Diana Muldaur
Encyclopedia
Diana Muldaur is an Emmy-nominated American film and television actress.
, but raised on Martha's Vineyard
, Massachusetts
, Muldaur started acting in high school and continued on through college, graduating from Sweet Briar College
in Virginia
in 1960. She studied acting under Stella Adler
and made her name on the New York
stage. She was at one point a board member of the Screen Actors Guild
and was the first woman to serve as president of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (1983–1985).
Muldaur's television roles include L.A. Law
s Rosalind Shays, and Dr. Katherine Pulaski
in the second season of Star Trek: The Next Generation
. She also appeared in the Original Star Trek as Science Officer Dr. Ann Mulhall in "Return to Tomorrow" and as Dr. Miranda Jones in "Is There In Truth No Beauty?". She provided the voice of Dr. Leslie Thompkins
in Batman: The Animated Series
. She starred in movies such as The Other, One More Train to Rob, McQ
and The Lawyer.
Muldaur worked with future co-star Richard Dysart
at New York's Circle in the Square in the mid-1960s. She guest starred on the Gunsmoke
episode, "Fandango" (1967), with James Arness
. An excerpt of that episode's dialogue was sampled on the Pink Floyd
album The Wall
, after "Hey You" and before the brief song "Is there anybody out there?
"
In 1979, she starred on the made-for-television film version on NBC
of The Miracle Worker
in which she played the role of Katie Keller, the mother of the Helen Keller
in which she played opposite Melissa Gilbert
, Charles Siebert
, and Patty Duke Astin
.
Muldaur was a guest star in the episodes "Return to Tomorrow
" and "Is There in Truth No Beauty?
" of Gene Roddenberry
's original Star Trek
. She also had a recurring role on the McCloud television series, and she played the part of conservationist Joy Adamson
in the short-lived television drama Born Free
about Elsa the Lioness
. In 1968 she appeared as a friendly alien in The Invaders
episode "The Peacemaker". In the second season of the television series Kung Fu
in 1973, opposite David Carradine
, she guest-starred in the episode titled "The Elixir" playing a travelling show-woman who yearned for freedom from men — topical at the time — and starred in the pilot episode of Charlie's Angels. She also appeared on The Tony Randall Show
and guest-starred on The Incredible Hulk, playing the part of Helen Banner, David Banner's sister, in the third season episode, "Homecoming". She played a nun in the fifth season episode "Sanctuary". She played Dr. Alice Foley in the television drama A Year in the Life
with Sarah Jessica Parker
and praised the show as an example of how television was becoming more realistic about women.
In 1991, she played Lauren Geoffries, the main guest-star client of Perry Mason and lifelong friend of Della Reese in the NBC
television movie Perry Mason and the Case of the Fatal Fashion. Valerie Harper
, Scott Baio
and Ally Walker
also appeared.
, producers chose her to replace Gates McFadden
, who had played the role of Chief Medical Officer Dr. Crusher
in the first season; unlike Dr. Crusher, Dr. Pulaski does not share a romantic interest with Captain Picard
(Patrick Stewart
). "We needed someone with a little more of an edge", Rick Berman
explained of the choice. "Kate's a strong, confident woman with a crusty edge who can hold her own with Captain Picard. Their relationship is not all that unlike the one between Kirk
and McCoy
... although from the onset we had no intention of trying to duplicate the original team."
Muldaur said after her casting:
Muldaur had experience working alongside DeForest Kelley
, who played Dr. McCoy, when she guest-starred in the original Star Trek series, playing Dr. Ann Mulhall in the episode "Return to Tomorrow."
Of Pulaski's willingness to stand up to the captain, Muldaur said:
Some television critics praised Muldaur's performance, with one noting her "wry, no-nonsense warmth that plays nicely off of some of the icier regulars". The addition of Muldaur, along with Whoopi Goldberg
, also served to redress the absence of women from the principal cast, as the departure of McFadden and Denise Crosby
had left only Marina Sirtis
, a rapid attrition of women that recalled the imbalance of the original Star Trek series.
Ultimately, however, Muldaur found working on the syndicated show an "unhappy" experience, saying, "The imagination and joy wasn't there." "Everybody was out for themselves. I don't think they were happy to have me there." "It wasn't what I hoped it would be. I thought it would be wonderfully inventive and wonderfully creative, and I found it was not any of those things. But it did give me Trekkies
. I love Trekkies. I find them very dear."
