Zoë Lund
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Zoë Tamerlis Lund (February 9, 1962 – April 16, 1999), also known as Zoë Tamerlis and Zoë Tamerlaine, was an American musician, model, actress, author, producer, political activist and screenwriter. She was best known for her association in two films with film director
Abel Ferrara Abel Ferrara (born July 19, 1951) is an American filmmaker, known for the provocative and often controversial content in his movies and his use of neo-noir imagery and gritty urban settings. A long-time independent filmmaker, some of his best kn ...
: ''
Ms .45 ''Ms .45'' (also known as ''Angel of Vengeance'' as ''Ms. 45'') is a 1981 American exploitation thriller film directed by Abel Ferrara and starring Zoë Tamerlis. Inspired by films such as '' Thriller – A Cruel Picture'' (1973), '' Death Wish ...
'' (1981), in which she starred, and ''
Bad Lieutenant ''Bad Lieutenant'' is a 1992 American neo-noir crime film directed by Abel Ferrara. The film stars Harvey Keitel as the titular "bad lieutenant" as well as Victor Argo and Paul Calderón. The screenplay was co-written by Ferrara with actress-mod ...
'' (1992), for which she co-wrote the screenplay.


Early life

Lund was born Zoë Tamerlis on February 9, 1962 to mother
Barbara Lekberg Barbara Ann Lekberg (née Barbara Ann Hult; March 19, 1925 – February 14, 2018) was an American sculptor. Early life and education Barbara Lekberg was born as Barbara Ann Hult on March 19, 1925 in Portland, Oregon. Her mother was music teache ...
(née Hult), an American sculptor of
Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
descent, and Victor Tamerlis. She dropped out of college.


Career

At a young age, Lund was an accomplished composer and musician; but the power of
celluloid Celluloids are a class of materials produced by mixing nitrocellulose and camphor, often with added dyes and other agents. Once much more common for its use as photographic film before the advent of safer methods, celluloid's common contemporar ...
took a firmer grasp. "I could write a concerto with 17 violins that could be very powerful, but film works on a more visceral level where I can go into the collective audience and make sure my point gets across." Lund was also a pianist.


''Ms .45''

Lund made her debut in
Abel Ferrara Abel Ferrara (born July 19, 1951) is an American filmmaker, known for the provocative and often controversial content in his movies and his use of neo-noir imagery and gritty urban settings. A long-time independent filmmaker, some of his best kn ...
's ''
Ms .45 ''Ms .45'' (also known as ''Angel of Vengeance'' as ''Ms. 45'') is a 1981 American exploitation thriller film directed by Abel Ferrara and starring Zoë Tamerlis. Inspired by films such as '' Thriller – A Cruel Picture'' (1973), '' Death Wish ...
'' (1981). She was only 17 years old during the making of the film. Lund said in an interview that she had a lot of input manifesting the character: "In the beginning stages of the film, the only material that existed was vague descriptions of several scenes. Being that my face is on camera, without dialogue, for something like 98% of the time, I was involved very much. As to the film being pro-woman, I go beyond that by saying that the film is as much pro-woman as it is pro-garment worker, whatever." Although it was not an immediate success, ''Ms .45'' eventually became a
cult film A cult film or cult movie, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a cult following. Cult films are known for their dedicated, passionate fanbase which forms an elaborate subculture, members of which engage ...
in later years.


1980s work

Not wanting to become part of what she called "Abel's stable", she marked her own career path. Three years after ''Ms .45'' was released in 1981, Lund got her second chance to star in a movie, this time in a role that required her to play two different roles. ''
Special Effects Special effects (often abbreviated as SFX, F/X or simply FX) are illusions or visual tricks used in the theatre, film, television, video game, amusement park and simulator industries to simulate the imagined events in a story or virtual wor ...
'' was written and directed by
Larry Cohen Lawrence George Cohen (July 15, 1936 – March 23, 2019) was an American screenwriter, producer, and director of film and television, best known as an author of horror and science fiction films — often containing police procedural and ...
. In it he cast Lund as a wannabe starlet who is murdered on film by a fallen director portrayed by
Eric Bogosian Eric Bogosian ( hy, Էրիկ Բոգոսյան; ; born April 24, 1953) is an American actor, playwright, monologuist, novelist, and historian. Descended from Armenian American immigrants, he grew up in Watertown and Woburn, Massachusetts, and ...
, who then finds a lookalike to take her place in the movie he decides to make around the snuff footage. As the starlet, Lund's voice was dubbed by another actress, meaning it wasn't until an hour into her second movie that audiences finally got to hear her distinctly New Yorker inflections (Lund's character in ''Ms .45'' was
mute Muteness is a speech disorder in which a person lacks the ability to speak. Mute or the Mute may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Mute'' (2005 film), a short film by Melissa Joan Hart * ''Mute'' (2018 film), a scien ...
). Lund also appeared in an episode of ''
Miami Vice ''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann (director), Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo ...
'', which was directed by
Paul Michael Glaser Paul Michael Glaser (born Paul Manfred Glaser March 25, 1943) is an American actor and director best known for his role as Detective Dave Starsky on the 1970s television series, ''Starsky & Hutch''. In between his work writing and directing, Gla ...
and titled "
Prodigal Son The Parable of the Prodigal Son (also known as the parable of the Two Brothers, Lost Son, Loving Father, or of the Forgiving Father) is one of the parables of Jesus Christ in the Bible, appearing in Luke 15:11–32. Jesus shares the parable with ...
". She later appeared in ''The Houseguest'' (1989) and Temístocles López's ''Exquisite Corpses'' (1989). Lund even appeared in the
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
series '' Hothouse''.


