Laura Esterman is an American actress, known for portraying

Ruby the Galactic Gumshoe ''Ruby the Galactic Gumshoe'' is a science fiction radio drama series by the ZBS Foundation, written by Thomas Lopez. The first series, ''Ruby: Adventures of A Galactic Gumshoe'', was created in 1982. In each story, the title character Ruby is ...

in contemporary radio dramas, and for her Drama Desk Award and Obie Award winning performance in the 1992 original stage production of Scott McPherson's '' Marvin's Room''.

Early life

Esterman studied acting at

HB Studio The HB Studio (Herbert Berghof Studio) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization offering professional training in the performing arts through classes, workshops, free lectures, theater productions, theater rentals, a theater artist residency progra ...

Career

Esterman made her

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

debut in the 1969 revival of ''

The Time of Your Life ''The Time of Your Life'' is a 1939 five-act play by American playwright William Saroyan. The play is the first drama to win both the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award. The play opened on Broadway in 1939. Cha ...

''. Her other Broadway credits include ''

The Waltz of the Toreadors ''The Waltz of the Toreadors'' (''La Valse des toréadors'') is a 1951 play by Jean Anouilh. Plot This bitter farce is set in 1910 France and focuses on General Léon Saint-Pé and his infatuation with Ghislaine, a woman with whom he danced at a g ...

'', ''

God's Favorite ''God's Favorite'' is a play by Neil Simon, loosely based on the Biblical Book of Job. It was produced on Broadway in 1974. Production Produced by Emanuel Azenberg, the play opened on Broadway at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre on December 11, 1974 ...

'', '' Teibele and Her Demon'', '' The Suicide'', '' Metamorphosis'' and ''

The Show-Off ''The Show-Off'' is a 1924 stage play by George Kelly about a working-class North Philadelphian family's reluctance to accept their daughter's suitor Aubrey Piper, an overly confident Socialist buffoon. The play has been revived five times on Bro ...

''. In 1972, Esterman played the Madonna Vampyra in the

ZBS Foundation ZBS Foundation, a small non-profit audio production company, was founded by Thomas Lopez (aka "Meatball Fulton") in 1970 with a grant from Robert E. Durand as a working commune, located on a donated farm in Upstate New York. ZBS stands for "Zero Bu ...

radio play ''

The Fourth Tower of Inverness ''The Fourth Tower of Inverness'' is a 1972 radio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialo ...

'', the first in the long-running

Jack Flanders Jac Flanders, full name Jonathan L. Flanders, is the protagonist of a series of audio dramas produced by the ZBS Foundation. He is the creation of writer and sound artist Thomas Lopez and is played by actor Robert Lorick. Jac is an adventurer w ...

series. Esterman returned to ZBS in 1982 to star as the title character in the first ''

'' serial, and has reprised the role many times in the decades to come, most recently ''Ruby 10'' in 2018. Many of her Ruby appearances are credited to a stage name, "Blanche Blackwell". Esterman also returned as the Madonna Vampyra in the 2000 sequel, ''

Return to Inverness ''Return to Inverness'' is a 2000 radio drama, the twelfth in ZBS's Jack Flanders series. The serial was written and directed by Meatball Fulton, as a sequel to the 1972 story ''The Fourth Tower of Inverness ''The Fourth Tower of Inverness'' ...

''. Esterman has also worked in television and film. Her television credits include ''

Remington Steele ''Remington Steele'' is an American television series co-created by Robert Butler and Michael Gleason. The series, starring Stephanie Zimbalist and Pierce Brosnan, was produced by MTM Enterprises and first broadcast on the NBC network from O ...

'', '' St. Elsewhere'', '' The Facts of Life'', ''

L.A. Law ''L.A. Law'' is an American legal drama television series that ran for eight seasons on NBC, from September 15, 1986, to May 19, 1994. Created by Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher, it centers on the partners, associates and staff of a Los ...

'', ''

Family Ties ''Family Ties'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC for seven seasons, premiering on September 22, 1982, and concluding on May 14, 1989. The series, created by Gary David Goldberg, reflected the move in the United States ...

'', '' Law & Order'', ''

Third Watch ''Third Watch'' is an American crime drama television series created by John Wells and Edward Allen Bernero that aired on NBC from September 26, 1999, to May 6, 2005, with a total of 132 episodes spanning over six seasons. It was produced ...

'' and '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' among others. Her movie credits include '' Alone in the Dark'', '' Ironweed'', ''

Awakenings ''Awakenings'' is a 1990 American drama film directed by Penny Marshall. It is written by Steven Zaillian, who based his screenplay on Oliver Sacks's 1973 memoir '' Awakenings''. It tells the story of neurologist Dr. Malcolm Sayer (Robin Willia ...

'', ''

The Doors The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential rock acts ...

'', ''

Addams Family Values ''Addams Family Values'' is a 1993 American supernatural black comedy film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and written by Paul Rudnick, based on the characters created by Charles Addams. It is the sequel to '' The Addams Family'' (1991). The fil ...

'', '' The Confession'' and ''

Arranged In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchest ...

'' among others.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* *
Internet Theatre DatabaseFilmography
by Starpulse *Drama Desk Award and Obie Award for her

in ''Marvin's Room'', by Scott McPherson

for ''

Suspended Animation Suspended animation is the temporary (short- or long-term) slowing or stopping of biological function so that physiological capabilities are preserved. It may be either hypometabolic or ametabolic in nature. It may be induced by either endogen ...

'' Living people American film actresses Drama Desk Award winners Actresses from New York City Obie Award recipients American television actresses Jewish American actresses 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American women Year of birth missing (living people) {{US-film-actor-1940s-stub