{{short description|American actress}} {{More citations needed|date=September 2018}} {{Infobox person | name = Shirley Stoler | image = Shirley Stoler in The Honeymoon Killers.jpg | caption = Stoler in ''The Honeymoon Killers'' | birthname = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1929|3|30|mf=y}} | birth_place = Brooklyn, New York, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|1999|2|17|1929|3|30|mf=y}} | death_place = Manhattan, New York, U.S. | occupation = Actress | years_active = 1970–1999 }} '''Shirley Stoler''' (March 30, 1929 – February 17, 1999) was an American actress best known for her roles in ''The Honeymoon Killers'' (1970) and Lina Wertmüller's ''Seven Beauties'' (1975).
==Early years== The eldest of four children born to Russian Jewish immigrant parents in Brooklyn who owned a used furniture store,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1499&dat=19760731&id=SfwjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=jH4EAAAAIBAJ&pg=6938,4950883&hl=en |title=Profile |publisher=nid:1499 |via=news.google.com |access-date=May 15, 2016}}{{dead link|date=September 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author1=Judy Klemesrud |title=What's a Nice Girl Like Her Doing in A Role Like This? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/02/01/archives/whats-a-nice-girl-like-her-doing-in-a-role-like-this-a-nice-girl.html |website=www.nytimes.com |access-date=2 February 2024 |date=February 1, 1976}}</ref> Stoler made her stage debut in 1955 and gained experience as a member of New York's experimental La Mama and Living Theatre companies. She had become a key underground player by the time she earned film fame in 1970 at age 41.{{citation needed|date=May 2016}}
==Film and TV career== Throughout her career, Stoler, a large and powerfully built woman who rarely smiled onscreen, often played scary villains in such films as ''Seven Beauties'' and ''The Honeymoon Killers''<ref>{{cite book| first=Caseen| last=Gaines| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7Ec_9mT3_QkC&pg=PA59| title=Inside Pee-Wee's Playhouse: The Untold, Unauthorized, and Unpredictable Story of a Pop Phenomenon| page=59| publisher=ECW Press| year=2011| location=Toronto| isbn=978-1-5502-2998-1| oclc=723413375| archive-url=https://archive.today/20190612223810/https://books.google.it/books?id=7Ec_9mT3_QkC&pg=PA59%23v=onepage&q&f=false| archive-date=June 12, 2019| url-status=live| access-date=October 3, 2020 }}</ref> and on television in an episode of ''Charlie's Angels''. A character actress, as well as an occasional lead, Stoler appeared in small roles in ''Klute'', ''The Deer Hunter'', and ''Desperately Seeking Susan''.<ref>{{cite book| first=Emanuel| last=Levy| author-link=Emanuel Levy| url=https://archive.org/details/cinemaofoutsider0000levy| url-access=registration| title=Cinema of Outsiders: The Rise of American Independent Film| page=[https://archive.org/details/cinemaofoutsider0000levy/page/358 358]| publisher=NYU Press| date=September 1, 1999| isbn=978-0-8147-5289-0| oclc=705931681| archive-url=https://archive.today/20190612220924/https://www.worldcat.org/title/cinema-of-outsiders-the-rise-of-american-independent-film/oclc/705931681| archive-date=June 12, 2019| url-status=live| access-date=March 1, 2020}}</ref>
A highlight of her film career was her performance as the unnamed Nazi female prison commandant in Lina Wertmüller's ''Seven Beauties'' (1975), in which she played a cat-and-mouse game of seduction with the concentration camp inmate played by Giancarlo Giannini. A profile of Stoler was featured on the front page of the ''New York Times'' Arts section.
