Simon Winchester obit

Simon Winchester dead: Famous author dies aged 82 after heart attack on family farm

 

He was not on the list.

A British-American journalist, author and former geologist has sadly died. Simon Winchester, 82, died on Tuesday on his farm in Sandisfield, Massachusetts, from a heart attack, his wife, Setsuko Sato, announced. Born in London, he spent much of his career working as a foreign correspondent. He joined The Guardian in 1969, initially as a regional correspondent in Newcastle upon Tyne before later becoming the newspaper's Northern Ireland correspondent. Winchester reported on several major events of the Northern Ireland Troubles, including Bloody Sunday and the 1972 Belfast bombings, known as Bloody Friday.

While working as a correspondent for The Guardian in Washington, DC, Winchester covered the Watergate affair, the resignation of President Nixon, and the start of Jimmy Carter's presidency.

During his time in Washington, he published his first book, "In Holy Terror," based on his years as a reporter in Northern Ireland.

In 1982, while covering Argentina's invasion of the Falkland Islands for The Sunday Times, Winchester was arrested on suspicion of espionage and held captive for three months in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego.

His work as a freelance correspondent during the mid 80s saw him travel by train from London to Moscow, Irkutsk and Ulan Bator to take up a new assignment in Hong Kong.

He remained based in China for the next 12 years which saw him rejoin the Guardian and also accepted a freelance assignment as Asia Editor of the newly-established Conde Nast Traveler magazine, based in New York.

Following the handover of Hong Kong in the summer of 1997, Winchester went to live in New York.

Throughout his career Winchester wrote over 30 books, his breakthrough coming in 1998 when he was living in New York, with the publication of "The Professor and the Madman," about the making of the Oxford English Dictionary.

He was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) 'for services to journalism and literature' in the New Year Honours list for 2006 and was elected an Honorary Fellow of St. Catherine's College, Oxford, in October 2009.

Winchester wrote or contributed to over 30 best-selling nonfiction books, one novel, and several magazines, among them Condé Nast Traveler, Smithsonian Magazine, and National Geographic. His breakthrough book as an author was The Professor and the Madman (1998).

Winchester's first book, In Holy Terror, was published by Faber and Faber in 1975. The book drew heavily on his experiences of the turmoil in Northern Ireland. In 1976 he published his second book, American Heartbeat, which deals with his travels through the American heartland. Winchester's first truly successful book was The Professor and the Madman (1998), a New York Times best seller.

Though he still wrote travel books, Winchester used the narrative non-fiction form he adopted for The Professor and the Madman several more times, resulting in multiple best-selling books. The Map that Changed the World (2001) focuses on the geologist William Smith and was Winchester's second New York Times best seller. The year 2003 saw the publication of The Meaning of Everything, which returns to the topic of the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary, and of the best-selling Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded (Viking Press]). Winchester then published A Crack in the Edge of the World, a book about San Francisco's 1906 earthquake. The Man Who Loved China (2008) retells the life of the scholar Joseph Needham. The Alice Behind Wonderland, an exploration of the life and work of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (Lewis Carroll), and his relationship with Alice Liddell, was published in 2011.

Winchester's book on the Pacific Ocean, Pacific: Silicon Chips and Surfboards, Coral Reefs and Atom Bombs, Brutal Dictators, Fading Empires, and the Coming Collision of the World's Superpowers, was published in 2015. It was his second book about the Pacific region, his first, Pacific Rising: The Emergence of a New World Culture having been published in 1991. Before this, in the mid-1980s, Winchester managed to set foot on the secretive island of Diego Garcia (which is the largest island of the Chagos Archipelago in the British Indian Ocean Territory). Winchester pretended that his boat had run into trouble next to the island, and remained in the bay for about two days. He managed to step on shore briefly before being escorted away, and was told by British authorities: "Go away and don't come back.

Lucia Modugno obit

Iconic Italian actress Lucia Modugno, star of many Rossellini films, dies at 94

 

She was not on the list.

An Italian movie star icon has passed away. Actress Lucia Modugno, who appeared in films by some of the country’s most celebrated directors, has died at 94.

Italy has lost one of its great on-screen legends with the death of actress Lucia Modugno. Her family confirmed to Italian news agency Adnkronos that the actress, who was 94, passed away on November 2nd at the Tiberia Hospital in Rome, Italy, Repubblica reported.

In a statement, the Undersecretary of State for Culture expressed her sadness over the actress’s death, saying, “Elegance, talent and years of hard work. Lucia Modugno was an artist who made a significant contribution to our country’s culture. She moved effortlessly from the big screen to the theatre, later also making her mark as a director and writer,” they said, per BariToday.

“With her passing, we lose a refined and talented professional who worked with some of Italy’s greatest directors, from Rossellini to Risi and Scola. My deepest condolences go to her family.”

Born in Bari on July 9, 1932, Lucia Modugno went on to have an incredible career in film, television, and theater.

Her career, spanning more than six decades, saw her appear alongside some of the biggest names in Italian cinema. Her film debut came in 1959, when legendary director Roberto Rossellini cast her as a young partisan in Il generale Della Rovere.

Throughout her career, Lucia Modugno worked with several other iconic Italian directors, including Dino Risi, Ettore Scola and Mario Bava.

Iconic Italian actress Lucia Modugno dies at 94

Among her best-known film appearances were the 1963 film I mostri, the 1964 film Se permettete parliamo di donne, and in 1968, Diabolik

She also appeared in Sergio Corbucci’s 1966 western Navajo Joe. Modugno became known to work in many genres, including comedy, horror, and spaghetti westerns.

Also, Modugno was a familiar face on Italian television, appearing in many popular productions. Even in her later years, she continued working in entertainment. Her more recent credits included the comedy drama Gli amici del bar Margherita from 2009. As late as 2020, Lucia appeared in the romantic comedy Gli anni più belli.

Modugno’s funeral is scheduled for Thursday, November 5, at 11 a.m. at the parish church of San Giuliano Martire in Rome.

 

Actress

Kensington Tallman in Home Sweet Rome! (2023)

Home Sweet Rome!

