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Blanche Baker

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Blanche Baker
Baker in 2019
Born
Blanche Garfein

(1956-12-20) December 20, 1956 (age 69)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Alma mater
OccupationActress
Years active1978–present
Spouses
Bruce Van Dusen
​
​
(m. 1983; div. 2002)​
Mark Magill
​
(m. 2003)​
Children4
Parent(s)Carroll Baker (mother)
Jack Garfein (father)
RelativesHerschel Garfein (brother)
Websiteblanchebaker.com

Blanche Baker (née Garfein; born December 20, 1956[1]) is an American actress. She won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Performance by a Supporting Actress for her work in the television miniseries Holocaust (1978). She also starred as the titular character in the Broadway play Lolita (1981).

Early life and education

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Born Blanche Garfein in New York City, she is the daughter of actress Carroll Baker and director Jack Garfein. Her father was Jewish and from Carpathian Ruthenia (born in Mukachevo), who survived the Holocaust; and her mother was a Roman Catholic who converted to Judaism. She also has a younger brother, Herschel Garfein. Her parents divorced when she was 12-years-old.

She spent her early life in Italy, where her mother had established a film career after leaving Hollywood in the mid-1960s. Baker attended the American Overseas School of Rome and then Wellesley College from 1974 to 1976.[2][3] She later studied acting at the Herbert Berghof Studio[4] and the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute.[5]

Career

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Television

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Blanche Baker made her television debut playing the character Anna Weiss in the miniseries Holocaust. (Her father Jack Garfein had been imprisoned in Auschwitz.) She won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Performance by a Supporting Actress in 1978 for her performance.

She has subsequently appeared in the TV movies Mary and Joseph: A Story of Faith (1979) as Mary, The Day the Bubble Burst (1982), The Awakening of Candra (1983) as Candra Torres, Embassy (1985), Nobody's Child (1986), and Taking Chance (2009). She also has appeared in many TV series.

Theatre

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With Donald Sutherland in Lolita rehearsal, New York City

In 1980–81, she originated the lead role in Edward Albee's stage adaptation of Vladimir Nabokov's novel Lolita. During out-of-town tryouts and in New York, the play was picketed by feminists, including Women Against Pornography, who were outraged by the theme of pedophilia.[6]

The troubled production opened on Broadway on March 19, 1981, after 31 previews and closed after only 12 performances.[7] Frank Rich of The New York Times gave the play a bad review, terming it "the kind of embarrassment that audiences do not quickly forget or forgive." Baker was mentioned by Rich in only one line. "In the title role, here a minor figure, the 24-year-old Miss Baker does a clever job of impersonating the downy nymphet; she deserves a more substantial stage vehicle soon."[8]

People Magazine called Albee's Lolita "Broadway's Bomb of the Year" in an April 16, 1981, story.[9] Baker was the real subject of the article, and People writer Mark Donovan said "the critics were almost unanimous on one point: Blanche Baker was an ingenue whose time had come," citing reviews of critics that had called her "breathtaking" and "beguiling."

Baker originated the role of Shelby in the first production of Steel Magnolias Off-Broadway in 1987.[10]

Film

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Baker made her movie debut in the political drama The Seduction of Joe Tynan (1979). Other film appearances include Sixteen Candles (1984), Cold Feet (1984), Taking Chance (2009) and The Girl Next Door (2007).

Teaching

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Baker is a Senior Faculty at the New York Film Academy, where she teaches in both the Acting and Musical Theatre Departments.[11][12]

Personal life

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Baker married director Bruce vanDusen on October 1, 1983.[13] They had three children before divorcing in 2002.[14] She remarried in 2003, to Mark McGill. They have one son.[14]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1979 French Postcards Laura
The Seduction of Joe Tynan Janet
1982 The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet Juliet
1983 Cold Feet Leslie Christo
1984 Sixteen Candles Ginny Baker
1986 Raw Deal Amy Kaminski
1988 Shakedown Gail Feinberger
1988 Bum Rap Lisa DuSoir
1990 The Handmaid's Tale Ofglen
1991 Livin' Large Kate Penndragin
1994 Dead Funny Barbara
2006 Underdogs Marie
The Rehearsal Marie Short film
2007 The Girl Next Door Ruth Chandler
2008 3rd of July Mrs. Shaw Short film
Jersey Justice Polly O'Bannon
2009 Science Fair (Or: Migratory Patterns & the Flight of the March Brown Mayfly) Mom Short film
Jackrabbit Sky Evelyn Boden
2010 An Affirmative Act Lori Belmont
Three Chris's Dolores Kelly
2011 Fake Mrs. Needham
The Grand Theft Barbara Blushe
The Life Zone Dr. Victoria Wise
Whisper Me a Lullaby Aunt Jane
Untitled Folder Mom Short film
Hell Grace Mother
2012 Hypothermia Hellen Pelletier
Ruth Madoff Occupies Wall Street[15] Ruth Madoff Short film
The Coffee Klash Gayle
Curiosity Killed the Cat Gayle
2013 Truth Dr. Carter Moore
Classless Principle Saunders Short film
Scallywag Mom
2014 Deep in the Darkness Zellis
The Coffee Shop Gayle
Lady Peacock Angie
2015 Chasing Yesterday Linda
2017 Coin Heist Mrs. Cunningham
Splitting Image Karen
2018 My Daughter Vanished Helen
2019 Zoe Zoe's Mother Short film
2021 Alice Fades Away Roxy
2023 Perception Margaret Short film