''Bad Lieutenant''

Despite her reluctance to be identified too closely with Ferrara's work, Lund collaborated with Ferrara again on ''
Bad Lieutenant ''Bad Lieutenant'' is a 1992 American neo-noir crime film directed by Abel Ferrara. The film stars Harvey Keitel as the titular "bad lieutenant" as well as Victor Argo and Paul Calderón. The screenplay was co-written by Ferrara with actress-mod ...
'' (1992), which she co-wrote. Lund also agreed to appear in the film, playing the woman who helps
Harvey Keitel Harvey Keitel ( ; born May 13, 1939) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of morally ambiguous and "tough guy" characters. He first rose to prominence during the New Hollywood movement, and has held a long-running association with ...
's title character smoke heroin. According to Lund, "There was a lot of rewriting done on the set. Two other characters were cut, and my character modulated and took on more and more. A lot of things had to be changed and improvised. The vampire speech – which is crucial to the Lieutenant – was written two minutes before it was shot. I memorized it and did it in one take. The speech is important because she is acute in knowing the journey the Lieutenant makes. She shoots him up, sends him off, knowing of his passion, she lets him go." Lund said in an interview that ''Bad Lieutenant'' was the most personal film she had ever acted in. She also claims in another interview that she wrote the screenplay all by herself. She also claimed that she co-directed several scenes in ''Bad Lieutenant''.


Later career

As a director, Lund made two shorts: ''The Innocent Tribunal'' (1986) and ''Hot Ticket'' (1996). She also wrote the pilot episode of '' FBI: The Untold Stories''. Lund worked on unproduced screenplays about famous drug addicts such as John Holmes and
Gia Carangi Gia Marie Carangi (January 29, 1960November 18, 1986) was an American model, considered by many to be the first supermodel. She was featured on the cover of many magazines, including multiple editions of ''Vogue'' and ''Cosmopolitan'', and appea ...
. Lund attempted to publish several novels, including ''Curfew: USA'' and ''490: A Trilogy and Kingdom for a Horse''. A film adaptation of ''Curfew: USA'' and the screenplay about Holmes were both projects that Ferrara had considered filming. Other unproduced screenplays that have been credited as Lund's works included ''Last Night of Summer'' and ''Free Will and Testament''. Although she had never met supermodel Gia Carangi, she was working on a biographical screenplay of Carangi's life at the time of her death, and she appeared posthumously in the documentary '' The Self-Destruction of Gia''. According to
Abel Ferrara Abel Ferrara (born July 19, 1951) is an American filmmaker, known for the provocative and often controversial content in his movies and his use of neo-noir imagery and gritty urban settings. A long-time independent filmmaker, some of his best kn ...
: "...one time in the 90s, we were going to try to do
Pasolini Pier Paolo Pasolini (; 5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, filmmaker, writer and intellectual who also distinguished himself as a journalist, novelist, translator, playwright, visual artist and actor. He is considered one of ...
's story but only with Zoe as Pasolini; a female director living the life that Pasolini lived." However, her death led to a fifteen-year hiatus with the project until Ferrara's film ''
Pasolini Pier Paolo Pasolini (; 5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, filmmaker, writer and intellectual who also distinguished himself as a journalist, novelist, translator, playwright, visual artist and actor. He is considered one of ...
'' (2014) was released. In 1996, Lund also wrote the first draft of ''
New Rose Hotel "New Rose Hotel" is a short story by William Gibson, first published in ''Omni (magazine), Omni'' in July 1984 and later included in his 1986 collection ''Burning Chrome (short story collection), Burning Chrome''. Plot The story is set in a futu ...
'' (1998).


