Audrie J. Neenan (born October 28, 1950) is an American actress. She is best known on screen for her role as the raucous, abrasive

madam Madam (), or madame ( or ), is a polite and formal form of address for Woman, women in the English language, often contracted to ma'am (pronounced in American English and this way but also in British English). The term derives from the French la ...

Ray Parkins in the 1983 action film ''

Sudden Impact ''Sudden Impact'' is a 1983 American action-thriller film, the fourth in the ''Dirty Harry'' series, directed, produced by, and starring Clint Eastwood (making it the only ''Dirty Harry'' film to be directed by Eastwood himself) and co-starri ...

'' and for playing judges in the TV series ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, launching the ''Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire ...

'' and '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' as Lois Preston. Many of her roles have been portrayals of intimidating female figures such as judges, policewomen and mouthy waitresses.

Early years

Born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Neenan has a brother and four sisters. Her mother and aunt performed in vaudeville as the Sunshine Sisters with their brother as their pianist. Her desire to be an actress was ignited when at age 9 she watched her sister act in ''The Diary of Anne Frank''. When she was in the seventh grade she moved with her family to

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg ( ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,099 as of 2020, Harrisburg is the ninth-most populous city in Pennsylvania. It is the larger of the two pr ...

, after her father bought a McDonald's franchise there. She worked in that business and acted in school plays. She graduated from Bishop McDevitt High School in Harrisburg, then attended Barat College for Women in

Lake Forest, Illinois Lake Forest is a city located in Lake County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 19,367. The city is along the shore of Lake Michigan, and is a part of the Chicago metropolitan area and t ...

, and acted there.

Career

Neenan appeared as a waitress in ''

Funny Farm A psychiatric hospital, also known as a mental health hospital, a behavioral health hospital, or an asylum is a specialized medical facility that focuses on the treatment of severe mental disorders. These institutions cater to patients with c ...

'' (1988) serving

Chevy Chase Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase (; born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, actor, and writer. He became the breakout cast member in the first season of ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1976), where his recurring ''Weekend Update'' segment b ...

lamb fries Lamb fries are lamb testicles used as food. Historically they were parboiled, cut in half, and seasoned. Lamb testicles are served in a variety of cuisines, including Basque, breaded and fried in some barbecue restaurants, Chinese, Caucasian, ...

and as a policewoman in ''

See No Evil, Hear No Evil The are a Japanese pictorial maxim, embodying the proverbial principle "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil". The three monkeys are * , covering his eyes * , covering his ears * , covering his mouth. Lafcadio Hearn refers to them as the ...

'' (1989) opposite

Gene Wilder Gene Wilder (born Jerome Silberman; June 11, 1933 – August 29, 2016) was an American actor, comedian, writer, and filmmaker. He was mainly known for his comedic roles, including his portrayal of Willy Wonka in ''Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Fa ...

. In 2006, Neenan had a small role as a bar waitress in

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November17, 1942) is an American filmmaker. One of the major figures of the New Hollywood era, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Martin Scorsese, many accolades, including an Academ ...

's ''

The Departed ''The Departed'' is a 2006 crime film, crime thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by William Monahan. It is both an English-language remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film ''Infernal Affairs'' and also loosely based on the real-lif ...

''. In 2008, she appeared in the

John Patrick Shanley John Patrick Shanley (born October 13, 1950) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and director. He won the 1988 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the film ''Moonstruck''. His play, '' Doubt: A Parable'', won the 2005 Pulitzer Pri ...

-directed sexual abuse drama ''

Doubt Doubt is a mental state in which the mind remains suspended between two or more contradictory propositions, and is certainty, uncertain about them. Doubt on an emotional level is indecision between belief and wikt:disbelief, disbelief. It may i ...

'', starring

Meryl Streep Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Known for her versatility and adept accent work, she has been described as "the best actress of her generation". She has received numerous accolades throughout her career ...

and

Philip Seymour Hoffman Philip Seymour Hoffman (July 23, 1967 – February 2, 2014) was an American actor. Known for his distinctive supporting and character actor, character roles—eccentrics, underdogs, and misfits—he acted in many films and theatrical productio ...

. The red-haired Neenan has appeared in numerous TV shows such as '' Not Necessarily the News'', ''

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 ...

'', '' Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'', ''

Ally McBeal ''Ally McBeal'' is an American legal comedy-drama television series created by David E. Kelley that originally aired on Fox from September 8, 1997, to May 20, 2002. It revolves around Calista Flockhart in the title role as a lawyer working ...

'', ''

The Cosby Show ''The Cosby Show'' is an American television sitcom created by (along with Ed. Weinberger and Michael J. Leeson) and starring Bill Cosby that originally aired on NBC from September 20, 1984, to April 30, 1992, with a total of 201 half-hour e ...

'', and ''

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show was the third installment of ''The Tonight Show''. Hosted by Johnny Carson, it aired from October 1, 1962 to May 22, 1992, replacing ''T ...

''. She is also a noted stage actress and 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 Stre ...

debut opposite

Faye Dunaway Dorothy Faye Dunaway (born January 14, 1941) is an American actress. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Faye Dunaway, many accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, ...

William Alfred William Alfred (August 16, 1922 – May 20, 1999) was an American playwright, poet, and professor of English literature at Harvard University. Biography Alfred was born into an Irish family in Brooklyn, New York. His father was a bricklayer and ...

's ''The Curse of an Aching Heart'' and appeared at

The Apollo ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

and the Chicago Shakespeare Festival.

Selected filmography

*''

Towing Towing is coupling two or more objects together so that they may be pulled by a designated power source or sources. The towing source may be a motorized land vehicle, vessel, animal, or human, and the load being anything that can be pulled. ...

'' (1978) - Irate Lady *'' Somewhere in Time'' (1980) - Maid in Play (1912) *''

'' (1983) - Ray Parkins *''

Love at Stake ''Love at Stake'' is a 1987 American comedy film, directed by John C. Moffitt, based on a screenplay by Lanier Laney and Terry Sweeney. It stars Patrick Cassidy and Kelly Preston, with Barbara Carrera, Bud Cort, Dave Thomas, and Stuart Panki ...

'' (1987) - Mrs. Babcock *''

'' (1988) - Ivy *''

'' (1989) - Policewoman and Marilyn *''Wedding Band'' (1989) - Judy *''

Slippery Slope In a slippery slope argument, a course of action is rejected because the slippery slope advocate believes it will lead to a chain reaction resulting in an undesirable end or ends. The core of the slippery slope argument is that a specific decisi ...

'' (2006) - Floozy *''

'' (2006) - Woman at Bar #2 *''

Ghost Town A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...

'' (2008) - Admitting Nurse *''

'' (2008) - Sister Raymond *''BuzzKill'' (2012) - Waitress *''

Shelter A shelter is an architectural structure or natural formation (or a combination of the two) providing protection from the local environment. A shelter can serve as a home or be provided by a residential institution. It can be understood as both ...

'' (2014) - Shelter Worker 2 *'' Crashing'' (2017) - Mrs Rita Holmes, Pete's mom *''

Puzzle A puzzle is a game, problem, or toy that tests a person's ingenuity or knowledge. In a puzzle, the solver is expected to put pieces together ( or take them apart) in a logical way, in order to find the solution of the puzzle. There are differe ...

'' (2018) - Aunt Emily

References

External links

*
Biography
Living people American film actresses American television actresses American stage actresses 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) {{US-film-actor-1950s-stub