As director

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  • 2017 - Streetwrite
  • 2019 - Make America Safe[16]

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1978 Holocaust Anna Weiss Miniseries
1979 Mary and Joseph: A Story of Faith Mary Television film
1981 The Awakening of Candra Candra Torres
1982 The Day the Bubble Burst Joan Slezsak
1985 The Equalizer Allison Webster Episode: "Desperately"
Embassy Megan Hillyer Television film
1986 Nobody's Child Shari
1987 Spenser: For Hire Carolyn Tomlinson Episode: "Personal Demons"
1991 The Trials of Rosie O'Neill Unknown Episode: "Domestic Silence"
Davis Rules Cindy Episode: "Everybody Comes to Nick's"
1992 In the Heat of the Night Jenny Sawyer Episode: "Love, Honor & Obey"
Law & Order Lucy Neven Episode: "Star Struck"
1994 Clarissa Explains It All Chelsea Chipley Episode: "Janet and Clarissa, Inc."
2005 Law & Order: Criminal Intent Miriam Engles Episode: "Diamond Dogs"
2009 Taking Chance Chris Phelps Television film
2013 The Chris Gethard Show Herself Episode: "#119: Scare the Shit Out of Bethany"
2014 Wishin' and Hopin' Sister Filomena Television film

Awards and nominations

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Institution Year Category Work Result
Atlantic City Cinefest 2013 Best Actress Jersey Justice Won
2016 Lifetime Achievement Award N/a Won
Hoboken International Film Festival 2010 Best Actress Jersey Justice Nominated
Fright Meter Awards 2007 Best Actress The Girl Next Door Nominated
Primetime Emmy Awards[17] 1978 Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series Holocaust Won

References

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  1. ↑ "Celebrity Birthdays". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. December 20, 2023. p. A2. ProQuest 2905257080. Musician Alan Parsons is 75. Actor Jenny Agutter ('Call the Midwife') is 71. Actor Michael Badalucco ('The Practice') is 69. Actor Blanche Baker ('Shakedown,' 'Holocaust') is 67. Singer Billy Bragg is 66. See also:
    • "Chatter: Broadway". The News Journal. December 20, 1998. p. A4. ProQuest 2613813566. Actress Jenny Agutter, 46. Actress Blanche Baker, 42. Rock singer
  2. ↑ "Alumni News" (PDF). AOSR Falcon Flyer (5). February 2012.
  3. ↑ Lynch, Jason. "Her Bronze Mettle: Following Her Turn in Sixteen Candles, Blanche Baker Sculpted a Life Beyond Hollywood". People Magazine. March 4, 2002. Retrieved 6 May 2015. "Baker returned to the U.S. and enrolled at Wellesley College in 1974 but got the acting bug and dropped out two years later to study both art and acting in New York City."
  4. ↑ HB Studio Alumni
  5. ↑ "'Mary and Joseph' Filming". The Kentucky New Era. July 24, 1979. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
  6. ↑ Devries, Hillary (March 3, 1981). "Protesters to picket 'Lolita'". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved December 29, 2011.
  7. ↑ "Lolita". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved December 29, 2011.
  8. ↑ Rich, Frank. "STAGE: ALBEE'S ADAPTATION OF 'LOLITA' OPENS". The New York Times. Retrieved December 29, 2011.
  9. ↑ Donovan, Mark. "Lolita, Broadway's Bomb of the Year, Detonates Edward Albee, Bemuses Donald Sutherland and Illuminates a Lovely Survivor, Blanche Baker". Time-Life. Retrieved December 29, 2011.
  10. ↑ Gussow, Mel (March 27, 1987). "Stage: 'Steel Magnolias,' A Louisiana Story". The New York Times.
  11. ↑ "BLANCHE BAKER | ACTRESS WRITER/DIRECTOR". BLANCHE BAKER. Retrieved July 3, 2026.
  12. ↑ nyfa. "Performing Arts Faculty". NYFA. Retrieved July 3, 2026.
  13. ↑ "Blanche Baker Becomes Bride". The New York Times. October 2, 1983. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on June 29, 2022. Retrieved June 29, 2022.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  14. 1 2 "'Sixteen Candles' Cast: Where Are They Now?". Us Weekly. October 11, 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  15. ↑ "Ruth Madoff Occupies Wall Street — van Nguyen". Archived from the original on December 29, 2016. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
  16. ↑ "NEW YORK SHORT FILM FESTIVAL BLOCK 10". cinemavillage.com. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
  17. ↑ "Blanche Baker | Emmy Awards and Nominations". Television Academy. Retrieved July 3, 2026.
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