Susan Tyrrell

Susan Tyrrell
Publicity still for Camino Real, 1970.
Born	Susan Jillian Creamer (1945-03-18)March 18, 1945 San Francisco, California, U.S.
Died	Austin, Texas, U.S.
Cause of death	Essential thrombocythaemia
Resting place	Cremation
Nationality	American
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1964–2012
Notable work	Fat City, Andy Warhol's Bad, Forbidden Zone, Cry-Baby
Parent(s)	Gillian Tyrrell John Belding Creamer

Susan Tyrrell (born Susan Jillian Creamer; March 18, 1945 – June 16, 2012), was an American actress who appeared in dozens of film, stage and television productions over a forty-year career, and had considerable success as a character actress. Born in San Francisco, California, Tyrrell began acting in theater in New York City in the 1960s, where she was in numerous Broadway and off Broadway productions before her film debut in 1971's Shoot Out. Her performance as Oma in John Huston's Fat City (1972) the following year earned her a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

In 1978, Tyrrell received the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Andy Warhol's Bad (1977). Consisting of nearly 80 film and television credits, her work includes Forbidden Zone (1980), Tales of Ordinary Madness (1981), Night Warning (1982), Angel (1984) and its sequel, Avenging Angel (1985) and Cry-Baby (1990). After nearly-eighty television and film appearances, the actress succumbed to the rare blood disease essential thrombocythemia, in 2012.

Early life

Tyrrell was born in San Francisco, California to Gillian (née Tyrrell 1913-2012); and John Creamer, who divorced. She had two sisters, Candace and Carole, and a half-brother, Peter from her father's remarriage. Her mother was originally from the United Kingdom and remarried to Thomas Hoyt; she was a socialite and member of the diplomatic corps in China and the Philippines during the 1930s and 1940s. Her father John was an agent with the William Morris Agency for Leo Carrillo, Loretta Young, Ed Wynn and Carole Lombard. Raised in New Canaan, Connecticut, she rebelled against her mother's expectations and received poor grades and was frequently expelled from school. As a teenager, she became estranged from her mother. Tyrrell landed her first role through her father, starring with Art Carney in the New York City theatrical production of Time Out for Ginger (1963); Although John persuaded Look magazine to follow her as she toured with the show, he died shortly afterwards from a reaction to a bee sting. Tyrrell made her Broadway debut in 1965 as a replacement in the comedy Cactus Flower. As a member of the Repertory Theatre of Lincoln Center, she was in the ensemble of a 1968 production of King Lear and revivals of The Time of Your Life (1969) and Camino Real (1970). Off-Broadway, Tyrrell appeared in the 1967 premiere of Lanford Wilson's The Rimers of Eldritch and a 1979 production of Father's Day at The American Place Theatre. The actress made her television debut in Mr. Novak (1964).

Career

After the actress' film debut in Shoot Out (1971), her performance as Oma in John Huston's Fat City earned her a 1972 Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Tyrrell was lured into was into Andy Warhol's circuit. In 1978, the actress earned the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in his film, Bad (1977).

Later, Tyrrell starred as Queen Doris in the indie Forbidden Zone (1980), and was credited with a song ("Witch's Egg") in the film. A year later, she portrayed Vera in Tales of Ordinary Madness (1981). From 1981 to 1982, Tyrrell starred as Gretchen Feester, in ABC's short-lived situation comedy series Open All Night. She then had a starring role in the exploitation horror film Night Warning.

In 1985 Tyrrell played Solly, in the sexploitation film Angel and its sequel, Avenging Angel. Roles in the adventure film Flesh+Blood, the Vincent Price anthology horror film From a Whisper to a Scream (1987), the animated feature film The Chipmunk Adventure (1987), and Big Top Pee-wee (the 1988 sequel to 1985's Pee-wee's Big Adventure) followed.

Later, the actress had a supporting role in John Waters' Cry-Baby (1990). In 1992, she performed her own one-woman show, Susan Tyrrell: My Rotten Life, a Bitter Operetta. Roles in the Tales from the Crypt episode, "Comes the Dawn" (1995); the animated series Extreme Ghostbusters (1997); and the psychological thriller film Buddy Boy (1999) followed.

