Laurie Bird

Laurie Bird
Born (1952-09-26)September 26, 1952
Glen Cove, Nassau County, New York[1]
Died June 15, 1979(1979-06-15) (aged 26)
Manhattan, New York City, New York
Burial place Flushing Cemetery, Queens, New York City, New York
40°45′6″N 73°47′58″W / 40.75167°N 73.79944°W / 40.75167; -73.79944
Other names Lauri Bird
Occupation Film actor, photographer

Laurie Bird (September 26, 1952 – June 15, 1979) was an American film actress and photographer.

Life and career

Bird's mother died when she was three. Her father, an electrical engineer,[2] was a former sailor in the United States Navy.

Described by Hollywood columnist Dick Kleiner as "look[ing] like an innocent Hayley Mills," Bird appeared in just three films: Two-Lane Blacktop (1971), Cockfighter (1974), and a small role in Annie Hall (1977). (Archival footage of the actress in Two-Lane Blacktop is featured in the 2006 documentary Wanderlust.) Bird was the still photographer on Cockfighter and shot the cover photo for Art Garfunkel's 1977 album Watermark. She was romantically involved with her Blacktop and Cockfighter director Monte Hellman, and later with Garfunkel for several years.[3] In Two-Lane Blacktop she played "The Girl."[2] In 2012, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.[4]

In 1979 Bird committed suicide by taking an overdose of Valium[5] in the apartment she shared with Garfunkel in New York. At Bird's funeral, her father revealed that her mother's death, previously reported as being from ovarian cancer, was also a suicide. Garfunkel referred to his relationship with Bird in the liner notes of his 1988 album Lefty.

Tim Kinsella's novel Let Go and Go On and On (2014) is subtitled "Based on the roles of Laurie Bird." In the foreword he writes, "This book by no means intends to convey any truth beyond one possible solution to the puzzles of her life and work."[6]

Credits

Title Year Role Director(s) Notes Ref(s)
Two-Lane Blacktop 1971 The Girl Monte Hellman also uncredited performer: "Stealin'", "Satisfaction" [7]
Cockfighter 1974 Dody White Monte Hellman Also credited as still photographer [8]
Annie Hall 1977 Tony Lacey's Girlfriend Woody Allen Credited as Lauri Bird [9]

References

  1. ↑ Compo, Susan A. (2009). Warren Oates: A Wild Life. University Press of Kentucky. p. 209. ISBN 0-8131-3918-X.
  2. 1 2 Kleiner, Dick (August 17, 1971). "Pretty Bird Laurie Flew Away, but Her Sad Life Led to Film Role". The Milwaukee Journal. Newspaper Enterprise Association. Retrieved September 10, 2011 – via Google News Archive.
  3. ↑ Lester, Paul (June 24, 2015). "Art Garfunkel: 'Weird is a fair word for me'". Theguardian.com. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
  4. ↑ Wolgamott, L. Kent (September 18, 2013). "At The Movies: 'Rush' and the best racing movies ever". Lincoln Journal Star. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
  5. ↑ Atkinson, Michael (2008). Exile Cinema: Filmmakers at Work beyond Hollywood. SUNY Press. p. 185. ISBN 978-0-7914-7861-5.
  6. ↑ Kinsella, Tim (2014). Let Go and Go On and On. Chicago, Illinois: Curbside Splendor Publishing. p. 11. ISBN 978-1-940430-01-0.
  7. ↑ Murthi, Vikram (4 November 2015). "Criticwire Classic of the Week: Monte Hellman's 'Two-Lane Blacktop'". Indiewire. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
  8. ↑ Stevens, Brad (2003). Monte Hellman: His Life and Films. McFarland. p. 104. ISBN 978-0-7864-8188-0.
  9. ↑ "Annie Hall (1977) – Cast, Crew, Director and Awards". The New York Times. Retrieved March 1, 2016.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, April 28, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.