# Susan Blakely

Susan Blakely (born September 7, 1948) is an American actress. She is best known for her leading role in the 1976 ABC miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man, for which she received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama and an Emmy nomination for Best Actress. Blakely also has appeared in films including The Towering Inferno (1974), Report to the Commissioner (1975), Capone (1975), The Concorde ... Airport '79 (1979) and Over the Top (1987).(1988) Jake and the Fatman.

## Early life

Susan Blakely was born on September 7, 1948, in Frankfurt, Germany, the daughter of an Army colonel. After she attended University of Texas at El Paso, she moved to New York and studied acting with Warren Robertson, Lee Strasberg and Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse and later studied with Charles Conrad and Warner Loughlin in Los Angeles. She began a professional modeling career in 1967 at the prestigious Ford Modeling Agency appearing in hundreds of commercials.

## Career

Blakely arrived in Hollywood in the early 1970s, and began appearing in supporting roles in films including Savages, The Way We Were, and The Lords of Flatbush. Her first major role was as Patty Simmons in the 1974 disaster film The Towering Inferno. The following year, she played the female lead roles in films Report to the Commissioner alongside Michael Moriarty, and Capone opposite Ben Gazzara.
Blakely gained wide critical acclaim with her leading role in the 1976 ABC television miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man, based on the 1969 novel of the same name by Irwin Shaw. For her performance, Blakely won that year's Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama and earned a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie. She earned a second Emmy Award nomination the following year when she reprised her role in Rich Man, Poor Man Book II. After her television success, she played leading roles in two movies in 1979: the disaster film The Concorde ... Airport '79 opposite Alain Delon, and the sport drama Dreamer with Tim Matheson.
During 1980s and 1990s, Blakely played leading roles in many made-for-television movies. She portrayed Frances Farmer in the 1982 film based on Farmer's autobiography, Will There Really Be a Morning?, for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film. She played Eva Braun opposite Anthony Hopkins in the Adolf Hitler biographical film The Bunker (1981), and Joan Kennedy in The Ted Kennedy Jr. Story (1986). She appeared in such feature films as Over the Top (1987), My Mom's a Werewolf (1989), and Hate Crime (2005). She recently guest-starred on This Is Us and NCIS and in past years on Hotel, The Twilight Zone, Stingray, Falcon Crest, Murder, She Wrote, Nip/Tuck, Brothers & Sisters, Southland, Two and a Half Men, In the Heat of the Night (1988 TV series), and Cougar Town.

