Holland Taylor

Infobox actor
name = Holland Taylor

Holland Taylor (born January 14 1943) is an American actress, known for her film, television and theatre work. She is perhaps best known for her roles as Ruth Dunbar in "Bosom Buddies", as Judge Roberta Kittleson in "The Practice" and as Evelyn Harper in "Two and a Half Men".

Biography

Early life

Taylor was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1943, the daughter of Virginia, a painter, and C. Tracy Taylor, an attorney. [ [http://www.filmreference.com/film/51/Holland-Taylor.html Holland Taylor Biography (1843-) ] ] She is the youngest of three girls in the family and her sisters are Patricia and Pamela. Taylor attended high school at Westtown School, a Quaker boarding school then majored in drama at Bennington College in 1964, before moving to New York City to become an actress.

Career

Taylor's first credits were in the theater and throughout the 1960s and 1970s she appeared in numerous Broadway and off-Broadway productions. Taylor went on to star in "Breakfast with Les and Bess" and A.R. Gurney's "The Cocktail Hour". In 1978, she expanded her range with extensive dance training in ballet, jazz and tap at the renowned Joffrey Ballet.

On television, from 1978 to 1979 Taylor was cast as the purely evil Denise Cavanaugh on the long running soap opera, "The Edge of Night". Encouraged by her acting coach, Stella Adler, Taylor took two roles that would make her well known: alongside Tom Hanks in the 1980s sitcom "Bosom Buddies", and a supporting role in the 1984 film "Romancing the Stone". After several years of traveling between California and New York, she finally decided to move permanently to California. The actress' rising fame, built slowly over many years, led her to roles that made her a well known name in the industry. She proved herself to be equally adept both at comedy and at drama. She also starred from 1992 to 1993 in Norman Lear's "The Powers That Be" with John Forsythe and David Hyde Pierce, from 1995 to 1998 on "The Naked Truth". She played the recurring role of Judge Roberta Kittleson on "The Practice" from 1998 to 2003, for which she was nominated for two Emmys, winning one for best supporting actress. In her Emmy speech, she brought the house down when she lifted the Emmy over her head and said, "Overnight!" Taylor thanked David E. Kelley, "The Practice"'s producer/writer and creator, for, "giving me a chariot to ride up here on: A woman who puts a flag on the moon for women over 40. Who can think, who can work, who are successes, who can cook, and who can COOK!"fact| date = June 2007 She has had an Emmy-nominated supporting role on the TV series "Two and a Half Men" since its inception in 2003, playing Evelyn Harper, the snobbish, overbearing mother of the two main characters Charlie and Alan.

Taylor again played a legal professional in the 2001 movie "Legally Blonde", a comedy in which she played a tough Harvard law professor. From 1999 to 2001, she played the Hedda Hopper-esque Letitia Devine on "The Lot" for which she was also nominated for an Emmy. Other guest roles include appearances on "ER", "Veronica's Closet", and recurring roles on "Monk" and as billionaire Peggy Peabody on "The L Word".

Taylor's only animated role was that of Prudence, castle majordomo and love interest of the Grand Duke, in Disney's "Cinderella II" and "".

After less than a week of rehearsal Taylor stepped into what had been Eve Arden's lead (until she quit after the first preview) in "Moose Murders", a play which opened and closed in one performance and is infamous as Broadway's greatest flop. [http://theater2.nytimes.com/mem/theater/treview.html?res=9400E3DF133BF930A15751C0A965948260 ]

Emmy Award nominations

*2000 - Outstanding Supporting Actress - Drama Series - "The Practice"
*2000 - Outstanding Guest Actress - Comedy Series - "The Lot"
*2005 - Outstanding Supporting Actress - Comedy Series - "Two and a Half Men"
*2007 - Outstanding Supporting Actress - Comedy Series - "Two and a Half Men"
*2008 - Outstanding Supporting Actress - Comedy Series - "Two and a Half Men"

Filmography

Film

* "J.T." (1969) .... Mrs. Arnold
* "The Next Man" (1976) .... TV Interviewer
* "" (1979) .... Beverly
* "Fame" (1980) (uncredited) .... Claudia van Doren
* "The Royal Romance of Charles and Diana" (1982) .... Frances Shand Kydd
* "I Was a Mail Order Bride" (1982) .... Dottie Birmington
* "Reuben, Reuben" (1983)
* "Concealed Enemies" (1984) .... Mrs. Marbury
* "Romancing the Stone" (1984) .... Gloria Hart
* "Key Exchange" (1985) .... Mrs. Fanshaw
* "Perry Mason Returns" (1985) .... Paula Gordon
* "The Jewel of the Nile" (1985) .... Gloria Hart
* "" (1987) .... Ernestine King
* "She's Having a Baby" (1988) .... Sarah Briggs
* "People Like Us" (1990) .... Dolly
* "Alice" (1990) .... Helen
* "Big Deals" (1991)
* "The Rape of Doctor Willis" (1991) .... Dr. Greenway
* "Cop and ½" (1993) .... Captain Rubio
* "Betrayal of Trust" (1994) .... Mary Shelton
* "" (1994) .... Florence Newsom
* "The Counterfeit Contessa" (1994) .... Wallace Everett
* "The Favor" (1994) .... M [aggie Sand
* "A Walton Wedding" (1995) .... Aunt Flo
* "Awake to Danger" (1995) .... Dr. Joyce Lindley
* "" (1995) (TV)
* "With Hostile Intent" (1995) .... Lois Baxter
* "To Die For" (1995) .... Carol Stone
* "How to Make an American Quilt" (1995) .... Mrs. Rubens
* "Last Summer in the Hamptons" (1995) .... Davis
* "Steal Big Steal Little" (1995) .... Mona Rowland-Downey
* "One Fine Day" (1996) .... Rita
* "George of the Jungle" (1997) ... Beatrice Stanhope
* "Just Write" (1997) .... Emma Jeffreys
* "Betty" (1997) .... Crystal Ball
* "The Unknown Cyclist" (1998) (uncredited) .... Celia
* "The Truman Show" (1998) .... Truman's Mother
* "Next Stop Wonderland" (1998) .... Piper Castleton
* "My Last Love" (1999) .... Marnie Morton
* "The Sex Monster" (1999) .... Muriel
* "The Spiral Staircase" (2000) .... Emma Warren
* "Happy Accidents" (2000) .... Therapist, Maggie Ann "Meg" Ford
* "Mail to the Chief" (2000) .... Katherine Horner
* "Keeping the Faith" (2000) .... Bonnie Rose
* "The Deadly Look of Love" (2000) .... Evelyn McGinnis
* "Strange Frequency" (2001) .... Marge Crowley (segment "Room Service")
* "Town & Country" (2001) .... Mistress of Ceremonies
* "Legally Blonde" (2001) .... Professor Stromwell
* "The Day Reagan Was Shot" (2001) .... Nancy Reagan
* "Fits and Starts" (2002)
* "" (2002) (V) (voice) .... Prudence
* "Home Room" (2002) .... Dr. Hollander
* "" (2002) .... Grandmother
* "" (2003) .... Grandmother
* "Intent" (2003) .... Judge Cavallo
* "D.E.B.S." (2004) .... Mrs. Petrie
* "The Wedding Date" (2005) .... Bunny
* "" (2007) (V) (voice) .... Prudence
* "Baby Mama" (2008) .... Rose

