Trish Van Devere: Difference between revisions

| name = Trish Van Devere

| image = Trish Van Devere in Beauty and the Beast (1976).jpg

| caption = Van Devere in ''[[Beauty and the Beast (1976 TV film)|Beauty and the Beast]]'' (1976)

| birth_name = Patricia Louise Dressel

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1941|03|9}}

| birth_place = [[Tenafly, New Jersey|Tenafly]], [[New Jersey]], U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| occupation = Actress

| yearsactive = 1951–1994

| spouse = {{ubl

| {{marriage|Grant Van Devere|1963|1964|end=div.}}

| {{marriage|[[George C. Scott]]|September 4, 1972|September 22, 1999|end=died}}

}}

| alma_mater = [[Ohio Wesleyan University]]

'''Trish Van Devere''' (born '''Patricia Louise Dressel'''; March 9, 1941){{efn|name=birth|While numerous sources list Van Devere's birthday as March 9,<ref>{{cite web |publisher=[[AllMovie]] |url=https://www.allmovie.com/artist/trish-van-devere-p72836 |title=Trish Van Devere |url-status=live |archive-date=June 14, 2020 |archive-url=httphttps://archive.today/wip20200614065553/SVynShttps://www.allmovie.com/artist/trish-van-devere-p72836 |access-date=June 14, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Screen World 2001 |editor1=Willis, John |editor2=Monush, Barry |year=2002 |location=New York |publisher=Applause Books |volume=52 |isbn= 978-1-557-83478-2 |ppage=337}}</ref> they vary regarding her birth year, with some citing 1943 or 1945; however, the California Marriage Index lists her age as 31, and birth year as 1941 when she married [[George C. Scott]] in 1972.<ref>California Marriage Index, 1960-1985. [https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V6JB-HN2 George C. Scott and Patricia L. Dressel, 14 Sep 1972]; from "California, Marriage Index, 1960-1985," database and images; citing Los Angeles City, California, Center of Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento. {{closed access}}</ref>}} is a retired American actress. She was nominated for a [[Golden Globe Award]] for the film ''[[One Is a Lonely Number]]'' (1972), and won a [[Genie Award]] for the film ''[[The Changeling (film)|The Changeling]]'' (1980). She is the widow of actor [[George C. Scott]], with whom she appeared in multiple films.

Van Devere was born March 9, 1941{{efn|name=birth}} as Patricia Louise Dressel in [[Tenafly, New Jersey]].<ref name=mrscott>{{cite web |last=Klemesrud |first=Judy |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1972/12/31/archives/trish-mrs-scott-both-trish-van-devere.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=December 31, 1972 |title=Trish! Mrs. Scott! Both? |authorauthor1-link=Judy Lee Klemesrud, Judy|url-status=live |archive-url=httphttps://archive.today/wip20200614062832/TCiVShttps://www.nytimes.com/1972/12/31/archives/trish-mrs-scott-both-trish-van-devere.html |archive-date=June 14, 2020 |access-date=June 14, 2020}}</ref> Her father owned a [[Pontiac (automobile)|Pontiac]] dealership and real estate business, which was inherited by her mother after her father's death when Van Devere was 9nine years old.<ref name=mrscott/> After attending [[Tenafly High School]],<ref name=mrscott/> she graduated in 1958 from [[Northern Valley Regional High School at Demarest|Northern Valley High School]]<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/53414203/actress-nurses-poppa/ "Actress Nurses ''Poppa''"], ''[[The Record (North Jersey)|The Record]]'', November 27, 1970 via [[Newspapers.com]]. Accessed June 14, 2020. "Miss Pat Dressel, a 1958 graduate of Northern Valley High School, is appearing in the movie ''Where's Poppa?'', stariingstarring Ruth Gordon and George Segal. She plays a nurse, using her stage name of Trish Van Devere."</ref> before attending [[Ohio Wesleyan University]], where she met and married fellow student Grant Van Devere.<ref name=mrscott/> The marriage lasted only 8eight months, though she retained Van Devere as her stage name.<ref name=mrscott/>

In 1966, Van Devere moved to New York City and began pursuing a career in acting,<ref name=mrscott/> studying at the [[Actors Studio]].<ref>{{cite book|first=David |last=Garfield|title=A Player's Place: The Story of The Actors Studio|url=https://archive.org/details/playersplacestor00garf|url-access=registration|year=1980|publisher=MacMillan Publishing Co., Inc.|location=New York|isbn=0-02-542650-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/playersplacestor00garf/page/280 280]|chapter=Appendix: Life Members of The Actors Studio as of January 1980}}</ref> She co-founded the Free Southern Theater with Scott Cunningham, an [[African Americans|African American]] fellow actor, staging plays in fields and at churches in the Southern United States for indigent African Americans who had never seen live theater before.<ref name=mrscott/> Two years later, Van Devere and Cunningham founded an offshoot theater company, the Poor People's Theater in New York City, headquartered in the basement of Manhattan's [[Riverside Church]], which held similar theatrical productions in churches, schools, and streets.<ref name=mrscott/>

Van Devere had her breakthrough portraying the original [[Meredith Lord]] in the soap opera ''[[One Life to Live]]'' in 1968, — the fundsincome offrom which she largely used to help maintain the Poor People's Theater Company.<ref name=mrscott/> In 1970, she co-starred with [[George Segal]] and [[Ruth Gordon]] in the comedy ''[[Where's Poppa?]]''. She subsequently garnered significant notice for her lead role in the film ''[[One Is a Lonely Number]]'' (1972), for which she was nominated for a [[Golden Globe]] award.

Van Devere married actor [[George C. Scott]] in September 1972 in [[Santa Monica, California]], after havingthey appeared together in the film ''[[The Last Run]]'' (1971).<ref name=mrscott/> The couple subsequently appeared in a number of films together, including ''[[The Day of the Dolphin]]'', and ''[[The Savage Is Loose]]'' (both 1973, the latter film directed by Scott); the television film ''[[Beauty and the Beast (1976 TV film)|Beauty and the Beast]]'' (1976), ''[[Movie Movie]]'' (1978), and the supernatural horror film ''[[The Changeling (1980 film)|The Changeling]]'' (1980). Also in 1980, Van Devere had a lead role in the horror film ''[[The Hearse]]''.

Van Devere performed frequently in both television and film until 1994, and appeared in television programs such as ''[[Love Story (1973 TV series)|Love Story]]'', ''[[The Fall Guy]]'', ''[[Hardcastle and McCormick]]'', ''[[Highway to Heaven]]'' and ''[[The Love Boat]]''. She also starred alongside [[Peter Falk]] in a 1978 episode of the detective series ''[[Columbo (TV series)|Columbo]]'' entitled ''[[Columbo (season 7)#Episodes|Make Me a Perfect Murder]]'', in which she portrayed a TV producer who murders her ex-lover. She also appeared in the Charles Bronson movie Messenger of Death. She remained married to Scott until his death in 1999.<ref>{{cite news|worknewspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/movies/features/scott092499.htm|title=Actor George C. Scott Dies at 71|last=Bernstein|first= AdamdateAdam|date=September 24, 1999|ppage=B5|url-status=live|archive-url=httphttps://archive.today/wip20200614064316/FgeUkhttps://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/movies/features/scott092499.htm|archive-date=June 14, 2020|access-date=June 14, 2020}}</ref>

|rowspan=2|1978

[[Category:Actresses from Tenafly, New Jersey]]