Susan Blakely
Encyclopedia
Susan Blakely is an American film actress who has mainly played supporting roles.
, Germany
, in 1948. She is the daughter of Weezie, a former art teacher, and Colonel Lawrence Blakely, a career Army
officer. Her first career break came while she was living in El Paso, Texas
, where her father was stationed at Fort Bliss
. Around 1967, a photograph of Blakely posed poolside in a black and white "op art" swimsuit was used by a local TV station, KELP-TV (now KVIA-TV
), on its ID slide that ran during breaks between shows. Her blond "California girl" good looks were exactly what was in demand at the time, and she was easily able to secure sponsorship for a national modeling competition, which she won. The prize was a year's contract with the Ford Modeling Agency in New York. Her first appearance on a cover was for a hairstyle magazine.
In 1982, Blakely married media consultant and legal, medical and crisis management expert Steve Jaffe, a former television producer. They live in Beverly Hills, California
.
in the early 1970s as a highly paid fashion model
and then branched off into acting. Blakely's first major role was as Patty Simmons in the disaster movie The Towering Inferno
. She received recognition for her roles in the 1974 films Report to the Commissioner
and The Lords of Flatbush
, played the role of Iris Crawford in the 1975 gangster biopic Capone
opposite Ben Gazzara
, and then gained wide popularity with her starring role in the 1976 television miniseries
Rich Man, Poor Man
for which she won that year's Golden Globe Award for Best Actress and an Emmy
nomination from the television academy. She also portrayed a reporter named Maggie Whelan in the 1979 film The Concorde ... Airport '79 which flopped at the box office
and was derided by many critics. In 1981, she portrayed Eva Braun
opposite Anthony Hopkins
(who played Adolf Hitler
) in the television movie The Bunker
. Between 1989 to 1994, she portrayed various characters on mystery drama Murder, She Wrote
.
She portrayed Frances Farmer
in the 1982 television film based on Farmer's autobiography, Will There Really Be a Morning?, for which she was nominated for the third time in the Best Actress category of the Golden Globes. In 2002, Blakely won the Best Actress Award at the California Independent Film Festival for her starring role in the film Hungry Hearts.
She had two guest-star roles in 2008 on CBS
' #1 rated comedy series, Two and a Half Men
as Angie in "If My Hole Could Talk" and "Waiting for the Right Snapper".
Blakely shared the 2010 Best Actress Jury Award with Pauley Perrette for "To Comfort You" at the Beverly Hills Short Film Festival. The film won the Jury Award for Best Short directed by Marc Saltarelli.
Blakely has been a recurring part of the ensemble cast of the hit series Southland
on TNT for two seasons. Blakely now stars in the sequel to Disney's
highly successful film, Beverly Hills Chihuahua
.
Blakely has created a jewelry line of her own designs, which has been sold privately but will be made available, in limited pieces, on the Internet.
Early life
Blakely was born in FrankfurtFrankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, in 1948. She is the daughter of Weezie, a former art teacher, and Colonel Lawrence Blakely, a career Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
officer. Her first career break came while she was living in El Paso, Texas
El Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
, where her father was stationed at Fort Bliss
Fort Bliss
Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in the U.S. states of New Mexico and Texas. With an area of about , it is the Army's second-largest installation behind the adjacent White Sands Missile Range. It is FORSCOM's largest installation, and has the Army's largest Maneuver Area behind the...
. Around 1967, a photograph of Blakely posed poolside in a black and white "op art" swimsuit was used by a local TV station, KELP-TV (now KVIA-TV
KVIA-TV
KVIA-TV is an ABC affiliate television station in El Paso, Texas. It broadcasts its digital signal on channel 7 and channel 17. It is owned by and was the flagship television station of the News-Press & Gazette Company of St. Joseph, Missouri before the company acquired KRDO-TV. Its transmitter is...
), on its ID slide that ran during breaks between shows. Her blond "California girl" good looks were exactly what was in demand at the time, and she was easily able to secure sponsorship for a national modeling competition, which she won. The prize was a year's contract with the Ford Modeling Agency in New York. Her first appearance on a cover was for a hairstyle magazine.
In 1982, Blakely married media consultant and legal, medical and crisis management expert Steve Jaffe, a former television producer. They live in Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills is an affluent city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a population of 34,109 at the 2010 census, up from 33,784 as of the 2000 census, it is home to numerous Hollywood celebrities. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together...
.
Career
Blakely first arrived in HollywoodHollywood, Los Angeles, California
Hollywood is a famous district in Los Angeles, California, United States situated west-northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word Hollywood is often used as a metonym of American cinema...
in the early 1970s as a highly paid fashion model
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
and then branched off into acting. Blakely's first major role was as Patty Simmons in the disaster movie The Towering Inferno
The Towering Inferno
The Towering Inferno is a 1974 American action disaster film produced by Irwin Allen featuring an all-star cast led by Steve McQueen and Paul Newman.A co-production between Twentieth Century-Fox and Warner Bros...
