Lisa Eilbacher

Lisa Marie Eilbacher (born May 5, 1957) is a retired American actress. She is best known for her role as Jeanette Summers in the ''Beverly Hills Cop'' film in 1984.

Early life

Born to American parents in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia"Network Bio: Lisa Eilbacher (Callie Shaw in 'The Hardy Boys')"
''St. Louis Post-Dispatch''. April 30, 1978. p. TV-58. Retrieved June 10, 2025. (where her father was an executive at Aramco),"Lisa Eilbacher: Have Urdu, Will Travel"
''Anderson Independent''. March 8, 1987. p. TV-3. Retrieved June 10, 2025. " ..Lisa has never studied acting formally. Her mother, Beverly Eilbacher, is the only acting coach she's ever had. "And she's never had any other students but my sister Cindy and me," she says. "She has a great ability to draw from you what you don't think is there. I really believe that no one can teach anyone to 'act.' You can only be taught to open up, and that she did with me."" Eilbacher is the second of five children born to Beverly and Robert Charles Eilbacher. With the exception of one summer (spent in Germany at age 4 with her mother and sisters), Eilbacher remained a Saudi resident for six years, after which, in early 1962, they commenced approximately one year's residence in Paris. The following year her father rejoined the family and brought it to the U.S., settling in Beverly Hills, where he quickly set up shop as a realtor,"BH Realty Board: First Woman Mayor Honored"
''Malibu-Toppanga News''. December 20, 1973. p. 13. Retrieved June 10, 2025. "Directors installed were Friedman, Salka, Robert C. Eilbacher, Jack Hupp," and where Eilbacher would spend the remainder of her formative years. An alumnus of both Beverly Hills Catholic School and Beverly Hills High, she never received any formal theatre training, her only coaching being that dispensed by her mother. In a 1987 interview, Eilbacher described exactly what that coaching entailed.

I really believe that no one can teach anyone to 'act.' You can only be taught to open up, and that she did for me. ..She has a great ability to draw from you what you don't think is there.

Eilbacher is the older sister of former actress Cindy Eilbacher (with whom she appeared in the 1974 television movie '' Bad Ronald''),Deal, David (2007).
Television Fright Films of the 1970s
'. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. p. 9. . "''Bad Ronald'' is a well-crafted piece of psychological horror worth the time and effort to locate. Dabney Coleman and Pippa Scott are the parents in the family who move into the Wilby house and it is a treat to see the Eilbacher sisters, Cindy and Lisa, in their only film together as two of their daughters." and of former child actor, Bobby Eilbacher.

Career

Child actress and tv roles

Eilbacher started acting as a child, appearing on such shows as ''My Three Sons'' and ''Gunsmoke''. She later made a transition into adult roles on such shows as ''The Amazing Spider-Man''.

Eilbacher starred as Callie Shaw in ''The Hardy Boys Mysteries'' in 1977. The same year she appeared in the episode "The Innocent" of the short-lived ''Logan's Run'' TV series. She also guest starred on the TV series ''Man from Atlantis'' in an episode where she played Shakespeare's Juliet. She also appeared alongside her sister Cynthia "Cindy" Eilbacher at least twice, most famously in the 1974 made-for-television horror film '' Bad Ronald'', in which they portray two of the three teenage daughters of the family newly residing in the old Wilby house. Prior to that, they had appeared as sisters Bridget and Beth Jordan, onscreen daughters of guest star Vera Miles in the 1971 ''Alias Smith and Jones'' episode, "The Posse That Wouldn't Quit".

Subsequent roles and films

In 1981, she starred in the television film '' This House Possessed'' with Parker Stevenson, with whom she worked on ''The Hardy Boys Mysteries''.

That year she acted in Lee Philips's film '' On the Right Track'' starring television star Gary Coleman. Some reviews concluded that it was sappy and capitalizing on Coleman's TV following, many found the film charming, well written, and well acted.Labonté, Richard (11 July 1981)
Young TV Favorite Stars in Real Movie
''Ottawa Citizen'' Kevin Thomas of the ''Los Angeles Times,'' felt she stood out by saying it "is Coleman's picture, but its unexpected pleasure is Eilbacher".

Eilbacher is best known for her roles in two 1980s films: ''An Officer and a Gentleman'' and ''Beverly Hills Cop''. In ''An Officer and a Gentleman'', she played Naval Aviation Officer Candidate Casey Seeger, a popular and charming woman who nearly flunked out of the program due to her inability to complete the obstacle course; however, she persevered and graduated. An amateur bodybuilder in real life, Eilbacher said the hardest aspect of this role was "pretending" to be out of shape. In ''Beverly Hills Cop'', she played Jenny Summers, a childhood friend of Eddie Murphy's character who reunited with him to solve the murder of a mutual friend.

Eilbacher was also featured in the 1983 miniseries '' The Winds of War'', playing Madeleine Henry.

In 1985, she co-starred with Holland Taylor in the ABC detective series '' Me and Mom''.

Personal life

She has been married to director and photographer Bradford May since 1988.Caveman Circus April 9, 2024: What happened to actress Lisa Eilbacher?
/ref>

Filmography

Film

Television

Notes

References

External links

*
*
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eilbacher, Lisa
1957 births
20th-century American actresses
American child actresses
American expatriates in France
American expatriates in Saudi Arabia
American film actresses
American television actresses
Living people
People from Dhahran
21st-century American women