Leigh Hamilton (December 20, 1949 – September 8, 2012) was a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

-born

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...

and

art gallery An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The lon ...

owner. Hamilton was born in

Auckland, New Zealand Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, on December 20, 1949, to parents, Colleen and Derek Hiene. She moved to the United States to pursue acting. She began her career with small television roles during the 1970s, including parts on '' Kojak'', ''

The Mod Squad ''The Mod Squad'' is an American crime drama series, originally broadcast for five seasons on ABC from September 24, 1968, to March 1, 1973. It starred Michael Cole as Peter "Pete" Cochran, Peggy Lipton as Julie Barnes, Clarence Williams III as ...

'', '' Baretta'', '' Banyon'', and '' McMillan & Wife''. Hamilton co-starred in several films from the 1970s to the 1990s, including ''

A Man, a Woman, and a Bank ''A Man, a Woman, and a Bank'', also known as ''A Very Big Withdraw'', is a 1979 Canadian comedy crime film directed by Noel Black and starring Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams and Paul Mazursky. The film was partially funded by McNichol, a produ ...

'' in 1979, ''

Forced Vengeance ''Forced Vengeance'' is a 1982 American action film, starring Chuck Norris, Mary Louise Weller and Camila Griggs. The film was directed by James Fargo, written by Franklin Thompson and James Fargo and filmed in the Crown Colony of Hong Kong ...

'' in 1982, and ''

Gas Food Lodging ''Gas Food Lodging'' is a 1992 American drama film written and directed by Allison Anders and starring Brooke Adams, Ione Skye, and Fairuza Balk. It tells the story of a waitress trying to find romance while raising two daughters in a trailer ...

'' in 1992. She was also cast in smaller parts 1987's '' P.K. and the Kid'' and '' Hocus Pocus'', a 1993

Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...

-themed

comedic film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the olde ...

starring

Sarah Jessica Parker Sarah Jessica Parker (born March 25, 1965) is an American actress and television producer. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including six Golden Globe Awards and two Primetime Emmy Awards. ''Time'' magazine named her one of the 1 ...

Bette Midler Bette Midler (;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, comedian and author. Throughout her career, which spans over five decades, Midler has received List of awards and nominations received by Be ...

, and

Kathy Najimy Kathy Ann Najimy ( ; ar, كاثي ان نجيمي ; born February 6, 1957) is an American actress and activist. She is best known for her roles in the films ''Soapdish'' (1991), ''Sister Act'' (1992), '' Hocus Pocus'' (1993), ''Hope Floats'' (1 ...

. In 1994, Hamilton opened the Hamilton Galleries in the Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, and simultaneously left acting to focus on her art business. She represented

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

-based artists, including Brooke Adams, who had co-starred with Hamilton in ''A Man, a Woman, and a Bank'' and ''Gas Food Lodging''. The Hamilton Galleries are now located on

Ocean Avenue Ocean Avenue may refer to: Roads in the United States * Ocean Avenue (San Francisco), California, see Ocean Avenue/CCSF Pedestrian Bridge station * Ocean Avenue (Santa Monica), California * Ocean Avenue (Palm Beach), Florida; see * Ocean Avenue ( ...

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

, as of 2012. Leigh Hamilton died at Saint John's Health Center in

, on September 8, 2012, at the age of 62. She was survived by her husband, Warren Long, to whom she had been married for nineteen years; their daughter, Tallulah; and her four brothers.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Leigh 2012 deaths American film actresses American television actresses American art dealers Women art dealers New Zealand emigrants to the United States Actors from Auckland Actresses from Santa Monica, California 1949 births 20th-century American actresses 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American businesswomen 21st-century American businesspeople 21st-century American businesswomen Art gallery owners