The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film of 1976, and Wertmüller received nominations for Best Director (a first for a woman) and Best Original Screenplay; Stoler's co-star Giannini was nominated for Best Actor.{{citation needed|date=August 2017}}
Stoler also appeared on Broadway; in the daytime soap operas ''The Edge of Night'' as Frankie and ''One Life to Live'' as Roberta (nicknamed "Tiny"); and on Saturday morning television as Mrs. Steve on ''Pee-wee's Playhouse''.<ref>{{cite book| first=Harris M.| last=Lentz III| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0HjGCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA210| title=Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 1999: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture| page=210| publisher=McFarland| date=October 24, 2008| isbn=978-0-7864-5204-0| oclc=646769111| archive-url=https://archive.today/20190612215841/https://books.google.it/books?id=0HjGCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA210%23v=onepage&q&f=false| archive-date=June 12, 2019| url-status=live| access-date=October 3, 2020}}</ref>
Tim Lucas speculated she was actually Shirley Kilpatrick, changing her name after the filming of ''The Astounding She-Monster'' (1958).<ref>{{cite book| first=Bill| last=Warren| author-link=Bill Warren (film historian and critic)| name-list-style=amp| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B7kUCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT149| title=Keep Watching the Skies!: American Science Fiction Movies of the Fifties, The 21st Century Edition| page=149| publisher=McFarland| date=January 12, 2017| isbn=978-1-4766-2505-8| oclc=949821415| archive-url=https://archive.today/20190612222844/https://books.google.it/books?id=B7kUCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT149%23v=onepage&q&f=false| archive-date=June 12, 2019| url-status=live| access-date=October 3, 2020}}</ref>
==Death== Stoler lived in Manhattan, where she died at St. Vincent's Hospital and Medical Center from heart failure after a long illness, aged 69.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/02/28/nyregion/shirley-stoler-69-actress-hailed-for-her-role-in-seven-beauties.html| title=Shirley Stoler, 69, Actress Hailed For Her Role in 'Seven Beauties'| date=February 28, 1999|newspaper=The New York Times| accessdate=2018-09-24| df=mdy-all| url-access=subscription}}</ref>
==Filmography== {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- | 1970 | ''The Honeymoon Killers'' | Martha Beck | |- | 1971 | ''Klute'' | Momma Reese | |- | 1975 | ''Seven Beauties'' | Commandant | Italian title: ''Pasqualino Settebellezze'' |- | 1976 | ''A Real Young Girl'' | Grocer in Aupom | French title: ''Une vraie jeune fille'' |- | 1977 | ''The Liberation of Honeydoll Jones'' | Verna Jones | Uncredited |- | 1977 | ''The Displaced Person'' | Mrs. Shortley | |- | 1978 | ''The Deer Hunter'' | Steven's Mother | |- | 1979 | ''Charlie's Angels'' | Big Aggie | Episode: "Caged Angel" |- | 1980 | ''Skag'' | Dottie Jessup | 5 episodes |- | 1980 | ''Seed of Innocence'' | Corky | Alternative title: ''Teen Mothers'' |- | 1980 | ''Below the Belt'' | Trish | |- | 1980 | ''The Edge of Night'' | Frankie | Unknown episodes |- | 1981 | ''Second-Hand Hearts'' | Maxy | |- | 1982 | ''Splitz'' | Dean Hunta | |- | 1983 | ''The Brass Ring'' | Marge | Television movie |- | 1983 | ''Bring 'Em Back Alive'' | | Episode: "The Shadow Women of Chung Tai" |- | 1983 | ''The Powers of Matthew Star'' | Tattoo Artist | Episode: "The Quadrian Caper" |- | 1984 | ''A Stroke of Genius'' | | |- | 1985 | ''Desperately Seeking Susan'' | Jail Matron | |- | 1985 | ''Brass'' | Woman in window | Television movie |- | 1986-1987 | ''Pee-wee's Playhouse'' | Mrs. Steve | 7 episodes |- | 1986-1987 | ''One Life to Live'' | Roberta "Tiny" Coleman | Unknown episodes |- | 1987 | ''Three O'Clock High'' | Eva | |- | 1988 | ''Shakedown'' | Irma | |- | 1988 | ''Sticky Fingers'' | Reeba | |- | 1989 | ''Kate & Allie'' | | Episode: "Wanted: One Husband" |- | 1989 | ''In the Heat of the Night'' | Adah Boone | Episode: "The Pig Woman of Sparta" |- | 1990 | ''Frankenhooker''<ref>{{cite book| first=J. P.| last=Harris| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MVn9_UYS5CgC&pg=PA87| title=Time capsule: reviews of horror, science fiction and fantasy films and TV shows from 1987-1991| year=2002| publisher=iUniverse| isbn=978-0-5952-1336-8| oclc=937220505| archive-url=https://archive.today/20190612221449/https://books.google.it/books?id=MVn9_UYS5CgC&pg=PA87%23v=onepage&q&f=false| archive-date=June 12, 2019| url-status=live| access-date=October 3, 2020}}</ref> | Spike the Bartender | |- | 1990 | ''Miami Blues'' | Edie Wulgemuth | |- | 1990 | ''Sons'' | German housewife | |- | 1991 | ''Law & Order'' | Charlie Maylen | Episode: "Misconception" |- | 1991 | ''Age Isn't Everything'' | | |- | 1992 | ''Topsy and Bunker: The Cat Killers'' | Grace | |- | 1992 | ''Mac'' | Customer | |- | 1992 | ''Malcolm X'' | Mrs. Swerlin | |- | 1993 | ''Me and Veronica'' | Shouting Woman | |- | 1995 | ''Grumpier Old Men'' | Organist at wedding | Uncredited |- | 1997 | ''The Deli'' | Irma | |- | 2016 | ''Chief Zabu'' | Joan Ironwood | Shot in 1986, (final film role) |- |}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{IBDB name}} *{{IMDb name|id=0831471}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stoler, Shirley}} Category:1929 births Category:1999 deaths Category:20th-century American actresses Category:American film actresses Category:American soap opera actresses Category:American stage actresses Category:American television actresses Category:American people of Russian-Jewish descent Category:Actresses from Brooklyn