The "crusty" character also proved very unpopular with fans, who among other things found her treatment of the lovable android Data to be mean spirited. Muldaur left the series after only one season. Show representatives denied that she had been fired, saying, "Technically, she's just not returning", while other sources said that her option had not been renewed. Roddenberry described Muldaur as "a most talented actress", and said that the decision "to let her go was made solely because the hoped-for chemistry between her and the rest of the starship cast did not develop." Berman added, "The thought of bringing Gates back was a good idea to us. The feeling was that we had perhaps made a mistake, and the best way to remedy it was to bring her back." The "revolving door" and the limited opportunities for female crew led critics to suggest that the mostly-male series still had a problem featuring women.
nominations for her role as pushy and power-hungry lawyer
Rosalind Shays on L.A. Law
. Of Roz's creation, Muldaur said:
In one episode Jill Eikenberry
's character Ann Kelsey tells Shays: "If you were a man, you'd be applauded for your achievements." Muldaur insisted her character "was just too strong for a lot of men".
Muldaur described the L.A. Law actors as "the closest family", and said she was "thrilled" to play a villain like Shays after portraying "everybody's mistress for 20 years", and expressed fascination with the public reception for Shays:
The scene where Roz and Leland are discovered in bed was ranked as the 38th greatest moment in television in an issue of EGG magazine. Equally spectacular was Roz's fatal exit from the show, falling down an elevator
shaft. Muldaur joked: "I was as shocked as everybody else. I thought maybe I had asked for too much money!"
After L.A. Law, Muldaur retired from show business
. At one point she contemplated a face-lift, noting in 2000 at the age of 61, "You don't see many people my age on television", but eventually decided against it, remarking, "Somebody has to look the right age." Her stated ambition is "to play all the great women's roles... I'd love to play Lady Macbeth
."
(Season 1/Episode 18, , Air Date 03/10/1985)
and the aunt of singer/songwriter Jenni Muldaur
and singer/songwriter Clare Muldaur-Manchon
. She lived in Los Angeles
from 1970 to 1991.
Muldaur was married to actor James Vickery until his death from cancer
in 1979. Muldaur has been married to writer-producer Robert Dozier since 1981. The couple divided their time between Los Angeles and Bear Valley, California
, in the High Sierra
, north of Yosemite, until Muldaur retired in 1991, after Dozier was diagnosed with cancer. He underwent radiation and beat back a recurrence in 1997. Since 1991 the couple has lived in Martha's Vineyard
. Muldaur admitted, "I totally stopped acting and started living." They spend their spare time renovating, golfing, and skiing
.
She has no children.
Career
Born in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, but raised on Martha's Vineyard
Martha's Vineyard
Martha's Vineyard is an island located south of Cape Cod in Massachusetts, known for being an affluent summer colony....
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, Muldaur started acting in high school and continued on through college, graduating from Sweet Briar College
Sweet Briar College
Sweet Briar College is a liberal arts women's college in Sweet Briar, Virginia, about north of Lynchburg, Virginia. The school's Latin motto translates as: "She who has earned the rose may bear it."...
in Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
in 1960. She studied acting under Stella Adler
Stella Adler
Stella Adler was an American actress and an acclaimed acting teacher, who founded the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York City and the The Stella Adler Academy of Acting in Los Angeles with long-time protege Joanne Linville, who continues to teach and furthers Adler's legacy...
and made her name on the New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
stage. She was at one point a board member of the Screen Actors Guild
Screen Actors Guild
The Screen Actors Guild is an American labor union representing over 200,000 film and television principal performers and background performers worldwide...
and was the first woman to serve as president of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (1983–1985).
Muldaur's television roles include L.A. Law
L.A. Law
L.A. Law is a US television legal drama that ran on NBC from September 15, 1986 to May 19, 1994. L.A. Law reflected the social and cultural ideologies of the 1980s and early 1990s and many of the cases featured on the show dealt with hot topic issues such as abortion, racism, gay rights,...
s Rosalind Shays, and Dr. Katherine Pulaski
Katherine Pulaski
Commander Katherine Pulaski, MD; played by Diana Muldaur, is the replacement chief medical officer for Dr. Beverly Crusher during the second season of the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation.-Overview:...
in the second season of Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
. She also appeared in the Original Star Trek as Science Officer Dr. Ann Mulhall in "Return to Tomorrow" and as Dr. Miranda Jones in "Is There In Truth No Beauty?". She provided the voice of Dr. Leslie Thompkins
Leslie Thompkins
Dr. Leslie Thompkins is a fictional character from the Batman mythos. Created by writer Dennis O'Neil and artist Dick Giordano, she first appeared in Detective Comics #457...
in Batman: The Animated Series
Batman: The Animated Series
Batman: The Animated Series is an American animated series based on the DC Comics character Batman. The series featured an ensemble cast of many voice-actors including Kevin Conroy, Mark Hamill, Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Arleen Sorkin, and Loren Lester. The series won four Emmy Awards and was nominated...
