Lisa Ann Spoonauer (December 16, 1972 – May 20, 2017) was an American

character actress A character actor is an actor known for playing unusual, eccentric, or interesting characters in supporting roles, rather than leading ones.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014 ...

best known for the role of Caitlin Bree in ''

Clerks A clerk is someone who works in an office. A retail clerk works in a store. Office holder Clerk(s) may also refer to a person who holds an office, most commonly in a local unit of government, or a court. *Barristers' clerk, a manager and administ ...

'', which she reprised for an episode of '' Clerks: The Animated Series''.

Biography

Spoonauer was born in

Rahway, New Jersey Rahway () is a city (New Jersey), city in southern Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. A bedroom community of New York City, it is centrally located in the Rahway River, Rahway Valley region, in the New ...

, and raised in Freehold Township.Obituary
hasslerfuneralhome.com; accessed May 23, 2017. She attended

Brookdale Community College Brookdale Community College is a public community college in the Lincroft section of Middletown Township, in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Founded in 1967, the college also has regional locations in Neptune Township, Free ...

, where she was spotted (in an acting class) by ''Clerks'' director

Kevin Smith Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. He came to prominence with the low-budget buddy comedy film ''Clerks (film), Clerks'' (1994), which he wrote, directed, co-produced, and acted i ...

, who was having difficulty casting the part of Caitlin. He offered her the role and a script, and she later accepted. Spoonauer's only other film credit is for the Gabe Torres' film ''Bartender''.

Personal life

Spoonauer began dating her ''Clerks'' co-star

Jeff Anderson Jeffrey Allan Anderson (born April 21, 1970) is an American film and television actor, director, and screenwriter best known for starring as Randal Graves in ''Clerks,'' ''Clerks II,'' and ''Clerks III''. In between, he has appeared in other Kevi ...

in 1993, and they were married for one year from 1998 to 1999. According to the documentary ''Snowball Effect: The Story of Clerks'', Anderson proposed to Spoonauer on the set of ''Clerks''. Spoonauer married Tom Caron in 2007 and relocated to

Jackson Township, New Jersey Jackson Township is a Township (New Jersey), township in Ocean County, New Jersey, Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. A portion of the township is located within the Pinelands National Reserve. As of the 2020 United States census, 2 ...

, where she became a restaurant manager and event planner. Spoonauer had one daughter with Caron and a stepson from Caron's previous marriage.

Death

Spoonauer died at age 44 on May 20, 2017, of an accidental overdose of

hydromorphone Hydromorphone, also known as dihydromorphinone, and sold under the brand name Dilaudid among others, is a morphinan opioid used to treat moderate to severe pain. Typically, long-term use is only recommended for pain due to cancer. It may b ...

. It was also revealed that she was fighting

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

anemia Anemia (also spelt anaemia in British English) is a blood disorder in which the blood has a reduced ability to carry oxygen. This can be due to a lower than normal number of red blood cells, a reduction in the amount of hemoglobin availabl ...

lung disease The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in many animals, including humans. In mammals and most other tetrapods, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of the heart. Their function in the respiratory syst ...

and

immune deficiency Immunodeficiency, also known as immunocompromise, is a state in which the immune system's ability to fight infectious diseases and cancer is compromised or entirely absent. Most cases are acquired ("secondary") due to extrinsic factors that affec ...

, which were all factors in her death. Her brother Mike, on a fundraising page for Patient Advocate Foundation Inc., related that she had been long suffering from a chronic illness. Spoonauer had travelled to the

Mayo Clinic Mayo Clinic () is a Nonprofit organization, private American Academic health science centre, academic Medical centers in the United States, medical center focused on integrated health care, healthcare, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science ...

in 2014 for treatment; a Facebook post from that time revealed that she had already been seeing "countless other specialists over the last 7 years". ''Clerks'' co-stars

Brian O'Halloran Brian Christopher O'Halloran (born December 20, 1969) is an American actor, producer and podcaster best known for playing Dante Hicks in Kevin Smith's debut 1994 film ''Clerks'' and its 2006 and 2022 sequels ''Clerks II'' and ''Clerks III''. H ...

and

Marilyn Ghigliotti Marilyn Ghigliotti is an American actress, producer, director and make-up artist best known for playing Veronica Loughran in ''Clerks''. Life and career ''Clerks'' director Kevin Smith cast her for her ability to cry while reciting a monologue f ...

both shared the news and posted tributes to their personal

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

accounts on May 23, 2017.

posted a tribute to Spoonauer via his personal

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

account and during an episode of his podcast ''

Hollywood Babble-On ''Hollywood Babble-On'' is a weekly podcast featuring filmmaker Kevin Smith and radio personality Ralph Garman. The show features Smith and Garman discussing the week's celebrity, movie, and other pop culture news. Show history Kevin Smith was ...

''. ''

Clerks III ''Clerks III'' is a 2022 American black comedy-drama film written, directed, and edited by Kevin Smith and starring Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Trevor Fehrman, Austin Zajur, Jason Mewes, Rosario Dawson and Smith. It serves as a seq ...

'', released in 2022, is dedicated to Spoonauer.

Filmography

*''

'' (1994) as Caitlin Bree *''Bartender'' (1997) *'' Clerks: The Animated Series'' (2002) *''

Shooting Clerks ''Shooting Clerks'' is a British-American biographical comedy-drama film directed by Christopher Downie and starring Brian O'Halloran, Mark Frost, Jason Mewes, Scott Schiaffo, Matthew Postlethwaite and Kevin Smith. It was produced by Auld Reekie ...

'' (2016) (special thanks)

References

External links

* * 1972 births 2017 deaths American film actresses American voice actresses Actresses from New Jersey People from Rahway, New Jersey 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Drug-related deaths in New Jersey Accidental deaths in New Jersey Brookdale Community College alumni Actors from Union County, New Jersey {{US-film-actor-1970s-stub