Beverly Heather D'Angelo

Beverly D'Angelo's career that spans more than four decades, is fascinating, inspiring and not less than intriguing. Even though she was in better films than what she usually found herself in, Beverly D'Angelo was a fascinating character and the one to be on the lookout for regardless of the role. She was not the shrinking violet kind, Hollywood counted on her for her lively appearance, affable manner and ability to steal scenes. Beverly Heather D'Angelo was the daughter of Eugene Constantino Gene "Gene" D'Angelo and Priscilla Ruth Smith who was a violinist, as well as bassist, who also ran a television station. Howard Dwight Smith was her maternal grandfather and the architect of the Ohio ("Horseshoe") Stadium. Her mother had English, Irish, Scottish and German roots, while her father was of Italian descent. Beverly was educated at the American school in Florence, Italy. The first time she was attracted to art, Beverly was a cartoonist/animator at Hanna-Barbera Productions before moving to Canada to pursue a rock singing career in order to earn a living. she was singer-in-situ and sang everywhere she could- from bars with topless tables to coffeehouses. Ronnie Hawkins invited Beverly to be part of his rockabilly band at some point. Beverly started her acting career when she was a part of the Charlottetown Festival repertory troupe and quit Hawkins. While traveling Canada as Ophelia She was given the opportunity to appear in "Kronborg : 1582" that is a rock musical rendition of Shakespeare's Hamlet. Colleen dewhurst was there and saw promise in Beverly. The show was changed to Rockabye Hamlet after Gower Champion who was the musical director was added to the mix. The show was only a few months in existence, however Beverly's Ophelia attracted attention with its fine reviews. The show soon found her in the West Coast, with TV and film opportunities. She rarely returned to the stage after her time on stage, but she did appear with Ed Harris in 1995's off-Broadway production of Sam Shepard's "Simpatico", earning her Theatre World Award. She appeared in the TV miniseries Captains and the Kings (1976) and then played only a small part in The Sentinel (1977), and Annie Hall (1977), both Woody Allen classics. First Love (1977), Clint Eastwood-starrer Every Which Way but Loose (78) and the film adaptation of the popular counterculture music Hair (1979) were just a few of the co-starring roles she played. Beverly's most memorable performance was of Patsy Cline (the one and only) in the biopic Coal Miner's Daughter (1980). She as well as Oscar winner Sissy Spacek (as fellow country singer Loretta Lynn) expertly supplied their own singing.