{"id":371922,"date":"2025-11-11T16:42:13","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T16:42:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/371922\/"},"modified":"2025-11-11T16:42:13","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T16:42:13","slug":"sally-kirkland-stage-and-screen-star-dies-at-age-84","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/371922\/","title":{"rendered":"Sally Kirkland, Stage And Screen Star, Dies At Age 84"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 Sally Kirkland, a one-time model who became a regular on stage, film and TV, best known for sharing the screen with Paul Newman<\/a> and Robert Redford<\/a> in \u201cThe Sting\u201d and her Oscar-nominated title role in the 1987 movie \u201cAnna,\u201d has died. She was 84.<\/p>\n

Her representative, Michael Greene, said Kirkland died Tuesday morning at a Palm Springs hospice.<\/p>\n

Friends established a GoFundMe<\/a> account this fall for her medical care. They said she had fractured four bones in her neck, right wrist and left hip. While recovering, she also developed infections, requiring hospitalization and rehab.<\/p>\n

Kirkland acted in such films as \u201cThe Way We Were\u201d with Barbra Streisand,<\/a> \u201cRevenge\u201d with Kevin Costner, \u201cCold Feet\u201d with Keith Carradine and Tom Waits, Ron Howard\u2019s \u201cEDtv,\u201d Oliver Stone\u2019s \u201cJFK,\u201d \u201cHeatwave\u201d with Cicely Tyson, \u201cHigh Stakes\u201d with Kathy Bates, \u201cBruce Almighty\u201d with Jim Carrey and the 1991 TV movie \u201cThe Haunted,\u201d about a family dealing with paranormal activity. She had a cameo in Mel Brooks\u2019 \u201cBlazing Saddles.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her biggest role was in 1987\u2032s \u201cAnna\u201d as a fading Czech movie star remaking her life in the United States and mentoring to a younger actor, Paulina Porizkova. Kirkland won a Golden Globe and earned an Oscar nomination along with Cher in \u201cMoonstruck,\u201d Glenn Close in \u201cFatal Attraction, Holly Hunter in \u201cBroadcast News\u201d and Meryl Streep in \u201cIronweed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"MichaelMichael Douglas, left, and Sally Kirkland appear with their awards for best actor for “Wall Street” and best actress for “Anna,” at the 45th Annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Jan. 24, 1988. (AP Photo\/Reed Saxon, File)<\/p>\n

\u201cKirkland is one of those performers whose talent has been an open secret to her fellow actors but something of a mystery to the general public,\u201d The Los Angeles critic wrote in her review. \u201cThere should be no confusion about her identity after this blazing comet of a performance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirkland\u2019s small-screen acting credits include stints on \u201cCriminal Minds,\u201d \u201cRoseanne,\u201d \u201cHead Case\u201d and she was a series regular on the TV shows \u201cValley of the Dolls\u201d and \u201cCharlie\u2019s Angels.\u201d<\/p>\n

Born in New York City, Kirkland\u2019s mother was a fashion editor at Vogue and Life magazine who encouraged her daughter to start modeling at age 5. Kirkland graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and studied with Philip Burton, Richard Burton\u2019s mentor, and Lee Strasberg, the master of the Method school of acting. An early breakout was appearing in Andy Warhol\u2019s \u201c13 Most Beautiful Women\u201d in 1964. She appeared naked as a kidnapped rape victim in Terrence McNally\u2019s off-Broadway \u201cSweet Eros.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some of her early roles were Shakespeare, including the lovesick Helena in \u201cA Midsummer Night\u2019s Dream\u201d for New York Shakespeare Festival producer Joseph Papp and Miranda in an off-Broadway production of \u201cThe Tempest.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"BobBob Guenette, left and Sally Kirkland during a rehersal at the Ivar theater. (Photo by Annie Wells\/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Annie Wells via Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think any actor can really call him or herself an actor unless he or she puts in time with Shakespeare,\u201d she told the Los Angeles Times in 1991.<\/a> \u201cIt shows up, it always shows up in the work, at some point, whether it\u2019s just not being able to have breath control, or not being able to appreciate language as poetry and music, or not having the power that Shakespeare automatically instills you with when you take on one of his characters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kirkland was a member of several New Age groups, taught Insight Transformational Seminars and was a longtime member of the affiliated Church of the Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness, whose followers believe in soul transcendence.<\/p>\n

\"ActressActress and Executive Producer Sally Kirkland poses at “Arctic Plunge” Pre-Screening Event at The Vista Theatre on September 25, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Brian To\/WireImage)<\/p>\n

Brian To via Getty Images<\/p>\n

TruthHas NoBias<\/p>\n

Your SupportFuelsOur Mission<\/p>\n

Your SupportFuelsOur Mission<\/p>\n

We Won\u2019t Back Down<\/p>\n

As more major networks align with those in power, the space for fearless journalism is shrinking. By becoming a member, you support a newsroom that asks the tough questions, no matter who\u2019s in charge.<\/p>\n

We remain committed to providing you with the unflinching, fact-based journalism everyone deserves.<\/p>\n

Thank you again for your support along the way. We\u2019re truly grateful for readers like you! Your initial support helped get us here and bolstered our newsroom, which kept us strong during uncertain times. Now as we continue, we need your help more than ever. We hope you will join us once again<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We remain committed to providing you with the unflinching, fact-based journalism everyone deserves.<\/p>\n

Thank you again for your support along the way. We\u2019re truly grateful for readers like you! Your initial support helped get us here and bolstered our newsroom, which kept us strong during uncertain times. Now as we continue, we need your help more than ever. We hope you will join us once again<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Support HuffPost<\/a><\/p>\n

Already a member? Log in to hide these messages.<\/a><\/p>\n

She reached a career nadir while riding nude on a pig in the 1969 film \u201cFutz,\u201d which a Guardian reviewer<\/a> dubbed the worst film he had ever seen. \u201cIt was about a man who fell in love with a pig, and even by the dismal standards of the era, it was dismal,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

Kirkland was also known for disrobing for so many other roles and social causes that Time magazine dubbed her \u201cthe latter-day Isadora Duncan of nudothespianism.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

Kirkland volunteered for people with AIDS, cancer and heart disease, fed homeless people via the American Red Cross, participated in telethons for hospices and was an advocate for prisoners, especially young people.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 Sally Kirkland, a one-time model who became a regular on stage, film and TV,…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":371923,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[185,171,53,593,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-371922","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrities","8":"tag-celebrities","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-movies","11":"tag-obituaries","12":"tag-united-states","13":"tag-unitedstates","14":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115532067747864580","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371922","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=371922"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/371922\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/371923"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=371922"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=371922"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=371922"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}