## Personal life

In 1969, Blakely married a lawyer, Todd Merer. They divorced in 1981. Then in 1982, Blakely married media expert, public relations consultant and filmmaker Steve Jaffe. They reside in Beverly Hills, California.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1972 | Savages | Cecily | |
| 1973 | The Way We Were | Judianne | |
| 1974 | The Lords of Flatbush | Jane Bradshaw | |
| 1974 | The Towering Inferno | Patty Duncan Simmons | |
| 1975 | Report to the Commissioner | Patty Butler | |
| 1975 | Shampoo | Girl on Street | Uncredited |
| 1975 | Capone | Iris Crawford | |
| 1979 | Dreamer | Karen | |
| 1979 | The Concorde... Airport '79 | Maggie Whelan | |
| 1987 | Over the Top | Christina Hawk | |
| 1987 | The Survivalist | Linda Ryan | |
| 1989 | Dream a Little Dream | Cherry Diamond | |
| 1989 | My Mom's a Werewolf | Leslie Shaber | |
| 1990 | Out of Sight, Out of Mind | Alice Lundgren | |
| 1992 | Russian Holiday | Susan Dennison | |
| 1994 | Seven Sundays | Alice | |
| 1999 | Gut Feeling | | |
| 2001 | Crash Point Zero [fr] | Barbara Esmond | |
| 2002 | Hungry Hearts | Barbi Harris | |
| 2004 | L.A. Twister | Vivian | |
| 2005 | Hate Crime | Martha Boyd | |
| 2008 | Grizzly Park | Unhappy Camper | |
| 2008 | Mating Dance | Abby's Mother | |
| 2010 | The Genesis Code | Beverly Truman | |
| 2011 | Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2 | Vivian Ashe | |
| 2013 | Green Briefs | Theresa | |
| 2017 | Displacement | Carol Sinclair | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1976 | Rich Man, Poor Man | Julie Prescott | Miniseries Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie |
| 1976 | Rich Man, Poor Man Book II | Julie Prescott | Miniseries Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie |
| 1977 | Secrets | Andrea Fleming | Television film |
| 1980 | Make Me an Offer | Joyce Windsor | Television film |
| 1980 | A Cry for Love | Polly Harris | Television film |
| 1981 | The Oklahoma City Dolls | Sally Jo Purkey | Television film |
| 1981 | The Bunker | Eva Braun | Television film |
| 1983 | Will There Really Be a Morning? | Frances Farmer | Television film Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film |
| 1984 | The Hitchhiker | Melody | Episode: "Remembering Melody" |
| 1985 | Stingray | Evelyn Decter | Television film |
| 1985 | The Love Boat | Nicole Phillips | 2 episodes |
| 1986 | Blood & Orchids | Marie Farrell | Television film |
| 1986 | Annihilator | Layla | Television film |
| 1986 | The Ted Kennedy Jr. Story | Joan Kennedy | Television film |
| 1987 | The Twilight Zone | Linda Wolfe | Episode: "The Card/The Junction" |
| 1985–1987 | Hotel | Marion Thorne / Dr. Ann Vargo / Allison | 3 episodes |
| 1987 | Fatal Confession: A Father Dowling Mystery | Patricia Erdain | Television film |
| 1988 | Broken Angel | Catherine Coburn | Television film |
| 1988 | April Morning | Sarah Cooper | Television film |
| 1988 | Hiroshima Maiden | Betty Bennett | Television film |
| 1988 | Ladykillers | Lilah Corbett | Television film |
| 1988 | In the Heat of the Night | Claudia Merrill | Episode: "The Family Secret" |
| 1990 | The Incident | Billie | Television film |
| 1990 | Falcon Crest | Anne Bowen | 3 episodes |
| 1990 | Dead Reckoning | Alex Barnard | Television film |
| 1990 | Murder Times Seven | Gert Kiley | Television film |
| 1991 | And the Sea Will Tell | Gail Bugliosi | Television film |
| 1991 | Blackmail | Lucinda | Television film |
| 1991 | Wildflower | Ada Guthrie | Television film |
| 1992 | Against Her Will: An Incident in Baltimore | Billie | Television film |
| 1992 | Intruders | Leigh Holland | Miniseries |
| 1993 | No Child of Mine | Peggy Young | Television film |
| 1994 | Walker, Texas Ranger | Meredith Clancy | Episode: "Deadly Vision" |
| 1994 | The True Story of the Menendez Murders | Leslie Abramson | Television film |
| 1989–1994 | Murder, She Wrote | Various | 4 episodes |
| 1995 | Step by Step | Pam Marshall | Episode: "She Came in Through the Bedroom Window" |
| 1995-2000 | Diagnosis: Murder | Various | 2 episodes |
| 1996 | Co-ed Call Girl | Teri Halbert | Television film |
| 1996 | Color Me Perfect | Dr. Linda Ryan | Television film |
| 1998 | Broken Silence: A Moment of Truth Movie | Margaret Carlyle | Television film |
| 1998 | 7th Heaven | Elizabeth Brown | Episode: "And a Nice Chianti" |
| 2000 | Chain of Command | Meg Danforth | Television film |
| 2000 | The Perfect Nanny | Dr. Julia Bruning | Television film |
| 2000 | Her Married Lover | Laura Mannhart | Television film |
| 2001 | Baywatch Hawaii | Madam Pele/The Hitchhiker/The Tour Guide | Episode: "The Return Of Jessie" |
| 2001 | A Mother's Testimony | Donna Mulroney | Television film |
| 2001 | Strong Medicine | Camille Cantrell | Episode: "Rebirth" |
| 2005 | The Perfect Neighbor | Jeannie Costigan | Television film |
| 2006 | Cold Case | Mollie Felice | Episode: "Baby Blues" |
| 2007 | Side Order of Life | Margot McIntyre | 3 episodes |
| 2007 | Nip/Tuck | Valerie Farrell | Episode: "Everett Poe" |
| 2008 | Murder 101: New Age | Camilla Meera | Television film |
| 2008 | Two and a Half Men | Angie | 2 episodes |
| 2010 | Brothers & Sisters | Celia Calmartin | Episode: "Faking It" |
| 2009, 2011 | Southland | Linda Sherman | 2 episodes |
| 2012 | Cougar Town | Betsy | Episode: "Ways to Be Wicked" |
| 2013 | The Perfect Boyfriend | Clara | Television film |
| 2017 | NCIS | Dr. Cadence Darwin | Episode: "Exit Strategy" |
| 2017 | Crazy Ex-Girlfriend | Gigi Plimpton | Episode: "Josh Is Irrelevant." |
| 2017–2018 | This Is Us | Anne | Recurring role |