Suzanne Shepherd
Born
Sadie Gertrude Stern

(1934-10-31)October 31, 1934
Elizabeth, New Jersey, U.S.
DiedNovember 17, 2023(2023-11-17) (aged 89)
Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Occupations
  • Actress
  • theater director
Years active1960s–2023
Spouses
  • David Shepherd
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1957; div. 1966)​
  • Carroll Calkins
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1996; died 2006)​
Children2, including Kate

Sadie Gertrude Stern (October 31, 1934 – November 17, 2023), known professionally as Suzanne Shepherd, was an American actress and theater director.[1][2]

Background

Shepherd was born Sadie Gertrude Stern on October 31, 1934, to a Jewish family in Elizabeth, New Jersey, the daughter of Dora (Mendelson), a cook, and David Stern, a distributor of jukeboxes and vending machines.[3] She began using the name "Suzanne" when she was 13.[3] She attended Battin High School and Bennington College, and studied acting with Sanford Meisner.[3][4] She later went on to teach Meisner's program of acting study, the first woman to do so.[5]

Career

Shepherd was a founding member of the Compass Players in the early 1960s, along with Alan Alda and Alan Arkin.

Shepherd was known for her portrayal of Aunt Tweedy in the film Mystic Pizza, Karen's overbearing mother in the film Goodfellas, Carmela Soprano's mother Mary DeAngelis in the HBO television series The Sopranos, and the assistant school principal in Uncle Buck.[4] She also played the role of Mrs. Scarlini in the 2000 film Requiem for a Dream, and Big Ethel in A Dirty Shame. In 2016, she played the role of Lucille Abetemarco the mother of Detective Anthony Abetemarco played by former Sopranos co-star Steve Schirripa in "Good Cop Bad Cop" the second episode of the seventh season of the CBS police procedural drama Blue Bloods. In 2018, she reprised the role of Lucille Abetemarco in "Trust" the sixth episode of the ninth season of Blue Bloods.[4]

Shepherd was also a theatre director, working in New York and in regional theatre.[4]

Personal life and death

From a marriage to David Shepherd, which lasted from 1957 until their divorce in 1966, she had a son, who died in 2011, and a daughter, artist Kate Shepherd.[3][6] Her second marriage, to Carroll Calkins, lasted from 1996 until his death in 2006.[3]

Shepherd died from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and kidney failure at her home in Manhattan on November 17, 2023, at the age of 89.[3][4][7]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1988 Mystic Pizza Aunt Tweedy [4]
1988 Working Girl Trask Receptionist [4]
1989 Uncle Buck Mrs. Hoargarth
1989 Second Sight Marilyn Bloom
1990 Goodfellas Karen's Mother [4]
1990 Jacob's Ladder Hospital Receptionist
1995 The Jerky Boys: The Movie Mrs. B
1995 Palookaville Mother
1996 Bullet Cookie Stein
1996 Trees Lounge Jackie
1997 Lolita Miss Pratt [4]
1998 Illuminata Marco's mother
1998 Living Out Loud Mary [4]
1998 American Cuisine Martha
1999 On the Run Lady in Travel Agency
2000 Requiem for a Dream Mrs. Scarlini [4]
2001 Never Again Mother
2004 A Dirty Shame Big Ethel [4]
2008 Choke Waitress
2008 Harold Maude Sellers
2009 I Hate Valentine's Day Edie
2012 Delivering the Goods Mrs. Weinbaum
2013 Jerome's Bouquet Elana Klein Short film
2017 Where Is Kyra? Ruth [3]
2018 Furlough Elizabeth Anderson
2018 The Week Of Aunt Iris
2023 The Performance Tess [4]

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1990 Law & Order Arraignment Judge Victoria Sawyer Episode: "The Reaper's Helper"
1998 Vig Agnes Television film
2000 Third Watch[4] Sheats Episode: "Young Men and Fire..."
2000, 2004 Ed[4] Elaine / Edna 2 episodes
2000–2007 The Sopranos[4] Mary DeAngelis 20 episodes
2002 Law & Order: Criminal Intent Joan Episode: "Homo Homini Lupus"
2003 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Old Woman Episode: "Desperate"
2010 Gravity Scarf Woman Episode: "Dogg Day Afternoon"
2016–2018 Blue Bloods[4] Lucille Abetemarco 2 episodes

References

  1. ^ Brantley, Ben (February 23, 1994). "Theater in Review". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 16, 2021.
  2. ^ Genzlinger, Neil (June 22, 2005). "From South Africa to New Jersey, Where Things Go No Better". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 16, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Williams, Alex (November 23, 2023). "Suzanne Shepherd, Actress Known for Playing Mothers, Dies at 89". The New York Times. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Lewis, Hilary (November 19, 2023). "Suzanne Shepherd, 'Sopranos' and 'Goodfellas' Mother, Dies at 89". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  5. ^ Suzanne Shepherd, interview with Sanford Meisner, Yale Theatre 8, nos. 2 and 3 (1977): 38–43.
  6. ^ BWW News Desk. "Photos: People Are Living There Opening Night". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved May 16, 2021.
  7. ^ "Actor Suzanne Shepherd, who played mothers in 'The Sopranos' and 'Goodfellas,' dead at 89". NJ. November 18, 2023. Retrieved November 19, 2023.

External links

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