5.9

TV Series

Mrs. Benatti

2023

13 episodes

 

Toni Servillo, Verónica Echegui, and Luca Marinelli in Let Yourself Go (2017)

Let Yourself Go

6.0

Lady Theatre

2017

 

What a Beautiful Day (2011)

What a Beautiful Day

6.3

Serafina

2011

 

The Strategy of Affections (2009)

The strategy of affections

4.5

Rita

2009

 

Friends of the Margherita Bar (2009)

Friends of the Margherita Bar

5.9

Haberdasher

2009

 

Madame Bovary (1978)

Madame Bovary

5.7

TV Mini Series

Bed and Breakfast

1978

2 episodes

 

Anna Karenina (1974)

Anna Karenina

6.8

TV Mini Series

Lora

1974

1 episode

 

Pasqualino Cammarata... frigate captain (1974)

Pasqualino Cammarata... frigate captain

4.3

1974

 

Licentious Tales of Lustful Virgins (1973)

Licentious tales of lustful virgins

5.1

Lisa's Mother

1973

 

The Sinful Nights of Pietro Aretino (1972)

The Sinful Nights of Pietro Aretino

6.1

Margherita pizza

1972

 

Like a Hurricane (1971)

Like a hurricane

5.3

TV Mini Series

Daisy

1971

2 episodes

 

The Sign of Command (1971)

The sign of command

8.1

TV Mini Series

The prostitute

1971

1 episode

 

Mimmo Palmara, Brigitte Skay, and Fred Williams in Isabella, Duchess of the Devils (1969)

Isabella, Duchess of the Devils

5.1

Fabienne GrangierFabienne Krüger

1969

 

Her Private Hell (1968)

Her Private Hell

4.8

Marisa (as Lucia Modunio)

1968

 

Danger: Diabolik (1968)

Danger: Diabolik

6.5

Prostitutes

1968

 

For love... for magic... (1967)

For love... for magic...

5.2

1967

 

Guy Madison and Franca Polesello in LSD Flesh of Devil (1967)

LSD Flesh of Devil

5.8

Liz - the guinea pig for LSD

1967

 

It's Midnight... Throw Down the Corpse (1966)

It's midnight... throw the corpse down

6.3

Elena Davilas

1966

 

Pier Paolo Capponi and Robert Woods in My Name Is Pecos (1966)

My Name Is Pecos

6.1

Mary Burton

1966

 

Operation White Shark (1966)

Operation White Shark

4.8

Eve

1966

 

Burt Reynolds and Nicoletta Machiavelli in Navajo Joe (1966)

Navajo Joe

6.3

Geraldine - Wounded Saloon Girl

1966

 

Lando Buzzanca and Raimondo Vianello in For a Few Dollars Less (1966)

For a Few Dollars Less

5.0

Sally

1966

 

The Sultans (1966)

The Sultans

5.0

Maguy

1966

 

From Istanbul, Orders to Kill (1965)

From Istanbul, Orders to Kill

5.2

Olga (as Geraldine Pearsall)

1965

 

Franco Franchi, Mickey Hargitay, Jayne Mansfield, and Lucia Modugno in Primitive Love (1964)

Primitive Love

4.2

1964

 

The Twelve-Handed Men of Mars (1964)

The Twelve-Handed Men of Mars

5.3

1964

 

Lando Buzzanca, Marino Masé, Marisa Merlini, and Ugo Tognazzi in The Monsters (1963)

The Monsters

7.4

Clara Altidori (segment "The Noble Art")

1963

 

The Imposters (1963)

The cheaters

5.2

Franca (segment "Nuns")

1963

 

Valentina Cortese, Letícia Román, and John Saxon in The Evil Eye (1963)

The Evil Eye

6.9

Nurse

1963

 

The Scream of the Speedsters (1961)

The roar of the speeders

1961

 

Barabbas (1961)

Barabbas

6.9

Undetermined Role (uncredited)

1961

 

Valley of the Lions (1961)

Valley of the Lions

4.6

1961

 

Elke Sommer in Howlers of the Dock (1960)

Howlers of the Dock

5.8

Giommarelli's Secretary

1960

 

Vittorio De Sica, Sandra Milo, Giovanna Ralli, and Anne Vernon in General Della Rovere (1959)

General Della Rovere

7.7

A partisan

1959

 

A Master's Novel (1959)

The novel of a master

TV Mini Series

Peppina

1959

1 episode

 

Al Barkow obit

Al Barkow, award-winning golf author and historian, dies at 93

He was not on the list.

Al Barkow, the acclaimed golf writer, historian and author of Golf's Golden Grind: The History of the PGA Tour and Gettin' to the Dance Floor: An Oral History of American Golf, died Sunday. He was 93.

Barkow began his career in golf journalism in 1963 when he joined the television series Shell's Wonderful World of Golf. His first assignment was the famed "Hogan vs. Snead" match at Houston Country Club. Over the next six years, Barkow served as the show's chief writer and associate producer before eventually becoming a co-producer.

"Al led a tremendously full golf life," said Jaime Diaz, longtime contributor to Golf Digest and Golf Channel. "Al knew the game as well as any golf writer who ever lived and loved its mysteries as deeply as anyone I've ever known. All of that, along with an invigorating stint at Second City, produced a singularly soulful body of work."

Al Barkow, the author of “Golf’s Golden Grind: The History of the PGA Tour” and “Getting’ to the Dance Floor: An Oral History of American Golf,” at Pebble Beach Golf Links in 2019, where he covered U.S. Opens beginning in 1972.

Over a career that spanned seven decades, Barkow authored 12 books and collaborated with some of the game's most respected teachers and players. His later works included Sam: The One and Only Sam Snead and The Upset: Jack Fleck's Incredible Defeat of Ben Hogan for the U.S. Open.

He also co-authored instructional books with professionals Dave Stockton, Phil Rodgers, George Low and Carl Lohren, as well as World Golf Hall of Fame members Billy Casper and Ken Venturi.

Explore how to live where you love to play Access community guides, golf real estate insights, trusted agent connections, and content built for passionate golfers.

Barkow was perhaps best known for his historical works. Golf's Golden Grind became one of the definitive accounts of the PGA Tour's development, while Gettin' to the Dance Floor earned the USGA's inaugural Herbert Warren Wind Golf Book of the Year Award in 1986. "I discovered if you called him Ben instead of Mr. Hogan. he eased up a little," Barkow recalled. "Then he knew you weren't intimidated. He was a great intimidator."

In recognition of his contributions to golf journalism, Barkow received some of the profession's highest honors, including the Memorial Tournament's Journalism Honoree Award in 2003, the PGA Lifetime Achievement Award in Journalism in 2005 and the Metropolitan Golf Writers Association's Linc Werden Journalism Award in 2007.

Born in Chicago, Barkow attended Western Illinois University, where he helped the school win the 1959 NAIA national championship in golf. He later graduated from Roosevelt University. Despite making a living writing instruction articles, Barkow proved to be a skilled player himself, qualifying for the 1971 U.S. Amateur at Merion. "One of my biggest thrills," he told NCGA Golf Magazine.

"From starting out in Chicago caddying at Tam O'Shanter, to being a member of a national championship small-college team, to traveling the globe with Shell's Wonderful World of Golf, to innovative editorships at Golf Magazine and Golf Illustrated, to then writing more than a dozen exceptional books on the game, Al touched nearly every corner of golf," Diaz said.

