Biography: Susan Sullivan

Susan Michaela Sullivan (born November 18, 1942) is an American actress, known for several notable roles on various television programs. Sullivan played the role of Lenore Curtin Delaney on the daytime soap opera, Another World (1971-1976); Maggie Gioberti Channing, the sympathetic wife of Chase Gioberti (and later Richard Channing) (played by Robert Foxworth and David Selby respectively) on the popular 1980s soap opera, Falcon Crest (1981-1989); and Katherine "Kitty" Montgomery, the snobbish mother of Greg Montgomery (played by Thomas Gibson), on the popular 1990s sitcom Dharma & Greg. She currently co-stars in Castle, opposite Nathan Fillion, as his mother.

Early career

Sullivan was born in New York City, but was raised in the Long Island area of Baldwin, Nassau County, New York, where she graduated from Baldwin High School in 1960. She earned a BA in drama from Hofstra University in 1964, after she was working as a Playboy bunny. She got her start in acting in the 1960s, playing opposite Dustin Hoffman in the Broadway play Jimmy Shine. She also landed a contract with Universal Studios in 1969, guest-starring on several shows. It was at this time, she played parts in daytime dramas. Starting with a role on A World Apart in 1970, she moved to a five-year stint as Lenore Moore Curtin Delaney on the daytime soap opera Another World. Taking over the role from Judith Barcroft, Sullivan played the role from 1971 to 1976. Sullivan was tapped to play Charlton Heston's girlfriend Ann, a major new character written into the TV version of the film Midway in 1976. She also played Dr. Elaina Marks opposite Bill Bixby in the Incredible Hulk TV Series pilot in 1977 and portrayed Poker Alice Ivers opposite James Garner as Bret Maverick in The New Maverick the following year.

An Emmy nomination for her role as Maggie Porter in the television drama Rich Man, Poor Man Book II brought her even more attention. She also played Dr. Julie Farr in Having Babies, which was made into two television movies and later a short-lived weekly series.

In 1980, she appeared on the sitcom It's a Living, playing head waitress, Lois Adams.

Falcon Crest

In 1981, Sullivan won the role of Maggie Gioberti in the CBS primetime soap drama Falcon Crest. The series became a huge hit and Maggie became Sullivan's most prominent role to date. She appeared on the series from 1981 to 1989, during which time she was nominated for three Soap Opera Digest Awards. At the time Sullivan decided to leave the show in 1989, she had appeared in every episode of the series up to that date (207 out of the 227 episodes produced). Her character was killed off at the beginning of the final season of the series.

Dharma and Greg and current career

Following Falcon Crest, Sullivan appeared on The George Carlin Show, co-starred on the short-lived political drama The Monroes in the mid-1990s, and played a supporting role in the movie My Best Friend's Wedding (as the mother of Cameron Diaz's character). On Dharma and Greg, she played the snooty country-club matriarch, Kitty Montgomery, from 1997 to 2002. The series reunited Sullivan with actor Mitchell Ryan (who played her husband Edward), with whom she had worked on Having Babies.

Sullivan voiced Queen Hippolyta in the animated television series Justice League Unlimited. She has also appeared in the television series Brothers and Sisters, Joan of Arcadia, Hope & Faith, and Two And A Half Men. She currently co-stars alongside Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic in Castle.

Endorsements

From 1984 until 1996, she was the spokeswoman for Tylenol brand pain reliever. In 1998, she won the Jane Wyman award at the Arthritis Foundation where her former Falcon Crest series' star, Jane Wyman, was a regular member^{[citation needed]}.

External links

• Susan Sullivan at the Internet Movie Database
• Susan Sullivan at TV.com

Susan Sullivan main page.