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Lauri Peters (born July 1943, also known as Patti Peterson) is an American actress and dancer in theatre, film, and television.


Early life

Lauri Peters was born to Mr. and Mrs. Harold Peterson. She has three older brothers, Harold Jr., Victor, and Sidney. The Peterson family moved to Cleveland, Ohio when Peters was a year old. Having studied dance from a young age, Peters moved to New York City as a teenager to pursue ballet. She was known as Patti Peterson.


Career

Peters made her Broadway debut in 1958 as a replacement in the children's ensemble in '' Say, Darling.'' She was credited as Laurie Peterson (there was already a Patti Peterson registered with Actors Equity). ''Say, Darling'' closed in January 1959, and two months later she opened in her second Broadway show, ''First Impressions'', this time billed as Lauri Peters. In the fall of 1959, Peters created the role of Liesl Von Trapp in the original Broadway production of ''
The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. ...
''. She received a
Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...
nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical, which she shared with her sibling castmates. She was married to actor
Jon Voight Jonathan Vincent Voight (; born December 29, 1938) is an American actor. Throughout his career, he has received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and four Golden Globe Awards as well as nominations ...
(1962–67), whom she met when he joined the cast as
Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
messenger boy Rolfe, with whom Liesl shares a song (" Sixteen Going on Seventeen") and an attraction. She can be heard on the show's cast album, which has sold more than three million copies in the US. In Britain, she is probably best known as
Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is a British singer and actor. He has total sales of over 21.5 million singles in the United Kingdom and, as of 2012, was the third-top-selling artist in UK Singles Chart histo ...
's romantic lead in the 1963 film '' Summer Holiday''. On film, she also acted alongside Fabian,
James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military aviator. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morali ...
, and
Sidney Poitier Sidney Poitier ( ; February 20, 1927 – January 6, 2022) was a Bahamian-American actor, film director, activist, and diplomat. In 1964, he was the first black actor and first Bahamian to win the Academy Award for Best Actor. Among his ot ...
. She appeared as Moll in the 1964 off-Broadway revival of
Marc Blitzstein Marcus Samuel Blitzstein (March 2, 1905January 22, 1964), was an American composer, lyricist, and Libretto, librettist. He won national attention in 1937 when his pro-Trade union, union musical ''The Cradle Will Rock'', directed by Orson Welles, ...
's ''
The Cradle Will Rock ''The Cradle Will Rock'' is a 1937 Musical theater, play in music by Marc Blitzstein. Originally a part of the Federal Theatre Project, it was directed by Orson Welles and produced by John Houseman. Set in Steeltown, U.S.A., the Bertold Brecht, ...
'' directed by Howard Da Silva. Although she worked primarily in the theater, on and off Broadway, and in touring companies, she also appeared on popular television shows of the 1960s and '70s, including ''
Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centered on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central charact ...
'', where she was featured as "Allie", an innocent girl stuck in a poor family of eight (with a father and brother who were future-less lazy, whiners), yet she somehow remained kind and caring, as well as falling hard for her heartthrob, Marshal Dillon in the episode "Take Her, She's Cheap" (S10E6). That was after her first starring role on ''
Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centered on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central charact ...
'' in 1964 (S9E20) as the title character "Mayblossom", portraying Festus's cousin (who was promised to him for marriage), but who also falls prey to being violated by a townsman. With acting teacher
Sanford Meisner Sanford Meisner (August 31, 1905 – February 2, 1997) was an American actor and acting teacher who developed an approach to acting instruction that is now known as the Meisner technique. While Meisner was exposed to method acting at the Group ...
, Peters founded the Meisner Extension at
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
in 1993, where she was artistic director and master teacher. Teaching the technique away from Manhattan, she has written a book on Meisner.


Theatre

*1958 '' Say, Darling'' as Kid in the Show (replacement) *1959 '' First Impressions'' as Kitty Bennet *1959 ''
The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. ...
'' as Liesl Von Trapp *1964 ''A Murderer Among Us'' as Louisette *1964 ''
The Cradle Will Rock ''The Cradle Will Rock'' is a 1937 Musical theater, play in music by Marc Blitzstein. Originally a part of the Federal Theatre Project, it was directed by Orson Welles and produced by John Houseman. Set in Steeltown, U.S.A., the Bertold Brecht, ...
'' as Moll *1968 ''The House of Atreus'' as Handmaiden, Chorus, and Singer


Filmography


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Peters, Lauri Living people American stage actresses American film actresses American television actresses American drama teachers 21st-century American women 1943 births