"His Gettin' to the Dance Floor stands as golf's greatest oral history, and Golf's Golden Grind is an essential chronicle of the PGA Tour's evolution. His intimate portrayals of Hogan, Snead and Nelson were informed by long, relaxed conversations with each man, and before Shell matches, he and Gene Sarazen formed a feisty and fast-moving twosome on some of the world's great courses."

Barkow moved to Oakland, California, in 2002 and spent much of the last decade contributing to NCGA Golf magazine. His stories ranged from profiles of Bay Area courses and professionals to deeply personal essays.

Among his most memorable work were stories on Black golf pioneer Lucius Bateman, efforts that helped lead to Bateman's posthumous induction into the NCGA Hall of Fame; major champion Olin Dutra; and a moving account of his son Adam's recovery from alcoholism and the role golf played in that journey.

"As a professional journalist, I am always looking for stories to tell of events that reveal something about how the world works, how people deal with the turns life takes, how they made it turn and the outcomes," Barkow wrote.

"But that is not the case here, for the story to be told involves my son, Adam Barkow, and how golf, which has been an integral part of our lives, has played so large a role in his tale of rebirth, recovery and emancipation. It's a good story that is getting better, and I think best told by his dad."

The story ran in July and served as a reminder that even in his 90s, Barkow had lost none of the curiosity, warmth or storytelling touch that made him one of golf's most respected writers. 

He was not on the list.

Marcia Ann Gillespie obit

Marcia Ann Gillespie, Former Editor-In-Chief Of ESSENCE, Dies At 82

A pioneering journalist who helped establish ESSENCE as a leading publication for Black women, Gillespie leaves behind a legacy that continues to influence the magazine industry.

 She was not on the list.

Marcia Ann Gillespie, the pioneering journalist and former editor-in-chief of ESSENCE who helped establish the magazine as an influential publication for Black women, has died. She was 82.

A respected figure in American publishing, Gillespie spent decades advocating for greater representation in the media while creating opportunities for Black women to tell their own stories. Her leadership during ESSENCE’s formative years helped establish an editorial identity that continues to influence the publication today.

Born July 10, 1944, in Rockville Centre, New York, Gillespie grew up on Long Island in a working-class household. Her father worked as a church sexton and operated a floor-waxing business, while her mother worked as a domestic employee and ran a catering business. Gillespie attended Lake Forest College in Illinois, graduating in 1966 with a degree in American studies. She subsequently relocated to New York City, where she began her publishing career as a researcher at Time-Life Books.

In 1970, Gillespie joined the newly established ESSENCE as managing editor. Just one year later, at 26, she was promoted to editor-in-chief, assuming leadership of a magazine created specifically to serve Black women at a time when it was needed most. Under her direction, ESSENCE experienced significant growth and became a trusted publication among readers who rarely saw themselves represented with comparable depth in national magazines.

Gillespie also helped develop future editorial leaders, including Susan L. Taylor, who would eventually succeed her as editor-in-chief. After leaving ESSENCE in 1980, Gillespie joined Ms. magazine, eventually becoming its editor-in-chief in 1992. Her appointment made her the first Black woman to lead a mainstream American magazine. She subsequently helped establish Liberty Media for Women, which acquired Ms. in 1998, preserving an important publication devoted to women's rights.

Beyond magazine publishing, Gillespie contributed to Maya Angelou: A Glorious Celebration, a biography of the acclaimed author published in 2008. She also taught media and communications at SUNY Old Westbury and supported organizations devoted to women's advancement. Her achievements earned numerous honors, including recognition from the University of Missouri School of Journalism.

Sandra Kerr obit

Sandra Kerr who did music for Bagpuss dies aged 84

 She was not on the list.

Tributes have been paid to a musician who helped bring Bagpuss to life after she died aged 84 following a battle with cancer.

Sandra Kerr, who wrote and performed the music for the much-loved children’s series alongside John Faulkner, died peacefully in the early hours of yesterday (October 29).

Her son-in-law, musician James Fagan, announced the news on behalf of her family.

“Our dear, darling Sandra Kerr slipped away yesterday, October 29, in the quiet hours of morning,” he said.

“She was peaceful at the end. We spent a lot of time with her this week and were able to share many messages of love and support from friends with her.”

She was diagnosed with leukemia in March and received supportive treatments and transfusions, which allowed her to attend Whitby Folk Week in August.

Her family said she mostly wanted to spend time with them, walk along the Northumbrian coast and watch the birds in her garden.

Mr Fagan described her as “an incredible educator, an outstanding songwriter, musician and choir leader” who campaigned for peace, women’s rights, the environment, the protection of children and social justice.

He added: “Sandra was so beloved and will be missed by so many.

“We will remember her as a loving partner, a wonderful mother and a lovely nana to Hamish, Harry and Jasper.”

Music organisation Live to your Living Room also described her as “a true legend in the folk world”, saying she had been “a joy” to work with.

Bagpuss was created by Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin through Smallfilms, based in Blean, near Canterbury.

A post on the Smallfilms Facebook page said: “Sandra’s music brought joy to the world, and it will continue to inspire generations of musicians and storytellers.

“She taught the world so much with gentle and wise words as the voice of Madeleine the Rag Doll, and her role as Nooka will never be forgotten.

“We hope her musical rounds will be sung for years to come.”

The shop window seen in the opening sequence of Bagpuss belonged to the Firmin family home, while the original pink and white cloth cat is now displayed at The Beaney in Canterbury.

Only 13 episodes were made, first airing in 1974, but regular repeats helped it become a favourite among generations of children.

It was voted the nation’s favourite BBC children’s programme in 1999.

Musicians Sandra and John secured the job after Postgate heard the music they had created for Sam on Boffs’ Island, an educational programme produced by Michael Rosen.

Postgate wanted a less formal sound for Bagpuss and gave the pair freedom to draw upon traditional folk music and improvise around his stories and lyrics.

Using instruments including the concertina, autoharp and Appalachian dulcimer, they created the gentle sound which accompanied Bagpuss and his friends.

Sandra also voiced Madeleine the rag doll, while John played Gabriel the toad.

Born in Plaistow, Essex, in February 1942, Sandra spent a year living with celebrated folk musicians Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger as their au pair and folk apprentice.

She later joined their influential Critics Group and went on to perform with groups including Sisters Unlimited and Voice Union.

Her career also included BBC radio work, directing choirs and teaching in Newcastle University’s music department for 17 years.

She continued performing and leading singing workshops into her 80s, often appearing alongside her daughter, Nancy Kerr.

Bagpuss celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2024, while a film mixing live action and animation is now being developed for a planned 2027 release.

Speaking to Radio Times earlier this year, Sandra said fans still approached her in tears after hearing the programme’s music, telling her Bagpuss had provided “a place of security” during their childhoods.

