Alison La Placa (born December 16, 1959) is an American actress best known for playing Linda Phillips on the sitcom ''

Duet A duet (italian language, Italian: ''duo'') is a musical composition for two Performing arts, performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a har ...

'' and its

spin-off Spin-off, Spin Off, Spin-Off, or Spinoff may refer to: Entertainment and media *Spinoff (media), a media work derived from an existing work *''The Spinoff'', a New Zealand current affairs magazine * ''Spin Off'' (Canadian game show), a 2013 Canad ...

'' Open House'', playing Catherine Merrick in 49 episodes of '' The John Larroquette Show'' and the recurring role of

Joanna Joanna is a feminine given name deriving from from . Variants in English include Joan, Joann, Joanne, and Johanna. Other forms of the name in English are Jan, Jane, Janet, Janice, Jean, and Jeanne. The earliest recorded occurrence of th ...

Rachel Green Rachel Karen Green is a fictional character, one of the six main characters who appeared in the American sitcom ''Friends''. Portrayed by Jennifer Aniston, the character was created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, and appeared in all of ...

’s boss who dated

Chandler Bing Chandler Muriel Bing is a fictional character from the NBC sitcom ''Friends'', portrayed by Matthew Perry. Chandler was born to Nora Tyler Bing, an erotic romance novelist, and Charles Bing, a gay female impersonator and star of a Las Vegas drag ...

on the sitcom ''

Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane (producer), David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting List of Friends episodes, ten seasons. With an ensemble cast ...

''.

Biography

Early life and career

Born in Lincolnshire, Illinois, a suburb of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, La Placa is a graduate of Stevenson High School. Shortly after moving to Hollywood, La Placa landed the role of Elyse in the sitcom version of Barry Levinson's dramedy movie ''

Diner A diner is a type of restaurant found across the United States and Canada, as well as parts of Western Europe and Australia. Diners offer a wide range of cuisine, mostly American cuisine, a casual atmosphere, and, characteristically, a comb ...

'' (1982). That pilot did not get picked up, and soon thereafter La Placa got a role in the made-for-TV movie ''Listen to Your Heart'' (1983).

Later career

The following year, La Placa earned a regular spot on the short-lived sitcom '' Suzanne Pleshette Is Maggie Briggs'' (1984). She had a small role in the movie '' Fletch'' (1985), and subsequently played the starring role of Linda Phillips on the sitcoms ''

'' (from 1987 to 1989) and '' Open House'' (from 1989 to 1990). La Placa played opposite Kirstie Alley in the comedy movie '' Madhouse'' (1990), with co-star John Larroquette. La Placa has guest-starred on series including '' Family Ties'', ''

Cheers ''Cheers'' is an American television sitcom, created by Glen and Les Charles, Glen Charles & Les Charles and James Burrows, that aired on NBC for eleven seasons from September 30, 1982, to May 20, 1993. The show was produced by Charles/Burrows/C ...

'', '' ER'' and ''

Desperate Housewives ''Desperate Housewives'' is an American mystery comedy-drama television series created by Marc Cherry, and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. It aired for eight seasons on ABC from October 3, 2004, until May 13, 2012, for a tota ...

''. She was a regular on '' Stat'' (1991), ''

The Jackie Thomas Show ''The Jackie Thomas Show'' is an American sitcom that aired on the ABC network from December 1992 to March 1993. The series received widespread attention due to its creators Roseanne Arnold, then starring in the fifth season of her comedy ''Ros ...

'' (1992), '' Tom'' (1994), and the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

sitcom '' The John Larroquette Show'' (from 1994 to 1996). La Placa has guest-starred on animated series such as '' Batman: The Animated Series'' and ''

Johnny Bravo ''Johnny Bravo'' is an American animated comedy television series created by Van Partible for Cartoon Network. The second of the network's Cartoon Cartoons, it aired from July 14, 1997, to August 27, 2004. The titular Johnny Bravo (voiced by ...

''. She played the character Andrea in the television series ''

Boston Legal ''Boston Legal'' is an American legal comedy drama television series created by former lawyer and Boston native David E. Kelley, produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for ABC. The series aired from October 3, 2004, to Decem ...

'' in two episodes in season 4 ("Glow in the Dark" and "Rescue Me"). She appeared in ''

Malcolm in the Middle ''Malcolm in the Middle'' is an American television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on January 9, 2000, and ended on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons consisting of 151 episodes. The ...

'' as Barbara in the episode "Convention" and in a recurring role in ''

'Til Death ''Til Death'' is an American sitcom that aired on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox from September 7, 2006, to June 20, 2010. The series was created by husband and wife team Josh Goldsmith and Cathy Yuspa, who were also the writers and executive pr ...

'' as Beth, Joy's co-worker. She also guest starred in the CBS sitcom '' Mom''.

Personal life

She has been married to television actor/director Philip Charles MacKenzie (her co-star on ''Open House'') since 1992.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:La Placa, Alison 1959 births Living people Actresses from Illinois American film actresses American musical theatre actresses American television actresses American voice actresses People from Lincolnshire, Illinois 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses