Trish Van Devere (born Patricia Louise Dressel; March 9, 1941) is a retired American actress. She was nominated for a
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
for the film ''
One Is a Lonely Number
''One Is a Lonely Number'' (also known as ''Two Is a Happy Number'') is a 1972 American drama film directed by Mel Stuart, and starring Trish Van Devere, Janet Leigh, and Melvyn Douglas. The screenplay, based upon the short story "The Good Humor ...
'' (1972), and won a
Genie Award
The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978; also known as the "Etrog Awards," for scu ...
for the film ''
The Changeling'' (1980). She is the widow of actor
George C. Scott
George Campbell Scott (October 18, 1927 – September 22, 1999) was an American actor, director, and producer who had a celebrated career on both stage and screen. With a gruff demeanor and commanding presence, Scott became known for his port ...
, with whom she appeared in multiple films.
Early life
Van Devere was born March 9, 1941 as Patricia Louise Dressel in
Tenafly, New Jersey
Tenafly () is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 census the borough had a population of 15,409, .
Her father owned a
Pontiac Pontiac may refer to:
*Pontiac (automobile), a car brand
*Pontiac (Ottawa leader) ( – 1769), a Native American war chief
Places and jurisdictions Canada
*Pontiac, Quebec, a municipality
** Apostolic Vicariate of Pontiac, now the Roman Catholic D ...
dealership and real estate business, which was inherited by her mother after her father's death when Van Devere was 9 years old.
[ After attending ]Tenafly High School
Tenafly High School is a four-year comprehensive community public high school in Tenafly in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as the lone secondary school of the Tenafly Public Schools. ...
,[ she graduated in 1958 from Northern Valley High School before attending ]Ohio Wesleyan University
Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU) is a private liberal arts college in Delaware, Ohio. It was founded in 1842 by methodist leaders and Central Ohio residents as a nonsectarian institution, and is a member of the Ohio Five – a consortium ...
, where she met and married fellow student Grant Van Devere.[ The marriage lasted only 8 months, though she retained Van Devere as her stage name.][
]
Career
In 1966, Van Devere moved to New York City and began pursuing a career in acting,[ studying at 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 ...
. She co-founded the Free Southern Theater with Scott Cunningham, an African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
fellow actor, staging plays in fields and at churches in the Southern United States for indigent African Americans who had never seen live theater before.[ Two years later, Van Devere and Cunningham founded an offshoot theater company, the Poor People's Theater in New York City, headquartered in the basement of Manhattan's ]Riverside Church
Riverside Church is an interdenominational church in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, on the block bounded by Riverside Drive, Claremont Avenue, 120th Street and 122nd Street near Columbia University's Mornin ...
, which held similar theatrical productions in churches, schools, and streets.[
Van Devere had her breakthrough portraying the original ]Meredith Lord
Meredith Lord is a fictional character from the American soap opera ''One Life to Live''.
Actress Trish Van Devere originated the role of Meredith from the series television pilot, pilot aired July 15, 1968 through December 1968. Meredith was then ...
in the soap opera ''One Life to Live
''One Life to Live'' (often abbreviated as ''OLTL'') is an American soap opera broadcast on the ABC television network for more than 43 years, from July 15, 1968, to January 13, 2012, and then on the internet as a web series on Hulu and iTunes ...
'' in 1968 — the income from which she largely used to help maintain the Poor People's Theater Company.[ In 1970, she co-starred with ]George Segal
George Segal Jr. (February 13, 1934 – March 23, 2021) was an American actor. He became popular in the 1960s and 1970s for playing both dramatic and comedic roles. After first rising to prominence with roles in acclaimed films such as ''Ship o ...
and Ruth Gordon
Ruth Gordon Jones (October 30, 1896 – August 28, 1985) was an American actress, screenwriter, and playwright. She began her career performing on Broadway at age 19. Known for her nasal voice and distinctive personality, Gordon gained internati ...
in the comedy ''Where's Poppa?
''Where's Poppa?'' is a 1970 American black comedy film based on the 1970 novel by Robert Klane and starring George Segal, Ruth Gordon, Ron Leibman, and Trish Van Devere. The plot revolves around the troubled relationship between a lawyer (Segal ...
