Harley Jane Kozak (born January 28, 1957) is an American actress and author. She made her film debut in the slasher film The House on Sorority Row (1982), and had a recurring role as Mary Duvall on the soap opera Santa Barbara between 1985 and 1989. She later had supporting parts in Clean and Sober (1988) and When Harry Met Sally... (1989), before starring in the major studio films Parenthood (1989) and Arachnophobia (1990).
Harley Jane Kozak | |
|---|---|
 Kozak in 2018 | |
| Born | Susan Jane Kozak January 28, 1957 Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Education | New York University (MFA) |
| Occupation(s) | Actress, author |
| Years active | 1981–present |
| Spouses |
|
| Children | 3 |
Kozak continued to act in film throughout the remainder of the 1990s and into the 2000s, but turned her focus to writing. She has published five mystery novels since 2004. Her debut novel, Dating Dead Men, earned her an Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity Award.
Early life
editKozak was born Susan Jane Kozak in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Dorothy (née Taraldsen), a university music teacher, and Joseph Aloysius Kozak, an attorney. She has seven older siblings; their father died when she was a year old. Kozak was raised in Lincoln, Nebraska.[1]
Kozak attended the University of Nebraska–Lincoln for three semesters before relocating to New York City, where she worked as a waitress for ten years.[2] During this period, she attended New York University's Graduate Acting Program at the Tisch School of the Arts, graduating in 1980. Of her name, Kozak has said that "Harley" came from a former boyfriend, who owned a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, and that she liked the nickname, later having her name legally changed.[3]
Career
editKozak starred in movies such as The House on Sorority Row (1983), Parenthood (1989), Side Out (1990), Arachnophobia (1990), The Taking of Beverly Hills (1991), Necessary Roughness (1991), All I Want for Christmas (1991), The Favor (1994), Magic in the Water (1995), Unforgivable (1996), and the soap operas Texas (from November 1981 to December 1982 as Brette Wheeler), Guiding Light (from 1983 to 1985 and a one-day voice-over in February 1990, as both Annabelle Sims Reardon and Annabelle's deceased mother, in 1983 flashbacks, Annie Sims) and Santa Barbara (from 1985 to 1986 and again in 1989, as former nun, Mary Duvall McCormick).
In Santa Barbara, her character died in an accident where a giant neon letter "C" toppled onto her during an argument atop the Capwell hotel. Viewers were so angry over Mary's death that they started a letter-writing campaign demanding for her reappearance. The show received such a huge number of letters that eventually they admitted their mistake and asked Kozak to come back. She declined the offer since she was already working with other projects and she was proud of the unusual way her character had made her exit. In February 1989, though, she made a brief return as an angel in Heaven. In 1987 Harley received a Soap Opera Digest Award from her role as Mary.[2] In 1993–1994, Kozak played Alison Hart, wife of Dave Hart, portrayed by Beau Bridges, on the CBS comedy/western series Harts of the West.
In 1996, Kozak appeared in the mini-series Titanic along with Peter Gallagher and Catherine Zeta Jones. She played the role of Bess Allison, a mother who dies while searching for her missing baby at the time when RMS Titanic sinks. Kozak was originally chosen to play Karen Sammler in the TV show Once and Again. She filmed the pilot, but was asked to withdraw from the series when she became pregnant with her first child, because they did not want her character to be pregnant.[3] The role went to Susanna Thompson. Also in 1996, Kozak portrayed a battered wife in a made-for-TV movie, Unforgivable, co-starring with John Ritter, and received praise for her "strong" performance.[4] Kozak also appeared in "Cold Lazarus", a first-season episode of Stargate SG-1, as Sara O'Neill.
Kozak has written five novels: Dating Dead Men (2004), Dating Is Murder : A Novel (2005), Dead Ex (2007), and A Date You Can't Refuse (2008), all of which feature greeting-card designer and amateur sleuth Wollie Shelley, a woman with very eccentric friends and family. The first three novels were published by Doubleday, a division of Random House, and the most recent was published by Broadway Books following the restructuring of Doubleday. Dating Dead Men won an Agatha Award, an Anthony Award, and a Macavity Award for best first novel. Kozak's fifth book is Keeper of the Moon, a paranormal romantic suspense novel.[citation needed]
Personal life
editKozak lives in Los Angeles, California. She has been married twice: a brief union in the early 1980s and a second marriage from 1997 to 2007 with entertainment lawyer Gregory Aldisert, with whom she has three children.[5]
Partial filmography
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981–1982 | Texas | Brette Wheeler | TV series |
