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Liz Sheridan

 
Actor: Liz Sheridan
Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Actors
  • Born: Apr 10, 1929
  • Occupation: Actor
  • Active: '80s-'90s
  • Major Genres: Comedy, Drama
  • Career Highlights: A Little Romance, Play the Game, ALF: Season 01
  • First Major Screen Credit: ALF: Season 01 (1986)

Biography

Liz Sheridan is an actress mostly associated with comedic roles, and best known for her portrayal of Helen Seinfeld, the mother of Jerry Seinfeld, on the series Seinfeld. Born in Westchester County and raised on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, she graduated from Mamaroneck High School. Sheridan started out in entertainment as a dancer, and was also a pianist and singer. During the early '50s, she crossed personal paths with James Dean; the two became very close, and this period in her life was recounted in Sheridan's book Dizzy and Jimmy: My Life With James Dean (2000). She lived in the Caribbean from 1953 until the mid-'60s, when she returned to New York to embark on an acting career, principally on-stage. Sheridan made a small number of television appearances, on programs such as Kojak, but her real TV career didn't begin until the 1980s, when she started getting guest roles shows such as Gimme a Break, St. Elsewhere, The A-Team, Hill Street Blues, and Scarecrow & Mrs. King, as well as in various made-for-television movies and miniseries, interspersed with the occasional feature film such as Star 80 (1983) and Legal Eagles (1986). She was probably most visible during this period in the role of Selma the housekeeper in the pilot episode of Moonlighting (1985). In 1986, Sheridan became a regular on the series Alf, which ran for four seasons, portraying Mrs. Ochmonek. At the end of that run, she auditioned for and won the role of Helen Seinfeld on Seinfeld. As Jerry Seinfeld's well-meaning but slightly high-strung mother, always trying to mediate between the generations in her family, she revealed a delightful range of comedic skills, working alongside such diverse talents as Jerry Seinfeld, Michael Richards, Barney Martin, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, Jason Alexander, et al. In the years since the cancellation of the series, she has continued to work regularly in television and feature films, primarily portraying matronly and grandmother-type roles. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
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Wikipedia: Liz Sheridan
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Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
Liz Sheridan
Born April 10, 1929 (1929-04-10) (age 80)
New York, New York
Occupation Actress
Years active 1977–2009
Spouse(s) William Dale Wales
(1985-2003) (his death) 1 child

Elizabeth "Liz" Sheridan (born April 10, 1929) is an American actress.

Sheridan was born in New York City, the daughter of Elizabeth Poole-Jones, a concert singer, and Frank Sheridan, a classical pianist.[1] Sheridan began her career as a dancer working in New York City in nightclubs and musicals. There, she met the then-unknown James Dean. Sheridan claims that she and Dean became engaged and had a short-lived romance. She has written a book on this subject, Dizzy & Jimmy: My Life with James Dean: A Love Story. Here she describes how they were each others' first 'romantic love.' However, after Dean was cast in a play which looked to be successful, he drifted away from Sheridan and — despite the play's quick demise — this was the end of their affair.

In the 1980s, Sheridan began acting as a supporting player in films and television series such as Moonlighting, Kojak, The A-Team and Cagney & Lacey. She got her first major role playing nosy neighbour, "Mrs. Raquel Ochmonek", on the NBC/TV series ALF. Sheridan is known for her recurring guest role as Helen Seinfeld, mother to Jerry Seinfeld in Seinfeld. She played the role for nine seasons, from 1990 to 1998.

In 2008, Sheridan starred alongside Andy Griffith, Doris Roberts, Paul Campbell and Marla Sokoloff in the romantic comedy Play The Game, about a young ladies man who teaches his dating tricks to his lonely, widowed grandfather who is re-entering the dating world after a 60 year hiatus. The film stirred up some controversy due to its octogenarian sex scene between Sheridan and Griffith, known for his pristine image from The Andy Griffith Show.[2]

Personal life

Sheridan was married to the late Dale Wales.

Lived with James Dean for a few years in New York. They went their separate ways after he got a role in the short-lived Jaguar on Broadway.[3]

References

  1. ^ Liz Sheridan Biography (1929-)
  2. ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/17/AR2009081702067.html
  3. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlRm6HpQNJk Interview with Liz Sheridan on the Big J Show

External links


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