Personal life and death


Aliases

Lund lived and worked under many names such as Vanessa Lancaster and Tamara Tamarind.


Drug addiction

Lund was unapologetic about her
heroin addiction Opioid use disorder (OUD) is a substance use disorder characterized by cravings for opioids, continued use despite physical and/or psychological deterioration, increased tolerance with use, and withdrawal symptoms after discontinuing opioids. Op ...
. She wrote at length about heroin and advocated it for legal recreational use in the United States, as well as romanticized its effects. "She loved heroin, she was killed by heroin," Ferrara said on her heroin addiction. "...Zoe was one of these people who thought heroin was the greatest thing in the world, and she did until the day she died. She was down on coke, down on everything, but you know, heroin was the elixir of life for her." "I've known a lot of serious drug users, but Zoë was Queen,"
Richard Hell Richard Lester Meyers (born October 2, 1949), better known by his stage name Richard Hell, is an American singer, songwriter, bass guitarist and writer. Hell was in several important early punk rock bands, including Neon Boys, Television and T ...
, a friend of Lund's, recalled in 2002. "You've got to admire someone as committed to it as she was. She didn't just LOVE heroin, she believed in it."


Religion

Lund said in an interview, "...I never lost my religion. I have always had a certain increasing awareness of religion...I do believe that the
Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...
is the ultimate story. What is amazing about the book is that over the millennia, the gospel has become so refined to the point where the
Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...
story does present a very refined and highly charged model for the search for truth. We can use the
book A book is a medium for recording information in the form of writing or images, typically composed of many pages (made of papyrus, parchment, vellum, or paper) bound together and protected by a cover. The technical term for this physical arr ...
as a basis for our own path to spirituality and grace."


Relationships

From 1979 to 1986, she was the companion of
Edouard de Laurot Edward Lada Laudański (23 April 1922, Łódź – 23 March 1993, New York, New York) better known as Édouard de Laurot, aka Yves de Laurot, was a filmmaker and writer of Polish/French nationality. Early life in Poland Jonas Mekas (2007) notes t ...
. After Laurot's death in 1993, and before Lund's in 1999, the latter bequeathed the manuscript of a novel the former had written to Mekas. In 1986, she started dating her future husband, Robert Lund. They lived together in an apartment located on 10th Street, and according to
Paul Rachman Paul Rachman (born September 13, 1962) is an American film director who directed the highly praised 2006 documentary on punk music '' American Hardcore'', which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was released by Sony Pictures Classics. H ...
, the Lunds reportedly owned "dozens of roaming pet rats." The couple were married on October 31, 1986 at the NYC Municipal Building with one witness in attendance, their friend Lenny Ferrari. That same year, Lund got an abortion. Although they never got divorced, Lund and her husband separated in 1997 when the former moved to Paris where she lived with "her new boyfriend" until her death in 1999.


Death

Lund died in Paris on April 16, 1999 of heart failure, due to extended
cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...
use, which replaced her long-term heroin use after her move to Paris in 1997. She was 37.


Legacy

In 2007, experimental group Bodega System released the album ''Blood Pyx''. The cover features Lund as photographed by her widower, Robert Lund. In the early 2000s, '' American Hardcore'' director
Paul Rachman Paul Rachman (born September 13, 1962) is an American film director who directed the highly praised 2006 documentary on punk music '' American Hardcore'', which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was released by Sony Pictures Classics. H ...
made two documentary shorts about Lund's life: ''Zoe XO'' (2004) and ''Zoe Rising'' (2009). In the former short, Robert Lund discusses their relationship, while in the latter Zoë's mother Barbara Lekberg focuses more on her childhood. Abel Ferrara said of Lund in a 2012 interview, "Zoë was a brilliant, creative person before the drugs, the drugs just killed her."


Filmography


References


External links


ZoëLund.com
* *
Remembering Zoë Lund

Zoe Tamerlis on Ms .45
on YouTube
Zoe Tamerlis on drugs and sex in "Bad Lieutenant"
on YouTube
Zoe Tamerlis on the script of "Bad Lieutenant"
on YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Lund, Zoe Tamerlis 1962 births 1999 deaths Actresses from New York (state) American expatriates in France American female models American film actresses American film directors American people of Greek descent American women pianists American television actresses Screenwriters from New York (state) Drug-related deaths in France Cocaine-related deaths American women screenwriters 20th-century American actresses 20th-century American women writers 20th-century American musicians 20th-century American women musicians 20th-century American screenwriters