{{Short description|American actress and theater director (1934–2023)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=November 2023}} {{Infobox person | name = Suzanne Shepherd |image = Suzanne_Shepherd_In_The_Sopranos.jpg |caption = Suzanne Shepherd on ''The Sopranos'' | birth_name = Sadie Gertrude Stern | birth_date = {{birth date|1934|10|31}} | birth_place = Elizabeth, New Jersey, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2023|11|17|1934|10|31}} | death_place = Manhattan, New York, U.S. | occupation = {{hlist|Actress|theater director}} | years_active = 1960s–2023 | spouse = {{ubl|{{marriage|David Shepherd|1957|1966|end = divorced}}|{{marriage|Carroll Calkins|1996|2006|end = died}}}} | children = 2, including Kate }} '''Sadie Gertrude Stern''' (October 31, 1934 – November 17, 2023), known professionally as '''Suzanne Shepherd''', was an American actress and theater director.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Brantley|first=Ben|date=February 23, 1994|title=Theater in Review|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/02/23/theater/theater-in-review-276243.html|access-date=May 16, 2021|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Genzlinger|first=Neil|date=June 22, 2005|title=From South Africa to New Jersey, Where Things Go No Better|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/22/theater/reviews/from-south-africa-to-new-jersey-where-things-go-no-better.html|access-date=May 16, 2021|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
== Background == Shepherd was born '''Sadie Gertrude Stern''' on October 31, 1934, to a Jewish family in Elizabeth, New Jersey, the daughter of Dora (Mendelson), a cook, and David Stern, a distributor of jukeboxes and vending machines.<ref name = Williams>{{cite news|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/23/arts/television/suzanne-shepherd-dead.html|title = Suzanne Shepherd, Actress Known for Playing Mothers, Dies at 89|last = Williams|first = Alex|date = November 23, 2023|accessdate = November 23, 2023|newspaper = The New York Times|url-access = limited}}</ref> She began using the name "Suzanne" when she was 13.<ref name = Williams/> She attended Battin High School and Bennington College, and studied acting with Sanford Meisner.<ref name = Williams/><ref name = Lewis>{{cite news |title=Suzanne Shepherd, 'Sopranos' and 'Goodfellas' Mother, Dies at 89 |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/suzanne-shepherd-dead-actress-sopranos-goodfellas-mother-1235665137/ |author=Lewis, Hilary |publisher=The Hollywood Reporter |date=November 19, 2023 |access-date=November 19, 2023}}</ref> She later went on to teach Meisner's program of acting study, the first woman to do so.<ref>Suzanne Shepherd, interview with Sanford Meisner, ''Yale Theatre'' 8, nos. 2 and 3 (1977): 38–43.</ref>
== Career == Shepherd was a founding member of the Compass Players in the early 1960s, along with Alan Alda and Alan Arkin.
Shepherd was known for her portrayal of Aunt Tweedy in the film ''Mystic Pizza'', Karen's overbearing mother in the film ''Goodfellas'', Carmela Soprano's mother Mary DeAngelis in the HBO television series ''The Sopranos'', and the assistant school principal in ''Uncle Buck'', receiving a memorable verbal assault from Buck.<ref name = Lewis/> She also played the role of Mrs. Scarlini in the 2000 film ''Requiem for a Dream'', and Big Ethel in ''A Dirty Shame''. In 2016, she played the role of Lucille Abetemarco the mother of Detective Anthony Abetemarco played by former ''Sopranos'' co-star Steve Schirripa in "Good Cop Bad Cop" the second episode of the seventh season of the CBS police procedural drama ''Blue Bloods''. In 2018, she reprised the role of Lucille Abetemarco in "Trust" the sixth episode of the ninth season of ''Blue Bloods''.<ref name = Lewis/>
Shepherd was also a theatre director, working in New York and in regional theatre.<ref name = Lewis/>
