A tall willowy blonde leading lady and character actress, Sally Kellerman possesses an assertive, forthright presence that can convey both easy earnestness and prominent paranoia. Although she made her film debut at age 20 in a bit role in "Reform School Girl" (1957), she first conquered TV in the mid-1960s with striking performances on shows including "The Outer Limits" and "Star Trek". She came to prominence in film in the 1970s, notably as Major 'Hot Lips' Houlihan in Robert Altman's "M*A*S*H" (1970), for which she received an Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actress. Not standard leading lady material, Kellerman has not always been easy to cast, and many of her films have been minor items. But she kept busy with off-beat roles in "The Last of the Red Hot Lovers" (1972), "Welcome to L.A." (1976), "A Little Romance" (1979), "Back to School" (1986) and "Happily Ever After" (1990). Her richly modulated, seductively velvety voice has also been put to good use in much voice-over work as well and she has enjoyed a secondary career as a nightclub performer as well.
- Also Credited As:
Sally Claire Kellerman
- Born:
June 2, 1937 in Long Beach, California, USA
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Job Titles:
Actor, Voice actor, Singer, Producer
Family
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Daughter: Hannah Krane. born c. 1989
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Father: John Helm Kellerman.
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Mother: Edith Baine Kellerman.
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Son: Jack Krane. born c. 1989
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Step-daughter: Claire Krane.
Milestones
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1957 Made film debut in a small role in Reform School Girl
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1966 Appeared in pre-Broadway tryout of Breakfast at Tiffany s starring Mary Tyler Moore and Richard Chamberlain
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1968 Acted in The Boston Strangler
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1970 Breakthrough screen role, Hot Lips Houlihan in M*A*S*H* , directed by Altman; received Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination
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1970 Had featured role in Brewster McCloud , directed by Robert Altman
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1973 Screen singing debut in musical version of Lost Horizon
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1976 Co-starred in Welcome to L.A. , helmed by Altman protege Alan Rudolph
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1978 Acted in the NBC miniseries Centennial
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1978 Played supporting role in the acclaimed PBS production Verna: USO Girl
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1979 Had featured role in A Little Romance
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1980 Co-starred in Foxes
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1983 Appeared in the CBS biopic Dempsey , starring Treat Williams
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1985 Portrayed a judge in the broad comedy Moving Violations
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1986 Acted opposite Rodney Dangerfield in Back to School
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1988 Appeared in the comedy feature You Can t Hurry Love
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1988 With Rick Moranis, played the title roles in the live-action feature Boris and Natasha , based on characters featured in the Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons; film was delayed in release and eventually aired on Showtime in 1992
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1992 Made cameo appearance as herself in The Player , directed by Altman
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1994 Reteamed with Altman for Ready to Wear (Pret a Porter)
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1996 Made appearance in It s My Party
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1997 Debut as producer, the feature The Lay of the Land ; also co-starred and sang
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2000 Headlined the one-woman show Hot Lips
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2001 Appeared in singing engagement at the NYC nightclub Feinstein s
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Starred in the Showtime movie Bar Hopping with Kelly Preston, Scott Baio and Tom Arnold (filmed in 1998; scheduled to run during the 2000-2001 TV season)