her hospital bedside.
She was married to and divorced from Dr. Hardy Ulm (1943–1960); they had five children. She later married and divorced James Whitmore
James Whitmore
James Allen Whitmore, Jr. was an American film and stage actor.-Early life:Born in White Plains, New York, to Florence Belle and James Allen Whitmore, Sr., a park commission official, Whitmore attended Amherst Central High School in Snyder, New York, before graduating from The Choate School in...
(1972–1979).