Anna F. "Ann" Risley (born September 30, 1949,

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County, Wisconsin, Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin b ...

) is a retired American actress and comedian. She was a cast member of the TV series ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serve ...

'' for the 12 episodes of the 1980–1981 season. These 12 broadcasts were the first episodes after

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

Lorne Michaels Lorne Michaels (born Lorne David Lipowitz; November 17, 1944) is a Canadian-American producer, screenwriter, and comedian. He is best known for creating and producing ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1980, 1985–present) and producing the '' La ...

left the show.

Life and career

She was spotted by

Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...

in a theatre production of his material and encouraged her to pursue an acting career in New York. Risley was cast in small parts in Allen's films '' Annie Hall'', ''

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...

'' and '' Stardust Memories''. Before joining the cast of ''

'', she had a cameo on the show in 1976 as a psychiatrist's patient. She was cast for ''Saturday Night Live'' by

Jean Doumanian Jean Doumanian ( Karabas; born July 28, 1936) is an American stage, television and film producer. She briefly produced ''Saturday Night Live'', between November 1980 and March 1981. Early life Doumanian was born Jean (or Jeannine) Karabas, th ...

, who had previously been the show's guest-booker, then associate producer. After 12 episodes, Doumanian was let go and replaced by Dick Ebersol, who fired Gilbert Gottfried,

Charles Rocket Charles Adams Claverie (August 28, 1949 – October 7, 2005), known by stage names Charlie Hamburger, Charlie Kennedy and Charles Rocket, was an American actor, comedian, musician, and television news reporter. He was a cast member on ''Saturda ...

, and Risley from the cast before his first episode. In a 1999 article in ''

People A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of proper ...

'', Risley was quoted as saying her ''SNL'' experience was "horrible". Prior to (and after) ''Saturday Night Live'', Risley had roles in nine feature films, including '' Honky Tonk Freeway'' and '' Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean''. She appeared in starring roles in two television pilots (''Off Campus'' and ''Night After Night''), was a five-week guest star on the daytime soap '' The Doctors'', and appeared in five made-for-TV movies, including '' The Young Riders'' and ''Telling Secrets''. No longer a screen actor, Ann (who now goes by the name of Anna) continues to run her own acting/improv studio in

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive ...

Celebrity impersonations on ''SNL''

* Doria Palmieri * Toni Tennille * Rosalynn Carter

Feature film (speaking roles)

* 1977 '' Annie Hall'' as Susan (Directed by

) * 1978 '' Oliver's Story'' as Jane (Directed by

John Korty John Korty (June 22, 1936 – March 9, 2022) was an American film director and animator, best known for the television film ''The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman'' and the documentary ''Who Are the DeBolts? And Where Did They Get Nineteen Kids ...

) * 1979 ''

'' as Mrs. Finch (Directed by Woody Allen) * 1980 '' Simon'' as Pam (Directed by Marshall Brickman) * 1980 '' Stardust Memories'' as Nurse (Directed by Woody Allen) * 1981 '' Honky Tonk Freeway'' as Patricia (Directed by

John Schlesinger John Richard Schlesinger (; 16 February 1926 – 25 July 2003) was an English film and stage director. He won the Academy Award for Best Director for '' Midnight Cowboy'', and was nominated for the same award for two other films (''Darling'' an ...

) * 1981 '' Rich and Famous'' as Merideth (Directed by

George Cukor George Dewey Cukor (; July 7, 1899 – January 24, 1983) was an American film director and film producer. He mainly concentrated on comedies and literary adaptations. His career flourished at RKO when David O. Selznick, the studio's Head of ...

) * 1982 '' Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean'' as Martha (Directed by

Robert Altman Robert Bernard Altman ( ; February 20, 1925 – November 20, 2006) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He was a five-time nominee of the Academy Award for Best Director and is considered an enduring figure from the New H ...

) * 1986 '' Desert Bloom'' as Mrs. Muratore (Directed by Eugene Corr)

Television

*''Saturday Night Live'' (one year) – Cast member – 1980-81 Season, NBC (N.Y.C.) *''Off Campus'' (sitcom pilot) – Bonnie (starring role) – CBS (N.Y.C.) *''Night After Night'' (sitcom pilot) – Anne (starring role) – MTM/CBS (L.A.) *''The Doctors'' (soap, 5 wk guest star) – Hermione (with Alec Baldwin) – NBC (N.Y.C.) *''The Young Riders'' (3 episodes) – Clerk/Wife (with Josh Brolin) – ABC series (Tucson, AZ)

Movies for television

* 1990 '' El Diablo'' as Judith - HBO film (Tucson, AZ) * 1992 ''Sunstroke'' as Woman In Office (with

Jane Seymour Jane Seymour (c. 150824 October 1537) was Queen of England as the third wife of King Henry VIII of England from their marriage on 30 May 1536 until her death the next year. She became queen following the execution of Henry's second wife, Anne ...

) - TNT film (Phoenix, AZ) * 1992 '' Four Eyes and Six Guns'' as Saloon Hostess (with Patricia Clarkson) – TNT film (Tucson, AZ) * 1993 '' Telling Secrets'' as Sally DeVries (with Cybill Shepherd) - ABC miniseries (Scottsdale, AZ)

Selected stage roles

*''Come Back to the Five and Dime'' – Martha (and substitute for lead actresses Karen Black and Sandy Dennis – Broadway (NYC) *''A Little Family Business'' – role of Connie (

Angela Lansbury Dame Angela Brigid Lansbury (October 16, 1925 – October 11, 2022) was an Irish-British and American film, stage, and television actress. Her career spanned eight decades, much of it in the United States, and her work received a great deal ...

's daughter) – Ahmanson Theatre (L.A.) and Broadway (NYC) *''A History of the American Film'' – (substitute for all 4 female leads) – Arena Stage (Wash. DC) *''Uncommon Women'' – Rita-Huntington Theatre (Boston, Mass.) *''Spoon River Anthology'' – 16 roles – San Francisco Tour (CA) *''The Importance of Being Earnest'' – Cecily *''Private Lives'' – Amanda *''The Owl and the Pussycat'' – Doris *''Lovers (winners)'' – Maggie *''Same Time Next Year'' – Doris

Training

*BAI – University of Wisconsin – Theatre Communications *Various individual workshops in N.Y.C. and San Francisco

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Risley, Ann Living people American film actresses American television actresses Actors from Madison, Wisconsin American women comedians American sketch comedians Comedians from Wisconsin 21st-century American women 1949 births