Sally Claire Kellerman
[1] (born June 2, 1937) is an American actress and singer known for her role as Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan in the film MASH
(1970), for which she was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.
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SALLY KELLERMAN TICKETS
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Early life
Kellerman was born in
Long Beach, California to Edith Baine (
née Vaughn) and John Helm Kellerman.
[2] She attended
Hollywood High School, where she was "bitten by the acting bug" and went on to
Los Angeles City College. She also studied at the
Actor's Studio in
New York City with
Jeff Corey and famous classmates:
Shirley Knight,
Jack Nicholson,
Dean Stockwell and
Robert Blake.
Acting career
Kellerman made her film debut in
Reform School Girl
(
1957). On television she appeared in two episodes of
The Outer Limits
: "
The Human Factor" (1963) and "
The Bellero Shield" (1964). She had a memorable role as Dr. Elizabeth Dehner in the second filmed
pilot episode of
Star Trek
(1965), entitled "
Where No Man Has Gone Before", opposite
Gary Lockwood and
William Shatner. This would be Kellerman's second appearance with Lockwood when they both appeared in leading roles on an earlier NBC television series called Kraft Suspense Theatre (also known as "Crisis", which ran from 1963 to 1965
[3]). The episode was called "Connery's Hands" (1965).
[4] She also made an appearance in the science fiction series
The Invaders
and as Kate Mason in the episode "The Lonely Place" of the
ABC western series,
The Legend of Jesse James
, starring
Christopher Jones.
Kellerman would also co-star with
Tony Curtis in
The Boston Strangler
(
1968) as
Albert DeSalvo's only surviving victim. In 1969, she reportedly almost talked herself out of her most famous role. She had an argument with
M*A*S*H
director
Robert Altman after reading the script. She was incensed about the way her proposed character, Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan, was to be humiliated. Altman said that her attitude and passion was exactly what he was looking for in that character.
Kellerman was offered but refused the role of "Hot Lips" in
M*A*S*H
the
television series . The role would go to
Loretta Swit. Kellerman went on to appear in several more Altman films, including
Brewster McCloud
(1970) and
Welcome to LA
(
1976). She co-starred with
Diane Lane and
Laurence Olivier in
A Little Romance
(
1979),
Jodie Foster in
Foxes
(1980), and
Shirley MacLaine in
Loving Couples
(1980). Kellerman reportedly turned down the role of Linda Rogo in
The Poseidon Adventure
. It went to
Stella Stevens.
In 1986, she played comedian
Rodney Dangerfield's love interest in
Back to School
and co-starred with
Julie Andrews and
Jack Lemmon in ''
Blake Edwards
That's Life!. Kellerman teamed up with Robert Altman once again for
The Player (1992) and
Prêt-à-Porter'' (
1994) alongside some of Hollywood's biggest names,
Marcello Mastroianni,
Sophia Loren,
Lauren Bacall,
Tim Robbins,
Julia Roberts,
Kim Basinger,
Linda Hunt,
Forest Whitaker and
Cher.
More recently, she has been in
American Virgin
(2000),
Boynton Beach Club
(2006) and, making a somewhat quirky appearance as herself, leading a
cult in
The Minor Accomplishments of Jackie Woodman
(2006). Kellerman has as a cameo in
Amy Heckerling's
I Could Never Be Your Woman
(2007) and teamed up with her husband,
Jonathan D. Krane, plus
Dedee Pfeiffer and
Dylan and Cole Sprouse in
A Modern Twain Story: The Prince and the Pauper
(
2007).
[5]
She has also enjoyed a long and successful career as a voice actor for various television commercials over the years, most notably for
Hidden Valley Ranch salad dressing.
Singer
Kellerman already had a recording contract with
Verve Records when she was eight. After giving another signature performance in Robert Altman's
Brewster McCloud
, she cut her first demo with
Lou Adler then jumped straight into the
recording studio with
arranger/
producer Gene Paige to record
Roll With The Feelin
, an
album by
Decca Records.
She also contributed her vocal talent in the musical film,
Lost Horizon
(
1973) in which she collaborated with
Burt Bacharach,
Liv Ullman and
Olivia Hussey, the
soundtrack was released by
Razor & Tie.
Kellerman sang again in the
independent film,
Open House
(
2004) opposite
Ann Magnuson,
Anthony Rapp and
Kellie Martin. She was a hit in
Teatro ZinZanni in the same year.
[6] [7]
Currently touring local spots, Kellerman plans to release another album in which she works side by side with her musical director,
Chris Caswell.
In September 2008, Kellerman contributed vocal talent to the song "
I Thought About You" in a duet with singer
Ray Brown, Jr. (son of
Ella Fitzgerald and
Ray Brown) on Brown, Jr.'s duets CD entitled
Friends and Family
.
Personal life
Kellerman was married to director
Rick Edelstein from 1970-1971, and from 1980 to producer
Jonathan D. Krane. She has one daughter, Claire, her niece she adopted in 1976, when Sally's sister, Claire's birth mother, moved to France and Claire's father died two days after giving permission for the adoption. She is a mother to adopted twins with Krane. Krane also adopted Claire in 1987.
References
- According to the State of California. ''California Birth Index, 1905-1995''. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. At Ancestry.com
- Sally Kellerman Biography (1936-)
- IMDb (2009). Kraft Suspense Theatre. Retrieved on 2009-04-25 from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056768/.
- IMDb (2009). "Kraft Suspense Theatre" Connery's Hands (1965). Retrieved on 2009-04-25 from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0622139/.
- [1]
- Actress and stage performer who's been there, done that still wants more
- Sally Kellerman headlines Teatro ZinZanni