Bernadette Peters
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Bernadette Peters (born February 28, 1948) is an American actress, singer and children's book author from New York City. Over the course of a career that has already spanned five decades, she has starred in musical theatre, films and television, as well as performing in solo concerts and recordings. She is one of the most critically-acclaimed Broadway performers, having received nominations for seven Tony Awards, winning two, and eight Drama Desk Awards, winning three. Four of the Broadway cast albums on which she has starred have won Grammy Awards.
Peters first performed on the stage as a child and then a teenage actor in the 1960s, and in film and television in the 1970s. She was praised for this early work and for appearances on The Muppet Show, The Carol Burnett Show and in other television work, and for her roles in films like Silent Movie, The Jerk, Pennies from Heaven and Annie. In the 1980s she returned to the theatre, where she became one of the best-known Broadway stars over the next three decades. She also has recorded six solo albums and several singles, as well as many cast albums, and performs regularly in her own solo concert act. Peters also continues to act in films and on television, where she has been nominated for three Emmy Awards and three Golden Globe Awards, winning once.
Peters is particularly noted for her starring roles in stage musicals, including Song and Dance, Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, Annie Get Your Gun, and Gypsy, becoming closely associated with composer Stephen Sondheim. She had a four-year romantic relationship with comedian Steve Martin and was married to investment adviser Michael Wittenberg for over nine years until he was killed in a helicopter crash on September 26, 2005. Peters is known for her charitable work, including as a founder of the Broadway Barks animal charity.
Work
Filmography
- Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies (1973)
- The Longest Yard (1974)
- Silent Movie (1976)
- W.C. Fields and Me (1976)
- Vigilante Force (1976)
- The Jerk (1979)
- Tulips (1981)
- Pennies from Heaven (1981)
- Heartbeeps (1981)
- Annie (1982)
- Slaves of New York (1989)
- Pink Cadillac (1989)
- Alice (1990)
- Impromptu (1991)
- Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas (1997) (voice)
- Anastasia (1997) (voice)
- Barney's Great Adventure (1998) (singer, title song)
- Wakko's Wish (1999) (voice)
- Let It Snow (2001)
- The Making and Meaning of We Are Family (2002) (documentary)
- It Runs in the Family (2003)
- The Land Before Time X: The Great Longneck Migration (2003) (voice)
- Come le formiche (Wine and Kisses) (2007) (DVD released in Italy)
Television
- The Carol Burnett Show (various shows, 1969–1991)
- George M! (1970)
- Once Upon a Mattress (1972) as Lady Larkin
- "Love American Style" – Episode titled "Love and the Hoodwinked Honey" (1973) as Nellie (opposite Jerry Orbach)
- Paradise Lost (TV film, 1974)
- Maude – Episode titled "Rumpus in the Rumpus Room" (1975)
- All in the Family – Episode titled "Gloria Suspects Mike" (1975)
- All's Fair (TV series) (1976–1977)
- McCloud – Episode titled "The Day New York Turned Blue" (1976)
- The Muppet Show (1977)
- The Islander (TV film, 1978)
- The Martian Chronicles (1980) (miniseries)
- Saturday Night Live (1981) (host and performer)
- Faerie Tale Theatre – Sleeping Beauty (1983)
- Sunday in the Park with George (1986)
- Diana Ross: Red Hot Rhythm & Blues (1987)
- David (TV film, 1988)
- Fall from Grace (TV film, 1990)
- The Last Best Year (TV film, 1990)
- Into the Woods (1991)
- The Last Mile (1992)
- Animaniacs ("Rita and Runt" episodes, 1993–1994) (voice of Rita)
- The Larry Sanders Show – Episode titled "Montana" (1994)
- A&E Stage: "A Tribute to Stephen Sondheim at Southern Methodist University" (1995)
- Live with Regis and Kelly (various appearances, 1996–2011)
- The Odyssey (1997) (miniseries)
- Cinderella (TV film, 1997)
- What the Deaf Man Heard (TV film, 1997)
- Holiday in Your Heart (TV film, 1997)
- The Closer – Episode titled "Baby, It's Cold Outside" (1998)
- Inside the Actors Studio (2000)
- Frasier ("Sliding Frasiers") (2001) (celebrity call-in)
- Ally McBeal – Episodes titled "The Getaway" and "The Obstacle Course" (2001)
- Bobbie's Girl (TV film, 2002)
- Prince Charming (TV film, 2001 (Peru), 2003 (USA))
- Adopted (2005) (unsold ABC pilot)
- Will & Grace – Episode titled "Whatever Happened to Baby Gin?" (2006)
- Law and Order:SVU – Episode titled "Choreographed" (2006)
- Boston Legal – Episode titled "Guantanamo By The Bay" (2007)
- Grey's Anatomy – Episode titled "Dream a Little Dream of Me" (2008)
- Living Proof (TV film, 2008)
- Ugly Betty – Episodes titled "Dress for Success"; "There's No Place Like Mode", "Things Fall Apart", "In The Stars", and "Curveball" (2009)
- Smash – Episode titled "The Workshop" (2012)