. She starred in movies such as The Other, One More Train to Rob, McQ
McQ
McQ is a 1974 crime drama starring John Wayne, Eddie Albert, Diana Muldaur, and Colleen Dewhurst. The film made extensive use of actual Seattle locations. The beach scenes were filmed on the Pacific coast at Moclips.The film features a young Roger E...
and The Lawyer.
Muldaur worked with future co-star Richard Dysart
Richard Dysart
Richard A. Dysart is an American actor, perhaps best known for his role as Leland McKenzie on the NBC legal drama L.A. Law....
at New York's Circle in the Square in the mid-1960s. She guest starred on the Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West....
episode, "Fandango" (1967), with James Arness
James Arness
James King Arness was an American actor, best known for portraying Marshal Matt Dillon in the television series Gunsmoke for 20 years...
. An excerpt of that episode's dialogue was sampled on the Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
album The Wall
The Wall
The Wall is the eleventh studio album by English progressive rock group Pink Floyd. Released as a double album on 30 November 1979, it was subsequently performed live with elaborate theatrical effects, and adapted into a feature film, Pink Floyd—The Wall.As with the band's previous three...
, after "Hey You" and before the brief song "Is there anybody out there?
Is There Anybody Out There?
"Is There Anybody Out There?" is a largely instrumental song from the Pink Floyd album, The Wall.-Overview:The first half of the piece has the same concept of "Hey You", being a distress call from Pink. The second half is instrumental. An interesting part of the song is the classical guitar solo,...
"
In 1979, she starred on the made-for-television film version on 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...
of The Miracle Worker
The Miracle Worker
The Miracle Worker is a cycle of 20th century dramatic works derived from Helen Keller's autobiography The Story of My Life. Each of the various dramas describes the relationship between Keller—a deafblind and initially almost feral child—and Anne Sullivan, the teacher who introduced her to...
in which she played the role of Katie Keller, the mother of the Helen Keller
Helen Keller
Helen Adams Keller was an American author, political activist, and lecturer. She was the first deafblind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree....
in which she played opposite Melissa Gilbert
Melissa Gilbert
Melissa Ellen Gilbert is an American actress, writer, and producer, primarily in movies and television. Gilbert is best known as a child actress who co-starred as Charles Ingalls's second daughter, Laura Ingalls Wilder, on the dramatic television series Little House on the Prairie...
, Charles Siebert
Charles Siebert
Charles Siebert is an American actor and television director. As an actor he is best known for his role as Dr. Stanley Riverside II on Trapper John, M.D. which he portrayed from 1979-1986...
, and Patty Duke Astin
Patty Duke
Anna Marie "Patty" Duke is an American actress of stage, film, and television. First becoming famous as a child star, winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress at age 16, and later starring in her eponymous sitcom for three years, she progressed to more mature roles upon playing Neely...
.
Muldaur was a guest star in the episodes "Return to Tomorrow
Return to Tomorrow (TOS episode)
"Return to Tomorrow" is a second season episode of Star Trek: The Original Series, first broadcast February 9, 1968 and repeated August 2, 1968. It is episode #49, production #51, written by John T...
" and "Is There in Truth No Beauty?
Is There in Truth No Beauty? (TOS episode)
"Is There in Truth No Beauty?" is a third season episode of Star Trek: The Original Series, first broadcast October 18, 1968. It is episode #60, production #62, written by Jean Lisette Aroeste, and directed by Ralph Senensky....
" of Gene Roddenberry
Gene Roddenberry
Eugene Wesley "Gene" Roddenberry was an American television screenwriter, producer and futurist, best known for creating the American science fiction series Star Trek. Born in El Paso, Texas, Roddenberry grew up in Los Angeles, California where his father worked as a police officer...
