In Remembrance: Suzanne Pleshette

     Suzanne Pleshette, the husky-voiced actress who worked her comedy chops in numerous movies as well as a memorable run on the television series Newhart, has passed away on January 19, 2008 in Los Angeles, CA. She was 70.

     Born on January 31, 1937 in New York City, Pleshette graduated from the New York High School for the Performing Arts and briefly attended both Syracuse University and Finch College on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, before heading to the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre, where she worked with noted acting teacher Sanford Meisner. Her career got started in 1957 with a single-episode role on the 1957 series Harbourmaster. She also appeared on Broadway that year in the drama Compulsion.

     Pleschette made her film debut in the 1958 Jerry Lewis comedy The Geisha Boy. In response to Pleschette’s talkative nature on set, Lewis would nickname the actress “Big Mouth.” Her next film, 1962’s Rome Adventure, saw her as one part of a love triangle with Troy Donahue and Angie Dickinson. Pleschette and Donahue would reteam for the 1964 western A Distant Trumpet. Among her many other early film roles, Pleschette appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds, although she would later admit that she wasn’t sure that the famed director knew how to deal with her Method training.

     But it was Pleschette’s flair for comedy that earned her the most recognition, most notably for her role as Bob Newhart’s wife on the classic 1970s sitcom Newhart. She also appeared in the cinematic comedies 40 Pounds Of Trouble (1962), If It’s Tuesday, It Must Be Belgium (1969) and Support Your Local Gunfighter (1971). She also appeared in a small number of Disney family films including Blackbeard’s Ghost (1968) and The Shaggy DA (1976).

     Pleschette’s final film work was as part of the American voice cast for Hayao Miyazaki’s 2001 animated feature Spirited Away.