Louise Lasser

Louise Lasser was born on Apr 11, 1939 in USA. Louise Lasser's big-screen debut came with What's New Pussycat directed by Clive Donner in 1965. Louise Lasser is known for Requiem for a Dream directed by Darren Aronofsky, Ellen Burstyn stars as Sara Goldfarb and Jared Leto as Harry Goldfarb. Louise Lasser has got 1 awards and 1 nominations so far. The most recent award Louise Lasser achieved is National Board of Review, USA. The upcoming new movie Louise Lasser plays is Funny Pages which will be released on Aug 26, 2022.

Born on April 11, 1939, New York City born and bred Louise (Marie) Lasser was the daughter of Jewish author tax specialist Sol J. Lasser. Living a childhood of privilege and having a prestigious education, the eccentric comedy actress lightened things up considerably in her own household despite her mother Paula's mental instability. Tragic circumstances occurred when her mother, whom Louise saved once, committed suicide following the breakup of her marriage. Her father would also take his own life years later.A political science major at Brandeis University, Louise first won notice singing in Greenwich Village dives, improvisational revues and on Broadway in the early 1960s. In 1962, Louise understudied Barbra Streisand as Miss Marmelstein in "I Can Get It for You Wholesale. Lasser was also the first woman to win a Clio Award for Best Actress in a 1967 commercial for Florida Orange Juice.Arguably best known as the second Mrs. Woody Allen, Louise, known for her lethargic comedy presence, made her TV debut in a failed comedy pilot entitled The Laughmakers (1962), one of Allen's forays into the medium. She also made a brief, uncredited appearance as a masseuse in film Quoi de neuf Pussycat ? (1965) and had a voiceover in Woody Allen Number One (1966). Marrying Woody on February 2, 1966, Louise went on to co-star with the comic master, earning a comedy name for herself in several of his other inaugural farcical romps -- particularly Prends l'oseille et tire-toi! (1969), Bananas (1971) and Tout ce que vous avez toujours voulu savoir sur le sexe... sans jamais oser le demander (1972). On Broadway, she appeared in "Henry, Sweet Henry" (1967), "The Chinese and Dr. Fish" (1970) and as a replacement in the comedy "Thieves" (1974).Following the end of her four-year marriage to Woody, Louise struck out on her own. On TV, she appeared to good advantage in guest episodes of "Love, American Style," "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," "The Bob Newhart Show," "McCloud" and "Medical Center." On film, she appeared in the dramedy Des amis comme les miens (1971) and the crime comedy thriller La Chasse aux Dollars (1973).After appearing in the lightweight TV-movie Coffee, Tea or Me? (1973) with fresh-faced starring performances from Karen Valentine and John Davidson, and offering a kookier supporting perf as a police station receptionist opposite Alan Alda in the dark comedy murder mystery Isn't It Shocking? (1973), Louise hit major cult status as the enervated, beleaguered, pig-tailed, titular housewife/heroine of the bizarre Norman Lear nighttime soap satire Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman (1976). It was here that Louise buffed up beautifully her deadpan neurotic comedy persona. The program's pilot was nominated for an Emmy and Louise herself for "Classification of Outstanding Program and Individual Achievement."The syndicated show certainly had it's own soap opera-styled problems on the set. In July of 1976, she was asked to host a first season episode of "Saturday Night Live." It was said that Louise's erratic behavior was highly difficult to work with in sketches. That same year, she was also arrested after police discovered cocaine in her purse at a boutique store. She was ordered to six months of counseling. With the pressures of television mounting, the star decided to leave the show in 1977 (the series had her character suddenly leaving town and husband with no notice), and the series was re-titled "Forever Fernwood."Following her "Mary Hartman" departure, Louise appeared on stage in productions of Marie and Bruce" (1980) followed by "A Couple of a White Chicks Sitting Around Talking." She also attempted another ensemble comedy series with the all-female show It's a Living (1980) as waitress Maggie but, once again, left the show after only one season. She also had a recurring neurotic role on the popular medical show Hôpital St. Elsewhere (1982).Elsewhere, Louise went on to co-star with the equally neurotic Charles Grodin in the offbeat romantic TV-movie comedy Just Me and You (1978). On film, she made a brief cameo in ex-husband Woody Allen's film dramedy Stardust Memories (1980), appeared as a hooker with a heart of gold in star/director/co-writer Marty Feldman's comedy La Bible ne fait pas le moine (1980), and was a prime focus in the wacky Coen Brothers crime comedy Mort sur le gril (1985). She headed the cast as the mother of good/evil twins in the slasher flick Blood Rage (1987), was featured in the Sally Field/Michael Caine romantic comedy Cordes et discordes (1987), and was fourth-billed in the teen drama Sing (1989). She finished off the decade in Cheech Marin's hippie comedy Rude Awakening (1989) as an aging drug customer(!)The weird and wacky continued with an assortment of off-kiltered characters in independent films. She appeared in the bizarre sci-fi horror Frankenhooker (1990); played Robby Benson's mom in the comedy Modern Love (1990), also written and directed by Benson; and played Jeremy Piven's mom in another comedy Layin' Low (1996). She was also featured in the films Sudden Manhattan (1996), Happiness (1998) and Mystery Men (1999).Into the millennium, she enjoyed a romantic subplot in the film Fast Food, Fast Women (2000), portrayed a retired gangster lady in Queenie in Love (2001), played a landlady in the horror opus Les Loups de Wall Street (2002). She and Renée Taylor played "wealthy" sisters married to losers in the poorly-reviewed comedy Lady Killers (2003), and appeared with Ms. Taylor again in the romantic comedy Driving Me Crazy: Proof of Concept (2012)More recently seen on TV episodes of "CSI" and "Girls," Louise was once an acting technique teacher with Herbert Berghof's HB Studio. She eventually set up her own acting establishment, the Louise Lasser Acting Studio, on New York City's Upper East Side. In 2014, she directed the Off-Off-Broadway production of "Chinese Coffee." She never remarried after divorcing the Wood Man.