Susan Lanier-Bramlett better known as Susan Lanier, is an American actress.

Early life

Born as Susan Jean Engledow in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

to Gene and Dorothy Lanier Engledow, she moved to New York City to pursue an acting career in 1967 where she attended

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

. After appearing in numerous off Broadway productions, TV commercials, and indie films in which she appeared as Jean Lanier, she relocated to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

in 1974.

Career

Lanier had a guest appearance on ''

Welcome Back, Kotter ''Welcome Back, Kotter'' is an American sitcom starring Gabe Kaplan as a high-school teacher in charge of a racially and ethnically diverse remedial education class called the "Sweathogs." Recorded in front of a live studio audience, the seri ...

'' where she played a flirtatious student named Bambi, who initially makes a move on Gabe. During the 1970s, she guest starred on shows such as ''

Barnaby Jones ''Barnaby Jones'' is an American detective television series starring Buddy Ebsen as a formerly retired investigator and Lee Meriwether as his widowed daughter-in-law, who run a private detective firm in Los Angeles, California. The show was o ...

'', ''

Electra Woman and Dyna Girl ''Electra Woman and Dyna Girl'' is a live action superhero children's television series from 1976 created by Sid and Marty Krofft. The series aired 16 episodes in a single season as part of the umbrella series ''The Krofft Supershow.'' During th ...

'', '' Alice'', '' Police Woman'' and ''

Eight is Enough ''Eight Is Enough'' is an American television comedy-drama series that ran on ABC from March 15, 1977, until May 23, 1981. The show was modeled on the life of syndicated newspaper columnist Tom Braden, a real-life parent with eight children, who ...

''. In 1976, she starred alongside

John Ritter Johnathan Southworth Ritter (September 17, 1948 – September 11, 2003) was an American actor. Ritter was a son of the singing cowboy star Tex Ritter and the father of actors Jason and Tyler Ritter. He is known for playing Jack Tripper on the ...

and

Joyce DeWitt Joyce Anne DeWitt (born April 23, 1949) is an American actress and comedian known for playing Janet Wood on the ABC sitcom ''Three's Company'' from 1977 to 1984. Early life Joyce DeWitt was born April 23, 1949, in Wheeling, West Virginia, and g ...

in the second pilot for ''

Three's Company ''Three's Company'' is an American sitcom television series that aired for eight seasons on ABC from March 15, 1977, to September 18, 1984. It is based on the British sitcom '' Man About the House''. The story revolves around three single room ...

'' on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

. Lanier, who served as the original choice by the producers to portray the newly created character Chrissy Snow, replaced Susanne Zenor in the cast when the characters, that were directly based from the original British sitcom ''

Man About The House ''Man About the House'' is a British sitcom created by Brian Cooke and Johnnie Mortimer that starred Richard O'Sullivan, Paula Wilcox, Sally Thomsett, Yootha Joyce and Brian Murphy. Six series were broadcast on ITV from 15 August 1973 to 7 A ...

'' were done away with, but Lanier herself was then replaced by Suzanne Somers. In 1977, Lanier starred in the original cult classic, '' The Hills Have Eyes''. She also starred as Sandi Chandler on the television series '' Szysznyk'' from 1977 – 1978. She was a series regular on ''

Tony Orlando and Dawn Tony Orlando and Dawn is an American pop music group that was popular in the 1970s, composed of singer Tony Orlando and the backing vocal group Dawn (Telma Hopkins and Joyce Vincent Wilson). Their signature hits include " Candida", " Knock Thre ...

's Rainbow Hour'' for a season on CBS doing stand-up and comedy sketches with the show's guests. In the late 1970s, Lanier starred at The Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles in a production of

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thr ...

' (né Thomas Lanier Williams, to whom, like actress Diane Ladd, she is related) ''

The Night of the Iguana ''The Night of the Iguana'' is a stage play written by American author Tennessee Williams. It is based on his 1948 short story. In 1959, Williams staged it as a one-act play, and over the next two years he developed it into a full-length play, p ...

'', which starred

Richard Chamberlain George Richard Chamberlain (born March 31, 1934) is an American actor and singer, who became a teen idol in the title role of the television show '' Dr. Kildare'' (1961–1966). He subsequently appeared in several TV mini-series, such as ''Shō ...

. In the 1980s, Lanier had her own country-blues band and performed in the LA club scene. She wrote music with her future and now late husband, legendary rock/blues artist, Delaney Bramlett, writer of "Superstar" and "Never Ending Song of Love" fame. She continued to act in movies of the week such as '' Madame X'' (1981), '' The Night the Bridge Fell Down'' (1983) and ''Her Life As A Man'' (1984), and had recurring roles on TV in the soap, '' Days of Our Lives'', and the sitcom, ''

So Little Time ''So Little Time'' is an American sitcom starring Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen in their third television series. It aired on Fox Family: the first half of the series aired from June 2 to August 15, 2001, and the series then went on a four-month ...

'' with the

Olsen twins Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Fuller Olsen (born June 13, 1986), also known as the Olsen twins as a duo, are American fashion designers and former actresses. The twins made their acting debut as infants playing Michelle Tanner on the television s ...

. She starred in 2003 in the Los Angeles stage production of ''Last of The Honkey Tonk Angels''.

Personal life

Lanier was married to musician Delaney Bramlett; she was Bramlett's third wife, following his divorce from

Bonnie Bramlett Bonnie Bramlett (born Bonnie Lynn O'Farrell, November 8, 1944) is an American singer and occasional actress known for performing with her husband, Delaney Bramlett, as Delaney & Bonnie. She continues to sing as a solo artist. Life and career ...

and Kim Carmel Bramlett. Delaney died in 2008 from complications of

gall bladder In vertebrates, the gallbladder, also known as the cholecyst, is a small hollow organ where bile is stored and concentrated before it is released into the small intestine. In humans, the pear-shaped gallbladder lies beneath the liver, although ...

surgery. Lanier is the parent of

Dickies Williamson-Dickie Mfg. Co. is an apparel manufacturing company primarily known for its largest brand, Dickies. The company was founded in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1922 by C. N. Williamson and E. E. "Colonel" Dickie, who began a denim bib overall co ...

and

45 Grave 45 Grave is an American rock band from Los Angeles formed in 1979. The original group broke up in 1985, but vocalist Dinah Cancer subsequently revived the band. History The band was founded during the punk rock movement by Paul B. Cutler i ...

guitarist Dylan Thomas.

Photographer

Lanier became a portrait photographer for magazines, book covers, and album covers, and in 2005 was voted one of LA's top ten photographers by Backstage West.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lanier, Susan Living people American film actresses American photographers American television actresses Actresses from Dallas American women photographers 21st-century American women Year of birth missing (living people)