|
Annie Get Your Gun
Background:
“You gotta be original, because if you're like someone else,
what do they need you for?” Bernadette Peters.
Two-time Tony winner Bernadette Peters garnered rave reviews for
her stage roles in the Broadway productions of "Song and Dance"
(1985-1986) and "Annie Get Your Gun" (1999-2001). Peter,
who began her career as a child performer appearing on such TV shows
as "Juvenile Jury" and "The Horn and Hardart's
Children's Hour" and made her stage debut at age 10 in a revival
of "The Most Happy Fella," landed her breakthrough role of
Ruby in the 1968 Off-Broadway hit "Dames at Sea." She has
since starred in the Broadway productions of "George M!"
(1968-1969), "La Strada" (1969-1969), "Mack &
Mabel" (1974), "Sunday in the Park with George"
(1984-1985; 1994), "Into the Woods" (1987-1989; 1997), "The
Goodbye Girl" (1993), and "Gypsy" (2003-2004).
On the big screen, Peters has acted in such films as "Ace Eli
and Rodger of the Skies" (1973), "Silent Movie"
(1976), "The Jerk" (1979), "Pennies from Heaven"
(1981), "Annie" (1982), "Pink Cadillac" (1989),
"Impromptu" (1991), and "It Runs in the Family"
(2003). She also starred in the TV movies "Once Upon a Mattress"
(1972), "Fall from Grace" (1990), "The Odyssey"
(1997), "Cinderella" (1997), "Prince Charming"
(2001), and "Bobbie's Girl" (2002), as well as the
miniseries "The Martian Chronicles" (1980).
She also co-starred in the TV series "All's Fair" (1976)
and had an Emmy-nominated recurring role on "Ally McBeal."
Additionally, she has guest-starred in such TV shows as "The
Closer," "Teacher's Pet," "Frasier," "Will
& Grace," "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,"
and "Boston Legal."
The youngest performer to be inducted into the Theater Hall of
Fame, Peters has been awarded the President's Award at the 11th
Annual 'Mr. Abbott' Awards Dinner and inducted into the Hollywood
Bowl Hall of Fame. She is a member of the MTC Board of Directors.
More personally, this 5' 3'' star of stage and screen was married
to Michael Wittenberg (an investment advisor) from 1996 until his
death in September 2005. She was previously linked to actor, comedian
Steve Martin (born August 14, 1945), whom she met while filming “The
Jerk” (1979).
“I don't smoke, I don't drink much, I don't eat red meat. I
stay out of the sun.” Bernadette Peters.
Italian Lineage
Childhood and Family:
Daughter to Marguerite Lazzara and Peter Lazzara, a bread business
owner, Bernadette Lazzara was born on February 28, 1948 in Ozone
Park, Queens, New York. At the age of 9, of Italian descent
Bernadette changed her last name to Peters (after her father's first
name) to avoid being typecast in stereotypical Italian roles (mafia,
mobsters etc.) She has one older sister, Donna DeSeta (casting
director), and a brother named Joseph Lazzara.
Peters was educated at Quintano School for Young Professionals.
She married Michael Wittenberg (an investment advisor; born in 1962)
on July 20, 1996 at the upstate New York home of Mary Tyler Moore. He
died in a helicopter crash in Montenegro, Europe on September 26,
2005.
A good friend of Carol Burnett, Peters has made guest appearances
on all of Burnett's series, including “The Carol Burnett Show.”
“Getting plenty of sleep is always great. It really is. I
have a girlfriend who's sending me a slant board.” Bernadette
Peters.
Song and Dance
Career:
When she was just three and a half years, Bernadette Peters
appeared on the show Juvenile Jury. In 1953, at age five, she
appeared again on "Juvenile Jury," as well as in "The
Horn & Hardart Children's Hour." One year after receiving
her Actors Equity card in 1957, Peters made her New York stage debut
in the musical "The Most Happy Fella" (1958).
In the early 1960s, Peters toured in the musical "Gypsy,"
understudying the role of Dainty June and playing a Hollywood Blonde
in production numbers. This was her first professional collaboration
with Stephen Sondheim.
At age 17, Peters moved to NYC to pursue a stage career. She
subsequently landed a star-making role as the naïve Ruby, in
Off-Broadway production of "Dames at Sea." She followed it
up with performances in the Off-Broadway shows "The Penny
Friend" (1966) and "Curly McDimple" (1967).
In 1967, Peters made her Broadway debut in the comedy "The
Girl in the Freudian Slip," understudying the lead role of
Leslie Maugham, before making actual Broadway performing debut as
Bettina, a "very grown-up" 15-year old neighbor, in Mary
Mercier's comedy-drama "Johnny No-Trump," alongside James
Broderick, Sada Thompson, Pat Hingle, and Don Scardino.
Peters then spent the rest of the decade in the pre-Broadway tour
of "A Mother's Kisses" (1968; was written out) and played
featured role of Josie Cohan in short-lived musical "George M!"
(1968; starring Joel Grey). She also had her first starring role on
Broadway in the musical "La Strada" (1969), which closed on
opening night.
The early '1970s saw Peters appeared in the out of town tryout of
"W.C.," a musical biography of W C Fields, and revisited
her stage role of Josie Cohan in the NBC telecast of "George M!"
She then garnered first Tony nomination for her co-starring role as
Hildy Esterhazy in the revival of "On the Town" (1971) and
supported best friend Carol Burnett in the CBS telecast of the
musical "Once Upon a Mattress" (1972).
