Shirley Stoler

Shirley Stoler (March 30, 1929 – February 17, 1999) was an American actress best known for her roles in The Honeymoon Killers and Lina Wertmüller's Seven Beauties.

Shirley Stoler
Stoler in The Honeymoon Killers
Born(1929-03-30)March 30, 1929
Brooklyn, New York City, U.S.
DiedFebruary 17, 1999(1999-02-17) (aged 69)
Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1970–1999

Early years

The eldest of four children born to Russian Jewish immigrant parents in Brooklyn who owned a used furniture store,[1] Stoler made her stage debut in 1955 and gained experience as a member of New York's experimental La Mama and Living Theatre companies. She had become a key underground player by the time she earned film fame in 1970 at age 41.

Film and TV career

Throughout her career, Stoler, a large and powerfully built woman who rarely smiled onscreen, often played scary villains in such films as Seven Beauties and The Honeymoon Killers[2] and on television in an episode of Charlie's Angels. A character actress, as well as an occasional lead, Stoler appeared in small roles in Klute, The Deer Hunter, and Desperately Seeking Susan.[3]

A highlight of her film career was her performance as the unnamed Nazi female prison commandant in Lina Wertmüller's Seven Beauties (1975), in which she played a cat-and-mouse game of seduction with the concentration camp inmate played by Giancarlo Giannini. A profile of Stoler was featured on the front page of the New York Times Arts section.

The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film of 1976, and Wertmüller received nominations for Best Director (a first for a woman) and Best Original Screenplay; Stoler's co-star Giannini was nominated for Best Actor.

Stoler also appeared on Broadway; in the daytime soap operas The Edge of Night as Frankie and One Life to Live as Roberta (nicknamed "Tiny"); and on Saturday morning television as Mrs. Steve on Pee-wee's Playhouse.[4]

Tim Lucas speculated she is actually Shirley Kilpatrick, changing her name after the filming of The Astounding She-Monster.[5]

Death

Stoler lived in Manhattan, where she died at St. Vincent's Hospital and Medical Center from heart failure after a long illness, shortly before her 70th birthday.[6]

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
1970 The Honeymoon Killers Martha Beck
1971 Klute Momma Reese
1975 Seven Beauties Commandant Italian title: Pasqualino Settebellezze
1976 A Real Young Girl Grocer in Aupom French title: Une vraie jeune fille
1977 The Liberation of Honeydoll Jones Verna Jones Uncredited
1977 The Displaced Person Mrs. Shortley
1978 The Deer Hunter Steven's Mother
1979 Charlie's Angels Big Aggie Episode: "Caged Angel"
1980 Skag Dottie Jessup 5 episodes
1980 Seed of Innocence Corky Alternative title: Teen Mothers
1980 Below the Belt Trish
1980 The Edge of Night Frankie Unknown episodes
1981 Second-Hand Hearts Maxy
1982 Splitz Dean Hunta
1983 The Brass Ring Marge Television movie
1983 Bring 'Em Back Alive Episode: "The Shadow Women of Chung Tai"
1983 The Powers of Matthew Star Tattoo Artist Episode: "The Quadrian Caper"
1984 A Stroke of Genius
1985 Desperately Seeking Susan Jail Matron
1985 Brass Woman in window Television movie
1986-1987 Pee-wee's Playhouse Mrs. Steve 7 episodes
1986-1987 One Life to Live Roberta "Tiny" Coleman Unknown episodes
1987 Three O'Clock High Eva
1988 Shakedown Irma
1988 Sticky Fingers Reeba
1989 Kate & Allie Episode: "Wanted: One Husband"
1989 In the Heat of the Night Adah Boone Episode: "The Pig Woman of Sparta"
1990 Frankenhooker[7] Spike the Bartender
1990 Miami Blues Edie Wulgemuth
1990 Sons German housewife
1991 Law & Order Charlie Maylen Episode: "Misconception"
1991 Age Isn't Everything
1992 Topsy and Bunker: The Cat Killers Grace
1992 Mac Customer
1992 Malcolm X Mrs. Swerlin
1993 Me and Veronica Shouting Woman
1995 Grumpier Old Men Organist at wedding Uncredited
1997 The Deli Irma
2016 Chief Zabu Joan Ironwood Shot in 1986, (final film role)

References
  1. Profile. news.google.com; Accessed May 15, 2016.
  2. Gaines, Caseen (2011). Inside Pee-Wee's Playhouse: The Untold, Unauthorized, and Unpredictable Story of a Pop Phenomenon. Toronto: ECW Press. p. 59. ISBN 978-1-5502-2998-1. OCLC 723413375. Archived from the original on June 12, 2019. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
  3. Levy, Emanuel (September 1, 1999). Cinema of Outsiders: The Rise of American Independent Film. NYU Press. p. 358. ISBN 978-0-8147-5289-0. OCLC 705931681. Archived from the original on June 12, 2019. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  4. Lentz III, Harris M. (October 24, 2008). Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 1999: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture. McFarland. p. 210. ISBN 978-0-7864-5204-0. OCLC 646769111. Archived from the original on June 12, 2019. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
  5. Warren, Bill (January 12, 2017). Keep Watching the Skies!: American Science Fiction Movies of the Fifties, The 21st Century Edition. McFarland. p. 149. ISBN 978-1-4766-2505-8. OCLC 949821415. Archived from the original on June 12, 2019. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
  6. "Shirley Stoler, 69, Actress Hailed For Her Role in 'Seven Beauties'". The New York Times. February 28, 1999. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
  7. Harris, J. P. (2002). Time capsule: reviews of horror, science fiction and fantasy films and TV shows from 1987-1991. ISBN 978-0-5952-1336-8. OCLC 937220505. Archived from the original on June 12, 2019. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
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