Susan Anton
![]() | This article has multiple issues.Please helpimprove itor discuss these issues on thetalk page.(Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
Susan Anton | |
---|---|
![]() Anton in 2001 | |
Education | Yucaipa High School |
Alma mater | San Bernardino Valley College |
Occupations |
|
Years active | 1969–present |
Known for | Goldengirl Cannonball Run II Baywatch |
Spouses | |
Website | susananton |
Susan Anton | |
---|---|
Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
Beauty pageanttitleholder | |
Title | Miss California1969 |
Hair color | Auburn |
Eye color | Hazel |
Major competition(s) | Miss America(2nd runner-up) |
Susan Antonis an American actress and singer with a career spanning over 35 years in various entertainment fields, including television, film, theater, and concert venues. Her debut film, "Golden Girl," earned her a Golden Globe nomination, leading to a contract with NBC for her variety show, "Presenting Susan Anton." Later, ABC signed her for the drama series "Cliffhangers."
Anton's Broadway credits include roles in Tommy Tune's "The Will Rogers Follies" and David Rabe's "Hurlyburly," directed by Mike Nichols. She played Velma Von Tussle in the Las Vegas production of "Hairspray," directed by Jack O’Brien and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell, and reprised this role at the Hollywood Bowl. Anton also co-starred in the national tour of "All Shook Up" and appeared for seven years in "The Great Radio City Music Hall Spectacular" with the Rockettes, directed by Joe Layton.
Her other stage work includes the Neil Simon/Marvin Hamlisch production "They’re Playing Our Song" and a national tour of "A Couple of White Chicks Sitting Around Talking" alongside Elizabeth Ashley. Anton has performed with notable entertainers like Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., and Tom Jones. She toured with Kenny Rogers and had a top 10 country hit with "Killing Time." Internationally, she achieved success with the Gold record "Foxy."
Based in Las Vegas for over 20 years with her husband, director Jeff Lester, they founded Big Picture Studios in 1997. Through their company, Anton has executive produced projects like "The Last Real Cowboys" with Billy Bob Thornton and the documentary "Speed of Life" featuring Amy Purdy.
Early life[edit]
Anton attendedYucaipa High SchoolinYucaipa, California,and graduated in 1968. After high school, Anton attendedSan Bernardino Valley College.She first experienced fame by winning the nearby Miss Redlands and later theMiss Californiabeauty contestsin 1969[1][2]and tied as second runner-up in the 1969Miss AmericaScholarship Pageant held September 6 that year.[3]
Career[edit]
Starting in 1976, Anton developed a following for her Muriel Cigar commercials[4][5]where she sang, "Let Muriel turn you on / That is my desire / Muriel lights a flame in me / Where there's Muriel smoke, there's fire". Later in the 1970s, Anton appeared approximately 30 times onMerv Griffin's TV show.[6]She was frequently seen and heard in television, print and radio ads for the Perfect Sleeper mattress bySerta.In these ads, she announced her name and sang the company's jingle.
In 1978,ABCgave her and country singerMel Tillisa summertime variety series,Mel and Susan Together,produced by theOsmond Brothers.The pairing of Anton and Tillis was an unlikely one: he was popular in country music circles but hardly a national household name while Susan was barely known at all. The show disappeared after four weeks;[7]nevertheless, she was later chosen as one ofTime Magazine's "Most Promising Faces of 1979".[citation needed]
She later starred in her own variety show,Presenting Susan Anton,inStop Susan Williams(one of three serials in the Cliffhangers series), and in the filmsGoldengirl,[8]Spring Fever,[9]andCannonball Run II.She also recorded music, her biggest hit being "Killin' Time" in 1980, a duet with country singerFred Knoblock.The record made Top 10 on the country charts and hit #28 onBillboard'sHot 100. In 1990, Anton appeared on the TV comedy seriesNight Courtin an episode called "The Talk Show" where she played talk show producer Margo Hunter.
Anton is on the cover of the mass trade paperback edition ofGoldengirl,written by Peter Lovesey (using the pen name Peter Lear). She had appeared as the title character in the film version which starredJames Coburn[10]and was directed by Joseph Sargent.
Anton was the host of the successful "Great Radio City Music Hall Spectacular" show at theFlamingo HiltoninLas Vegasfor over 5,000 performances until July 31, 2000. She also appeared in the Las Vegas company of the musicalHairsprayand on Broadway inThe Will Rogers Follies,Hurlyburly,andAll Shook Up.[11][12]
She had a recurring role on the TV seriesBaywatchfrom 1992 to 1994 and has appeared as herself onQueer Eye for the Straight Guy(2006),The Larry Sanders Show(1993) andIt's Garry Shandling's Show(1987), as well as in several films. Most recently, she appeared in the movieSharknado: The 4th Awakensin 2016.
