Valerie Perrine, who was Oscar nominated for best actress for her performance in Bob Fosse’s 1974 Lenny Bruce biopic “Lenny” and appeared prominently in Richard Donner’s “Superman” films as Lex Luthor’s girlfriend Miss Teschmacher, died Monday in Beverly Hills. She was 81.
Her friend Stacey Souther announced her death on Facebook, writing “It is with deep sadness that I share the heartbreaking news that Valerie has passed away. She faced Parkinson’s disease with incredible courage and compassion, never once complaining. She was a true inspiration who lived life to the fullest—and what a magnificent life it was. The world feels less beautiful without her in it.
Souther continued, “Please consider donating, sharing, and helping spread the word for her funeral GoFundMe. Her final wish is to be laid to rest at Forest Lawn Cemetery, but after more than 15 years of fighting Parkinson’s, her finances are exhausted. Let’s come together to make her last wish a reality—she truly deserves it.” Souther shared a GoFundMe link for her burial.
Stand-up comedian Lenny Bruce was a complex, controversial figure, and Fosse’s biopic, starring Dustin Hoffman, inspired a wide range of strong reactions from critics. Roger Ebert said: “The performances around Hoffman’s are designed primarily to reflect off his. But Valerie Perrine, as Honey, does create her character in an interesting way. The movie stays ambiguous about several aspects of her personality (there’s a menage a trois that’s played for erotic effect while it’s on, and then used to inspire an ambiguous fight). But she does project a certain tarnished sexuality, and she gives us at last a stripper without a heart of gold.”
In a poignant scene in 1978’s “Superman,” in which Christopher Reeve’s Man of Steel is lying in a pool, near death because of the Kryptonite with which Lex Luthor has adorned him, Perrine showed that Miss Teschmacher was more than just a beautiful woman that the evil genius keeps around; clearly aching at Superman’s suffering — but also wanting him to stop a nuclear missile (one of two Luthor has set into motion) that’s heading for Hackansack, N.J., where her mother lives — she enables his escape.
More recently, Perrine drew acclaim for her relatively small role in Nancy Meyers’ huge box office hit “What Women Want” ($374 million worldwide, making it the No. 2 romantic comedy of all time). In the 2000 film, Mel Gibson’s character supernaturally attains the ability to read the thoughts of women — and the discoveries he makes are quite disappointing to the self-confident womanizer. Roger Ebert said: At work, two assistants (Valerie Perrine and Delta Burke) approve categorically of everything he does, but mind-reading reveals they never think about this.” Variety described this moment in the movie as “one of the film’s funniest gags.”
In the 2000s Perrine guested on TV series including “Just Shoot Me!” and “Third Watch,” and she made her final big-screen appearance in “Silver Skies” (2014).
Valerie Ritchie Perrine was born in Galveston, Texas. Her mother had been a dancer in Earl Carroll’s Vanities. The family moved frequently as Perrine’s father was a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army who was transferred from post to post.
Perrine was featured in a pictorial layout in Playboy’s May 1972 issue and on the cover of the magazine in August 1981. During PBS” 1973 broadcast of Bruce Jay Friedman’s “Steambath” on “Hollywood Television Theater,” she became the first actress to purposely appear nude on U.S. television as she completely bared her breasts in a scene in which was seen taking a shower from the side. Only a few PBS stations opted to air the program.
After some time as a showgirl in Las Vegas, Perrine first appeared onscreen in George Roy Hill’s adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut’s “Slaughterhouse-Five” (1972), playing the beautiful Hollywood starlet Montana Wildhack. In 1973 she was the female lead in “The Last American Hero,” in which Jeff Bridges played a moonshine runner-turned-NASCAR driver, and Perrine played a girl in whom Bridges is interested but “who turns out to be a race track groupie providing her own prizes to the winners,” according to the Cleveland Press’ Tony Mastroianni.
After appearing in “Lenny” in 1974, she starred with Rod Steiger in Arthur Hiller’s “W.C. Fields and Me” (1976) and with Terence Hill in action road picture “Mr. Billion” (1977) before taking on the mantle of Miss Teschmacher for the first two “Superman” films starring Christopher Reeve. She appeared in Sydney Pollack’s Robert Redford-Jane Fonda vehicle “The Electric Horseman” (1979), and the New York Times said: “Mr. Pollack has also cast the supporting roles with care, especially Willie Nelson, the country-music star, as Sonny’s laid-back rodeo pal; Valerie Perrine as Sonny’s sweet but not infinitely patient former wife, and John Saxon as the amusingly ruthless head of Amco.” Less successfully for all involved, the actress appeared with the Village People in the 1980 musical comedy “Can’t Stop the Music.”
After “Superman II,” she starred as the wife of Jack Nicholson’s disaffected Border Patrol agent in Tony Richardson’s “The Border” (1982) and starred opposite Michael Mull in the adventure comedy “Water” (1985).
The actress tried series regular television with “Leo & Liz in Beverly Hills” (1986), in which she starred opposite Harvey Korman, but the CBS show, co-created by Steve Martin, lasted only six episodes.
In 1987 feature comedy “Maid to Order,” Ally Sheedy starred as a young brat who, by means of a fairy godmother teaching her a life lesson, is suddenly alone and homeless and finally gets a job as a domestic for a couple. Roger Ebert said: “This couple, played by Valerie Perrine and the late Dick Shawn, are the highlight of the movie. They’re the kind of people Mel Brooks was thinking about when he spoke of ‘rising below vulgarity.’ They’re simpleminded and silly, ridiculously in love with material possessions and even more in love with each other.”
The actress starred with Elizabeth Taylor and Mark Harmon in a 1989 TV movie adaptation of Tennessee Williams’ “Sweet Bird of Youth” directed by Nicolas Roeg.
During the ’90s Perrine guested on series including “Northern Exposure,” “Homicide: Life on the Street,” “ER,” “Nash Bridges” and “The Practice.” She also appeared on daytime soap “As the World Turns” as Dolores Pierce in 1998-1999 before scoring the role in Nancy Meyers’ extraordinarily successful 2000 comedy “What Women Want.”
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