Judith-Marie Bergan

Judith-Marie Bergan was an American film, television and stage actress, known for starring in the films Abduction, Bloodrage, The Secret Life of Kathy McCormick and Finding Kelly. She appeared in the television series, Brothers, and had a recurring role in Soap and in Maggie. Bergan was married to cinematographer João Fernandes.

Judith-Marie Bergan
BornNovember 25, 1948
Indianapolis, Indiana
DiedAugust 20, 2016 (aged 67)
Ashland, Oregon
Alma materGoodman Theatre (BFA)
OccupationActress
Years active1975 – 2016
Spouse(s)João Fernandes

Background

Bergan was born in Indianapolis, Indiana on November 25, 1948. Her young to teenage years were spent there as well as in Louisville and Highland Park. Bergan received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in acting from the Goodman Theatre in Chicago. [1]

Career

Television

In 1977, she appeared in Charlie's Angels, playing the part of Raven in the Angels on the Air episode that also starred Nicolas Coster and John Forsythe.[2] In 1987 she appeared in Days of Our Lives as Elizabeth Harley.[3] Between 1977 and 1978 she appeared in various episodes of Soap as Marilyn McCallam. In a December 1984 Highway to Heaven episode "Hotel of Dreams" she played Allison Rutledge, a difficult guest who unsuccessfully tried to cause trouble for the main characters. She also had a starring role in the short-lived Martin Mull sitcom, Domestic Life. It was a mid-season replacement on CBS in 1984 and lasted 10 episodes. In the 1987 TV series Hard Knocks, she played Maggie a sarcastic lady who happened to be a restaurateur and who was also an ex-con and informant.[4]

Film

She played the lead role of Patricia Prescott in the Joseph Zito directed / Kent E. Carroll produced film Abduction, based on the Harrison James novel Black Abductor. The film came out in October 1975.[5] She played the part of a young newspaper heiress who was kidnapped by a group of radicals and then sympathizes with their cause.[6][7][8] In 1978 she had a role in the Delbert Mann directed Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery, a made for television drama about the wife of a disabled man who has an extramarital affair.[9] The following year she co-starred as Beverly Stevens in the horror film Bloodrage which was directed by Joseph Zito.[10][11]

Her final film was Finding Kelly in 2000.

Stage

In 1997, having left her television and film career she became a member of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and took on a variety of roles and spent 16 seasons with the company.[12]

One of the roles that she played was that of Mary in Eugene O’Neill’s A Long Day’s Journey Into Night, about a family which was set in or around 1912. She played the part of a mother who because of a painful birth delivery was introduced to drugs by her doctor. She would later become a woman who by the evening would regress to a drugged out almost catatonic state.[13][14]

As a recognized and respected stage actress, she was recognized by the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, who dedicated the 2017 theater season to her honor.[15]

Death

Suffering from lung cancer, Bergan died at her home in Ashland, Oregon[16] on August 20, 2016. She was survived by her cinematographer husband, Joao Fernandes, as well as her two sisters, Brooke and Joan.[17]

References
  1. Oregon Shakespeare Festival Website, August 20, 2016 - OSF actor Judith-Marie Bergan dies, Festival mourns the loss of beloved actor and friend
  2. Aveleyman - Charlie's Angels, S2, Angels on the Air, Wednesday, 9th November 1977
  3. Days of Our Lives: A Complete History of the Long-Running Soap Opera, By Maureen Russell - Page 183 APPENDIX B
  4. Single Season Sitcoms of the 1980s: A Complete Guide, By Bob Leszczak - Page 61 - 62 Hard Knocks
  5. Letterboxd -Abduction 1975 Directed by Joseph Zito
  6. Roger Ebert - The Abduction, Review
  7. NY Times, Published: October 25, 1975 - The Screen: 'Abduction' By VINCENT CANBY
  8. AFI - Abduction
  9. Turner Classic Movies- Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery(1978)
  10. Imdb - Bloodrage (1980), Cast
  11. Horror and Science Fiction Films III, Volume 3, By Donald C. Willis - Page 30 BLOODRAGE
  12. American Theatre, August 24, 2016 - The Glamour and Grit of Judith-Marie Bergan By Lillian Groag
  13. Mail Tribune, Mar 29, 2015 - Review: From past into present in OSF’s ‘Long Day’s Journey’ By Bill Varble
  14. Bohemian.com, July 01,2015 - Ashland Calling By David Templeton
  15. Ashland Daily Tidings, February 23, 2017 - OSF opens with 'Julius Caesar,' 'Henry IV: Part 1,' 'Shakespeare in Love' and 'Mojada: A Medea in Los Angeles' By Laurie Heuston
  16. "OSF actor Judith-Marie Bergan dies". Archived from the original on 12 December 2016.
  17. Ashland Daily Tidings, Sunday, August 21, 2016 - Longtime Oregon Shakespeare Festival actress dies By Ryan Pfeil
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