Anton appeared in an episode ofLaw & Order: Special Victims Unitwhich aired on March 31, 2010.[13]
In 2020, Anton starred in the featurepsychological thrillerfilmPainteras the character Carree Tole.[14]
Filmography[edit]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1977 | Wizards | Princess Elinore / The Balladeer | singing voice (uncredited) |
1979 | Goldengirl | Goldine Serafin | |
1982 | Spring Fever | Stevie Castle | |
1984 | Cannonball Run II | Jill, Lamborghini Babe | |
1987 | Making Mr. Right | Soap Opera Actress | (uncredited) |
1989 | Options | Princess Nicole (in telefilm epilogue) | |
1991 | Lena's Holiday | Sara | |
1999 | New Jersey Turnpikes | ||
2004 | Whistlin' Dixie | Dixie Dawson | (short) |
2008 | Playing with Fire | Sandra Nevell | |
2020 | Painter | Carree Tole | Indie feature film |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1973 | The Great American Beauty Contest | Betty Sue Allen – Last Year's Queen | TV movie |
1976 | Serpico | Model | Episode: "Strike!" (1.5) |
1976 | Police Story | Party Girl #2 | Episode: "Monster Manor" (4.8) |
1977 | Hunter | Cissy | Episode: "The Costa Rican Connection" (1.5) |
1977 | Switch | Marcy | Episode: "Go for Broke" (3.7) |
1978 | The Jim Nabors Show | Herself | |
1978 | Hollywood Squares | Guest Appearance | 3 episodes |
1978 | The Mike Douglas Show | Herself – Vocalist | (17.33) |
1979 | American Music Awards of 1979 | Herself – Presenter | |
1979 | The Mike Douglas Show | Herself – Vocalist | (17.90) |
1979 | Stop Susan Williams | Susan Williams | 10 episodes |
1979 | Presenting Susan Anton | Herself – Host | 4 episodes |
1979 | The Girls Who Saved the World | Susan Williams | TV movie |
1980 | American Movie Awards | Herself – Performer | TV special |
1982 | American Music Awards of 1982 | Herself | |
1982 | Golden Globe Award | Herself | |
1982 | Academy Awards | Herself | |
1983 | The Love Boat | Leslie Webb | Episode: "The Pledge/East Meets West/Dear Roberta/My Dumplings: Part 1" (7.1) |
1983 | The Love Boat | Leslie Webb | Episode: "The Pledge/East Meets West/Dear Roberta/My Dumplings: Part 2" (7.2) |
1984 | The Boy Who Loved Trolls | Kalotte | TV movie |
1984 | Mike Hammer | Noelle Roberts | Episode: "The Deadly Prey" (2.8) |
1985 | Placido Domingo: Stepping Out with the Ladies | Herself | TV special |
1985 | 39th Tony Awards | Herself – Presenter & Performer | TV special |
1986 | 40th Tony Awards | Herself – Performer & Presenter: Best Book of a Musical | TV special |
1986 | Super Password | Herself | 5 episodes |
1986 | Hardesty House | Charlotte Montgomery | TV movie |
1986 | Murder, She Wrote | Christine Clifford | Episode: "Corned Beef and Carnage" (3.5) |
1987 | Making Mr. Right | Soap Opera Actress | (uncredited) |
1987 | Mr. Belvedere | Herself | Episode: "Separation" (3.20) |
1987 | Hotel | Linda Davis | Episode: "All the King's Horses" (4.22) |
1987 | Jonathan Winters: On the Ledge | TV movie | |
1987 | It's Garry Shandling's Show | Herself | Episode: "No Baby, No Show" (2.2) |
1988 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Diane Lewis | Episode: "Animal Lovers" (3.2) |
1988 | My Secret Identity | Susan Anderson | Episode: "Memories" (1.5) |
1989 | The Pat Sajak Show | Herself | (1.66) |
1989 | The Home Show | Herself – Co-Host | |
1989 | Murder, She Wrote | Celia James | Episode: "Jack and Bill" (6.5) |
1989 | The Famous Teddy Z | Esther Luna | Episode: "Baking with Esther Luna" (1.7) |
1990 | Night Court | Margo Hunter | Episode: "The Talk Show" (7.17) |
1990 | Quantum Leap | Helen Le Baron | Episode: "One Strobe Over the Line – June 15, 1965" (3.4) |
1990 | Out of This World | Sandy Martin | Episode: "Best Friends" (4.6) |
1991 | Blossom | Suzy | Episode: "Expectations" (2.10) |