Asked whether she had grown tired of being associated with it, she replied: “People say, ‘Are you tired of it?’ No I’m not, I’m immensely proud of it.

“I mean how often does a creative artist get that chance in their life?”

 

Discography

'A Merry Progress to London' with the Critics Group (Argo ZFB 60 1966)

'Sweet Thames Flow Softly' with the Critics Group (Argo ZDA 47 1966)

'Waterloo-Peterloo' with the Critics Group (Argo ZFB 68 1968)

'The Female Frolic' with the Critics Group (Argo ZDA 82 1968)

'John & Sandra' (Argo ZFB 2 1969)

'Bagpuss: the Songs & Music' with John Faulkner (Fellside – Smallfolk SMF1 1999)

'Yellow Red and Gold' (Fellside FECD152)

'My Song is My Own' with Frankie Armstrong, Alison McMorland and Kathy Henderson (Plane Label TPL 0001, 1980)

'Nuclear Power No Thanks' with Frankie Armstrong, Roy Bailey, Martin Carthy, Ron Elliott, Howard Evans, Chris Foster, John Kirkpatrick, Alison McMorland, Brian Pearson, Geoff Pearson, Leon Rosselson & Roger Williams (Plane Label IMP2 LP, 1981)

'Scalene' with Nancy Kerr & James Fagan (Fellside FECD137)

'Supermum' children's songs by Sandra Kerr and friends (Pucca Records YOP 05 LP, UK, 1983)

'We Were There' with the Oysterband (Pucca Records YOP 08 LP, UK, 1987)

'No Limits' Sisters Unlimited with Janet Russell, Peta Webb and Rosie Davis (1991 Harbour Town)

'No Bed of Roses' Sisters Unlimited with Janet Russell, Peta Webb and Rosie Davis (Fellside FECD104)

'Neat and Complete' with Nancy Kerr (1996 Fellside FECD107)

'Guess What They're Selling at the Happiness Counter' with Leon Rosselson (Fuse Records 1992)

'Five Little Frogs' with Nancy Kerr, Leon Rosselson, and Kevin Graal

'Five Little Owls' with Nancy Kerr, Leon Rosselson, and Kevin Graal

'Voice Union' with Evelyne Girardon and Liliana Bertolo (Fellside FECD119)

Books

Kathy Henderson, Frankie Armstrong and Sandra Kerr. My Song is My Own. London: Pluto Press, 1979 ISBN 0-86104-033-3 & ISBN 0-86104-032-5 / ISBN 9780861040322 (One hundred traditional and composed women's songs from the British Isles, with select bibliography and discography.)

Kerr, Sandra (1 December 1994). The Song Sampler: 26 Folk Songs from Around the World for Group Singing. Illustrated by Rik Walton (2nd ed.). Newcastle upon Tyne: Folkworks. ISBN 9780952075455. OCLC 772808123.

Marvin R. Shanken obit

Marvin R. Shanken, Visionary Publisher Who Transformed the Worlds of Wine and Cigars, Dies at 83

As Wine Spectator’s editor and publisher for more than five decades, Shanken built a powerhouse magazine by focusing on serving wine consumers

 He was not on the list.

Marvin R. Shanken, the founder of publishing company M. Shanken Communications and longtime editor and publisher of Wine Spectator, died on October 29. He was 83 years old. Over a five-decade career, Shanken dramatically shaped the wine world, as well as the spirits, beer, cigar and restaurant industries. He helped educate millions of Americans on the joys and virtues of wine, and tirelessly encouraged and pushed winemakers to produce the best for their customers. First and foremost, he saw his role as serving his readers.

Shanken began his journalism career in 1972, when he purchased a small beverage alcohol industry newsletter named Impact. Within a decade, he turned it into essential reading for thousands of members of the wine and spirits industries. In 1979, he purchased a struggling newspaper given away for free at wine shops named The Wine Spectator, which he would grow and then transform into a glossy magazine prized by more than 3 million wine lovers as essential reading.

He also founded the trade publications Market Watch and Shanken News Daily, along with the lifestyle magazine Cigar Aficionado, and purchased Food Arts and Malt Advocate, which he renamed Whisky Advocate.

In his role as editor and publisher of Wine Spectator, Shanken covered and helped shape wine’s growing presence in American life, as it became less of a niche product and more of an essential companion with a good meal. He established Wine Spectator’s Restaurant Awards program to encourage restaurants to take wine programs seriously. He launched the Wine Experience to bring together the world’s greatest wine producers with their most devoted consumer fans. And he created the Wine Spectator Scholarship Foundation to give back, supporting education in the winemaking and hospitality industries.

“The holy trinity of wine in America is Ernest Gallo, Robert Mondavi, and Marvin Shanken,” said Gerry Ruvo, longtime wine and spirits industry executive.

An Unexpected Detour Into Journalism

Marvin Ray Shanken was born on October 4, 1943, in New Haven, Connecticut, not far from Yale University, though he liked to joke, “I didn't go to Yale. The closest I got was the Yale Bowl, where I sold cold beer on weekends.” His father, Oscar, ran a small jewelry store.

After high school and a summer stint volunteering for John F. Kennedy’s 1960 presidential campaign, Shanken studied business at the University of Miami. He became a devoted Hurricanes fan and would later serve as a member of the university’s board of trustees, but in 1965, he graduated last in his class, which he often joked about. He hoped to study for an M.B.A. from American University in Washington, but the school would only accept him if he first took night classes. “I got straight A’s,” he later told the New York Times. “They had to let me in.”

In 1968, Shanken got a job on Wall Street with a small investment banking firm, primarily working on real estate investments. Two years later, he was dispatched to California to help finance a vineyard purchase for a client. While doing due diligence on the wine industry, he was surprised to find out there was almost no public information.

After the deal was complete, the client took Shanken out for dinner at an elegant French restaurant in Westchester County, N.Y., called La Crémaillère, and told him he could order any wine on the menu. As he later told Wine Spectator’s former executive editor Thomas Matthews, “Frankly, I’d never had any great wine before, but there was one I’d heard of, so I ordered it: 1961 Pétrus. We drank it and bells went off. I loved the taste and wanted to learn everything I could about wine.”

Quickly he began studying about both wine and the industry that produced it. Two years later, a fresh inspiration struck after he was involved in a traffic accident during another trip in California. Lying in the hospital, he later told longtime editor Michael Moaba, “I had an epiphany that I love wine, not real estate, and decided I wanted to be a wine writer.”

But where to start? With no experience and $5,000 he borrowed from his sister Elaine, he bought the Impact newsletter from Jack Maxwell, a research analyst at Oppenheimer & Co. Maxwell handed him a box with 200 index cards—Impact’s subscribers. For the next three years, Shanken ran Impact part-time while continuing his day job.