. She received recognition for her roles in the 1974 films Report to the Commissioner
Report to the Commissioner
Report to the Commissioner is a 1974 crime drama film starring Michael Moriarty and based on a 1972 book by James Mills. The story involves a rookie cop in the New York City Police Department who is assigned a special missing person case but in fact is meant to be a wild-goose chase to back up an...
and The Lords of Flatbush
The Lords of Flatbush
The Lords of Flatbush is a 1974 American drama film about a street gang in leather jackets from the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York....
, played the role of Iris Crawford in the 1975 gangster biopic Capone
Capone (film)
Capone is an American crime film directed by Steve Carver and stars Ben Gazzara, Harry Guardino, Susan Blakely and Sylvester Stallone in an early film appearance. The movie is a biography of the infamous Al Capone, although much of it is supposedly fiction.The film was released on DVD in the U.S...
opposite Ben Gazzara
Ben Gazzara
-Early life:Gazzara was born Biagio Anthony Gazzara in New York City, the son of Italian immigrants Angelina and Antonio Gazzara, who was a laborer and carpenter. Gazzara grew up on New York's tough Lower East Side. He actually lived on E. 29th Street and participated in the drama program at...
, and then gained wide popularity with her starring role in the 1976 television miniseries
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
Rich Man, Poor Man
Rich Man, Poor Man (TV miniseries)
Rich Man, Poor Man was a 1976 American television miniseries that aired on ABC in one-hour episodes at 10:00pm ET/PT on Monday night for twelve weeks, beginning February 1. It was produced by Universal Television and was the second time programming of this nature had been attempted. The first TV...
for which she won that year's Golden Globe Award for Best Actress and an Emmy
Emmy 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...
nomination from the television academy. She also portrayed a reporter named Maggie Whelan in the 1979 film The Concorde ... Airport '79 which flopped at the box office
Box office
A box office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through an unblocked hole through a wall or window, or at a wicket....
and was derided by many critics. In 1981, she portrayed Eva Braun
Eva Braun
Eva Anna Paula Hitler was the longtime companion of Adolf Hitler and, for less than 40 hours, his wife. Braun met Hitler in Munich, when she was 17 years old, while working as an assistant and model for his personal photographer and began seeing him often about two years later...
opposite Anthony Hopkins
Anthony Hopkins
Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins, KBE , best known as Anthony Hopkins, is a Welsh actor of film, stage and television...
(who played Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
) in the television movie The Bunker
The Bunker (1981 film)
The Bunker is a 1981 CBS television film, Time/Life production based on the book The Bunker. The movie makes significant deviations from James O'Donnell's book--published in 1978. The deviations are mainly due to an effort to clarify the events, and allowing the actors license to interpret some of...
. Between 1989 to 1994, she portrayed various characters on mystery drama Murder, She Wrote
Murder, 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,...
.
She portrayed Frances Farmer
Frances Farmer
Frances Elena Farmer was an American actress of stage and screen. She is perhaps better known for sensationalized and fictional accounts of her life, and especially her involuntary commitment to a mental hospital...
in the 1982 television film based on Farmer's autobiography, Will There Really Be a Morning?, for which she was nominated for the third time in the Best Actress category of the Golden Globes. In 2002, Blakely won the Best Actress Award at the California Independent Film Festival for her starring role in the film Hungry Hearts.
She had two guest-star roles in 2008 on 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...
' #1 rated comedy series, Two and a Half Men
Two and a Half Men
Two and a Half Men is an American television sitcom that premiered on CBS on September 22, 2003. Starring Charlie Sheen, Jon Cryer, and Angus T. Jones, the show was originally about a hedonistic jingle writer, Charlie Harper; his uptight brother, Alan; and Alan's growing son, Jake...
as Angie in "If My Hole Could Talk" and "Waiting for the Right Snapper".
Blakely shared the 2010 Best Actress Jury Award with Pauley Perrette for "To Comfort You" at the Beverly Hills Short Film Festival. The film won the Jury Award for Best Short directed by Marc Saltarelli.
Blakely has been a recurring part of the ensemble cast of the hit series Southland
Southland (TV series)
Southland is an American drama series created by writer Ann Biderman and produced by Warner Bros. Television. It premiered on NBC on April 9, 2009...
on TNT for two seasons. Blakely now stars in the sequel to Disney's
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...
highly successful film, Beverly Hills Chihuahua
Beverly Hills Chihuahua
Beverly Hills Chihuahua is a 2008 family comedy film produced by Walt Disney Pictures. It is directed by Raja Gosnell and released on October 3, 2008...
.
Blakely has created a jewelry line of her own designs, which has been sold privately but will be made available, in limited pieces, on the Internet.