's original Star Trek
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
. She also had a recurring role on the McCloud television series, and she played the part of conservationist Joy Adamson
Joy Adamson
Joy Adamson was a naturalist, artist, and author best known for her book, Born Free, which describes her experiences raising a lion cub named Elsa...
in the short-lived television drama Born Free
Born Free (TV series)
Born Free was a short-lived drama based on the 1966 movie of the same name. It aired on the NBC television network from September 9 to December 30, 1974 produced by Columbia Pictures Television....
about Elsa the Lioness
Elsa the lioness
Elsa the lioness was raised by game warden George Adamson and his wife Joy Adamson in Kenya. Elsa and her two sisters, 'Big One' and 'Lustica', first came under the care of the Adamsons when only a few weeks old. They had become orphaned when George was reluctantly forced to kill their mother...
. In 1968 she appeared as a friendly alien in The Invaders
The Invaders
The Invaders, a Quinn Martin Production , is an ABC science fiction television program created by Larry Cohen that ran in the United States for two seasons, from January 10, 1967 to March 26, 1968...
episode "The Peacemaker". In the second season of the television series Kung Fu
Kung Fu (TV series)
Kung Fu is an American television series that starred David Carradine. It was created by Ed Spielman, directed and produced by Jerry Thorpe, and developed by Herman Miller, who was also a writer for, and co-producer of, the series...
in 1973, opposite David Carradine
David Carradine
David Carradine was an American actor and martial artist, best known for his role as a warrior monk, Kwai Chang Caine, in the 1970s television series, Kung Fu, which later had a 1990s sequel series, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues...
, she guest-starred in the episode titled "The Elixir" playing a travelling show-woman who yearned for freedom from men — topical at the time — and starred in the pilot episode of Charlie's Angels. She also appeared on The Tony Randall Show
The Tony Randall Show
The Tony Randall Show is an American television sitcom that debuted on September 23, 1976 and aired on ABC during its first season and on CBS for its second and final season.-Synopsis:...
and guest-starred on The Incredible Hulk, playing the part of Helen Banner, David Banner's sister, in the third season episode, "Homecoming". She played a nun in the fifth season episode "Sanctuary". She played Dr. Alice Foley in the television drama A Year in the Life
A Year in the Life
A Year in the Life was a 1986 Emmy Award–winning miniseries and a one hour dramatic series which ran on NBC during the 1987–1988 television season, created by Joshua Brand and John Falsey A Year in the Life was a 1986 Emmy Award–winning miniseries and a one hour dramatic series which ran on NBC...
with Sarah Jessica Parker
Sarah Jessica Parker
Sarah Jessica Parker is an American film, television, and theater actress and producer.She is best known for her leading role as Carrie Bradshaw on the HBO television series Sex and the City , for which she won four Golden Globe Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and two Emmy Awards...
and praised the show as an example of how television was becoming more realistic about women.
In 1991, she played Lauren Geoffries, the main guest-star client of Perry Mason and lifelong friend of Della Reese in 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...
television movie Perry Mason and the Case of the Fatal Fashion. Valerie Harper
Valerie Harper
Valerie Harper is an American actress, known for her role as Rhoda Morgenstern on the 1970s television show The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and for her starring roles on the sitcoms Rhoda and Valerie.-Early life and career:Harper was born at the Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern, Rockland County,...
, Scott Baio
Scott Baio
Scott Vincent James Baio is an American actor and television director, best known for his roles as Chachi Arcola on the sitcom Happy Days and its spin-off, Joanie Loves Chachi, and as the title character on the sitcom Charles in Charge....
and Ally Walker
Ally Walker
Allene Damian "Ally" Walker is an American actress, producer, director and screenwriter.She is best known for her roles as Doctor Samantha Waters on the NBC crime drama series Profiler , as Agent June Stahl on the FX drama series Sons of Anarchy and as Gloria Shepherd in the Lifetime drama...
also appeared.
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Muldaur was noted for playing "dignified, sophisticated characters". Consequently, for the second season of Star Trek: The Next GenerationStar Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
, producers chose her to replace Gates McFadden
Gates McFadden
Cheryl Gates McFadden usually credited as Gates McFadden, is an American actress and choreographer. She is best known for portraying the character of Dr...
, who had played the role of Chief Medical Officer Dr. Crusher
Beverly Crusher
Commander Beverly Crusher, M.D. , played by actress Gates McFadden, is a fictional character on the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and its subsequent spinoff films...
in the first season; unlike Dr. Crusher, Dr. Pulaski does not share a romantic interest with Captain Picard
Jean-Luc Picard
Captain Jean-Luc Picard is a Star Trek character portrayed by Patrick Stewart. He appears in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation and the feature films Star Trek Generations, Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: Insurrection, and Star Trek Nemesis...
