Audra Lindley
Audra Marie Lindley (September 24, 1918 – October 16, 1997) was an American actress, most famous for her role as landlady Helen Roper on the sitcom Three's Company and its spin-off, The Ropers. Born in Los Angeles, California, Lindley was the daughter of show business parents. She got her early start in Hollywood by being a stand-in, which eventually progressed to stunt work. Nothing panned out, and she went to New York in her mid-20s to work in theater. Among her many Broadway plays were: On Golden Pond, Playhouse 90, Long Day's Journey into Night, and Horse Heavens. She took time off to get married and raise five children. Upon resuming her career, she began to make steady appearances on television, including the role of Sue Knowles on the CBS soap opera Search for Tomorrow, and a six-year stint as manipulative "Aunt Liz" Matthews on the NBC soap opera Another World. She also had regular roles as Meredith Baxter's mother in the sitcom Bridget Loves Bernie, as well as Lee Grant's best friend in Fay. Her greatest fame arrived when she began playing the wisecracking, perpetually unfulfilled and sexually frustrated Helen Roper on the hit sitcom Three's Company (1977). (Lindley wore a wig to maintain the character's exaggerated hairstyle.) The character and her husband, Mr. Roper (played by Norman Fell), were spun off to their own show, The Ropers (1979), which was not a success. Lindley continued to appear steadily on television and in film, such as Revenge of the Stepford Wives in 1980 and as Fauna, the owner of the "Bear Flag Restaurant," a Monterey, CA brothel portrayed in the 1982 film Cannery Row. In 1982, she appeared in the film Best Friends starring Goldie Hawn and Burt Reynolds. One of her last roles was a character part in the lesbian-themed film Desert Hearts (1985). Lindley wanted to reshoot one key scene. The director, Donna Deitch, replied that they did not have the budget for reshooting. Lindley said that she would buy a portion of the film if Deitch let her do just that one take again. Deitch agreed, and Lindley kept her word. Lindley garnered further parts of all sizes in various TV films and series, including playing Phoebe Buffay's grandmother on Friends, and her last, a recurring role as Cybill Shepherd's mother on the CBS sitcom Cybill. She had also played Shepherd's mother in the 1972 film The Heartbreak Kid. Lindley died from leukemia on October 16, 1997, at Cedars Sinai Medical Center with a Cybill script by her hospital bedside. She was married to and divorced from Dr. Hardy Ulm (1943–1960); they had five children. She later married and divorced James Whitmore (1972–1979) Description above from the Wikipedia article Audra Lindley, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia
Known For
Credits
- 1997 · Sisters and Other Strangers as Irene Connelly
- 1997 · The Relic as Dr. Matilda Zwiezic
- 1995 · Sudden Death as Mrs. Ferrara
- 1995 · Deadline for Murder: From the Files of Edna Buchanan as Jean
- 1994 · Friends as Frances
- 1994 · The New Age as Sandi Rego
- 1994 · The Corpse Had a Familiar Face as Monica/Edna's mother
- 1994 · Hart to Hart: Crimes of the Hart as Katherine Kendrick
- 1992 · Just My Imagination as Elizabeth Thompson
- 1991 · Absolute Strangers as Anne Zusselman
- 1989 · Tales from the Crypt as Anita
- 1989 · Troop Beverly Hills as Frances Temple
- 1989 · Bridesmaids as Lulu
- 1988 · Take My Daughters, Please as Rebecca
- 1988 · Spellbinder as Mrs. White
- 1988 · Perry Mason: The Case of the Lady in the Lake as Mrs. Chaney
- 1987 · Stamp of a Killer as Granny
- 1986 · Sunday Drive as Aunt Joan
- 1986 · Matlock as
- 1985 · Desert Hearts as Frances Parker
- 1984 · Murder, She Wrote as Maggie Saunders
- 1982 · Best Friends as Ann Babson
- 1982 · Cannery Row as Fauna Flood
- 1982 · The Day the Bubble Burst as Evangeline Adams
- 1981 · Skyward Christmas as Billie
- 1980 · Revenge of the Stepford Wives as Barbara Parkinson
- 1980 · The Silent Lovers as Laura Hope Crews
- 1979 · Pat Boone and Family: A Christmas Special as Self
- 1979 · The Ropers as Helen Roper
- 1979 · When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder? as Ceil Ryder
- 1978 · Pearl as Lily - General's Wife
- 1978 · Getting Married as Catherine Lawrence
- 1977 · The Love Boat as Anita Wolfe
- 1977 · The Love Boat as Mrs. Worth
- 1977 · The Love Boat as Portia Fairchild
- 1977 · The Love Boat as Agnes Larrabee
- 1977 · The Love Boat as Vanessa Norris
- 1977 · The New Love Boat as Mae Allen
- 1977 · Three's Company as Helen Roper
- 1975 · Fay as Lillian
- 1975 · The Bob Crane Show as
- 1974 · The Canterville Ghost as Mrs. Otis
- 1974 · Chico and the Man as
- 1972 · The Heartbreak Kid as Mrs. Corcoran
- 1972 · Bridget Loves Bernie as Amy Fitzgerald
- 1971 · Taking Off as Ann Lockston
- 1964 · Another World as
- 1961 · The Mike Douglas Show as Self
- 1960 · Route 66 as
- 1958 · Naked City as Sheila Braden
- 1958 · Naked City as Grace Youngham
- 1958 · Naked City as Mrs. Denton
- 1958 · From These Roots as Laura Tompkins
- 1958 · An American Girl as Mrs. Davis
- 1951 · Search for Tomorrow as
- 1950 · Lux Video Theatre as Irene Stoddard
- 1950 · Lux Video Theatre as Olive
- 1950 · Lux Video Theatre as Nurse Claxton
- 1950 · Robert Montgomery Presents as
- 1950 · Robert Montgomery Presents as Maggie
- 1948 · The Philco Television Playhouse as
- 1942 · The Male Animal as Student (uncredited)
- 1941 · Dangerously They Live as Nurse (uncredited)
- 1941 · One Foot in Heaven as Mother (uncredited)
- 1941 · Manpower as Nurse (uncredited)