Suzanne Shepherd

Sadie Gertrude Stern (October 31, 1934 – November 17, 2023), known professionally as Suzanne Shepherd, was an American actress and theater director.^[1][2]

Suzanne Shepherd
Suzanne Shepherd on The Sopranos
Born	Sadie Gertrude Stern (1934-10-31)October 31, 1934 Elizabeth, New Jersey, U.S.
Died	November 17, 2023(2023-11-17) (aged 89) Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Occupations	Actress theater director
Years active	1960s–2023
Spouses	David Shepherd ​ ​ (m. 1957; div. 1966)​ Carroll Calkins ​ ​ (m. 1996; died 2006)​
Children	2, including Kate

Background

Shepherd was born Sadie Gertrude Stern on October 31, 1934, to a Jewish family in Elizabeth, New Jersey, the daughter of Dora (Mendelson), a cook, and David Stern, a distributor of jukeboxes and vending machines.^[3] She began using the name "Suzanne" when she was 13.^[3] She attended Battin High School and Bennington College, and studied acting with Sanford Meisner.^[3][4] She later went on to teach Meisner's program of acting study, the first woman to do so.^[5]

Career

Shepherd was a founding member of the Compass Players in the early 1960s, along with Alan Alda and Alan Arkin.

Shepherd was known for her portrayal of Aunt Tweedy in the film Mystic Pizza, Karen's overbearing mother in the film Goodfellas, Carmela Soprano's mother Mary DeAngelis in the HBO television series The Sopranos, and the assistant school principal in Uncle Buck.^[4] She also played the role of Mrs. Scarlini in the 2000 film Requiem for a Dream, and Big Ethel in A Dirty Shame. In 2016, she played the role of Lucille Abetemarco the mother of Detective Anthony Abetemarco played by former Sopranos co-star Steve Schirripa in "Good Cop Bad Cop" the second episode of the seventh season of the CBS police procedural drama Blue Bloods. In 2018, she reprised the role of Lucille Abetemarco in "Trust" the sixth episode of the ninth season of Blue Bloods.^[4]

Shepherd was also a theatre director, working in New York and in regional theatre.^[4]

Personal life and death

From a marriage to David Shepherd, which lasted from 1957 until their divorce in 1966, she had a son, who died in 2011, and a daughter, artist Kate Shepherd.^[3][6] Her second marriage, to Carroll Calkins, lasted from 1996 until his death in 2006.^[3]

Shepherd died from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and kidney failure at her home in Manhattan on November 17, 2023, at the age of 89.^[3][4][7]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1988	Mystic Pizza	Aunt Tweedy	[4]
1988	Working Girl	Trask Receptionist	[4]
1989	Uncle Buck	Mrs. Hoargarth
1989	Second Sight	Marilyn Bloom
1990	Goodfellas	Karen's Mother	[4]
1990	Jacob's Ladder	Hospital Receptionist
1995	The Jerky Boys: The Movie	Mrs. B
1995	Palookaville	Mother
1996	Bullet	Cookie Stein
1996	Trees Lounge	Jackie
1997	Lolita	Miss Pratt	[4]
1998	Illuminata	Marco's mother
1998	Living Out Loud	Mary	[4]
1998	American Cuisine	Martha
1999	On the Run	Lady in Travel Agency
2000	Requiem for a Dream	Mrs. Scarlini	[4]
2001	Never Again	Mother
2004	A Dirty Shame	Big Ethel	[4]
2008	Choke	Waitress
2008	Harold	Maude Sellers
2009	I Hate Valentine's Day	Edie
2012	Delivering the Goods	Mrs. Weinbaum
2013	Jerome's Bouquet	Elana Klein	Short film
2017	Where Is Kyra?	Ruth	[3]
2018	Furlough	Elizabeth Anderson
2018	The Week Of	Aunt Iris
2023	The Performance	Tess	[4]

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1990	Law & Order	Arraignment Judge Victoria Sawyer	Episode: "The Reaper's Helper"
1998	Vig	Agnes	Television film
2000	Third Watch[4]	Sheats	Episode: "Young Men and Fire..."
2000, 2004	Ed[4]	Elaine / Edna	2 episodes
2000–2007	The Sopranos[4]	Mary DeAngelis	20 episodes
2002	Law & Order: Criminal Intent	Joan	Episode: "Homo Homini Lupus"
2003	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Old Woman	Episode: "Desperate"
2010	Gravity	Scarf Woman	Episode: "Dogg Day Afternoon"
2016–2018	Blue Bloods[4]	Lucille Abetemarco	2 episodes