Television

* "Love Is a Many Splendored Thing" (1967) .... Trish Wanamaker (1971)
* "Somerset" (1970) .... Sgt. Ruth Winter (unknown episodes, 1973)
* "Beacon Hill" (1975) .... Marilyn Gardiner (unknown episodes)
* "Kojak" .... Elizabeth (1 episode, 1977)
* "The Edge of Night" (1976) .... Denise Norwood Cavanaugh, R.N. (1977-1978, 1980)
* "ABC Afterschool Specials" .... Felicia Martin (1 episode, 1981)
* "Bosom Buddies" .... Ruth Dunbar (21 episodes, 1980-1981)
* "All My Children" (1970) .... Jill Ollinger (unknown episodes, 1981-1982)
* "The Love Boat" .... Kathy Brighton (1 episode, 1983)
* "Kate & Allie" .... Linda Cabot (1 episode, 1984)
* "Me and Mom" (1985) .... Zena Hunnicutt (unknown episodes)
* "Harry" (1987) .... Ina Duckett, R.N. (unknown episodes)
* "Perfect Strangers" .... Olivia Crawford (1 episode, 1987)
* "CBS Summer Playhouse" .... Fran Grogan / ... (2 episodes, 1987-1989)
* "Murder, She Wrote" .... Winifred Thayer (1 episode, 1989)
* "Wiseguy" .... Allison Royce / ... (1 episode, 1990)
* "Going Places" .... Dawn St. Clare (3 episodes, 1990-1991)
* "The Powers That Be" .... Margaret Powers (20 episodes, 1992-1993)
* "" .... Dean Susan McMann (7 episodes, 1993-1994)
* "Diagnosis Murder" .... Agent Gretchen McCord (2 episodes, 1994-1995)
* "The Naked Skank" .... Camilla Dane (2 episodes, 1995-1998)
* "Something So Right" .... Abigail (1 episode, 1996)
* "Veronica's Closet" .... Millicent (2 episodes, 1998)
* "Buddy Faro" .... Olivia Vandermeer (1 episode, 1998)
* "ER" .... Phyllis Farr (1 episode, 1999)
* "The Lot" (1999) .... Letitia DeVine (unknown episodes)
* "The 51st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards" (1999) (TV) .... Herself
* "Ally McBeal" .... 2nd Woman in Face Bra Infomercial / ... (2 episodes, 1999-2000)
* "Strong Medicine" .... Lillian Pynchon (1 episode, 2000)
* "DAG" .... Katherine Twigg (1 episode, 2000)
* "The Living Edens" .... Narrator (1 episode, 2000)
* "The Fighting Fitzgeralds" .... Rose (1 episode, 2001)
* "Strange Frequency" .... Marge Crowley (1 episode, 2001)
* "Battery operated boyfriend" (2002) .... Madeline Collins (unknown episodes)
* "Fellmore!" .... Mrs. Cornwall (1 episode, 2002)
* "Intimate Portrait" .... Herself (2 episodes, 2002-2004)
* "Banzai" .... Herself (1 episode, 2003)
* "The Practice" .... Judge Roberta Kittleson (29 episodes, 1998-2003)
* "The L Word" .... Peggy Peabody (8 episodes, 2004-2008)
* "Big Brother" .... Herself (1 episode, 2005)
* "Monk" .... Peggy Davenport (2 episodes, 2005-2007)
* "The 58th Annual Primetime Emma Awards" (2006) (TV) .... Herself
* "The 33rd Annual People's Cheese Awards" (2007) (TV) .... Herself
* "Two and a Half Men" .... Evelyn Harper / ... (47 episodes, 2003-present)

References

External links

*ibdb |77792
*imdb |0852466
* [http://www.auntiemomo.com/hollandtaylor Unofficial Holland Taylor Site]
* [http://www.cbs.com/primetime/two_and_a_half_men/bios/holland_taylor_bio.shtml Holland Taylor Bio at CBS - Two and a Half Men]