“Within the first three months, I was certain I had made the biggest mistake of my life,” he later said. “I had jumped out of an airplane without a parachute.”

Impact was a trade newsletter analyzing the wine and spirits industry. In the 1970s, most of these companies were privately owned and kept their financials to themselves. Most trade publications simply reprinted press releases. “I quickly learned the liquor industry was a closed kingdom, controlled by a small group of liquor barons. They didn’t want outsiders. To suggest that I was unwelcome would be an understatement.” Shanken remembered attending a conference where he tried to introduce himself to various industry titans, who all pointedly ignored him.

But while the producers did not want independent, professional journalism digging into their finances, alcoholic beverage wholesalers did. They proved Shanken’s early supporters, buying subscriptions for their staff and retailer customers. In 1975, he quit his day job and began working on Impact full-time, with one other employee. Recently divorced, his offices were the one-bedroom apartment on East 53rd Street in Manhattan that he lived in.

Slowly but surely, he found success. In 1976, Impact published its first annual research study, an in-depth look at volumes and sales figures of the alcohol industry, which has now grown into a series of reports called Shanken’s Impact Databank. In 1977, he held the first annual Impact Marketing Seminar, a daylong event for industry leaders to discuss trends in marketing, advertising and government regulation. He hoped for 50 people, and 125 showed up. Impact quickly became essential reading.

“Marvin’s material is probably the most authoritative statistical work ever done on the industry,” Abdallah Simon, the late, iconic chairman of Seagram Vintners, told the New York Times in 1986.

A White Knight for a Wine Magazine

The Wine Spectator was founded in San Diego in April, 1976, by Bob Morrisey. A free tabloid newspaper, it was distributed in local wine shops. Shanken saw it on a trip and loved it. “It was simple, unpretentious and entertaining for consumers,” he said. He called Morrisey to compliment him, and the two men became friends, regularly chatting about their respective publications.

But by 1978, Morrisey was struggling to keep it afloat and offered to sell it to Shanken. Turning him down, Shanken instead traveled to San Diego and spent several days offering ideas for turning it around. But a year later, Morrisey reached out again—if Shanken wouldn’t buy The Wine Spectator, it would cease publication. “He flew to New York, we met and somehow he got me to agree. I think the only reason I agreed to do it is that I didn’t want Wine Spectator to die.”

In the July 16, 1979, issue, Shanken’s first as publisher, he wrote an editorial titled, “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.” At the time, circulation was 5,000 issues. Shanken’s goal was to transform it from a newspaper to a magazine, but that would require time and money. “I was never satisfied with it as a newspaper, but you have to crawl before you walk, walk before you run, and to print a newspaper costs a fraction of what a magazine in full color does,” he later said. “And so every year my goal was to grow the revenue, hire more people, to the point where one day, I could take it from a newspaper to a magazine and educate people all over America about wine. I’ve said from the beginning: We’re not in the publishing business, we’re in the education business.”

Changes came quickly. In 1982, the magazine’s small staff loaded a van with files and equipment and relocated from San Diego to offices in downtown San Francisco. In 1983, Shanken parted ways with the magazine’s editor, Gerald Boyd, a holdover from Morrisey’s tenure, and became editor himself so he could shape every issue. Still running M. Shanken Communications from New York, he would fly to San Francisco to finish each edition.

In 1985, the magazine adopted the 100-point scale for rating wines, in order to give American consumers a format that easily resonated. In 1987, Shanken redesigned the publication, turning it into a glossy magazine. The following year, circulation reached 76,000.

These changes were not smooth sailing. “We were growing but struggling,” Shanken later said. “Every year the circulation went up; every year the ad revenues went up. But because we were investing so much in the publication, Wine Spectator kept losing more and more money. It became an enormous drain on my trade-publishing business in New York, which during this period was going through enormous growth.” In 1986, his accountant begged him to sell the magazine. “‘It is bleeding cash,’ he told me. ‘You are in over your head.’”

But Shanken continued to stay the course. And he continued to fiercely declare his independence, even when it might have made things harder. In the Sept. 16, 1983, issue, he wrote an editorial: “I am tired of receiving letters, especially from winery executives and importers, complaining that The Wine Spectator is not giving them ‘enough’ editorial support. Let this column set the record straight once and for all that this publication is not ‘a promotional arm’ for any wine, or any wine region. ... Our task is to be relevant, informative and entertaining to our readers.”

In 1991, Shanken gathered his senior editors for annual meetings in Pebble Beach, California. The magazine had reached a circulation of 80,000 readers and was no longer in immediate danger of going under. And so, of course, Shanken wanted to turn things upside down.

“I find Wine Spectator boring today,” he told them. “It is time for us to move on.” His plan was to expand the magazine’s coverage to other topics wine consumers wanted to learn about—travel, cooking, restaurants and more. That broadening of mission allowed the magazine to reach a larger audience than ever. Today’s magazine has a circulation of more than 385,000 and each issue reaches an estimated 1.5 million readers.

“I thought that this was what was needed to sustain and increase the growth of the audience of Wine Spectator,” Shanken said in a 2022 interview. “Wine was, is and will always be the core editorial subject. But I thought that wine, in and of itself, was too narrow. If you add the components of dining, cooking, travel and collecting, among others, then you really are inside the mind, the heart and soul of a typical wine lover who wants to enjoy many of the pleasures of life.”

One personal passion Shanken did not add to Wine Spectator was cigars. He had been smoking cigars since his college days and loved them. He wrote a series of columns on them in Wine Spectator. But he decided it was time to pursue another dream. The following year he launched Cigar Aficionado, a glossy lifestyle magazine for cigar smokers. His entire management team discouraged him, arguing there wasn’t an audience. The magazine quickly became a success.

“Marvin belongs to the elite coterie of magazine makers, the geniuses of our business,” said Jonathan Newhouse, chairman of Condé Nast International, as he presented Shanken with the Association of Magazine Media’s Lifetime Achievement Award in February 2019. He praised Shanken’s long history in publishing, particularly his refusal to compromise editorial integrity for advertising revenues. “In today’s media landscape, where the walls between ads and edit are nonexistent, Marvin maintains an iron curtain.”

Expanding Beyond Print

During his early days as Wine Spectator editor and publisher, Shanken had a beef with restaurants. “I would go to a lot of restaurants and they had good food but didn’t pay attention to the wine,” he later said. “Whatever a distributor sold them, they’d put on the list.” In 1981, he created the Wine Spectator Grand Award program, with the twin goals of recognizing restaurants that took wine seriously and helping readers find those restaurants.

