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Tara Buckman is an American retired television and film actress. Her active career was mainly confined to the late 1970s to the mid-1990s. Though never reaching feature status, Buckman was nonetheless a regular guest star on many television series. She also appeared in minor roles in feature films.


Early life

Buckman was an
Army brat A military brat ( colloquial or military slang) is a child of serving or retired military personnel. Military brats are associated with a unique subcultureDavid C. Pollock, Ruth E. van Reken. ''Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds'', Revi ...
whose longest time living in one house was two years until her family moved to
Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach is an independent city (United States), independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 United States cen ...
when she was a teenager. Buckman was a drum major, the first in her schools history, and attended and graduated from
Princess Anne High School Princess Anne High School (PAHS) is one of 11 high schools in the Virginia Beach City Public School System. Opened in 1954, it is the oldest remaining high school in Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States. The school is named after the now extinc ...
in 1974. While she was a waitress in a hotel dining room in
Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 cen ...
, producer
James Goldstone James Goldstone (June 8, 1931 – November 5, 1999) was an American film and television director whose career spanned over thirty years. Career Goldstone was noted for the momentum and "fifteen-minute cliffhangers" that he brought to TV pilots ...
saw her, and he later offered her a part in the film ''
Rollercoaster A roller coaster, or rollercoaster, is a type of amusement ride that employs a form of elevated railroad track designed with tight turns, steep slopes, and sometimes inversions. Passengers ride along the track in open cars, and the rides are o ...
''. Three months later, she moved to Los Angeles. After arriving there, she gained a contract with Universal Studios with Goldstone's assistance.


Career


Television

Buckman portrayed Officer Brandy Ames in ''
The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo ''The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo'' is an American action comedy television series that ran on NBC from September 18, 1979, to May 5, 1981. For its second season the show was renamed ''Lobo''. The program aired Tuesday nights, at 8:00p.m. Easte ...
'' and Cat Hellman in '' The Master''. She is also remembered for her guest appearances in episodes of such 1970s and 1980s television fare as ''
The Rockford Files ''The Rockford Files'' is an American detective drama television series starring James Garner that aired on the NBC network from September 13, 1974 to January 10, 1980, and remains in syndication. Garner portrays Los Angeles private investigat ...
'', ''
Kojak ''Kojak'' is an American Action film, action Crime film, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series starring Telly Savalas as the title character, New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant Theodopolis "Theo" Kojak. Tak ...
'', ''
CHiPs ''CHiPs'' is an American crime drama television series created by Rick Rosner and originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to May 1, 1983. It follows the lives of two motorcycle officers of the California Highway Patrol (CHP). The seri ...
'', ''
The Hardy Boys Mysteries ''The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries'' (re-titled ''The Hardy Boys'' for season three) is an American television mystery series based on the '' Hardy Boys'' and '' Nancy Drew'' juvenile novels. The series, which ran from January 30, 1977, to Ja ...
'', ''
Quincy, M.E. ''Quincy, M.E.'' (also called ''Quincy'') is an American mystery medical drama television series from Universal Studios that aired on NBC from October 3, 1976, to May 11, 1983. Jack Klugman starred in the title role as a Los Angeles County medi ...
'', '' Buck Rogers in the 25th Century'' and ''
Brave New World ''Brave New World'' is a dystopian novel by English author Aldous Huxley, written in 1931 and published in 1932. Largely set in a futuristic World State, whose citizens are environmentally engineered into an intelligence-based social hierarc ...
''. She also appeared in the 1979 television movies '' Death Car on the Freeway'' and '' The Man in the Santa Claus Suit'', and portrayed Norma Kirkland on the daytime drama ''
Days of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. The soap, which aired on ...
'' in 1984-1985.


In film

Often cast in minor roles in larger budget films, Buckman appeared in the
Burt Reynolds Burton Leon Reynolds Jr. (February 11, 1936 – September 6, 2018) was an American actor, considered a sex symbol and icon of 1970s American popular culture. Reynolds first rose to prominence when he starred in television series such as '' ...
vehicles '' Hooper'' (1978) and ''
The Cannonball Run ''The Cannonball Run'' is a 1981 action comedy film. It was directed by Hal Needham, produced by Hong Kong's Golden Harvest films, and distributed by 20th Century Fox. Filmed in Panavision, it features an all-star ensemble cast, including Burt ...
'' (1981). Buckman was generally offered largely dimensionless and decorative parts, such as a rollercoaster attendant in the disaster film ''
Rollercoaster A roller coaster, or rollercoaster, is a type of amusement ride that employs a form of elevated railroad track designed with tight turns, steep slopes, and sometimes inversions. Passengers ride along the track in open cars, and the rides are o ...
'' (1977), and "Lamborghini Girl #2" (alongside
Adrienne Barbeau Adrienne Jo Barbeau (born June 11, 1945) is an American actress, singer and the author of three books. Barbeau came to prominence in the 1970s as Broadway's original Rizzo in the musical '' Grease'', and as Carol Traynor, the divorced daughter o ...
) in ''
The Cannonball Run ''The Cannonball Run'' is a 1981 action comedy film. It was directed by Hal Needham, produced by Hong Kong's Golden Harvest films, and distributed by 20th Century Fox. Filmed in Panavision, it features an all-star ensemble cast, including Burt ...
''. Buckman also appeared in several
b movies A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feature ...
from the late-1970s through to the mid-1990s. She appeared in a rape/murder scene, in which her top was torn open and her throat was slit by a man dressed as Santa Claus in the 1984 controversial horror film ''
Silent Night, Deadly Night ''Silent Night, Deadly Night'' is a 1984 American slasher film directed by Charles E. Sellier, Jr., and starring Robert Brian Wilson, Lilyan Chauvin, Gilmer McCormick, Toni Nero, Linnea Quigley, Britt Leach, and Leo Geter. The story concerns ...
''. Her most recent major role was as Dr. Julie Casserly in '' Xtro II: The Second Encounter'' (1991), and her other credits include the films ''Snowballing'' (1984), '' Never Too Young to Die'' (1986), '' Terminal Exposure'' (1987), '' Blue Angel Cafe'' (1989), ''High Finance Woman'' (1990), and ''The Marilyn Diaries'' (1990) alongside
porn star A pornographic film actor or actress, pornographic performer, adult entertainer, or porn star is a person who performs sex acts in video that is usually characterized as a pornographic movie. Such videos tend to be made in a number of di ...
Marilyn Chambers Marilyn Ann Taylor (née Briggs; April 22, 1952 – April 12, 2009), known professionally as Marilyn Chambers, was an American pornographic actress, exotic dancer, model, actress, singer and vice-presidential candidate. She was known f ...
.


Filmography


Film


Television


References


External links

* * People from Pensacola, Florida Living people American film actresses American television actresses Actresses from Los Angeles 20th-century American actresses Actresses from Virginia Princess Anne High School alumni 21st-century American women Year of birth missing (living people) {{US-screen-actor-1950s-stub