Suzanne Shepherd
Birth nameSadie Gertrude Stern
Birth dateOctober 31, 1934
Birth placeElizabeth, New Jersey, U.S.
Death dateNovember 17, 2023 (aged 89)
Death placeManhattan, New York, U.S.
OccupationActress · theater director
Years active1960s–2023
Spouse
  • David Shepherd (m. 1957; div. 1966)
  • Carroll Calkins (m. 1996; died 2006)

Sadie Gertrude Stern (October 31, 1934 – November 17, 2023), known professionally as Suzanne Shepherd, was an American actress and theater director.[1][2]

Background

Shepherd was born Sadie Gertrude Stern on October 31, 1934, to a Jewish family in Elizabeth, New Jersey, the daughter of Dora (Mendelson), a cook, and David Stern, a distributor of jukeboxes and vending machines.[3] She began using the name "Suzanne" when she was 13.[3] She attended Battin High School and Bennington College, and studied acting with Sanford Meisner.[3][4] She later went on to teach Meisner's program of acting study, the first woman to do so.[5]

Career

Shepherd was a founding member of the Compass Players in the early 1960s, along with Alan Alda and Alan Arkin.

Shepherd was known for her portrayal of Aunt Tweedy in the film Mystic Pizza, Karen's overbearing mother in the film Goodfellas, Carmela Soprano's mother Mary DeAngelis in the HBO television series The Sopranos, and the assistant school principal in Uncle Buck, receiving a memorable verbal assault from Buck.[4] She also played the role of Mrs. Scarlini in the 2000 film Requiem for a Dream, and Big Ethel in A Dirty Shame. In 2016, she played the role of Lucille Abetemarco the mother of Detective Anthony Abetemarco played by former Sopranos co-star Steve Schirripa in "Good Cop Bad Cop" the second episode of the seventh season of the CBS police procedural drama Blue Bloods. In 2018, she reprised the role of Lucille Abetemarco in "Trust" the sixth episode of the ninth season of Blue Bloods.[4]

Shepherd was also a theatre director, working in New York and in regional theatre.[4]

Personal life and death

From a marriage to David Shepherd, which lasted from 1957 until their divorce in 1966, she had a son, who died in 2011, and a daughter, artist Kate Shepherd.[3][6] Her second marriage, to Carroll Calkins, lasted from 1996 until his death in 2006.[3]

Shepherd died from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and kidney failure at her home in Manhattan on November 17, 2023, at the age of 89.[3][4][7]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1988Mystic PizzaAunt Tweedy[4]
1988Working GirlTrask Receptionist[4]
1989Uncle BuckMrs. Hoargarth
1989Second SightMarilyn Bloom
1990GoodfellasKaren's Mother[4]
1990Jacob's LadderHospital Receptionist
1995The Jerky Boys: The MovieMrs. B
1995PalookavilleMother
1996BulletCookie Stein
1996Trees LoungeJackie
1997LolitaMiss Pratt[4]
1998IlluminataMarco's mother
1998Living Out LoudMary[4]
1998American CuisineMartha
1999On the RunLady in Travel Agency
2000Requiem for a DreamMrs. Scarlini[4]
2001Never AgainMother
2004A Dirty ShameBig Ethel[4]
2008ChokeWaitress
2008HaroldMaude Sellers
2009I Hate Valentine's DayEdie
2012Delivering the GoodsMrs. Weinbaum
2013Jerome's BouquetElana KleinShort film
2017Where Is Kyra?Ruth[3]
2018FurloughElizabeth Anderson
2018The Week OfAunt Iris
2023The PerformanceTess[4]

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1990Law & OrderArraignment Judge Victoria SawyerEpisode: "The Reaper's Helper"
1998VigAgnesTelevision film
2000Third Watch[4]SheatsEpisode: "Young Men and Fire..."
2000, 2004Ed[4]Elaine / Edna2 episodes
2000–2007The Sopranos[4]Mary DeAngelis20 episodes
2002Law & Order: Criminal IntentJoanEpisode: "Homo Homini Lupus"
2003Law & Order: Special Victims UnitOld WomanEpisode: "Desperate"
2010GravityScarf WomanEpisode: "Dogg Day Afternoon"
2016–2018Blue Bloods[4]Lucille Abetemarco2 episodes

References

  1. ^ Brantley, Ben (February 23, 1994). "Theater in Review". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 16, 2021.
  2. ^ Genzlinger, Neil (June 22, 2005). "From South Africa to New Jersey, Where Things Go No Better". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 16, 2021.
  3. ^ Williams, Alex (November 23, 2023). "Suzanne Shepherd, Actress Known for Playing Mothers, Dies at 89". The New York Times. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
  4. ^ Lewis, Hilary (November 19, 2023). "Suzanne Shepherd, 'Sopranos' and 'Goodfellas' Mother, Dies at 89". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  5. ^ Suzanne Shepherd, interview with Sanford Meisner, Yale Theatre 8, nos. 2 and 3 (1977): 38–43.
  6. ^ BWW News Desk. "Photos: People Are Living There Opening Night". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved May 16, 2021.
  7. ^ "Actor Suzanne Shepherd, who played mothers in 'The Sopranos' and 'Goodfellas,' dead at 89". NJ. November 18, 2023. Retrieved November 19, 2023.