That first year, 13 restaurants were granted Grand Awards. The following year, the magazine recognized the 100 top wine lists in America. And in 1985, the magazine added the Award of Excellence and Best of Award of Excellence, creating different tiers for the level of the wine programs. Today, more than 4,000 restaurants worldwide hold a Wine Spectator award, and 99 of those hold Grand Awards, signaling that they are world-class destinations for wine.

For Shanken, the reward of the program is that restaurants now recognize good wine programs—both the selection of wines on the menu and the quality of the wine service—as part of hospitality. “Back in the 1970s, if you went to a restaurant and it had 30 tables, one table would have a bottle of wine. [Forty years later], you go to a restaurant where there are 30 tables and every table has a bottle of wine on it.”

The Grand Awards led to another development. In 1981, Shanken co-hosted a Wine Spectator Grand Award banquet at the Windows on the World restaurant atop New York’s World Trade Center, with Windows’ wine director Kevin Zraly, celebrating the first recipients of the restaurant awards. That same year, California tourism officials hosted the California Wine Experience, an event to promote California wine, at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco. The following year, the Wine Experience organizers, including the legendary Robert Mondavi, asked Shanken if he would take over the event. After some hesitation, Shanken agreed, and with Zraly’s help, combined the two events into a weekend of tastings, seminars and a Grand Award banquet.

His hesitation was understandable. In 1973, one year after he had purchased Impact, Shanken had taken a position as an organizer and promoter of a new event—the International Wine and Cheese Festival, a weeklong wine and cheese tasting at the New York Coliseum. The annual event, which lasted only a few years, proved chaotic, but it taught Shanken valuable lessons in event organizing and regulatory logistics. In the early 1980s, Bill Backer, creative director of renowned ad agency Backer & Spielvogel, called Shanken, “The P.T. Barnum of the wine and spirits industry.”

Since Shanken took over, the Wine Experience has grown into the premier wine event that focuses not just on the trade, but also consumers, and it was a pioneer of media events. Each year, more than 4,000 guests attend part or all of the weekend, including two nights of Grand Tastings of more than 250 wines rated 90 points or higher by Wine Spectator editors and poured by the winery owners or winemakers, plus in-depth tasting seminars of some of the world’s most amazing wines. The annual weekend, now in its fifth decade, has become a reunion for the winemaking community and an unmatched chance for consumers to learn more about the world of wine.

The Wine Experience also helped Shanken achieve a lifelong goal of giving back. In 1983, he launched the Wine Spectator Scholarship Foundation and now all net proceeds from the Wine Experience are for the benefit of the non-profit foundation. Vintners generously donate all the wines of the weekend, which has raised more than $40 million for scholarships and grants to benefit those aspiring to careers in the hospitality and wine industries.

“If you were to ask me what I am most proud of over these 40 years, the answer would be simple: From the very early days, we wanted to give back,” said Shanken in a 2016 interview. “Charity and charitable events are an integral part of our company’s culture.”

Foundation beneficiaries have included students at Napa Valley College, the University of California-Davis viticulture and enology program, Sonoma State University’s Wine Business Institute, Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration, Florida International University’s Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management, World Central Kitchen, The Roots Foundation, and the Culinary Institute of America, among others.

In 2009, Shanken launched a second charitable endeavor, inspired by a good friend. Professional golfer Ernie Els and his wife Liezl were looking to give back to the community as parents of an autistic child, their son Ben. Shanken and his wife, Hazel, partnered with them to launch the Els for Autism Foundation and raise money to build the Els Center of Excellence, an education and recreation center for autistic children in South Florida that opened its doors in 2015.

The Wine Experience served as a model for two other events Shanken spearheaded. In 1993, he held the first Big Smoke, a Cigar Aficionado–organized gathering for cigar lovers. And when he purchased Malt Advocate in 2010, a big draw was its WhiskyFest event, which he would expand and grow.

A Hands-On Leader

Shanken saw his communications firm as a family company. In 1981, he married Hazel Rudy, a financial executive who now serves on the M. Shanken Communications board of advisers. They have one daughter, Jessica Shanken Reid, who is M. Shanken’s executive vice president for business development. Shanken has two daughters from a previous marriage, Allison Cohen and Samantha Shanken Baker. Cohen’s son Jake Cohen works as an advertising account executive for the company.

When not working, Shanken loved dining out and traveling the world with Hazel. He was a cinema buff—favorites included Once Upon a Time in America and Animal House—and a lifelong fan of the music of James Brown. He was a lover of musical theater, including Jersey Boys and the works of Gilbert & Sullivan, ever since he secured a role at age 8 in H.M.S. Pinafore at his summer camp in the Berkshire Mountains. Hoping to pass that love along, in 2000, he began sponsoring school field trips for New York City kids to see performances by the New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players.

For five decades, Shanken was the visible, hands-on leader of the company that bore his name, and believed that the company should also function as a family. He took pride in the fact that many of his employees worked for him for decades. He loved hiring someone young and having them grow into new roles and spend their lives at MSC.

He took pride in his company’s ethos of journalism. As he told an interviewer in 2020, “We also talk about how we can guarantee that we never mislead our readers, that we maintain the objectivity and the truthfulness that has escaped from journalism to a very large degree in the world. And I’m constantly asking questions of my editors to make sure that our readers know that what they read is the truth.”

He enjoyed conducting lengthy interviews with some of the world’s most interesting people, both in the industries he covered and outside. Notable Q&As included Ernest Gallo, Fidel Castro, Michael Jordan and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Despite overseeing a company, Shanken saw himself first and foremost as an editor. “People think of me as a businessman or an entrepreneur, I’m really an editor,” he said in the 2020 interview. “I spend more time thinking about, planning and working with my editors to execute each issue, in terms of everything from selecting the cover topic to the content, shaping the stories, to getting the photography, to making sure it’s right. That’s where my fingerprint is, but nobody necessarily knows that. I consider myself more of an editor than anything else.”

Shanken is survived by his wife, Hazel, his sisters, Elaine and Susan, his three daughters, Samantha Shanken Baker, Allison Cohen and Jessica Shanken Reid, and four grandchildren: Jake, Lauren, Asher and Jordan.

Barbara Barrie obit

Barbara Barrie Dies: Star Of Broadway And ‘Barney Miller’ Was 95

 

She was not on the list.

Barbara Barrie, who received a Tony nomination for her role in Broadway’s original Company, an Oscar nomination for her performance in Breaking Away and wide recognition as the wife of Hal Linden’s police captain on TV’s Barney Miller, died October 28 at her home in Manhattan. She was 95.

