Laurie Bird

Laurie Bird (September 26, 1953 – June 15, 1979) was an American film actress and photographer. She appeared in three films during the 1970s. Two of them were directed by Monte Hellman. She was romantically involved with Hellman and Art Garfunkel, committing suicide in the latter's apartment by taking an overdose of Valium.

Early life

Bird's mother died by suicide at the age of 26 when Bird was only three years old. Her father was an electrical engineer. She had two elder brothers. Her strict father restricted her social life and she fled home multiple times. In response, her father had put her in an institution for neglected girls. She attended Jamaica High School, in New York City, until she was 15.

Career

Described by Hollywood columnist Dick Kleiner as "look nglike an innocent Hayley Mills," Bird appeared in just three films: ''Two-Lane Blacktop'' (1971), ''Cockfighter'' (1974), and a small role as girlfriend to Paul Simon's character in the romantic comedy ''Annie Hall'' (1977). While researching for ''Two-Lane Blacktop'', screenwriter Rudolph Wurlitzer met her and recommended her name to Hellman while he was looking for actresses for the same movie. In ''Two-Lane Blacktop'' she played a hitchhiker to whom the film's characters are initially attracted, but who runs off with a motorcyclist near the end of the film. In 2012, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. Her second release, ''Cockfighter'', had her paired opposite Warren Oates. He loses her in a bet. Film critic Michael Atkinson wrote in his book ''Exile Hollywood'' (2008) "In two films, she made more of an impression, left more of a synaesthetic presence, than many actors do in a career".

Bird was the still photographer on ''Cockfighter'' and shot the cover photo for Art Garfunkel's 1977 album ''Watermark''. She appeared on the cover of Garfunkel's 1975 album '' Breakaway''.

Personal life

She was romantically involved with her ''Blacktop'' and ''Cockfighter'' director Monte Hellman. From 1974 until her death in 1979, Bird was in a serious romantic relationship with Art Garfunkel.

Suicide

In 1979, Bird died by suicide by taking an overdose of Valium in the New York apartment she shared with Garfunkel, who was deeply affected by her death. Garfunkel said, "She was beautiful, in a lonesome, haunted way, and I adored her. But I wasn't ready for marriage and she was not very comfortable being Laurie. She wasn't happy with herself. Her mother died by suicide at 25, and so did she."

Legacy

Garfunkel's 1975 album '' Breakaway'' features Bird on the cover.

Garfunkel's 1981 album ''Scissors Cut'' states in its credits that it was "dedicated to you, Bird", and carried a partial photograph of her on its back cover.

Bird's relationship with Garfunkel was referred to in the liner notes of the latter's 1988 album ''Lefty'' and his collection of prose poems ''Still Water''. Hellman dedicated his 2010 film ''Road to Nowhere'' to Laurie Bird.

Tim Kinsella's novel ''Let Go and Go On and On'' (2014) is subtitled ''Based on the roles of Laurie Bird''. In the foreword, he writes, "This book by no means intends to convey any ''truth'' beyond one possible solution to the puzzles of her life and work."

Natural Snow Buildings named one of their many 2008 releases after Bird.

Credits

References

Bibliography

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External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bird, Laurie
1952 births
1979 suicides
People from Glen Cove, New York
20th-century American actresses
American film actresses
Suicides in New York City
Drug-related suicides in New York City
Burials at Flushing Cemetery
20th-century American women photographers
20th-century American photographers
Drug-related deaths in New York City
Female suicides