| 1982 | The House on Sorority Row | Diane | |
| 1983–1985 | Guiding Light | Annabelle Sims Reardon | TV series |
| 1985–1989 | Santa Barbara | Mary Duvall | TV series |
| 1988 | Clean and Sober | Ralston Receptionist | |
| 1988–1989 | Knightwatch | Barbara 'Babs' Shepard | TV series |
| 1989 | When Harry Met Sally... | Helen Hillson | |
| 1989 | Parenthood | Susan Buckman | |
| 1990 | So Proudly We Hail | Susan McCarran | Television film |
| 1990 | Side Out | Kate Jacobs | |
| 1990 | Arachnophobia | Molly Jennings | |
| 1991 | Necessary Roughness | Dr. Suzanne Carter | |
| 1991 | The Taking of Beverly Hills | Laura Sage | |
| 1991 | All I Want for Christmas | Catherine O'Fallon | |
| 1993 | The Amy Fisher Story | Amy Pagnozzi | |
| 1993–1994 | Harts of the West | Alison Hart | TV series |
| 1994 | The Favor | Kathy Whiting | |
| 1995 | The Android Affair | Karen Garrett | Television film |
| 1995 | Magic in the Water | Dr. Wanda Bell | |
| 1995 | Charlie Grace | Holly | TV series |
| 1995 | Bringing up Jack | Ellen McMahon | TV series |
| 1996 | The Nerd | Tanzie Boyd | Television film |
| 1996 | Unforgivable | Judy Hegstrom | Television film |
| 1996 | A Friend's Betrayal | Abby Hewitt | Television film |
| 1996 | Titanic | Bess Allison | Miniseries |
| 1997 | Stargate SG-1 | Sara O'Neill | TV series |
| 1997 | Dark Planet | Brendan | |
| 1997 | The Lovemaster | Karen | |
| 1997 | The Outer Limits | Prisoner 98843 | TV series Episode: The Camp |
| 1997–1998 | You Wish | Gillian Apple | TV series |
| 1998 | Emma's Wish | Joy Bookman | Television film |
| 2005 | I Love the '80s 3-D | Herself | Documentary miniseries; Episode: "1989" |
| 2009 | The Red Queen | Church Lady | |
| 2010 | Vipers in the Grass | Celia Bowman | Short film |
| 2015 | I Spit on Your Grave III: Vengeance Is Mine | Therapist | |
| 2015 | A Kind of Magic | Abby | |
| 2018 | The Amaranth | Holly | |
| 2019 | More Beautiful for Having Been Broken | Vivienne |
Bibliography
editWollie Shelley Mysteries
edit| # | Title | Publication
Date |
Publisher | ISBN | Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dating Dead Men | 2004 | Doubleday | ISBN 0-385-51018-7 | Macavity Award for Best First Mystery Novel (2005)[6]
Anthony Award for Best First Novel (2005)[7] Agatha Award, for Best First Novel (2004)[8] |
| 2 | Dating Is Murder: A Novel | 2005 | Doubleday | ISBN 0-385-51034-9 | |
| 3 | Dead Ex | 2007 | Doubleday | ISBN 978-0-385-51802-4 | |
| 4 | A Date You Can't Refuse | 2009 | Broadway Books | ISBN 978-1-6075-1960-7 |
The Keepers, LA
editBooks 0.5, 1, 3 and 4 by Heather Graham Pozzessere
| # | Title | Publication
Date |
Publisher | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Keeper of the Moon | 2013 | Harlequin | ISBN 978-0-373-88565-7 |
Book 3 by Alexandra Sokoloff
Anthologies
edit| Collection or Anthology | Contribution | Publication
Date |
Publisher | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Landmarked for Murder | 2006 | Top Publications | ISBN 1929976372, 9781929976379 | |
| Mystery Muses | 2006 | Crum Creek Press | ISBN 0981863221, 9780981863221 | |
| This Is Chick Lit | The Infidelity Diet | 2006 | BenBella Books | ISBN 1933771011, 9781933771014 |
| A Hell Of A Woman | 2007 | Busted Flush Press | ISBN 0976715732, 9780976715733 | |
| Crimes by Moonllight | Madeeda | 2010 | Berkley Publishing (ebook) | ISBN 0425235637, 9780425235638 |
| Write Good or Die | NaNoNoNoNoNoMo | 2010
2011 |
Haunted Computer Books
Smashwords Edition |
|
| Butcher Knives & Body Counts:Essays On The Formula, Frights, And Fun Of The Slasher Film | The House on Sorority Row | 2010 | Dark Scribe Press | ISBN 0981863221, 9780981863221 |
| Mystery Writers of America Presents The Rich and the Dead | Lamborghini Mommy | 2011 | ISBN 978-0446555883 | |
| For the Sake of the Game: Stories Inspired by the Sherlock Holmes Canon | 2018 | Pegasus Books | ISBN 1681778793, 9781681778792 |
References
edit- ^ "Harley Jane Kozak". University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
- ^ a b "Kozak, Harley Jane 1957--". Encyclopedia. Contemporary Authors. 2009. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
- ^ a b "Two Wheels, Eight Legs... An interview with Harley Jane Kozak". August 26, 2014. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
- ^ "Bottoming-out and redemption of a wife-beater prompts strong performances by cast headed by John Ritter and Harley Jane Kozak. "Unforgivable" takes a serious subject — one out of three marriages involves domestic violence, according to note (without attribution) at show's end — and treats it with due respect". April 30, 1996. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
- ^ "Harley Jane Kozak Biography (1957–)". Film Reference. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
- ^ "Macavity Awards". Mystery Readers International. Retrieved July 6, 2014.
- ^ "Anthonys 2005–2009". Bouchercon World Mystery Convention. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
- ^ "Agatha Awards". Malice Domestic. Archived from the original on April 12, 2010. Retrieved July 6, 2014.