Lorraine Gottfried (born August 16, 1937), better known by her stage name Lorraine Gary, is a retired American actress, best known for her role as Ellen Brody in the ''Jaws'' film series. She also appeared in ''

1941 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar Eu ...

'' and '' Car Wash''.

Early life

Gary was born as Lorraine Gottfried in

Forest Hills, Queens Forest Hills is a mostly residential neighborhood in the central portion of the borough of Queens in New York City. It is adjacent to Corona to the north, Rego Park and Glendale to the west, Forest Park to the south, Kew Gardens to the southeast, ...

, to Belle and George Gottfried, an entertainment business manager. At an early age, she moved with her family to Los Angeles, California, where she was raised. At age 16, she won a best actress award in a competition at the prestigious Pasadena Playhouse. She was offered a scholarship to enroll at the Pasadena Playhouse, but declined and attended Columbia University as a political science major instead.

Career

A life member of the

Actors Studio The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights at 432 West 44th Street between Ninth and Tenth avenues in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded ...

, Gary began her acting career in the late 1960s doing guest appearances on several popular TV shows. These include '' Night Gallery'', '' Dragnet 1968'', in an episode entitled ''"The Big Shipment"'', '' McCloud'', '' The Marcus-Nelson Murders'' (the pilot for '' Kojak''), and '' The F.B.I.''. She began her first major acting role when she was a guest star on seven episodes of the TV series '' Ironside'', among them "Tom Dayton Is Loose Among Us", in which she played the substitute librarian Miss Kirk, who pushes the unstable Tom Dayton too hard, and "In Search of an Artist", as a woman with a drinking problem who may have been involved in a murder. In addition to her work as an actress, Gary owned New Hope Productions, a company that produced television programs.

Civic activities

Gary is a member of the Human Rights Watch Women's Rights Advisory Committee, for whom she produced and directed a series of fourteen educational videotapes, and an Advisory Board Member of '' Ms. Magazine'' and Girls Learn International. In 1995, together with her husband, Gary received the Simon Wiesenthal Center's Humanitarian Award.

Personal life

Gary married entertainment industry executive Sidney Sheinberg on August 19, 1956, at the age of 19, with whom she has two sons named Jonathan J. and William David. She retired from acting after her appearance in the film ''

'' (1979), only briefly returning to reprise the role of Ellen Brody in '' Jaws: The Revenge'' (1987). Her sons, Bill Sheinberg and Jonathan Sheinberg, are both film producers.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gary, Lorraine 1937 births 20th-century American actresses Actresses from Los Angeles American film actresses American television actresses Jewish American actresses Living people People from Forest Hills, Queens Columbia University School of General Studies alumni 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American women