Beverly Heather D'Angelo

Interesting, inspirational and never less than captivating -- some of the adjectives used when describing the career of Beverly D'Angelo, which has been well past the four-decade mark. Perhaps deserving better movies than the ones she had to be in, she nevertheless was always an object of curiosity and was a pleasure to watch...whatever the role. Hollywood was awed by her bright smile, charming personality, and ability to get scenes to steal. Beverly Heather D'Angelo was born on November 15, 1951 in Columbus, Ohio, the daughter of musicians Priscilla Ruth (Smith) who was a violinist and Eugene Constantino "Gene" D'Angelo an experienced bassist who also ran a television station. Howard Dwight Smith, her maternal grandfather, was the Ohio ("Horseshoe") Stadium architect at Ohio State University. Her mother was an English, Irish and Scottish-born mother. Her father was Italian. Beverly has attended an American school in Florence, Italy. Beverly began her profession as an animator/cartoonist for Hanna-Barbera Productions. After moving to Canada, Beverly became a session singer who sang everywhere she could in cafes and bars with topless seats. At some point, the teenager was asked to sing with the rockabilly legendary Ronnie Hawkins. Beverly started her acting career when she was a part of the Charlottetown Festival repertory troupe and left Hawkins. While she was touring in Canada, Ophelia was playing the character of Ophelia in "Kronborg 1582" the musical rock adaptation of Shakespeare's Hamlet. Colleen Dewhurst saw potential in Beverly and the production. The show was renamed Rockabye Hamlet after Gower Champion who was the musical director joined the mix. The show was only a few months in existence, but Beverly's Ophelia was a hit and received high-profile notices. It was soon clear that she would be in the West Coast, with television and film roles. It was rare for her to return to the stage after the show, however she did appear with Ed Harris in 1995's off-Broadway production Sam Shepard’s "Simpatico" and was awarded the Theatre World Award. The roles in The Sentinel (1977), and Annie Hall (1977) were her first TV part. First Love (1977), Clint Eastwood's co-starring film Every Which Way but Loose (78) and the film version of the hit counterculture song Hair (1979) were just a few of her co-starring roles. Best of all for Beverly was her powerhouse featured performance as the one-and-only Patsy Cline in the acclaimed biopic Coal Miner's Daughter (1980). She as well as Sissy Spacek, a friend of fellow country singer Loretta Lynn, both performed their vocals with skill.