Her death was reported to The New York Times by her daughter Jane Harnick, who said Barrie’s death was medically assisted and that the actor had been diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Following her breakthrough Cannes Film Festival award-winning performance in 1964’s One Potato, Two Potato, Barrie built a career that encompassed the stage, film and television, making marked contributions to all. She appeared in 11 Broadway productions, including original stagings of Stephen Sondheim’s Company, Neil Simon’s The Prisoner of Second Avenue and California Suite, Harvey Fierstein’s Torch Song Trilogy and a 2004 revival of Fiddler on the Roof.

In addition to 1979’s Breaking Away, her film credits included an uncredited role in the classic 1956 drama Giant and as the mother of Goldie Hawn’s character in 1980’s Private Benjamin.

Barrie was most prolific on television, with credits stretching back to the 1950s anthology dramas and such popular 1960s series as Route 66, The Twilight Zone, The Fugitive, Ben Casey and Ironside, among many others. In 1974 she flirted with Gavin MacLeod’s Murray Slaughter on a memorable episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show and began her five-season recurring role on Barney Miller the following year. Her character largely was absent beyond the first season as the ABC sitcom increasingly focused on the police precinct workplace comedy rather than the title character’s domestic life.

In addition to her portrayal of Barney Miller‘s Liz Miller, Barrie probably is best known to TV audiences for her series regular role on the 1996-2000 sitcom Suddenly Susan, in which she portrayed “Nana” Keane, grandmother of Brooke Shields’ title character. Barrie appeared in 92 episodes during the show’s five-season NBC run.

Born Barbara Ann Berman on May 23, 1931, in Chicago, Barrie was moved to New York City after college to launch her show business career. She made her Broadway debut in the 1955 play The Wooden Dish, returning four years later in The Beaux Stratagem by George Farquhar. She also appeared in various Off Broadway productions, including 1958’s The Crucible, as well as regional and touring productions.

Her signature stage role arrived in 1970 when she originated the character of Sarah in Company, starring opposite Elaine Stritch, Dean Jones and Beth Howland, among others. She was nominated for a Tony Award for the performance in what would prove to be a seminal Broadway musical.

Barrie’s most recent Broadway role was in Joshua Harmon’s Significant Other in 2017.

In film, Barrie landed her first leading role in 1964’s groundbreaking One Potato, Two Potato, portraying a divorced woman who marries a Black man and in so doing risks losing custody of her child. Both the film and Barrie’s performance were acclaimed highlights of the year’s Cannes Film Festival.

Perhaps Barrie’s most beloved and memorable film performance came in Breaking Away, when she portrayed the mother of the main character played by Dennis Christopher, a small-town young man who dreams of becoming a competitive bicycle racer. Barrie received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her performance but lost to Meryl Streep in Kramer vs. Kramer. Barrie would reprise the Breaking Away role for a TV series adaptation, earning an Emmy nomination.

Among her numerous other TV credits, Barrie appeared in Family Ties, Law & Order, Pushing Daisies, Nurse Jackie, Kate & Allie, Once and Again and Army Wives. She was Emmy nominated three times, for Breaking Away, Law & Order and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

Barrie was the author of two children’s books: 1990’s Lone Star and 1994’s Adam ZigZag. She also wrote two memoirs following her diagnosis of colorectal cancer: Second Act in 1997 and Don’t Die of Embarrassment in 1999.

Barrie was married to Jay Harnick, the founder and artistic director of TheaterWorksUSA, from 1964 until his death in 2007. In addition to her daughter Jane Harnick, she is survived by son Aaron Harnick and three granddaughters.

 

Filmography

Film

Year     Title     Role     Notes

1956    Giant   Mary Lou Decker        Uncredited

1963    The Caretakers            Edna   

1964    One Potato, Two Potato          Julie Cullen Richards  Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress

Nominated—New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress

1978    Summer of My German Soldier          Mrs. Bergen   

1979    The Bell Jar     Jay Cee           

Breaking Away           Evelyn Stohler Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress

Nominated—National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress

Nominated—New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress

1980    Private Benjamin         Harriet Benjamin        

1987    End of the Line           Jean Haney     

Real Men         Mom Pirandello         

1997    Hercules          Alcmene          Voice

1999    Judy Berlin      Sue Berlin       Nominated—Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female

30 Days           Barbara Trainer          

2000    $pent   Mrs. Walsh     

2004    Second Best    Dorothea        

2009    Frame of Mind            Thelma           

The Six Wives of Henry Lefay           Mae    

2010    Harvest            Yetta Monopoli          

Twelve Thirty  Eve     

2018    Above All Things        Maggie           

2024    The Magnificent Meyersons   Celeste

2025    Things Like This         Portia

Television

Year     Title     Role     Notes

1951    Love of Life    Ginny Crandall            Unknown episodes

1955    Pond's Theater —N/a  Episode: "Cynara"

Kraft Television Theatre         —N/a  Episode: "Lady Ruth"

1956    Playwrights '56           Verna Anderson          Episode: "Flight"

1957    Robert Montgomery Presents Maggie Correll            Episode: "Wait for Me"

Suspicion         Ethel    Episode: "Heartbeat"

1958    Decoy  Anne   Episode: "My Brother's Killer"

1960    The Play of the Week  Lila      Episode: "A Palm Tree in a Rose Garden"

The Art Carney Special           —N/a  Episode: "Full Moon Over Brooklyn"

1961    The Defenders Fran Helber     Episode: "The Attack"

Armstrong Circle Theatre       Joanna Sommers         Episode: "Black Market Babies"

The United States Steel Hour Trina Trent      Episode: "Delayed Honeymoon"

1962    Route 66          Celia    Episode: "Even Stones Have Eyes"

The Untouchables       Cheryl Hines   Episode: "The Chess Game"

Naked City      Rosalind Faber, Sarah Hinson, Marcia Kormack       3 episodes

1963    Ben Casey       Martha Dignan            Episode: "Lullaby for Billy Dignan"

Dr. Kildare      Peggy Farrow  Episode: "The Mosaic"

The Virginian  Ellen Beecher  Episode: "The Small Parade"

The Twilight Zone      Myra Russell   Episode: "Miniature"

Alcoa Premiere            Virginia Stanley          Episode: "The Dark Labyrinth"

1964    Mr. Novak       Mary Smith     Episode: "How Does Your Garden Grow?"

The Doctors and the Nurses    Laura Crane    Episode: "The Love of a Smart Operator"

The Defenders Shirley Lowell 2 episodes

The Alfred Hitchcock Hour    Isabel Smith    Episode: "Isabel"

The Alfred Hitchcock Hour    Dr. Jane Sumner Waterleigh    Episode: "Consider Her Ways"

1965    The Fugitive    Aimee Rennick           Episode: "The End Is But the Beginning"

Ben Casey       Ellen Tevlin     Episode: "A Rambling Discourse on Egyptian Water Clocks"

Rawhide          Liz Harmon     Episode: "Mrs. Harmon"