(Patrick Stewart
Patrick Stewart
Sir Patrick Hewes Stewart, OBE is an English film, television and stage actor, who has had a distinguished career in theatre and television for around half a century...
). "We needed someone with a little more of an edge", Rick Berman
Rick Berman
Richard Keith “Rick” Berman is an American television producer. He is most famous for his work as the executive producer of several of the Star Trek series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Star Trek: Voyager; and, several of the Star Trek theatrical productions, and...
explained of the choice. "Kate's a strong, confident woman with a crusty edge who can hold her own with Captain Picard. Their relationship is not all that unlike the one between Kirk
James T. Kirk
James Tiberius "Jim" Kirk is a character in the Star Trek media franchise. Kirk was first played by William Shatner as the principal lead character in the original Star Trek series. Shatner voiced Kirk in the animated Star Trek series and appeared in the first seven Star Trek movies...
and McCoy
Leonard McCoy
Leonard "Bones" McCoy is a character in the Star Trek media franchise. First portrayed by DeForest Kelley in the original Star Trek series, McCoy also appears in the animated Star Trek series, seven Star Trek movies, the pilot episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and in numerous books,...
... although from the onset we had no intention of trying to duplicate the original team."
Muldaur said after her casting:
Muldaur had experience working alongside DeForest Kelley
DeForest Kelley
Jackson DeForest Kelley was an American actor known for his iconic roles in Westerns and as Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy of the USS Enterprise in the television and film series Star Trek.-Early life:...
, who played Dr. McCoy, when she guest-starred in the original Star Trek series, playing Dr. Ann Mulhall in the episode "Return to Tomorrow."
Of Pulaski's willingness to stand up to the captain, Muldaur said:
Some television critics praised Muldaur's performance, with one noting her "wry, no-nonsense warmth that plays nicely off of some of the icier regulars". The addition of Muldaur, along with Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg is an American comedian, actress, singer-songwriter, political activist, author and talk show host.Goldberg made her film debut in The Color Purple playing Celie, a mistreated black woman in the Deep South. She received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress and won...
, also served to redress the absence of women from the principal cast, as the departure of McFadden and Denise Crosby
Denise Crosby
Denise Michelle Crosby is an American actress best known for portraying Security Chief Tasha Yar on Star Trek: The Next Generation...
had left only Marina Sirtis
Marina Sirtis
Marina Sirtis is a British-American actress of Greek descent. She played the role of the human/Betazoid Commander Deanna Troi, ship's counselor, on the television and film series Star Trek: The Next Generation.-Life:...
, a rapid attrition of women that recalled the imbalance of the original Star Trek series.
Ultimately, however, Muldaur found working on the syndicated show an "unhappy" experience, saying, "The imagination and joy wasn't there." "Everybody was out for themselves. I don't think they were happy to have me there." "It wasn't what I hoped it would be. I thought it would be wonderfully inventive and wonderfully creative, and I found it was not any of those things. But it did give me Trekkies
Trekkies
Trekkies is a 1997 documentary film directed by Roger Nygard about the devoted fans of Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek franchise. Starring Denise Crosby , the movie contains interviews with Star Trek devotees, more commonly known as Trekkies...
. I love Trekkies. I find them very dear."
The "crusty" character also proved very unpopular with fans, who among other things found her treatment of the lovable android Data to be mean spirited. Muldaur left the series after only one season. Show representatives denied that she had been fired, saying, "Technically, she's just not returning", while other sources said that her option had not been renewed. Roddenberry described Muldaur as "a most talented actress", and said that the decision "to let her go was made solely because the hoped-for chemistry between her and the rest of the starship cast did not develop." Berman added, "The thought of bringing Gates back was a good idea to us. The feeling was that we had perhaps made a mistake, and the best way to remedy it was to bring her back." The "revolving door" and the limited opportunities for female crew led critics to suggest that the mostly-male series still had a problem featuring women.
L.A. Law
Muldaur subsequently earned two EmmyEmmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
nominations for her role as pushy and power-hungry lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
Rosalind Shays on L.A. Law
L.A. Law
L.A. Law is a US television legal drama that ran on NBC from September 15, 1986 to May 19, 1994. L.A. Law reflected the social and cultural ideologies of the 1980s and early 1990s and many of the cases featured on the show dealt with hot topic issues such as abortion, racism, gay rights,...
