# Shirley Stoler

Shirley Stoler (March 30, 1929 – February 17, 1999) was an American actress best known for her roles in The Honeymoon Killers and Lina Wertmüller's Seven Beauties.

## Early years

The eldest of four children born to Russian Jewish immigrant parents in Brooklyn who owned a used furniture store, Stoler made her stage debut in 1955 and gained experience as a member of New York's experimental La Mama and Living Theatre companies. She had become a key underground player by the time she earned film fame in 1970 at age 41.

## Film and TV career

Throughout her career, Stoler, a large and powerfully built woman who rarely smiled onscreen, often played scary villains in such films as Seven Beauties and The Honeymoon Killers and on television in an episode of Charlie's Angels. A character actress, as well as an occasional lead, Stoler appeared in small roles in Klute, The Deer Hunter, and Desperately Seeking Susan.
A highlight of her film career was her performance as the unnamed Nazi female prison commandant in Lina Wertmüller's Seven Beauties (1975), in which she played a cat-and-mouse game of seduction with the concentration camp inmate played by Giancarlo Giannini. A profile of Stoler was featured on the front page of the New York Times Arts section.
The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film of 1976, and Wertmüller received nominations for Best Director (a first for a woman) and Best Original Screenplay; Stoler's co-star Giannini was nominated for Best Actor.
Stoler also appeared on Broadway; in the daytime soap operas The Edge of Night as Frankie and One Life to Live as Roberta (nicknamed "Tiny"); and on Saturday morning television as Mrs. Steve on Pee-wee's Playhouse.
Tim Lucas speculated she is actually Shirley Kilpatrick, changing her name after the filming of The Astounding She-Monster.

## Death

Stoler lived in Manhattan, where she died at St. Vincent's Hospital and Medical Center from heart failure after a long illness; she was 69.

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1970 | The Honeymoon Killers | Martha Beck | |
| 1971 | Klute | Momma Reese | |
| 1975 | Seven Beauties | Commandant | Italian title: Pasqualino Settebellezze |
| 1976 | A Real Young Girl | Grocer in Aupom | French title: Une vraie jeune fille |
| 1977 | The Liberation of Honeydoll Jones | Verna Jones | Uncredited |
| 1977 | The Displaced Person | Mrs. Shortley | |
| 1978 | The Deer Hunter | Steven's Mother | |
| 1979 | Charlie's Angels | Big Aggie | Episode: "Caged Angel" |
| 1980 | Skag | Dottie Jessup | 5 episodes |
| 1980 | Seed of Innocence | Corky | Alternative title: Teen Mothers |
| 1980 | Below the Belt | Trish | |
| 1980 | The Edge of Night | Frankie | Unknown episodes |
| 1981 | Second-Hand Hearts | Maxy | |
| 1982 | Splitz | Dean Hunta | |
| 1983 | The Brass Ring | Marge | Television movie |
| 1983 | Bring 'Em Back Alive | | Episode: "The Shadow Women of Chung Tai" |
| 1983 | The Powers of Matthew Star | Tattoo Artist | Episode: "The Quadrian Caper" |
| 1984 | A Stroke of Genius | | |
| 1985 | Desperately Seeking Susan | Jail Matron | |
| 1985 | Brass | Woman in window | Television movie |
| 1986-1987 | Pee-wee's Playhouse | Mrs. Steve | 7 episodes |
| 1986-1987 | One Life to Live | Roberta "Tiny" Coleman | Unknown episodes |
| 1987 | Three O'Clock High | Eva | |
| 1988 | Shakedown | Irma | |
| 1988 | Sticky Fingers | Reeba | |
| 1989 | Kate & Allie | | Episode: "Wanted: One Husband" |
| 1989 | In the Heat of the Night | Adah Boone | Episode: "The Pig Woman of Sparta" |
| 1990 | Frankenhooker | Spike the Bartender | |
| 1990 | Miami Blues | Edie Wulgemuth | |
| 1990 | Sons | German housewife | |
| 1991 | Law & Order | Charlie Maylen | Episode: "Misconception" |
| 1991 | Age Isn't Everything | | |
| 1992 | Topsy and Bunker: The Cat Killers | Grace | |
| 1992 | Mac | Customer | |
| 1992 | Malcolm X | Mrs. Swerlin | |
| 1993 | Me and Veronica | Shouting Woman | |
| 1995 | Grumpier Old Men | Organist at wedding | Uncredited |
| 1997 | The Deli | Irma | |
| 2016 | Chief Zabu | Joan Ironwood | Shot in 1986, (final film role) |