1992 | Dangerous Curves | Ellen Tarbuck | Episode: "Deadlier Than the Male" (1.8) |
1992 | The Ben Stiller Show | Susan Anton | Episode: "With Dennis Miller" (1.10) |
1993 | Civil Wars | Cassie Strait | Episode: "Dances with Sharks" (2.13) |
1993 | The Larry Sanders Show | Susan Anton | Episode: "The Breakdown: Part 2" (2.2) |
1992–1994 | Baywatch | Jackie Quinn | 13 episodes |
1997 | City Guys | Mrs. Anderson | Episode: "For the Love of Mother" (1.2) |
1997 | City Guys | Mrs. Anderson | Episode: "Red Ferrari" (1.7) |
2002 | Hollywood Squares | Guest Appearance | |
2002 | TVography: Suzanne Somers – Mastering Success | Herself | TV movie documentary |
2006 | CMT: Greatest Miss America Moments | Herself | TV special |
2006 | Queer Eye for the Straight Guy | Herself | Episode: "Turn a Poker Dud Into a Five Card Stud: Ed M" (4.3) |
2009 | Sex in '69: The Sexual Revolution in America | Herself | TV special |
2010 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Jenny Coswold | Episode: "Bedtime" (11.18) |
2016 | Sharknado: The 4th Awakens | Betty | Television film |
2022 | The Cleaning Lady | Ginger Cline | Episode: "The Brit" (2.5) |
Discography[edit]
Year | Album | Label |
---|---|---|
1981 | Foxy | Scotti Bros. |
1981 | Killin' Time | Scotti Bros. |
2001 | One Night | Varese Sarabande |
Year | Single |
---|---|
1980 | "Killin' Time" (withFred Knoblock) |
References[edit]
- ^"Community shares happiness as Susan Anton wins crown".Redlands Daily Facts.June 23, 1969. p. 3.
- ^"Miss California History".Miss California.Archived fromthe originalon October 13, 2018.RetrievedAugust 21,2014.
- ^"Michigan Girl Chosen Miss America".The New York Times.September 7, 1969.
- ^Reilly, Sue (April 14, 1980)."It's More Than a Vegas Act When Susan Anton Sings Lost-Love Blues Over Sly Stallone".People.RetrievedJanuary 9,2019.
Then in 1976 she got her shot, replacing Edie Adams as the Muriel cigar girl.
- ^Kleinschmidt, Janice (November 30, 2009)."Forever Young: Susan Anton comes home for Christmas to perform with The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies".Arts & Entertainment.Palm Springs Life.RetrievedJanuary 9,2019.
- ^"Susan Anton Hopes To Hit Record Charts". St. Petersburg Times. December 26, 1980. p. 20D.
- ^Associated Press (December 26, 1980). "Susan Anton Hopes To Hit Record Charts". St. Petersburg Times. p. 20D.
- ^Canby, Vincent(June 15, 1979)."Goldengirl (1979) Screen: A Witty 'Goldengirl':Nurtured to Win".The New York Times.
- ^Maslin, Janet(January 15, 1983)."The Last American Virgin (1982) FROLICS IN FLORIDA AND OTHER ANTICS".The New York Times.
- ^Associated Press (January 6, 1981). "Anton Now Tries Recording Career". The Sumpter Daily Item. p. 8.
- ^Associated Press (November 19, 1993). "Get Your Kicks". Sarasota Herald Tribune.
- ^New York Times News Service (March 4, 1985). "Anton strives for solid image". Winnipeg Free Press. p. 26.
- ^"Exclusive: Ann-Margret to Guest on SVU".TVGuide.com.
- ^"Painter (2020 movie)".Startattle.October 18, 2020.RetrievedAugust 16,2022.
External links[edit]
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- 20th-century American actresses
- 20th-century American singer-songwriters
- 21st-century American actresses
- 21st-century American singer-songwriters
- 21st-century American women singers
- Actresses from California
- American beauty pageant winners
- American country singer-songwriters
- American film actresses
- American musical theatre actresses
- American stage actresses
- American television actresses
- American women country singers
- American women pop singers
- Country musicians from California
- Living people
- Miss America 1970 delegates
- People from San Bernardino County, California
- People from Yucaipa, California
- San Bernardino Valley College alumni
- Singer-songwriters from California