# Marilyn Sokol

Marilyn Roberta Sokol (born February 22, 1944) is an American actress, musician, comedian, and producer, perhaps best known for her roles as Lulu Brecht in Can't Stop the Music (1980) and as Ma Otter in Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas (1977). She has received an Emmy Award, Obie Award, and a Bistro Award.

## Biography

She lives in New York City and has appeared in film, television as well as in theatre on Broadway, off-Broadway and regional theatres.
Sokol was born February 22, 1944, in the Bronx, New York City, and attended Calvin Coolidge High School in Washington, D.C., and New York University. She began her professional career in 1966 as a belly dancer in the national production of Man of La Mancha. She won an Obie Award for Distinguished Performance by an Actress in 1972 for her performance in a Chelsea Theater Center production of The Beggar's Opera. In 1977, she voiced Ma Otter in Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas. In 1980, she was nominated for Worst Supporting Actress at the 1st Golden Raspberry Awards for her role in Can't Stop the Music. She has worked as a comedian, singer, and cabaret performer. In 2012-2013, she starred in the off-Broadway production Old Jews Telling Jokes. She has taught as a distinguished lecturer in the theatre program at Lehman College. She also portrayed Agnes Vertrulli on the web series Submissions Only in 2014.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1971 | The Hospital | Lady Lib. | Uncredited |
| 1976 | The Front | Sandy | |
| 1977 | The Goodbye Girl | Linda | |
| 1978 | Foul Play | Stella | |
| 1979 | Something Short of Paradise | Ruthie Miller | |
| 1980 | The Last Married Couple in America | Alice Squib | |
| 1980 | Can't Stop the Music | Lulu Brecht | |
| 1988 | Crocodile Dundee II | Doris | |
| 1989 | Family Business | Marie | |
| 1994 | Men Lie | Porno Witness | |
| 1995 | The Basketball Diaries | Chanting Woman | |
| 1999 | Man on the Moon | Madame | |
| 2002 | Big Apple | Ms. Callahan | |
| 2005 | The Producers | Bag Lady | |
| 2008 | Lucky Days | Cherie | |
| 2011 | Musical Chairs | Mrs. Greenbaum | |
| 2011 | Wounded Warrior | Grandma Grace | Short |
| 2015 | Unplugging Aunt Vera | Aunt Vera | Short |
| 2015 | Sam | Mrs. Goldfarb | |
| 2019 | Almost Love | Peggy | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1972-1992 | Sesame Street | Various Muppets | Recurring role |
| 1977 | Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas | Ma Otter | Voice, TV movie |
| 1977 | Barney Miller | Dr. Lorraine Dooley | "Sex Surrogate" |
| 1977 | All That Glitters | Farrah Abuban |
| 1980 | Scalpels | Dr. Betty Hacker | TV movie |
| 1982 | Sesame Street | Camp Director Aunt May | On camera appearance, 5 episodes |
| 1986 | Joe Bash | Betty | "Joe's First Partner" |
| 1991 | Law & Order | Marilee Katz | "His Hour Upon the Stage" |
| 1996 | Law & Order | Mrs. Levine | "Encore" |
| 1996 | All My Children | |
| 1999 | Sex and the City | Dr. Velma Rubin | "The Awful Truth" |
| 2000 | Between the Lions | The Strange Old Woman | "Sausage Nose" |
| 2011 | Are We There Yet? | Old Woman | "The Salsa Episode" |
| 2014 | Submissions Only | Agnes Vetrulli | Main role |
| 2015 | Difficult People | Older Woman | "Pilot" |

## Notable theater productions

* Year Boston Won the Pennant (1969)
* The Great God Brown, Cybel, Dec. 10, 1972 - Jan. 13, 1973
* Don Juan, Matherine, Dec. 11, 1972 - Jan. 13, 1973
* Elephant Steps (1974) (in the role of Ragtime Lady, her performance of "Watch Me Put My Right Foot Through the Door" has been captured on the cast album)
* Welcome to the Club, Arlene Metzler, Apr. 13 - 22, 1989
* Guilt Without Sex (one woman show, 1991)
* Conversations with My Father, Hannah de Blinde, Mar. 22, 1992 - Mar. 14, 1993
* Shlemiel the First (1994-1997)
* Angel Levine (1995)
* Sam and Itkeh (1997)
* If Memory Serves (1999)
* Closet Chronicles (2003)
* In the Wings (2005)
* Old Jews Telling Jokes (2012)