"WHO AM I?" GAME 1561 (result)

The correct answer is ***** BONNIE BEDELIA *****
Bonnie Bedelia is an American actress on stage, screen and TV. Her initial ambition was to become a ballet dancer but this gave way to acting before she had left school. Her early work was on the stage but in 1961she came to public attention as 'Sandy Porter' in the daytime soap "Love of Life" . . . a role she held for the next 5 years . . . moving into film by the end of the decade including an appearance as the pregnant marathon dancer, 'Ruby', in the award-winning drama "They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969) but her portrayal of 'Holly McLane' in the first 2 "Die Hard" films is possibly her best known character. Since the 1990s her acting has been predominantly on TV and independent films.

BIRTH NAME: Bonnie Bedelia Culkin
PROFESSIONALLY KNOWN AS: Bonnie Bedelia

BORN: March 25, 1948 in Manhattan, New York City, USA.
She was the youngest of 4 children born to journalist Philip and writer Marian Culkin (née Wagner). Having artistic and creative parents she and her siblings, Candace, Kit Culkin and Terry Culkin were all encouraged to take an interest in the arts. Shortly after her birth the family were forced into reduced circumstances when her father’s company went bankrupt and was raised in a tenement building in the South Bronx area. From the age of 7 she took ballet classes but also appeared in plays produced by the East Side Settlement House, a a non-profit organisation that worked to help the community which sparked her interest in acting. When she was 9 she was awarded a full scholarship to study ballet at the New York City Ballet and appeared in several productions before deciding to concentrate on acting.
Her mother died in 1964. Her father had been ill for some time and spent the following year in hospital undergoing surgery and treatment for ulcers leaving the 4 Culkin teenagers looking after themselves in the apartment.
Having laid the foundations of her acting career in New York in the late 1960s she moved to Los Angeles to further her career.


EDUCATION . . . attended Quintano School for Young Professionals in New York for a short time . . . dates unknown.
1957 She attended George Balanchine's School of American Ballet on a full scholarship . . . part of the New York City Ballet
Professional Children's School to continue her formal education . . . dates unknown
She studied at both HB Studio and Actors Studio in New York where she learned the basics of acting.

CAREER: As a child she appeared in several stage productions including an East Side Settlement House production of ''Tom Sawyer'' as 'Becky' circa 1956 which led to her appearing in a 1957 production of "Dr. Praetorius" at the North Jersey Playhouse/Paper Mill Playhouse. In the same year she started training at the New York City Ballet, appearing in several of their productions. During this time she was continuing with her education balancing TV and stage appearances alongside her studies until the early-mid 1960s.


TELEVISION . . .
DEBUT: Dec 25, 1958 . . . George Balanchine's New York City Ballet production of "The Nutcracker" as 'Clara' shown as part of the TV series "Playhouse 90". It was this show's only colour telecast, and the only live color broadcast in 1958 on CBS.
Her first major role on TV was that of 'Sandy Porter' in the the long running soap drama "Love of Life" from April 20, 1965-July 22, 1965.
Although she did continue with a stage career and appeared in films since 1968 she has worked primarily on television series as both guest and recurring character, anthology series, mini series and made-for-TV films.
Her TV work includes "Bonanza", "Message to My Daughter" (1973), "Salem's Lot" (1979), "Death of an Angel" (1985), "The Division" (2001-2004, "Parenthood" (2010-2015) and "Panic" (2021).


BROADWAY DEBUT: Mar 16, 1962 in the original production of "Isle of Children" as 'Cathy Lanen'. The play was poorly received despite it starring Patty Duke fresh from her success as Helen Keller in the Broadway production of "The Miracle Worker". It closed on Mar 24, 1962 , after only 11 performances.
Other more successful appearances include "The Playroom" (1965), Brooks Atkinson Theatre, New York City, "Happily Never After" (1966), Eugene O'Neill Theatre, New YorkCity and "My Sweet Charlie" (1966), Longacre Theatre, New York City, which earned her the Theatre World Award for Promising New Artist in 1967.
In the late 1970s she moved to Los Angeles and worked with the Inner City Repertory Theatre there in "The Glass Menagerie" (1967), "The Seagull" (1968), "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (1968) and "As You Like it" (1970). The move was the catalyst for her to start in the film industry.

FILM CAREER . . .
DEBUT: " The Gypsy Moths" which premiered on August 28 1969 in New York City. Bedelia played 'Annie Burke', a support role, and the film starred Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr.
Later that year she co-starred in "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" (1969) as 'Ruby', a pregnant marathon dancer and sang "The Best Things in Life Are Free". Not only did she take on dramatic roles she showed her versatility with appearances in comedy films such as "The Big Fix" (1978) alongside Richard Dreyfuss.
Other notable films include "Heart Like a Wheel" (1983), "Die Hard" (1988) and "Die Hard 2" (1990) where she played 'Holly McClane', the wife of the principal character 'John McClane' played by Bruce Willis, "Presumed Innocent" (1990), "Judicial Consent" (1995), "A Very Sordid Wedding" (2017) and "A Stone in the Water" (2019).

Bedelia is noted for only accepting film roles that she finds interesting so much of her work is for independent companies and/or on limited release.

MARRIAGES
April 24, 1969-1980. After a short courtship she married screenwriter Ken Luber. They had 2 children, Yuri Luber (1970) and Jonah Luber (1976). The couple divorced in 1980.
May 24, 1985-1988. She married musician and singer/songwriter Jay Telfer. They divorced in 1988 after only 2 years of marriage.
1995-present. She married actor Michael MacRae. the couple remain together.


THE CHAIN LINK to Frankie Laine . . . DANCE MARATHON
A dance marathon was an endurance competition that became popular during the Great Depression. It was a way of earning money when work was hard to come by. Couples were expected to dance virtually non-stop for days on end in order to win prize money as the last couple standing with the public paying to watch the "entertainment". Even though there were short breaks many people became totally exhausted and often passed out . . . no wonder they were some times referred to as 'walkathons' with one dancer often having to drag their partner around the dance floor. There were also reports of long term health problems and even death as a result.

Frankie Laine was a competitor in the controversial marathon dances during the late 1920s and early 1930s.
Bonnie Bedelia played a marathon dancer in the film "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" (1969).
We in the UK have never forgiven Mars for re-branding the Marathon chocolate bar and calling it Snickers . . . at least they gave us a limited edition for 3 months last year with the Marathon packaging . . . 🐸

. . . and the winner is LADYBLUE who gave the correct answer on the 30th July 2021 @12:33 . . . pic #4

Happy Dance . . .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvkz4UCHIs0

*** AS WE HAVE A WINNER THIS GAME IS NOW CLOSED AND A NEW GAME HAS BEEN POSTED. IF YOU CLICK ON MY NAME BELOW IT WILL TAKE YOU TO MY PROFILE PAGE WHERE YOU WILL FIND A LINK TO THE CURRENT GAME . . . :D)

Here is the full series of pictures together with the original image. Please note that the original photo used is freely available on several internet sites and therefore assumed to be in the public domain and is used under "Fair Usage" rights (the original image having been transformed/altered and is not being used for the purpose of profit). Any copyright infringement is totally unintentional.
All twangs (ie distortions/morphs/alterations etc) are down to me, my PC and some ancient software . . . :D)