''Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman'' producer Norman Lear and co-star
Mary Kay Place
Mary Kay Place (born September 23, 1947) is an American actress, singer, director, and screenwriter. She is known for portraying Loretta Haggers on the television series ''Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman'', a role that won her the 1977 Primetime Emmy ...
also hosted ''SNL'' during the run of ''Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman.''
Other roles and appearances
Following her departure from ''Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman'', Lasser wrote a made-for-TV movie titled ''
Just Me and You'' (1978) and starred in it with
Charles Grodin
Charles Sidney Grodin (April 21, 1935 – May 18, 2021) was an American actor, comedian, author, and television talk show host. Grodin began his acting career in the 1960s appearing in TV serials including '' The Virginian''. After a small part ...
.
Her post-''Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman'' stage credits include ''A Coupla White Chicks Sitting Around Talking'' and ''Marie and Bruce'' (1980).
She had a recurring role as Alex's ex-wife on the hit series ''
Taxi
A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice ...
'' and starred in the 1981–82 season of ''
It's a Living
''It's a Living'' (renamed for season two as ''Making a Living'') is an American sitcom television series set in a restaurant at the top of the Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles. The show aired on ABC from October 30, 1980, until June 11, 1982. ...
,'' in which she played waitress Maggie McBurney.
Lasser had a recurring role on ''
St. Elsewhere'' in the mid-1980s as Victor Ehrlich's Aunt Charise, a neurotic comic character. Her 1980s film appearances included ''
Stardust Memories
''Stardust Memories'' is a 1980 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Woody Allen and starring Allen, Charlotte Rampling, Jessica Harper and Marie-Christine Barrault. Sharon Stone has a brief role, in her film debut. The film is abo ...
'' (1980), ''
In God We Tru$t
''In God We Tru$t'' is a 1980 American comedy film starring Marty Feldman, Andy Kaufman, Louise Lasser and Peter Boyle. Intended as a biting religious satire, it was also produced, directed and co-written by Feldman.
Plot
A naive monk, Brother ...
'' (1980), ''
Crimewave
''Crimewave'' is a 1985 American comedy film directed by Sam Raimi, from a screenplay he co-wrote with the Coen brothers. It stars Reed Birney, Sheree J. Wilson, Paul L. Smith, Brion James, Louise Lasser and Bruce Campbell, with the latter a ...
'' (1985), ''
Blood Rage'' (1987), ''
Surrender
Surrender may refer to:
* Surrender (law), the early relinquishment of a tenancy
* Surrender (military), the relinquishment of territory, combatants, facilities, or armaments to another power
Film and television
* ''Surrender'' (1927 film), an ...
'' (1987), ''
Rude Awakening'' (1989) and as the mother of the main character in ''
Sing
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
'' (1989).
Her 1990s films included ''
Frankenhooker
''Frankenhooker'' is a 1990 American black comedy horror film directed by Frank Henenlotter. Very loosely inspired by Mary Shelley's 1818 novel ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'', the film stars James Lorinz as medical school drop-out Je ...
'' (1990), ''
The Night We Never Met
''The Night We Never Met'' is a 1993 American romantic comedy film directed by Warren Leight. The film stars Matthew Broderick, Annabella Sciorra and Kevin Anderson.
Plot summary
Upset with his current living arrangements, Sam rotates occup ...
'' (1993), ''
Sudden Manhattan
Sudden Manhattan is a 1996 comedy film written and directed by and starring Adrienne Shelly. The movie was distributed by Phaedra Cinema, which specialized in independent movies such as this. The cast included Tim Guinee and Roger Rees. It was fi ...
'' (1996), ''
Layin' Low
''Layin' Low'' is a 1996 film directed by Danny Leiner and stars Jeremy Piven, Louise Lasser and Edie Falco.
Plot
A New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United ...
'' (1996) and as the mother of the three main female characters in Todd Solondz's film ''
Happiness
Happiness, in the context of Mental health, mental or emotional states, is positive or Pleasure, pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. Other forms include life satisfaction, well-being, subjective well-being, flourishin ...
'' (1998). She appeared in ''
Mystery Men
''Mystery Men'' is a 1999 American superhero comedy film directed by Kinka Usher (in his feature-length directorial debut) and written by Neil Cuthbert, loosely based on Bob Burden's ''Flaming Carrot Comics'', and starring Ben Stiller, Hank Azari ...
'' (1999) as the mother of Hank Azaria's character. She also had roles in Darren Aronofsky's film ''
Requiem for a Dream
''Requiem for a Dream'' is a 2000 American psychological drama film directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, Christopher McDonald and Marlon Wayans. It is based on the 1978 novel of the same name ...
'' (2000), the romantic comedy ''
Fast Food Fast Women'' (2000) and co-starred with
Renée Taylor
Renée Adorée Taylor (née Wexler; born March 19, 1933) is an American actress, screenwriter, playwright, producer and director.Taylor was nominated for an Academy Award for co-writing the screenplay for the film '' Lovers and Other Strangers' ...
in ''
National Lampoon's Gold Diggers
''National Lampoon's Gold Diggers'' (also known as ''National Lampoon's Lady Killers'') is a 2003 American black comedy film written and directed by Gary Preisler. It features two friends (Will Friedle and Chris Owen) who marry two elderly sisters ...
'' (2003). Lasser acted in two episodes of HBO's
''Girls'' as a Manhattan artist for the series' third season (2014).
In 2021, she was reunited with her ''Mary Hartman'' co-star Greg Mullavey in a 16-minute film short called ''Bliss''.
In 2022, she appeared in ''
Funny Pages
A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics ter ...
'', her first role in a theatrical feature film in almost 20 years.
Awards and recognition
In 1967, Lasser became the first woman to win a
Clio Award for Best Actress in a Commercial. She was nominated for an
Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
for her performance in ''Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman'' and won the
National Board of Review
The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures is a non-profit organization of New York City area film enthusiasts. Its awards, which are announced in early December, are considered an early harbinger of the film awards season that culminat ...
Award for Best Acting by an Ensemble for her participation in the film ''
Happiness
Happiness, in the context of Mental health, mental or emotional states, is positive or Pleasure, pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. Other forms include life satisfaction, well-being, subjective well-being, flourishin ...
''.
Directing career
She has been a faculty member of
HB Studio
The HB Studio (Herbert Berghof Studio) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization offering professional training in the performing arts through classes, workshops, free lectures, theater productions, theater rentals, a theater artist residency progra ...
, where she taught acting technique.
In 2014, she directed the Off-Off-Broadway production of
Ira Lewis' ''Chinese Coffee''.
Currently, she lives in
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
and runs the Louise Lasser Acting Studio on the
Upper East Side
The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 96th Street to the north, the East River to the east, 59th Street to the south, and Central Park/Fifth Avenue to the wes ...
.
Filmography
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lasser, Louise
Living people
Actresses from New York City
American stage actresses
American musical theatre actresses
American film actresses
American television writers
American television actresses
Brandeis University alumni
Jewish American actresses
Screenwriters from New York (state)
American women television writers
Woody Allen
1939 births