1966    The Trials of O'Brien  Jean Fields       Episode: "A Horse Called Destiny"

Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre        Laurel Catlan  Episode: "The Eighth Day"

1967    Ironside           Myra Dupont  Episode: "The Leaf in the Forest"

The Invaders   Gale Frazer      Episode 5: "The Enemy"

1971    Play for Today —N/a  Episode: "The Rank and File"

1972    To Be Young, Gifted, and Black         —N/a  Television film

1973    The ABC Afternoon Playbreak           Tina Bordeaux Episode: "The Mask of Love"

Koska and His Family Isabel Koska   Episode: "Pilot"

1973–1974      Diana   Norma Brodnick         10 episodes

1974    The Mary Tyler Moore Show Judith Chandler           Episode: "I Love A Piano"

1975–1978      Barney Miller  Elizabeth Miller          37 credited episodes (appeared in 11)

1975    For the Use of the Hall           Charlotte          Television film

Bronk  Lorna   Episode: "Terror"

McMillan & Wife        Emily Church  Episode: "Aftershock"

1977    79 Park Avenue           Kaati Fludjicki            1 episode

1978    Child of Glass Emily Armsworth        Television film

Visions —N/a  Episode: "Blackout"

1979    Backstairs at the White House            Mrs. Mamie Eisenhower         Episode: "#1.4"

Roots: The Next Generations  Dodie Brattle   Episode: "#1.7"

Lou Grant        Edna Raines    2 episodes

1980    To Race the Wind        Mrs. Krents     Television film

1980–1981      Breaking Away           Evelyn Stohler 8 episodes

Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

1981    Private Benjamin         Harriet Benjamin         Episode: "Bye, Bye Benjamin"

The Children Nobody Wanted            Hanna  Television film

1982    Barefoot in the Park    Mrs. Banks      Television film

American Playhouse   Schoolteacher  Episode: "Working"

Not Just Another Affair           Martha Dawson          Television film

Two of a Kind Dottie Minor   Television film

1982–1983      Tucker's Witch            Ellen Hobbes  12 episodes

1983    Reggie Elizabeth Potter           6 episodes

1984    All Together Now       Elly Parker      Television film

Trapper John, M.D.     Dr. Kate Hanley          Episode: "All Fall to Grace"

1984–1985      Double Trouble           Aunt Margo     15 episodes

1985    The Execution Sophie Langbein         Television film

1986    Vital Signs       Frances            Television film

Kate & Allie    Anne   Episode: "Late Bloomer"

1987    Mr. President   Peggie 2 episodes

Family Ties     Aunt Rosemary           Episode: "The Way We Were"

1988    Winnie Mrs. Drake      Television film

My First Love Ruth Waxman Television film

1988–1990      Thirtysomething          Barbara Steadman       2 episodes

1989    A Fine Romance         Aunt Grace      Episode: "A Horse is a Horse, Of Course, Of Course"

1990    His & Hers      —N/a  2 episodes

1991    Babes  Mom    Episode: "Mom"

1992    Law & Order   Mrs. Bream     Episode: "Vengeance"

Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

ABC Afterschool Special        Anne Charney 2 episodes

1993    The Odd Couple Together Again        Gloria Unger   Television film

Lovejoy           Miss Lillian     Episode: "The Lost Colony"

1994    CBS Schoolbreak Special       Shirley Episode: "My Summer As a Girl"

Scarlett            Pauline Robillard        2 episodes

The Commish  Ann Palmer     Episode: "A Christmas Story"

1996–2000      Suddenly Susan           Helen Keane   92 episodes

1998    Hercules          Alcmene          Voice, episode: "Hercules and the Parents' Weekend"

A Chance of Snow      Ruth Pulmer    Television film

2000    Once and Again          Peg Sammler   Episode: "Feast or Famine"

2003    Law & Order: Special Victims Unit   Paula Haggerty           Episode: "Perfect"

Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series

2004    Dead Like Me Phyllis 2 episodes

2007    Pushing Daisies           Mamma Jacobs           Episode: "Girth"

2009    Surviving Suburbia     Val       Episode: "No Reception"

Army Wives    Virginia           Episode: "As Time Goes By..."

2010    Nurse Jackie    Libby Sussman            Episode: "Silly String"

2011    Enlightened     Carol   Episode: "Consider Helen"

Stage

Year     Title     Role     Notes

1955    The Wooden Dish       Janey Stewart  Booth Theatre, Broadway

1958    The Crucible   Elizabeth Proctor        Martinique Hotel

1959    The Beaux' Stratagem Cherry Phoenix Theatre, Broadway

1966    Happily Never After   Joan Mills        Eugene O'Neill Theatre, Broadway

1969    Horseman, Pass By     Intellect            Fortune Theatre, Off-Broadway

1969    Twelfth Night  Viola    The Public Theater, Off-Broadway

1970    Company         Sarah   Alvin Theatre, Broadway

1971    The Prisoner of Second Avenue          Edna Edison (Replacement)    Eugene O'Neill Theatre, Broadway

1972    The Selling of the President    Grace Mason   Shubert Theatre, Broadway

1974    The Killdeer    Sparky The Public Theater, Off-Broadway

1976    California Suite           Beth Hollender/Millie Michaels         Eugene O'Neill Theatre, Broadway

1983    Torch Song Trilogy     Mrs. Beckoff (Replacement)   Little Theatre, Broadway

1995    After-Play        Renee Shredman         Manhattan Theater Club, Off-Broadway

2004    Fiddler on the Roof     Yente (Replacement)   Minskoff Theatre, Broadway

2014    I Remember Mama     Katrin  Transport Group, Off-Broadway

2017    Significant Other         Helene Berman           Booth Theatre, Broadway

Awards and nominations

Year     Award  Category          Nominated work         Result

1964

Cannes Film Festival   Best Actress   

One Potato, Two Potato

Won

New York Film Critics Circle Awards            Best Actress    Nominated

1971

Tony Awards   Best Featured Actress in a Musical    

Company

Nominated

1974

Drama Desk Awards   Outstanding Performance       

The Killdeer

Won

1980

Academy Awards        Best Supporting Actress         

Breaking Away

Nominated

New York Film Critics Circle Awards            Best Supporting Actress          Nominated

National Society of Film Critics Awards        Best Supporting Actress          Nominated

1981

Primetime Emmy Awards       Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series   

Breaking Away

Nominated

1992

Primetime Emmy Awards       Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series   

Law & Order

Nominated

2000

Film Independent Spirit Awards         Best Supporting Female         

Judy Berlin

Nominated

2001

Online Film & Television Association            Best Guest Actress in a Drama Series

Once and Again

Nominated

2003

Primetime Emmy Awards       Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series           

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Nominated

2014

Outer Critics Circle Awards    Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play         

I Remember Mama

Nominated