. Of Roz's creation, Muldaur said:
In one episode Jill Eikenberry
Jill Eikenberry
Jill Eikenberry is an American film, stage, and television actress. She is best known for her role as lawyer Ann Kelsey in L.A. Law...
's character Ann Kelsey tells Shays: "If you were a man, you'd be applauded for your achievements." Muldaur insisted her character "was just too strong for a lot of men".
Muldaur described the L.A. Law actors as "the closest family", and said she was "thrilled" to play a villain like Shays after portraying "everybody's mistress for 20 years", and expressed fascination with the public reception for Shays:
The scene where Roz and Leland are discovered in bed was ranked as the 38th greatest moment in television in an issue of EGG magazine. Equally spectacular was Roz's fatal exit from the show, falling down an elevator
Elevator
An elevator is a type of vertical transport equipment that efficiently moves people or goods between floors of a building, vessel or other structures...
shaft. Muldaur joked: "I was as shocked as everybody else. I thought maybe I had asked for too much money!"
After L.A. Law, Muldaur retired from show business
Show business
Show business, sometimes shortened to show biz, is a vernacular term for all aspects of entertainment. The word applies to all aspects of the entertainment industry from the business side to the creative element ....
. At one point she contemplated a face-lift, noting in 2000 at the age of 61, "You don't see many people my age on television", but eventually decided against it, remarking, "Somebody has to look the right age." Her stated ambition is "to play all the great women's roles... I'd love to play Lady Macbeth
Lady Macbeth
Lady Macbeth may refer to:*Lady Macbeth, from William Shakespeare's play Macbeth**Queen Gruoch of Scotland, the real-life Queen on whom Shakespeare based the character...
."
Murder, She Wrote
Diana Muldaur was a guest star on Murder, She WroteMurder, She Wrote
Murder, She Wrote is an American television mystery series starring Angela Lansbury as mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher. The series aired for 12 seasons from 1984 to 1996 on the CBS network, with 264 episodes transmitted. It was followed by four TV films and a spin-off series,...
(Season 1/Episode 18, , Air Date 03/10/1985)
Personal life
Muldaur is a 1960 graduate of Sweet Briar College, a small private women's school in central Virginia. Muldaur is the older sister of singer/songwriter Geoff MuldaurGeoff Muldaur
Geoff Muldaur is an American founding member of the Jim Kweskin Jug Band of Cambridge, Massachusetts; a member of Paul Butterfield's Better Days; and an accomplished solo guitarist, singer, and songwriter....
and the aunt of singer/songwriter Jenni Muldaur
Jenni Muldaur
Jenni Muldaur Jenni Muldaur Jenni Muldaur (born March 29, 1965, Boston, Massachusetts is an American blues and folk-rock singer-songwriter. She is the daughter of recording artists Geoff and Maria Muldaur, sister of Clare Muldaur and niece of actress Diana Muldaur...
and singer/songwriter Clare Muldaur-Manchon
Clare & the Reasons
Clare and the Reasons are a Brooklyn based band, fronted by collaborators Clare Manchon and Olivier Manchon. Their debut LP, The Movie, which included contributions from Van Dyke Parks and Sufjan Stevens, was released to much acclaim. They released their second album, Arrow, on Frog Stand Records...
. She lived in Los Angeles
Los 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...
from 1970 to 1991.
Muldaur was married to actor James Vickery until his death from cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
in 1979. Muldaur has been married to writer-producer Robert Dozier since 1981. The couple divided their time between Los Angeles and Bear Valley, California
Bear Valley, California
Bear Valley is a census-designated place in Alpine County, California. The population was 121 at the 2010 census, down from 133 at the 2000 census. The town is accessible by State Route 4. Bear Valley is within the Stanislaus National Forest...
, in the High Sierra
High Sierra
High Sierra is an early heist film and film noir written by W.R. Burnett and John Huston from the novel by Burnett. The movie features Ida Lupino and Humphrey Bogart and was directed by Raoul Walsh on location at Whitney Portal, halfway up Mount Whitney.The screenplay was co-written by Bogart's...
, north of Yosemite, until Muldaur retired in 1991, after Dozier was diagnosed with cancer. He underwent radiation and beat back a recurrence in 1997. Since 1991 the couple has lived in Martha's Vineyard
Martha's Vineyard
Martha's Vineyard is an island located south of Cape Cod in Massachusetts, known for being an affluent summer colony....
. Muldaur admitted, "I totally stopped acting and started living." They spend their spare time renovating, golfing, and skiing
Skiing
Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....
.
She has no children.