Susan Tyrrell | |
---|---|
Publicity still for Camino Real, 1970.
|
|
Born |
Susan Jillian Creamer March 18, 1945 San Francisco, California, United States |
Died | June 16, 2012 Austin, Texas, United States |
(aged 67)
Cause of death | Essential thrombocythaemia |
Nationality | American |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1964–2012 |
Notable work | Fat City, Andy Warhol's Bad, Forbidden Zone, Cry-Baby |
Parent(s) | Gillian Tyrrell John Belding Creamer |
Susan Tyrrell (born Susan Jillian Creamer; March 18, 1945 in San Francisco, California – June 16, 2012 in Austin, Texas) was a film, stage and television character actress. Tyrrell's career began in theater in New York City in the 1960s in Broadway and off Broadway productions. Her first film was Shoot Out (1971). She was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance as Oma in John Huston's Fat City (1972). In 1978, Tyrrell received the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Andy Warhol's Bad (1977). Her New York Times obituary described her as "a whiskey-voiced character actress (with) talent for playing the downtrodden, outré and grotesque."
Tyrrell was born in San Francisco, California, to a British mother, Gillian (née Tyrrell 1913-2012); and an American father, John Creamer. Her mother was a socialite and member of the diplomatic corps in China and the Philippines during the 1930s and 1940s. Her father John was an agent with the William Morris Agency who represented Leo Carrillo, Loretta Young, Ed Wynn, and Carole Lombard.
Tyrell spent her childhood in New Canaan, Connecticut. she was a poor student and as a teenager became estranged from her mother. Through her father's connections, Tyrrell was employed in the theatrical production of Time Out for Ginger (1963) starring Art Carney in New York City Her father also persuaded Look magazine to follow her as she toured with the show but died shortly afterwards.