Mari Gorman (September 1, 1944) is an American actress perhaps best known for her work in television, particularly as a frequent guest star on the 1970s and 1980s

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

Barney Miller ''Barney Miller'' is an American sitcom television series set in a New York City Police Department police station on East 6th Street in Greenwich Village (Lower Manhattan). The series was broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from Janu ...

'', but she is also known for her theater acting. She has won several acting awards, including two Obie Awards. She is the author of ''Strokes of Existence: The Connection of All Things,'' which is about a long-term, formal investigation of acting that realizes Shakespeare's words, "All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players." (''As You Like It'', Act II, Sc 7.)

Biography

Gorman had her first professional role in Arnold Wesker's ''The Kitchen'', directed by Jack Gelber, with Rip Torn. She has won Obie Awards for three acting performances: in ''Walking to Waldheim'', by Mayo Simon, directed by George L. Sherman at Lincoln Center; ''The Memorandum'', by Vaclev Havel, directed by Joseph Papp at The Public Theatre; and ''The Hot L Baltimore'', by Lanford Wilson, directed by Marshall W. Mason at The Circle In-the-Square (with Circle Repertory Company), for which she also received the Theatre World Award, Drama Desk Award and Clarence Derwent Award. Other highlights include the lead role of The Girl in ''The Red Convertible,'' by Enrique Buenaventura, in the premiere production of The Third Stage (Tom Patterson Theatre) at Stratford Shakespeare Festival, Ontario; the role of Pam in the American premiere of ''Saved'' by

Edward Bond Thomas Edward Bond (18 July 1934 – 3 March 2024) was an English playwright, theatre director, poet, dramatic theorist and screenwriter. He was the author of some 50 plays, among them '' Saved'' (1965), the production of which was instrument ...

, with the Yale Repertory Theatre; and the role of Kathy in the world premiere of ''Moonchildren'' (originally titled ''Cancer'') by Michael Weller at The Royal Court Theatre in London. Her first major TV role was as murder victim and mob pawn Taffy Simms on the

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

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 the 1970s. She also had a regular role in the

Barbara Eden Barbara Eden (born Barbara Jean Morehead; August 23, 1931) is an American actress and singer, who starred as the title character in the sitcom ''I Dream of Jeannie'' (1965–1970). Her other roles included Roslyn Pierce opposite Elvis Presley in ...

'' Harper Valley PTA'', playing PTA member, Vivian Washburn, and was a frequent guest star on the 1970s and 1980s sitcom ''

'', including as an amateur prostitute housewife (in Season 4, Episode 3, "Bugs") and as a police detective with a jealous husband (in Season 4, Episode 18, "Wojo's Problem," and other episodes). She has had numerous recurring or guest starring roles in many other television shows, and her film career has included roles in '' Goodbye, Columbus'' (1969), '' The Taking of Pelham One Two Three'' (1974), '' 10'' (1979), '' Oh, God! Book II'' (1980), and such made-for-television movies as '' Curse of the Black Widow'' (1977), '' Choices of the Heart'' (1983) and '' Kids Don't Tell'' (1985). She has produced and directed theatre in New York and Los Angeles as well as teaching acting. In 1981 (in Los Angeles) and 2003 (in New York), she produced and directed ''Cries for Peace'', composed of firsthand accounts of

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui has b ...

and

Nagasaki , officially , is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Founded by the Portuguese, the port of Portuguese_Nagasaki, Nagasaki became the sole Nanban trade, port used for tr ...

atomic bomb A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear expl ...

survivors performed by multi-ethnic casts. In 2010 she founded the

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

theater company, Glass Beads Theatre Ensemble, and produced and directed playwright Michael Locascio's ''Lily of the Conservative Ladies'', at the June Havoc Theatre. She produced, directed, and, with Danna Call and Craig Pospisil, co-wrote ''Browsing'', performed as part of the 2011

New York International Fringe Festival The New York International Fringe Festival, or FringeNYC, was a fringe theater festival and one of the largest multi-arts events in North America. It took place over the course of a few weeks in October, spread on more than 20 stages across se ...

Awards

* 1967–68 season

Obie Award The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given since 1956 by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theater artists and groups involved in off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway productions in New York City. Starting just after th ...

for Distinguished Performances in ''Walking to Waldheim'' and ''The Memorandum''. * 1972–73 Obie Award for Distinguished Performance in '' The Hot l Baltimore'' *1972–73 Theatre World Award for '' The Hot l Baltimore'' *1972–73

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Awards are among the most esteemed honors in New York theater, recognizing outstanding achievements across Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway productions within the same categories. The awards are considered a signific ...

for Outstanding Performance in '' The Hot l Baltimore'' * 1973

Clarence Derwent Award The Clarence Derwent Awards are theatre awards given annually by the Actors' Equity Association on Broadway in the United States and by Equity, the performers' union, in the West End in the United Kingdom. Clarence Derwent (23 March 1884 – 6 ...

, '' The Hot l Baltimore'' * Drama-Logue Award, director, '' Vanities''.

Notes

References

External links

IMDb profile
American soap opera actresses American television actresses Living people American stage actresses Obie Award recipients Theatre World Award winners Drama Desk Award winners Clarence Derwent Award winners 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses American film actresses 1944 births Actresses from New York City {{authority control