''. She subsequently garnered significant notice for her lead role in the film ''One Is a Lonely Number
''One Is a Lonely Number'' (also known as ''Two Is a Happy Number'') is a 1972 American drama film directed by Mel Stuart, and starring Trish Van Devere, Janet Leigh, and Melvyn Douglas. The screenplay, based upon the short story "The Good Humor ...
'' (1972), for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe
The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
award.
Van Devere married actor George C. Scott
George Campbell Scott (October 18, 1927 – September 22, 1999) was an American actor, director, and producer who had a celebrated career on both stage and screen. With a gruff demeanor and commanding presence, Scott became known for his port ...
in September 1972 in 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 ...
, after they appeared together in the film '' The Last Run'' (1971).[ The couple subsequently appeared in a number of films together, including '']The Day of the Dolphin
''The Day of the Dolphin'' is a 1973 American science fiction thriller film directed by Mike Nichols and starring George C. Scott. Based on the 1967 novel '' Un animal doué de raison'' (lit. ''A Sentient Animal''), by French writer Robert Merle, ...
'', and '' The Savage Is Loose'' (both 1973, the latter film directed by Scott); the television film ''Beauty and the Beast
''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' ( ...
'' (1976), ''Movie Movie
''Movie Movie'' is a 1978 American double bill directed by Stanley Donen. It consists of two films: ''Dynamite Hands'', a boxing ring morality play, and ''Baxter's Beauties of 1933'', a musical comedy, both starring the husband-and-wife team of G ...
'' (1978), and the supernatural horror film '' The Changeling'' (1980). Also in 1980, Van Devere had a lead role in the horror film ''The Hearse
''The Hearse'' is a 1980 American supernatural horror film directed by George Bowers and starring Trish Van Devere and Joseph Cotten. It follows a schoolteacher from San Francisco who relocates to a small town in northern California to spend the ...
''.
Van Devere performed frequently in both television and film until 1994, and appeared in television programs such as '' Love Story'', ''The Fall Guy
''The Fall Guy'' is an American action/adventure television series produced for ABC and originally broadcast from November 4, 1981, to May 2, 1986. It starred Lee Majors, Douglas Barr, and Heather Thomas as Hollywood stunt performers who moonli ...
'', ''Hardcastle and McCormick
''Hardcastle and McCormick'' is an American action crime drama television series that aired on ABC from September 18, 1983, through May 5, 1986. The series stars Brian Keith as Judge Milton C. Hardcastle and Daniel Hugh Kelly as ex-con and race ...
'', ''Highway to Heaven
''Highway to Heaven'' is an American fantasy Drama (film and television), drama television series that ran on NBC from September 19, 1984, to August 4, 1989. The series starred Michael Landon as Jonathan Smith, an angel sent to Earth in order t ...
'' and ''Love Boat
''The Love Boat'' is an American romantic comedy/drama television series that aired on ABC from 1977 to 1986; in addition, four three-hour specials aired in 1986, 1987, and 1990. The series was set on the luxury passenger cruise ship MS ''Pa ...
''. She also starred alongside Peter Falk
Peter Michael Falk (September 16, 1927 – June 23, 2011) was an American film and television actor. He is best known for his role as Lieutenant Columbo in the long-running television series ''Columbo'' (1968–1978, 1989–2003), for which he ...
in a 1978 episode of the detective series ''Columbo
''Columbo'' () is an American crime drama television series starring Peter Falk as Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. After two pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971, the show originally aired on NBC f ...
'' entitled '' Make Me a Perfect Murder'', in which she portrayed a TV producer who murders her ex-lover. She remained married to Scott until his death in 1999.
Filmography
Awards and nominations
Notes
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Devere, Trish
1941 births
Living people
Actresses from New Jersey
American film actresses
American soap opera actresses
American television actresses
Best Performance by a Foreign Actress Genie Award winners
Northern Valley Regional High School at Demarest alumni
Ohio Wesleyan University alumni
People from Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey
People from Tenafly, New Jersey
Tenafly High School alumni
20th-century American actresses
21st-century American women