Lisa Ann Spoonauer (December 16, 1972 – May 20, 2017) was an American former

character actress A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to be ...

best known for the role of Caitlin Bree in ''

Clerks A clerk is someone who works in an office. A retail clerk works in a store. Office holder Clerk(s) may also refer to a person who holds an office, most commonly in a local unit of government, or a court. *Barristers' clerk, a manager and administ ...

'', which she reprised for an episode in '' Clerks: The Animated Series''.

Biography

Spoonauer was born in

Rahway, New Jersey Rahway () is a city in southern Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. A bedroom community of New York City, it is centrally located in the Rahway Valley region, in the New York metropolitan area. The city is southwest of Manhattan ...

, and raised in Freehold Township.Obituary
hasslerfuneralhome.com; accessed May 23, 2017. She attended

Brookdale Community College Brookdale Community College is a public community college in the Lincroft section of Middletown Township, in Monmouth County, New Jersey, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1967, the college also has regional locations in Neptune Township, ...

, where she was spotted (in an acting class) by ''Clerks'' director

Kevin Smith Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American filmmaker, actor, comedian, comic book writer, author, YouTuber, and podcaster. He came to prominence with the low-budget comedy buddy film ''Clerks'' (1994), which he wrote, directed, co ...

, who was having difficulty casting the part of Caitlin. He offered her the role and a script, and she later accepted. Spoonauer's only other film credit is for the Gabe Torres' film ''Bartender''.

Personal life

Spoonauer began dating her ''Clerks'' co-star

Jeff Anderson Jeffrey Allan Anderson (born April 21, 1970) is an American film and television actor, director, and screenwriter best known for starring as Randal Graves in ''Clerks,'' ''Clerks II,'' and ''Clerks III''. In between, he has appeared in other Kevi ...

in 1993, and they were married for one year from 1998 to 1999. According to the documentary ''Snowball Effect: The Story of Clerks'', included on the 10th anniversary DVD release, Anderson proposed to her on the set of the film. Spoonauer later married her second husband Tom Caron and relocated to Jackson Township, where she became a restaurant manager and event planner. Spoonauer has a daughter with Caron and a stepson from Caron's previous marriage.

Death

Spoonauer died at age 44 on May 20, 2017, of an accidental overdose of

hydromorphone Hydromorphone, also known as dihydromorphinone, and sold under the brand name Dilaudid among others, is an opioid used to treat moderate to severe pain. Typically, long-term use is only recommended for pain due to cancer. It may be used by mou ...

. It was also revealed that she was fighting

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

anemia Anemia or anaemia (British English) is a blood disorder in which the blood has a reduced ability to carry oxygen due to a lower than normal number of red blood cells, or a reduction in the amount of hemoglobin. When anemia comes on slowly, th ...

lung disease The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in humans and most other animals, including some snails and a small number of fish. In mammals and most other vertebrates, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of t ...

and

immune deficiency Immunodeficiency, also known as immunocompromisation, is a state in which the immune system's ability to fight infectious diseases and cancer is compromised or entirely absent. Most cases are acquired ("secondary") due to extrinsic factors that a ...

, which were all factors in her death. She was survived by her husband, daughter Mia, and stepson Tyler. Her brother Mike, on a fundraising page for Patient Advocate Foundation Inc., related that she had been long suffering from a chronic illness. Spoonauer had travelled to the

Mayo Clinic The Mayo Clinic () is a nonprofit American academic medical center focused on integrated health care, education, and research. It employs over 4,500 physicians and scientists, along with another 58,400 administrative and allied health staff, ...

in 2014 for treatment; a Facebook post from that time revealed that she had already been seeing "countless other specialists over the last 7 years". ''Clerks'' co-stars

Brian O'Halloran Brian Christopher O'Halloran (born December 20, 1969) is an American actor, producer, and podcaster best known for playing Dante Hicks in Kevin Smith's debut 1994 film ''Clerks'' and its 2006 and 2022 sequels ''Clerks II'' and ''Clerks III''. H ...

and

Marilyn Ghigliotti Marilyn Ghigliotti (born August 10, 1961) is an American actress, producer, director and make-up artist best known for playing Veronica Loughran in ''Clerks''. Life and career ''Clerks'' director Kevin Smith cast her for her ability to cry while ...

both shared the news and posted tributes to their personal Facebook accounts on May 23, 2017.

posted a tribute to Spoonauer via his personal

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

account and during an episode of his podcast ''

Hollywood Babble-On ''Hollywood Babble-On'' is a weekly podcast featuring filmmaker Kevin Smith and radio personality Ralph Garman. The show features Smith and Garman discussing the week's celebrity, movie, and other pop culture news. Show history Kevin Smith was ...

''. ''

Clerks III ''Clerks III'' is a 2022 American comedy-drama film written, produced, directed, and edited by Kevin Smith and stars Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Trevor Fehrman, Austin Zajur, Jason Mewes, Rosario Dawson, and Smith. It serves as a standalo ...

'', released in 2022, is dedicated to Spoonauer.

Filmography

*''

'' (1994) *''Bartender'' (1997) *'' Clerks: The Animated Series'' (2002) *''

Shooting Clerks ''Shooting Clerks'' is a 2023 British-American biographical comedy-drama film directed by Christopher Downie and starring Brian O'Halloran, Mark Frost, Jason Mewes, Scott Schiaffo, Matthew Postlethwaite and Kevin Smith. It was produced by Auld R ...

'' (2016) (special thanks)

References

External links

* * 1972 births 2017 deaths American film actresses American voice actresses Actresses from New Jersey People from Rahway, New Jersey 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Drug-related deaths in New Jersey Accidental deaths in New Jersey Brookdale Community College alumni {{US-film-actor-1970s-stub