Background:

Nancy Fish is an American film and television actress. She is recognized for her roles in “Birdy” (1984), “Howard the Duck” (1986), “The Exorcist III” (1990), “Sleeping with the Enemy” (1991), “Beethoven” (1992), “Ghost in the Machine” (1993), “The Mask” (1994),  “Merchants of Venus” (1998) and “Surfer, Dude” (2008), among other films. She had a recurring role on “Roseanne” (1998-1989) and has guest starred in popular television shows like “The Drew Carey Show,” “The X-Files,” “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” and “NYPD Blue.”     

Fish and her former husband, Ralph Harper Silver, have two children together.  


Nancy Gayle Fisch

Childhood and Family:

Nancy Fish was born Nancy Gayle Fisch on March 16, 1938, in Spokane, Washington.

At age 30, Nancy married Ralph Harper Silver on July 6, 1968. Her husband produced the 1973 documentary film “Sunseed.” The couple have two children, one of whom is actress Natasha Silver. They have divorced.


The Mask

Career:

Nancy Fish made her film acting debut as Jan in the 1967 comedy/drama “Funnyman,” starring Peter Bonerz, Sandra Archer and Carole Androsky. The same year, she also made her first television appearance in an episode of the NBC sitcom “The Minkeens” called “Case of the Missing Monkee.” In the following decade, Fish appeared in two films, “Steelyard Blues” (1973), a comedy/crime film starring Donald Sutherland, Jane Fonda and Peter Boyle and helmed by Alan Myerson, and “More American Graffiti” (1979), a sequel to the George Lucas 1973 hit film “American Graffiti.”  

In the early 1980s, Fish landed small roles in such films as Murray Mintz's “Cardiac Arrest” (1980, starred Garry Goodrow, Michael Paul Chan and Max Gail), “An Eye for an Eye” (1982, starred Chuck Norris and Christopher Lee), Clint Eastwood's crime/thriller “Sudden Impact” (1983) and Thomas A. Cohen's drama “Massive Retaliation” (1984) before delivering a memorable turn as Mrs. Prevost on the film adaptation of William Wharton's novel,“Birdy” (1984), starring Matthew Modine as the title character and directed by Alan Parker. Despite winning the Grand Prize of the Jury at the 1985 Cannes Film Festival, the film was not a success at the box office.

After a role on “Colpi di luce” (1985), an Italian film starring Erik Estrada, Fish gained additional attention for her portrayal of homeless bag lady on the science fiction/comedy film “Howard the Duck” (1986), loosely based on the Marvel comic book of the same name. Directed by Willard Huyck, the film was poorly received by critics and was a box office disaster. She next appeared in “Hiding Out” (1987), “Candy Mountain” (1988), which was the winner of Silver Seashell at the 1987 San Sebastián International Film Festival, “Two Moon Junction” (1988), “Wildfire” (1988), “Troop Beverly Hills” (1989, starred Shelley Long, Craig T. Nelson and Betty Thomas), “Cutting Class” (1989, starred Donovan Leitch, Jill Schoelen and Brad Pitt) and “The Fabulous Baker Boys” (1989).

Back to the small screen, Fish made her television movie debut in the Golden Globe nominated drama “Right to Die” (NBC, 1987), starring Raquel Welch, Michael Gross and Bonnie Bartlett, and then appeared with Todd Field, Viveka Davis and Gavin MacLeod in the ABC telepic “Student Exchange” (1987) and played a judge in a NBC comedy/family telefilm, “Parent Trap III” (1989), starring Hayley Mills, Barry Bostwick and Ray Baker. From 1988 to 1989, Fish played the recurring role of Claire in the hit sitcom “Roseanne” (ABC, 1988-1997). The actress also made guest appearances in television series like “The Equalizer” (1987), “The Wonder Years” (1988), “CBS Summer Playhouse” (1988) and “thirtysomething” (1989).  

Fish kept on her busy schedule during the 1990s. She was cast as Nurse Allerton in the 1990 sequel “The Exorcist III,” directed by William Peter Blatty, had a bit part as a woman on bus on  “Sleeping with the Enemy” (1991), a psychological thriller movie adaptation of Nancy Price's 1987 novel of the same name that was directed by Joseph Ruben and starred Julia Roberts,  and supported Bill Pullman, Julie Brown and Peter Boyle in the comedy/romance film “Nervous Ticks” (1992). She portrayed Miss Grundel in the family/comedy “Beethoven” (1992), the first in the Beethoven film series, co-starred with Meryl Streep, Goldie Hawn and Bruce Willis in Robert Zemeckis' dark comedy film, Death Becomes Her” (1992), and played the supporting role of Elaine Henderson in the slasher movie “Dr. Giggles” (1992). On the small screen, Fish appeared in the TV film “Dangerous Passion” (1990), portrayed Nurse Strickland on the daytime soap “General Hospital” (1991), and had recurring roles on “Hull High” (2 episodes, 1990) and “Brooklyn Bridge” (3 episodes, 1991-1992), as well as a one episodic stint on “Hardball” (1990) and “Tales from the Crypt” (1991).  

Following a guest spot in “Bodies of Evidence” and appearances in the made for TV films “Torch Song” and “Caught in the Act” (all 1993), Fish appeared as Karl's landlord in the well received horror/science fiction film “Ghost in the Machine” (1993), directed by Rachel Talalay, had a supporting role on the dram/thriller film “Reflections on a Crime” (1994), starring Mimi Rogers, Billy Zane and John Terry, and played the role of Mrs. Peenman in the comedy film “The Mask” (1994), starring Jim Carrey, Cameron Diaz and Peter Riegert. She resurfaced later in 1998 when she co-starred as Eppy in the comedy film “Merchants of Venus,” opposite Michael York and Prunella Gee. Between 1994 and 1998, the actress made guest appearances in many television series such as “Murphy Brown” (as Gayle Black), “Platypus Man,” “Mad About You,” “The Drew Carey Show” (as Rita), “NewsRadio,” “Ink,” “The X-Files” (as Nurse Innes) and “Early Edition” (as Antonia).

Entering the new millennium, Fish appeared as Harrison's mother on the drama/thriller film “The Giving Tree” (2000), helmed by Cameron Thor and starring Christina Applegate, Justin Lazard and Johnathon Schaech. The same year, she also appeared as 'Lesley Stahl' - Liquor Store Owner on the pilot of “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.” Two years later, she had a small part in the François Velle directed comedy film “New Suit” and guest starred as Fran Sewell in “NYPD Blue.” Fish followed them up with roles on the films “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” (2005), starring Robert Downey, Jr., Val Kilmer, Michelle Monaghan and Corbin Bernsen, and “Surfer, Dude” (2008, as Margaret), starring Matthew McConaughey.   

In 2010, Fish played the role of Honey Malone in the direct to video comedy film “Love Shack,” starring Diora Baird. Besides, she was cast as Grandma in “Hopelessly Devoted” (2010), a six minute short film helmed by Jeff Kanew.


Awards:

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