Janet Margolin
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Biography
Enigmatic, dark-eyed beauty who became one of the most sought-after actors in 1960s Hollywood due to her outstanding performance as a schizophrenic teen in Frank Perry's independently produced "David and Lisa" (1962). That film's success enabled Margolin to step into films featuring such A-list talents as Marlon Brando ("Morituri" 1965), Steve McQueen ("Nevada Smith" 1966) and Charlton Heston and John Wayne ("The Greatest Story Ever Told" 1965). Although a highly talented and attractive performer adept at conveying both a delicate strength and a sensitive vulnerability, Margolin received too many standardized or obligatory romantic leads to clinch status as a star in major features.
After appearing opposite Woody Allen in "Take the Money and Run" (1969) as protagonist Virgil Starkwell's understanding wife, Margolin's screen appearances were rare, but she did show up in Allen's "Annie Hall" (1977) as his hyper-intellectual second wife and as the mysterious Ellie Fabain in Jonathan Demme's underrated noir "Last Embrace" (1979). TV kept her busier in the 70s, her telefilms including the interesting sci-fi dramas, "The Last Child" (1971) and "Planet Earth" (1974) and such socially conscious dramas as "The Triangle Factory Fire Scandal" (1979) and "The Plutonium Incident" (1980), the latter rather obviously modeled on the real-life story of Karen Silkwood. Margolin was notably less active during the 80s, but did act occasionally on TV and in several features; her made her final film appearance was in Ivan Reitman's "Ghostbusters II" (1989). She died of cancer in 1993.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Life Events
1961
Worked as a prop girl, painting and building scenery, at the New York Shakespeare Festival in Central Park
1962
Broadway debut, "Daughter of Silence"
1962
Film debut, "David and Lisa"
1969
Co-starred with Woody Allen in "Take the Money and Run"
1971
TV debut, "The Last Child", a made-for-TV movie
1977
Made debut as a TV series regular, "Lanigan's Rabbi", an NBC detective series; played Janet Small, wife of sleuthing Rabbi David Small
1988
Returned to features after a nine-year absence to play a role in "Distant Thunder"
1989
Final screen appearance, "Ghostbusters II"
1990
Last primetime TV series appearance, guesting on an episode of "Murder She Wrote"
1990
Final TV-movie, "Murder C.O.D."
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