Zohra Lampert

Zohra Lampert

Lampert in Pay or Die (1960)
Born (1937-05-13) May 13, 1937
New York City, New York, U.S.
Alma mater University of Chicago
Occupation Actress
Years active 1954-2014
Spouse(s) Bill Alton (1957-1958) (divorced)
Jonathan Schwartz (2010-present)

Zohra Lampert (born May 13, 1937) is an American actress, who has had roles on film, television and stage. She may be best remembered for her role as the title character in the 1971 cult horror film Let's Scare Jessica to Death,[1] as well as for starring alongside Natalie Wood and Warren Beatty in the 1961 romance film Splendor in the Grass.

Biography

Personal life

Lampert was born in New York City, the daughter of Russian Jewish immigrants Rachil Eriss, a draper and hatmaker, and Morris Lampert, an architect and ironworker.[2] Lampert attended New York's High School of Music & Art, and then the University of Chicago. She was married to actor Bill Alton [3] from 1957 to 1958. In 2010, she married radio personality Jonathan Schwartz.

Career

After working on minor stages for several years, including a stint as a member of the Second City troupe in Chicago, she performed on Broadway in a Tony-nominated performance in 1961's Look We've Come Through. She scored with a pair of small but noteworthy performances in the films Pay or Die and Splendor in the Grass. In the 1960s/70s she was active in supporting roles in film and television, and won an Emmy for her performance as a sinister gypsy on an episode of Kojak (1975). She co-starred with Gena Rowlands in John Cassavetes' Opening Night (1977).

She was a regular in the sitcom The Girl With Something Extra and the medical drama Doctors' Hospital. During the early 1970s, she originated the role of Ellie Jardin on the CBS soap, Where the Heart Is, until her character was killed off in 1972. In 1986, she appeared in an episode of Knight Rider (season 4, "Hills of Fire"). She worked less during the 1980s and 1990s. She appeared in roles as diverse as The Exorcist III (playing actor George C. Scott's wife), and the offbeat 1999 film, The Eden Myth, which would prove to be her last feature film role for the next decade.

For several years in the 80s, Lampert appeared on-screen as the spokesperson for Goya Beans.

Later years

After a ten-year absence from films, Lampert returned to acting in supporting roles in two films: The Hungry Ghosts (2009) and Zenith (2010). In March 2010, she married broadcaster and novelist Jonathan Schwartz in New York City.

Filmography

Feature films
Year Film Role Notes
1959 Odds Against Tomorrow Girl in bar Uncredited
1960 Pay or Die Adelina Saulino
1961 Posse from Hell Helen Caldwell
1961 Splendor in the Grass Angelina
1961 Hey, Let's Twist! Sharon
1966 A Fine Madness Evelyn Tupperman
1968 Bye Bye Braverman Etta Rieff
1969 Some Kind of a Nut Bunny Ericsson
1971 Let's Scare Jessica to Death Jessica
1973 The Connection Hannah Television film
1977 Opening Night Dorothy Victor
1978 Lady of the House Julia de Paulo
1979 The Suicide's Wife Sharon Logan Television film
1980 Children of Divorce Television film
1980 The Girl, the Gold Watch & Everything Wilma Television film
1984 The Cafeteria Esther
1984 Alphabet City Mama
1984 Teachers Mrs. Pilikian
1985 Izzy & Moe Esther Einstein
1986 Ladies of the Corridor Television film
1989 American Blue Note Louise
1990 Stanley & Iris Elaine
1990 The Exorcist III Mary Kinderman
1992 Alan & Naomi Mrs. Liebman
1992 Last Supper
1994 The Last Good Time Barbara
1999 The Eden Myth Alma Speck
2009 The Hungry Ghosts Ruth
2010 Zenith Mrs. Minor
2014 Sexual Secrets Alma Speck

Television

References

  1. ↑ Greenspun, Roger (August 28, 1971). "Let s Scare Jessica to Death (1971) Screen: Hippie Vampire:' Let's Scare Jessica to Death' Arrives". The New York Times.
  2. ↑ Zohra Lampert Biography
  3. ↑ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0022997/
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