Susan Strasberg

Susan Strasberg
1973 promotional image of Mannix
Born	Susan Elizabeth Strasberg May 22, 1938 New York City, New York, U.S.
Died	New York City, New York, U.S.
Cause of death	Breast cancer
Nationality	American
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1953–1992
Spouse(s)	Christopher Jones (m. 1965; div. 1968)
Children	1
Parent(s)	Lee Strasberg Paula Strasberg
Relatives	John Strasberg (brother)

Susan Elizabeth Strasberg (May 22, 1938 – January 21, 1999) was an American stage, film and television actress.

Background and acting career

Strasberg was born in New York City, the daughter of theatre director and drama coach Lee Strasberg of the Actors Studio and former actress Paula Strasberg. Her brother, John, is an acting coach. Her parents were both from Jewish families who emigrated from Europe.

Strasberg in the 1950s.

After a widely praised performance as a teenager in Picnic, Strasberg originated the title role in the Broadway production of The Diary of Anne Frank and was nominated for a Tony Award at the age of 18. Strasberg became the youngest actress to star on Broadway with her name above the marquee title. In 1955, she appeared on the cover of Newsweek (December 19, 1955 issue) and twice on the cover of Life Magazine (July 11, 1955 issue; November 11, 1955 issue). She later starred in the Italian Holocaust film Kapò which was nominated for an Academy Award as best foreign film of 1960.

From the 1960s through the 1980s, she guest-starred in such television series as The Virginian, The Invaders, Bonanza, The F.B.I., Breaking Point, Burke's Law, The Streets of San Francisco, Night Gallery, McCloud, Alias Smith & Jones, The Big Valley, Remington Steele and twice on The Rockford Files (as Deborah Ryder and as Karen Stiles, Rockford's ex-girlfriend). She lived in Italy in the early 1960s where she was often called 'La Strasberg'. In 1993 she was a jury member for the 43rd Berlin International Film Festival.

Writing

Strasberg wrote two best-selling books. Bittersweet was an autobiography in which she wrote about her tumultuous relationships with her parents, with actors Richard Burton and Christopher Jones, as well as with her own daughter's struggles with a heart defect. Marilyn and Me: Sisters, Rivals, Friends was about Strasberg's friendship with Marilyn Monroe, whom she called a "surrogate sister" and a "member" of the Strasberg family for many years. Strasberg was working on a third book about her personal spiritual journey at the time of her death entitled Confessions of a New Age Heretic.

Personal life

Before her marriage, Strasberg had relationships with Warren Beatty, Cary Grant and Richard Burton.

On September 25, 1965, Strasberg married actor Christopher Jones, with whom she had appeared in an episode of The Legend of Jesse James. Their daughter, Jennifer Robin, was born six months later. The couple divorced in 1968.

Death

Strasberg was diagnosed with breast cancer in the mid-1990s. She died of the disease at her home in New York City on January 21, 1999 at the age of 60.

Filmography

• The Cobweb (1955)
• Picnic (1955)
• 1955 Motion Picture Theatre Celebration (1955) (short subject)
• Stage Struck (1958)
• Kapò (1959)
• Scream of Fear (1961)
• The Shortest Day (1962)
• Disorder (1962)
• Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man (1962)
• The High Bright Sun (1964)
• The Trip (1967)
• The Invaders, [Series 1 Episode 8, Quantity Unknown] (1967)
• Psych-Out (1968)
• The Name of the Game Is Kill (1968)
• Chubasco (1968)
• The Brotherhood (1968)
• Sweet Hunters (1969)
• The Sisters (1969)
• The Other Side of the Wind (1972) (unfinished)
• The Night Gallery (1973) (full Episode)
• The Rockford Files, The Countess (1974)
• So Evil, My Sister (1974)
• The Legend of Hillbilly John (1974)
• Sammy Somebody (1974)
• McMillan and Wife (1974)
• The Stronger (1976) (short subject)
• Rollercoaster (1977)
• The Manitou (1978)
• In Praise of Older Women (1978)
• Acting: Lee Strasberg and the Actors Studio (1981) (documentary)
• Bloody Birthday (1981)
• The Returning (1983)
• Sweet Sixteen (1983)
• The Delta Force (1986)
• Remembering Marilyn (1987) (documentary)
• Marilyn Monroe: Beyond the Legend (1987) (documentary)
• The Runnin' Kind (1989)
• Prime Suspect (1989)
• fr (1990)
• The Cherry Orchard (1992)
• Love, Marilyn (2012) (documentary)

External links

• Susan Strasberg at the Internet Movie Database
• Susan Strasberg at the Internet Broadway Database
• Susan Strasberg at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• John Strasberg Studios
• Susan Strasberg discussing Marilyn Monroe on YouTube video, 6 min.,
• Susan Strasberg at Find a Grave