Wendie Jo Sperber
| Wendie Jo Sperber | |
|---|---|
Sperber in 1981
|
|
| Born |
September 15, 1958 Hollywood, California, U.S. |
| Died | November 29, 2005 (aged 47) Sherman Oaks, California, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Breast cancer |
| Resting place | Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1978–2005 |
| Spouse(s) | Richard Velasquez (1983–1994; divorced; 2 children) |
Wendie Jo Sperber (September 15, 1958 – November 29, 2005) was an American actress, known for her performances in the films I Wanna Hold Your Hand (1978), Bachelor Party (1984), and Back to the Future (1985) and as well as the television sitcoms Bosom Buddies (1980–1982) and Private Benjamin (1982–1983).
Sperber was born in Hollywood, and aimed for a performing-arts career from high school onward. She attended the summer Teenage Drama Workshop at California State University, Northridge, during the 1970s, and began her screen career at a young age when she was cast in the small role of "Kuchinsky", in Matthew Robbins' 1978 teen comedy Corvette Summer, alongside Mark Hamill and Annie Potts. She appeared in Robert Zemeckis' period comedy I Wanna Hold Your Hand, as the irrepressible "Rosie Petrofsky". Sperber was overweight, but was able to move quickly on screen (Entertainment Weekly described Rosie Petrofsky as "a screaming Beatlemaniac who, among other things, climbed through elevator shafts"), and her "girl-next-door" appearance helped her to overcome the stigma of her weight. Leslie Hoffman, stuntwoman, did the leap from the car.
She played the title role in the ABC Afterschool Special feature Dinky Hocker, which dealt with a teenager's attempts to hide her feelings by eating, and engaged in physical comedy in Steven Spielberg's 1941. Zemeckis, who also worked on 1941, brought Sperber back to the big screen in 1980 with a role in his comedy Used Cars, but it was on television that year that Sperber finally began to receive more serious attention. She was cast in the role of "Amy Cassidy;" a character that was funny, romantic, and exuberant— in the series Bosom Buddies, starring Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari. Following its cancellation in 1982, Sperber appeared in the comedy The First Time, and worked a year on the series Private Benjamin. She then resumed her feature work in the Tom Hanks theatrical vehicle Bachelor Party, directed by Neal Israel. Israel used her again in Moving Violations in 1985. That same year, she appeared as Linda McFly in Zemeckis' highly successful Back to the Future.
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