Toni Z. Kalem (born August 29, 1956) is an American actress, screenwriter and director. Kalem is best known for her portrayal of Angie Bonpensiero on the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

series ''

The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The story revolves around Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey-based American Mafia, Italian-American mobster, portraying h ...

''. Kalem grew up in

Springfield Township, Union County, New Jersey Springfield Township is a township in Union County, New Jersey, United States. The township is located on a ridge in northern- central New Jersey, within the Raritan Valley and Rahway Valley regions in the New York metropolitan area. As of ...

. She appeared in such films as ''Double Jeopardy'', '' Private Benjamin'', ''

Sister Act ''Sister Act'' is a 1992 American comedy film directed by Emile Ardolino and written by Paul Rudnick (as Joseph Howard). It stars Whoopi Goldberg as a lounge singer forced to join a convent after being placed in a witness protection program. I ...

'', '' The Wanderers'', '' Eyes of the Beholder'', ''

Silent Rage ''Silent Rage'' is a 1982 American action crime science fiction film directed by Michael Miller. It stars Chuck Norris as a sheriff who must stop a mentally ill man (Brian Libby) who goes on a rampage after being granted near-indestructibility i ...

'' and ''

The Boy Who Drank Too Much ''The Boy Who Drank Too Much'' is a 1980 American made-for-television drama film based on a novel by Shep Greene. The film was initially broadcast on CBS and sponsored by Xerox, and starred Scott Baio as a high school hockey player struggling wit ...

''. Her television credits include guest appearances on '' Starsky and Hutch'', ''

MacGyver Angus "Mac" MacGyver is the title character and the protagonist in the TV series ''MacGyver''. He is played by Richard Dean Anderson in the 1985 original series. Lucas Till portrays a younger version of MacGyver in the 2016 reboot. In both p ...

'', '' Another World'' and '' Police Woman''. During the sixth season of ''The Sopranos'', Kalem was elevated from guest star to series regular for her character Angie Bonpensiero, the widow of Sal "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero who runs a body shop in partnership with

Tony Soprano Anthony John Soprano is a fictional character and the antihero protagonist in the HBO television drama series ''The Sopranos'' (1999–2007), portrayed by James Gandolfini. Soprano is a member of the American Mafia, Italian-American Mafia and, ...

. In 1999, Kalem wrote and directed the film ''

A Slipping Down Life ''A Slipping-Down Life'' is a 1999 romantic drama film directed by Toni Kalem. Based on a novel by Anne Tyler, it stars Lili Taylor and Guy Pearce. Plot Shy loner Evie (Taylor) hears musician Drumstrings Casey (Pearce) on the radio one night and ...

''. In 2004, she wrote the fifty-sixth episode for ''The Sopranos'', called " All Happy Families..."

Filmography

Awards and nominations

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

*1999: Nominated, "Grand Jury Prize for Most Dramatic Film" – '' A Slipping-Down Life''

References

External links

* 1950 births American film actresses American television actresses Living people Actresses from New Jersey People from Springfield Township, Union County, New Jersey 21st-century American women {{US-screen-actor-1950s-stub