Susan Blakely Biography

Susan Blakely (born September 7, 1950) is an American actress and model. She is best known for her leading role in the 1976 ABC miniseries, Rich Man, Poor Man, for which she received Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Television Series Drama. Blakely also has appeared in films include The Towering Inferno (1974), Report to the Commissioner (1975), Capone (1975), The Concorde ... Airport '79 (1979), and Over the Top (1987).

Early life

Blakely was born in Frankfurt, Germany, the daughter of American parents, Mary Louise, a former art teacher, and Colonel Larry Blakely, a career Army officer. After she attended University of Texas, she moved to New York, while she studied acting with Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse and later began professional modeling career at Ford Modeling Agency.

Career

Blakely arrived in Hollywood in the early 1970s, and began appearing in supporting roles in films include Savages, The Way We Were, and The Lords of Flatbush. Her first major role was as Patty Simmons in the 1974 disaster film The Towering Inferno. The following year, she played the female lead roles in films Report to the Commissioner alongside Michael Moriarty, and Capone opposite Ben Gazzara.

Blakely gained wide critical acclaim with her leading role in the 1976 ABC television miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man based on the 1969 novel of the same name by Irwin Shaw. For her performance, Blakely won that year's Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Television Series Drama and earned a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie. She earned a second Emmy Award nomination the following year when she reprised her role in Rich Man, Poor Man Book II. After her television success, she played leading roles in two movies in 1979; disaster film The Concorde ... Airport '79 opposite Alain Delon, and sport drama Dreamer with Tim Matheson.

During 1980s and 1990s, Blakely played leading roles in many made for television movies. She portrayed Frances Farmer in the 1982 film based on Farmer's autobiography, Will There Really Be a Morning?, for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Miniseries or Television Film. She played Eva Braun opposite Anthony Hopkins in Adolf Hitler' biographical film The Bunker (1981), and Joan Kennedy in The Ted Kennedy Jr. Story (1986). She appeared in such feature films as Over the Top (1987), My Mom's a Werewolf (1989), and Hate Crime (2005). She guest starred on Hotel, The Twilight Zone, Falcon Crest, Murder, She Wrote, Nip/Tuck, Brothers & Sisters, Southland, and Cougar Town.

Personal life

In 1969, Blakely married a lawyer Todd Merer, but the pair divorced in 1977. In 1982, Blakely married media consultant and crisis management expert Steve Jaffe, a former television producer. In 2003, Blakely created a semi-precious jewelry line from her own designs.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1972	Savages	Cecily
1973	The Way We Were	Judianne
1974	The Lords of Flatbush	Jane Bradshaw
1974	The Towering Inferno	Patty
1975	Report to the Commissioner	Patty Butler
1975	Shampoo	Girl on Street	Uncredited
1975	Capone	Iris Crawford
1979	Dreamer	Karen
1979	The Concorde ... Airport '79	Maggie Whelan
1987	Over the Top	Christina Hawk
1987	The Survivalist	Linda Ryan
1989	Dream a Little Dream	Cherry Diamond
1989	My Mom's a Werewolf	Leslie Shaber
1990	Out of Sight, Out of Mind	Alice Lundgren
1992	Russian Holiday	Susan Dennison
1994	Seven Sundays	Alice
1999	Gut Feeling
2001	Crash Point Zero	Barbara Esmond
2002	Hungry Hearts	Barbi Harris
2004	L.A. Twister	Vivian
2005	Hate Crime	Martha Boyd
2008	Grizzly Park	Unhappy Camper
2008	Mating Dance	Abby's Mother
2010	The Genesis Code	Beverly Truman
2011	Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2	Vivian Ashe
2013	Green Briefs	Theresa
2015	Displacement	Carol Sinclair

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1976	Rich Man, Poor Man	Julie Prescott	Miniseries Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Television Series Drama Nominated "? Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie
1976	Rich Man, Poor Man Book II	Julie Prescott	Miniseries Nominated "? Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie
1977	Secrets	Andrea Fleming	Television film
1980	Make Me an Offer	Joyce Windsor	Television film
1980	A Cry for Love	Polly Harris	Television film
1981	The Oklahoma City Dolls	Sally Jo Purkey	Television film
1981	The Bunker	Eva Braun	Television film
1983	Will There Really Be a Morning?	Frances Farmer	Television film Nominated "? Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Miniseries or Television Film
1984	The Hitchhiker	Melody	Episode: "Remembering Melody"
1985	Stingray	Evelyn Decter	Television film
1985	The Love Boat	Nicole Phillips	2 episodes
1986	Blood & Orchids	Marie Farrell	Television film
1986	Annihilator	Layla	Television film
1986	The Ted Kennedy Jr. Story	Joan Kennedy	Television film
1987	The Twilight Zone	Linda Wolfe	Episode: "The Card/The Junction"
1985-1987	Hotel	Marion Thorne / Dr. Ann Vargo / Allison	3 episodes
1987	Fatal Confession: A Father Dowling Mystery	Patricia Erdain	Television film
1988	Broken Angel	Catherine Coburn	Television film
1988	April Morning	Sarah Cooper	Television film
1988	Hiroshima Maiden	Betty Bennett	Television film
1988	Ladykillers	Lilah Corbett	Television film
1988	In the Heat of the Night	Claudia Merrill	Episode: "The Family Secret"
1990	The Incident	Billie	Television film
1990	Falcon Crest	Anne Bowen	3 episodes
1990	Dead Reckoning	Alex Barnard	Television film
1990	Murder Times Seven	Gert Kiley	Television film
1991	And the Sea Will Tell	Gail Bugliosi	Television film
1991	Blackmail	Lucinda	Television film
1991	Wildflower	Ada Guthrie	Television film
1992	Against Her Will: An Incident in Baltimore	Billie	Television film
1992	Intruders	Leigh Holland	Miniseries
1993	No Child of Mine	Peggy Young	Television film
1994	Walker, Texas Ranger	Meredith Clancy	Episode: "Deadly Vision"
1994	The True Story of the Menendez Murders	Leslie Abramson	Television film
1989-1994	Murder, She Wrote	Various	4 episodes
1995	Step by Step	Pam Marshall	Episode: "She Came in Through the Bedroom Window"
1996	Co-ed Call Girl	Teri Halbert	Television film
1996	Color Me Perfect	Dr. Linda Ryan	Television film
1998	Broken Silence: A Moment of Truth Movie	Margaret Carlyle	Television film
1998	7th Heaven	Elizabeth Brown	Episode: "And a Nice Chianti"
2000	Chain of Command	Meg Danforth	Television film
2000	The Perfect Nanny	Dr. Julia Bruning	Television film
2000	Her Married Lover	Laura Mannhart	Television film
2001	A Mother's Testimony	Donna Mulroney	Television film
2001	Strong Medicine	Camille Cantrell	Episode: "Rebirth"
2005	The Perfect Neighbor	Jeannie Costigan	Television film
2006	Cold Case	Mollie Felice	Episode: "Baby Blues"
2007	Side Order of Life	Margot McIntyre	3 episodes
2007	Nip/Tuck	Valerie Farrell	Episode: "Everett Poe"
2008	Murder 101: New Age	Camilla Meera	Television film
2008	Two and a Half Men	Angie	2 episodes
2010	Brothers & Sisters	Celia Calmartin	Episode: "Faking It"
2009, 2011	Southland	Linda Sherman	2 episodes
2012	Cougar Town	Betsy	Episode: "Ways to be Wicked"
2013	The Perfect Boyfriend	Clara	Television film
2016	This Is Us	Anne	Episode: "The Big Day"