Janet Margolin
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Janet Natalie Margolin (July 25, 1943 – December 17, 1993) was an American theater, television and film actress.


Early life

Margolin was born in New York City to a Jewish family. Her father, Benjamin Margolin, was a
Russian Jewish The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest po ...
accountant who founded the Nephrosis Foundation, now the Kidney Foundation of New York, and her mother, Annette ( Lief), was a dental assistant. Her father had many friends and clients who were associated with theater and would often ask her to audition for roles. Until the late 1950s, Margolin aspired to become a doctor, yet was always interested in acting and decided to give it a try following insistence from her father's friends. She attended the
High School of Performing Arts The High School of Performing Arts (informally known as "PA") was a public alternative high school established in 1947 and located at 120 West 46th Street in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, from 1948 to 1984. In 1961, the school was ...
and, just prior to her graduation, did a
screen test A screen test is a method of determining the suitability of an actor or actress for performing on film or in a particular role. It is typically a secondary or later stage in the audition process. The performer is generally given a scene, or sel ...
for '' Five Finger Exercise'', where she was urged to sign a contract but declined, instead returning to New York.


Career

Margolin's earliest acting roles were in a commercial for Zest and several instalments in the
soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...
''
The Edge of Night ''The Edge of Night'' is an American mystery crime drama soap opera, created by Irving Vendig and produced by Procter & Gamble Productions. It debuted on CBS on April 2, 1956, and ran as a live broadcast on that network for most of its ...
''. In 1961 at the age of 18, while a prop assistant at the New York Shakespeare Festival, Margolin won a pivotal Broadway stage role as Anna in
Morris West Morris Langlo West (26 April 19169 October 1999) was an Australian novelist and playwright, best known for his novels ''The Devil's Advocate (West novel), The Devil's Advocate'' (1959), ''The Shoes of the Fisherman (novel), The Shoes of the Fi ...
's '' Daughter of Silence'', beating 200 other applicants. Despite mixed reaction to the play, critics unanimously praised Margolin's performance and she went on to be nominated for a Tony Award. In 1962, Margolin played her first movie role as the female lead in '' David and Lisa'' and traveled to Argentina in 1964 to feature in '' The Eavesdropper'', where upon her return she signed a 1-film-a-year contract with
20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...
. She co-starred with
Marlon Brando Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Widely regarded as one of the greatest cinema actors of the 20th century,''Movies in American History: An Encyclopedia''
in 1965's '' Morituri'' and with
Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of counterculture of the 1960s, 1960s counterculture, made him a top box office draw for his films of the late ...
in the western ''
Nevada Smith ''Nevada Smith'' is a 1966 American Western film directed by Henry Hathaway and starring Steve McQueen, Karl Malden, Brian Keith, Arthur Kennedy and Suzanne Pleshette. The film was made by Solar Productions in association with and released by ...
''. By 1967, she was considered by the ''
Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local, regional, national, and international news. Founded in 1837, the newspaper was owned by Tribune Publish ...
'' one of Hollywood's "brightest new stars," by then having featured in around five films. Numerous film studios made efforts to commit her to a long-term contract. Later that year, she also played Wanda in the movie '' Enter Laughing'', as the love interest of the character David Kolowitz, played by Reni Santoni in his first leading role. In ''
Take the Money and Run Take the Money and Run may refer to: Songs * "Take the Money and Run" (Bunny Walters song), 1972 * "Take the Money and Run", by Crosby & Nash from ''Wind on the Water'', 1975 * "Take the Money and Run" (Steve Miller Band song), 1976 * "Take the M ...
'' (1969), she played the love interest of the bumbling thief played by Woody Allen, and in ''
Annie Hall ''Annie Hall'' is a 1977 American satirical romantic comedy-drama film directed by Woody Allen from a screenplay written by Allen and Marshall Brickman, and produced by Allen's manager, Charles H. Joffe. The film stars Allen as Alvy Singer ...
'' (1977), she played the social-climbing wife of Allen's character. In 1979, Margolin co-starred with
Roy Scheider Roy Richard Scheider (; November 10, 1932 – February 10, 2008) was an American actor and amateur boxer who achieved fame with his leading and supporting roles in celebrated films from the 1970s through to the mid-1980s. He was nominated for t ...
in director
Jonathan Demme Robert Jonathan Demme ( ; February 22, 1944 – April 26, 2017) was an American filmmaker, whose career directing, producing, and screenwriting spanned more than 30 years and 70 feature films, documentaries, and television productions. He was an ...
's thriller '' Last Embrace''. Margolin's last film appearance was in ''
Ghostbusters II ''GhostbustersII'' is a 1989 American Supernatural fiction, supernatural comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. The film stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Ramis, Rick Moranis, Ernie Hudson ...
'' in 1989, and her last television roles were in an episode of ''
Murder, She Wrote ''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The series f ...
'' ("Deadly Misunderstanding") and in '' Columbo: Murder in Malibu'' in 1990.


Personal life

In August 1968, Margolin married Jerry Brandt in Los Angeles; they divorced in October 1971. Commenting on the marriage during a 1979 interview, Brandt said, "...being married to Janet was like being in the intensive care unit. In California she went to a shrink six days a week and I went three days. Finally, I said 'forget it.'" Later that decade in December 1979, she married actor/director Ted Wass and had two children, including Julian Wass. Margolin frequently and erroneously has been identified as the sister of actor
Stuart Margolin Stuart Margolin (January 31, 1940 – December 12, 2022) was an American actor, director, and screenwriter of film and television. He was known for playing con artist Evelyn "Angel" Martin on the 1970s television series '' The Rockford Files'', ...
and director Arnold Margolin, though she acted alongside Stuart Margolin in the pilot episode of the TV series '' Lanigan's Rabbi'', where they appeared as husband and wife. She was a friend of producer/actress
Jennifer Salt Jennifer Salt (born September 4, 1944) is an American producer, screenwriter, and former actress known for playing Eunice Tate on ''Soap'' (1977–1981). Life and career Salt was born in Los Angeles, California, to screenwriter Waldo Salt and ...
, who had co-starred with Wass in the 1970s sitcom ''
Soap Soap is a salt (chemistry), salt of a fatty acid (sometimes other carboxylic acids) used for cleaning and lubricating products as well as other applications. In a domestic setting, soaps, specifically "toilet soaps", are surfactants usually u ...
''. Margolin died of
ovarian cancer Ovarian cancer is a cancerous tumor of an ovary. It may originate from the ovary itself or more commonly from communicating nearby structures such as fallopian tubes or the inner lining of the abdomen. The ovary is made up of three different ...
at the age of 50 on December 17, 1993, in her Los Angeles home. She was cremated and her ashes were placed in an urn garden at Westwood Memorial Park in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
.


Filmography


Awards and nominations


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Margolin, Janet 1943 births 1993 deaths 20th-century American actresses 20th-century American Jews Actresses from New York City American film actresses American people of Russian-Jewish descent American stage actresses American television actresses Burials at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery Deaths from ovarian cancer in California Jewish American actresses