Susan Anspach

Susan Florence Anspach (; November 23, 1942 – April 2, 2018) was an American stage, film and television actress who had roles in films during the 1970s and 1980s such as Five Easy Pieces (1970), Play It Again, Sam (1972), Blume in Love (1973), Montenegro (1981), Blue Monkey (1987), and Blood Red (1989). Early life Anspach was born and raised in Queens, New York City. Her mother was Gertrude, a secretary and former singer of Scottish and Irish ancestry. Her father was Renald Anspach, a World War II Army veteran and later factory worker, who was of German-Jewish and English descent. The couple met at the 1939 New York World's Fair. Anspach's grandfather had disapproved of the marriage and disowned his son. Anspach was raised by her great aunt until Anspach was six, when her aunt died. She went back to live with her parents in what grew to be an abusive home; she ran away at age 15. With the help of a Roman Catholic organization, she moved in with a family in Harlem. Anspach graduated from William Cullen Bryant High School in Long Island City in 1960. She received a full scholarship to the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. She studied music and drama. Anspach made her professional debut in Thornton Wilder's one-act play Pullman Car Hiawatha at a summer theater in Maryland. After college, she moved back to New York City. Career Anspach starred in several Broadway and off-Broadway shows, including as the female lead (Sheila) in the musical Hair. The musical ran for 45 performances at the Cheetah Theatre. She was in a play with Al Pacino while at the Actors Studio. She starred off-Broadway in 1965 in A View from the Bridge with Robert Duvall, Jon Voight, and Dustin Hoffman.