== Personal life and death== From a marriage to David Shepherd, which lasted from 1957 until their divorce in 1966, she had a son, who died in 2011, and a daughter, artist Kate Shepherd.<ref name = Williams/><ref>{{Cite web|author=BWW News Desk|title=Photos: People Are Living There Opening Night|url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Photo-Flash-People-Are-Living-There-Opening-Night-20050622|access-date=May 16, 2021|website=BroadwayWorld.com|language=en}}</ref> Her second marriage, to Carroll Calkins, lasted from 1996 until his death in 2006.<ref name = Williams/>
Shepherd died from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and kidney failure at her home in Manhattan on November 17, 2023, at the age of 89.<ref name = Williams/><ref name = Lewis/><ref>{{cite news |title=Actor Suzanne Shepherd, who played mothers in 'The Sopranos' and 'Goodfellas,' dead at 89 |url=https://www.nj.com/entertainment/2023/11/actor-suzanne-shepherd-who-played-mothers-in-the-sopranos-and-goodfellas-dead-at-89.html |access-date=November 19, 2023 |publisher=NJ |date=November 18, 2023}}</ref>
== Filmography == === Film === {| class="wikitable sortable" |+ !Year !Title !Role !Notes |- |1988 |''Mystic Pizza'' |Aunt Tweedy |<ref name = Lewis/> |- |1988 |''Working Girl'' |Trask Receptionist |<ref name = Lewis/> |- |1989 |''Uncle Buck'' |Mrs. Hoargarth | |- |1989 |''Second Sight'' |Marilyn Bloom | |- |1990 |''Goodfellas'' |Karen's Mother |<ref name = Lewis/> |- |1990 |''Jacob's Ladder'' |Hospital Receptionist | |- |1995 |''The Jerky Boys: The Movie'' |Mrs. B | |- |1995 |''Palookaville'' |Mother | |- |1996 |''Bullet'' |Cookie Stein | |- |1996 |''Trees Lounge'' |Jackie | |- |1997 |''Lolita'' |Miss Pratt |<ref name = Lewis/> |- |1998 |''Illuminata'' |Marco's mother | |- |1998 |''Living Out Loud'' |Mary |<ref name = Lewis/> |- |1998 |''American Cuisine'' |Martha | |- |1999 |''On the Run'' |Lady in Travel Agency | |- |2000 |''Requiem for a Dream'' |Mrs. Scarlini |<ref name = Lewis/> |- |2001 |''Never Again'' |Mother | |- |2004 |''A Dirty Shame'' |Big Ethel |<ref name = Lewis/> |- |2008 |''Choke'' |Waitress | |- |2008 |''Harold'' |Maude Sellers | |- |2009 |''I Hate Valentine's Day'' |Edie | |- |2012 |''Delivering the Goods'' |Mrs. Weinbaum | |- |2013 |''Jerome's Bouquet'' |Elana Klein |Short film |- |2017 |''Where Is Kyra?'' |Ruth |<ref name = Williams/> |- |2018 |''Furlough'' |Elizabeth Anderson | |- |2018 |''The Week Of'' |Aunt Iris | |- |2023 |''The Performance'' |Tess |<ref name = Lewis/> |}
=== Television === {| class="wikitable sortable" !Year !Title !Role !Notes |- |1990 |''Law & Order'' |Arraignment Judge Victoria Sawyer |Episode: "The Reaper's Helper" |- |1998 |''Vig'' |Agnes |Television film |- |2000 |''Third Watch''<ref name = Lewis/> |Sheats |Episode: "Young Men and Fire..." |- |2000, 2004 |''Ed''<ref name = Lewis/> |Elaine / Edna |2 episodes |- |2000–2007 |''The Sopranos''<ref name = Lewis/> |Mary DeAngelis |20 episodes |- |2002 |''Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' |Joan |Episode: "Homo Homini Lupus" |- |2003 |''Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' |Old Woman |Episode: "Desperate" |- |2010 |''Gravity'' |Scarf Woman |Episode: "Dogg Day Afternoon" |- |2016–2018 |''Blue Bloods''<ref name = Lewis/> |Lucille Abetemarco |2 episodes |}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb name|0791877}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Shepherd, Suzanne}} Category:1934 births Category:2023 deaths Category:20th-century American actresses Category:21st-century American actresses Category:American film actresses Category:American stage actresses Category:American television actresses Category:American theatre directors Category:Bennington College alumni Category:Deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Category:Deaths from kidney failure in New York (state) Category:Jewish American actresses Category:New Jersey Democrats Category:New York (state) Democrats Category:Actresses from Elizabeth, New Jersey