In 1973, Peters made her film acting debut in Steven
Spielberg-written adventure-comedy film "Ace Eli and Rodger of
the Skies" and co-starred as silent screen actress Mabel
Normand, opposite Robert Preston's Mack Sennett, in the following
year's Jerry Herman musical "Mack and Mabel." She also
appeared in the film biography "W C and Me" (1976) and
received a Best Motion Picture Actress in a Supporting Role
nomination at the Golden Globes for her performance as Vilma Kaplan
in the comedy film directed and starred by Mel Brooks, "Silent
Movie" (1976).
Peters was nominated another Golden Globe award, this time for
Best TV Actress – Musical/Comedy, for her turn as Charlotte
(Charley) Drake, a 23-year-old liberal photographer, on the CBS
sitcom "All's Fair" (1976-1977), opposite Richard Crenna
and Michael Keaton. She also netted first Emmy nomination (for
Outstanding Continuing or Single Performance by a Supporting Actress
in Variety or Music) in 1978 for an appearance on the syndicated "The
Muppet Show" (1977) and made her first screen collaboration with
Steve Martin in "The Jerk" (1979).
Entering the 1980s, Peters had a featured role as Genevieve Selsor
in the NBC miniseries based on Ray Bradbury 1950 science fiction
novel, "The Martian Chronicles," and had one of her best
screen roles as the schoolteacher girlfriend of Steve Martin in
Herbert Ross' "Pennies from Heaven" (1981), for which she
won a Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture Actress –
Comedy/Musical.
In 1982, Peters played a rare non-musical stage role in
Off-Broadway play "Sally and Marsha" and portrayed Lily in
John Huston's film version of "Annie." In the following
year, she starred with Mandy Patinkin in the Stephen Sondheim-James
Lapine musical "Sunday in the Park with George."
Peters won a Tony Award for her portrayal of Emma in the Andrew
Lloyd Webber musical "Song and Dance" (1985-1986), in which
she appeared alone on-stage in the first act. She then recreated
stage role of Dot in the Showtime version of "Sunday in the Park
with George" (1986), which won her a CableACE Award for Actress
in a Theatrical or Dramatic Special.
She also reunited with Sondheim and Lapine for the stage musical
based on fairy tales, "Into the Woods" (1987), in which she
portrayed the Witch, and made dramatic acting debut in the ABC
TV-movie "David" (1988), playing the mother of a boy set
afire by his father. Additionally, she played the lead in the
Merchant-Ivory production "Slaves of New York" (1989) and
became the leading lady to Clint Eastwood in "Pink Cadillac"
(1989).
Hitting the 1990s, Peters portrayed televangelist Tammy Faye
Bakker, opposite Kevin Spacey, in the NBC biopic "Fall From
Grace." Afterwards, she played supporting role in the James
Lapine-directed feature "Impromptu" (1991) and recreated
stage role of the Witch in the 1991 PBS TV version of "Into the
Woods."
Peters subsequently provided the voice of Rita the cat on "Steven
Spielberg Presents the Animaniacs" (1993) and starred opposite
Martin Short in the ill-fated musical version of "The Goodbye
Girl" (1993). And after making a recorded solo concert debut at
Carnegie Hall in December 1996, she went on to play the Wicked
Stepmother in ABC remake of "Rodgers and Hammerstein's
Cinderella" (1997) and voiced character of Sophie in the
animated feature "Anastasia" (1997).
In the late of the decade, Peters made an Australian concert debut
(1998) before returning acting and play an overprotective Jewish
mother in the independent feature "Let It Snow" (formerly
"Snow Days"; filmed in 1999; released theatrically in
2001), which premiered at Sundance. She also headlined a revival of
Irving Berlin's "Annie Get Your Gun" (1999), for which she
won second Tony award, and starred in the PBS special "Bernadette
Peters in Concert" (1999), which videotaped in London.
The new millennium saw Peters was nominated for Outstanding Guest
Actress in a Comedy Series at Emmy Awards for her recurring role on
Fox's show starring Calista Flockhart, "Ally McBeal." She
was also nominated for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Special
at Daytime Emmy Awards for her starring role opposite Rachel Ward as
a lesbian couple who adopt a child in the Showtime TV movie "Bobbie's
Girl" (lensed 2001; released 2002).
After co-starring in the TNT production "Prince Charming"
(2002), Peters portrayed Michael Douglas' wife in the film "It
Runs in the Family" (2003; co-starring Kirk Douglas) and
undertook the role of Mama Rose in Broadway revival of "Gypsy"
(May 1, 2003 - May 30, 2004), which staged by Sam Mendes.
From 2005-2008, Peters occasionally filled in as guest co-host on
the syndicated talk show "Live With Regis." Meanwhile, she
guest-starred as Karen's sister on NBC's "Will & Grace,"
as well as on NBC police procedural drama "Law & Order:
Special Victims Unit," and ABC's Golden Globe, Peabody Award and
Emmy-winning legal dramedy "Boston Legal." She also
appeared in an Italian film called "Come le formiche"
(2007; aka. "Wine and Kisses").
Awards:
Tony: "Annie Get Your Gun," 1999
Hasty Pudding Theatricals: Woman of the Year, 1987
CableACE: Actress in a Theatrical or Dramatic Special,
“Sunday in the Park with George,” 1987
Tony: "Song and Dance," 1986
Golden Globes: Best Motion Picture Actress - Comedy/Musical,
“Pennies from Heaven,” 1982
| 