More recent work includes Bob Dylan's Masked and Anonymous (2003), and The Devil's Due at Midnight (2004). Her final appearance was in the 2012 independent film Kid-Thing.

Personal life

In early 2000, Tyrrell lost both legs below the knees as a result of blood clots from the rare blood disease essential thrombocythemia. The same year, Johnny Depp hosted a benefit at the Viper Room to help defray Tyrrell's medical bills. Megan Mullally, Jack Black and Chloe Webb were among those that attended.

In 2008, the actress moved to Austin, Texas, to be closer to her niece, Amy Sweet, and died there on June 16, 2012. According to Sweet, Tyrrell kept a journal; a January 2012 entry read, "I demand my death be joyful and I never return again." Following her death, she was cremated and her ashes scattered.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1971	Shoot Out	Alma
1972	Fat City	Oma Lee Greer	New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress (2nd place) National Society of Film Critics Awards, Best Supporting Actress (2nd place) Nominated — Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
1976	The Killer Inside Me	Joyce Lakeland
1977	Andy Warhol's Bad	Mary Aiken	Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, Best Supporting Actress
1980	Loose Shoes	Boobies
1980	The Forbidden Zone	Queen Doris of the Sixth Dimension / Ruth Henderson
1981	Tales of Ordinary Madness	Vera
1982	Night Warning	Cheryl Roberts (Aunt Cheryl)
1983	Fire and Ice	Juliana (voice)
1984	Angel	Solly Mosler
1985	Avenging Angel	Solly Mosler
	Flesh+Blood	Celine
1987	From a Whisper to a Scream	Beth Chandler
	The Chipmunk Adventure	Claudia Furschtein (voice)
	The Underachievers	Mrs. Grant
1988	Big Top Pee-wee	Midge Montana
1990	Cry-Baby	Ramona Rickettes
1999	Buddy Boy	Sal
2012	Kid-Thing	Esther (voice)

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1964	Mr. Novak	Phyllis Freuchen	Episode: "Beyond a Reasonable Doubt"
1971	Bonanza	Mrs. Jill Conway	Episode: "Fallen Woman"
1975	Baretta	Pamela/Jenny	Episode: "Double Image"
1976	Starsky and Hutch	Annie/Isabelle Oates	Episode: "The Collector"
1978	Kojak	Mary Torino	Episode: "In Full Command"
1981	Open All Night	Gretchen Feester	1981-82
1995	Tales from the Crypt	Mona	Episode: "Comes the Dawn"
1997	Extreme Ghostbusters	Achira (voice)	Episodes: "Darkness at Noon, Part 1", "Darkness at Noon, Part 2"

Awards and nominations

Year	Work	Award	Category	Result
1973	Fat City	NSFC Award	Best Supporting Actress	Nominated
	Fat City	NYFCC Award	Best Supporting Actress	Nominated
	Fat City	Academy Award	Best Supporting Actress	Nominated
1978	Andy Warhol's Bad	Saturn Award	Best Supporting Actress	Won

Source:

Theatre

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1967	The Rimers of Eldritch	Patsy Johnson	Cherry Lane Theatre
1968	Cactus Flower	Botticelli's Springtime [Replacement] Toni (Understudy) [Replacement]	Broadway
1969	King Lear	Ensemble	Broadway
	Invitation to a Beheading	Marthe	The Public Theater
	A Cry of Players	Jenny	Broadway
	The Time of Your Life	Kitty Duval	Broadway
1970	Camino Real	Esmeralda	Repertory Theater of Lincoln Center
1979	Father's Day	Louise	The American Place Theatre
1992	Susan Tyrrell: My Rotten Life, a Bitter Operetta	The Woman	n.a
1997	The Joy of Going Somewhere Definite	Patsy, Older Woman, Waitress	Center Theatre Group

Source:

External links

• Susan Tyrrell at the Internet Movie Database
• Susan Tyrrell at the Internet Broadway Database
• LA Weekly: "My So-Called Rotten Life" by Paul Cullum (11 January 2000)
• Susan Tyrrell at Find a Grave