Lesley Ann Warren Biography
Summary
"Lesley Ann Warren" (born August 16, 1946), is a Golden Globe Award-winning, Oscar nominated American stage, film and television actress and singer.
Warren was born in New York City to a Jewish family whose surname was originally 'Woronoff'. The 5-foot-8 inch actress began her career as a ballet dancer, training at the School of American Ballet.
She entered the Actors Studio at the age of seventeen - reputedly the youngest applicant ever to be accepted. Her Broadway debut came in 1963 in the musical, "110 in the Shade". She won the Theatre World Award for her performance in the 1965 flop musical "Drat! The Cat!". In 1973 she portrayed Scarlett O'Hara in the Los Angeles production of "Scarlett", which was reviewed so scathingly it didn't continue to Broadway as planned.
Having failed to obtain the role of Liesl in the film version of "The Sound of Music", her first major television success was in the title role of Rodgers and Hammerstein's television special, "Cinderella", in 1965. She later replaced Barbara Bain as the leading female in the "Mission: Impossible" team during the 1970-1971 television season, though according to "The Complete Mission: Impossible Dossier" by Patrick White, she was considered too inexperienced for the part and left after only one year (she was billed as Lesley Warren on the series).
In 1967, she married producer Jon Peters. They had one son, Christopher Peters (born 1968, now an actor), but were subsequently divorced.
Select Filmography
"Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella" (1965)
"The Happiest Millionaire" (1967)
"The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band" (1967)
"Victor/Victoria" (1982) (Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress)
"A Night in Heaven" (1983)
"Choose Me" (1984)
"Clue" (1985)
"Burglar" (1987)
"Life Stinks" (1991)
"Pure Country" (1992)
"Color of Night" (1994)
"Joseph" (1995)
"Deepwater" (2006)
"Constellation" (2007)
Television
She has also appeared extensively on television, most notably in "Mission: Impossible" (1970-71). In 1970 she also had the lead role in an unbroadcast pilot based upon the 1965 film "Cat Ballou". Most recently, she has had recurring roles on "Will & Grace" - as Will's father's mistress - and on "Desperate Housewives" as Susan's mother. She has also played the role of Claudia Casey's mother on the ABC show 'Less Than Perfect'.
Trivia
She played Lois Lane in the 1975 TV production of the failed 1966 musical, "It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman" and later auditioned for the role of Lois in the 1978 "Superman" movie. Footage of Warren's screen-test for the role is included on the film's DVD release. Incidentally, Teri Hatcher, (who Warren would play mother to in "Desperate Housewives") played Lois Lane in the 90's Superman series, "Lois and Clark".
Credit
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article about Lesley Ann Warren.
