Sally Field
Sally Field is a much-loved actress, familiar to TV and film audiences, and has won two Academy Awards. Gaining popularity as a comic actress, she then achieved more critical acclaim in dramatic roles. She was born in 1946 in California to an actress mother, Margaret Field. Her stepfather was stunt man and actor, Jock Mahoney. Sally went to school with Cindy Williams, also to become an actress.
Field’s big break came in the TV series, Gidget. She played the girl next door from 1965 to 1966, appearing with the late Pete Duel. A western movie role came soon after with The Way West, in which Sally rubbed shoulders with some of Hollywood’s greats. Andrew V. McLaglen directed and Kirk Douglas, Robert Mitchum and Richard Widmark starred.
From 1967-1969, Field played another popular character for TV in the series, The Flying Nun. She flew around as Sister Bertrille and other regulars included Marge Redmond and Alejandro Rey. Field also appeared in two episodes of the hit western series, Alias Smith and Jones. Ben Murphy and Pete Duel starred, her old Gidget buddy Duel being subsequently replaced by Roger Davis.
Determined to take on more dramatic parts, Field was cast as the lead in the television movie, Sybil. Based on a true story, she gave a powerful performance as a woman suffering from multiple personality disorder. Joanne Woodward and Brad Davis co-starred. Field did not abandon light comedy however, and made Smokey and the Bandit opposite long time boyfriend, Burt Reynolds. A sequel followed, and Hal Needham directed both.
Martin Ritt chose Field for the lead role in his drama about a trade union, called Norma Rae. Beau Bridges was her co-star and it was released in 1979. She continued to mix comedy and drama through the following decades. She appeared in Sydney Pollack’s Absence of Malice, starring Paul Newman and in Steel Magnolias, directed by Herbert Ross. Steel Magnolias, set in a Louisiana beauty parlor, was well received and had a terrific ensemble cast with Dolly Parton, Shirley MacLaine, Daryl Hannah, Olympia Dukakis, Julia Roberts and Tom Skerritt.
The world of TV soap operas was explored in the comedy, Soapdish, in which Field appeared with Kevin Kline, Robert Downey Jr., Elisabeth Shue, Whoopi Goldberg and Teri Hatcher. One of the biggest comic hits of the 1990s was Mrs. Doubtfire. It was a tour de force for Robin Williams and was directed by Chris Columbus. Field played the long-suffering wife, with a new love interest supplied by Pierce Brosnan. She was then cast in the offbeat Forest Gump, starring Tom Hanks. The epic tale also co-starred Robin Wright Penn and Gary Sinise.
Field made a welcome appearance in a recurring role in the TV series, ER. Playing Maggie, a woman with bi-polar disorder, her dramatic episodes involved the regular cast of Goran Visnjic, Maura Tierney, Noah Wyle, Laura Innes and Alex Kingston.
Field has been married and divorced twice. Her second husband was the producer, Alan Greisman. She has three sons, one of whom is the novelist Peter Craig. Let us know of updates to the Sally Field biography at editor@yuddy.com |
