Annette McCarthy

Annette McCarthy (April 12, 1958 – January 6, 2023) was an American film, television and stage actress, musician, and later director at a sound studio and executive chef, best known for her role as Evelyn Marsh in the second season of Twin Peaks, and as Dr. Wendy Oliver in the cult film Creature. She also appeared in several television films and series, including Baywatch and noted episodes of Night Court and Riptide.

Career McCarthy was stage trained in both New York City and Los Angeles and continued to work in theater. She also acted in several commercials. She began acting in 1978.

Television Under contract to ABC, McCarthy starred in several made-for-TV movies, including her debut A Cry For Love (1980), Crazy Times (1981), and Fugitive Among Us (1992).

McCarthy had roles in a variety of major television shows, including: St. Elsewhere, The Twilight Zone, Happy Days, Beauty and the Beast, Magnum, P.I., The Fall Guy, and played a lesbian character in an episode of Night Court called "Passion Plundered" that has been noted by critics.

A notable role came in Riptide. McCarthy also played "Rosalind Grant", the name derived from Rosalind Russell and Cary Grant but the character itself a parody of Cybill Shepherd's character Maddie Hayes in Moonlighting, in the penultimate episode of the series called "If You Can't Beat Em, Join Em." The episode aired shortly before the series' cancellation, in part due to it being beaten in the ratings by Moonlighting. This episode drew a lot of press attention at the time, with both Entertainment Tonight and the Los Angeles Times running features on it. She had a casting meeting with Johanna Ray and was later personally hired by David Lynch. Her character Evelyn Marsh was a controversial addition, appearing in a string of episodes in a storyline that was meant to emulate film noir during a weak stretch of the show's second season, shortly after the conclusion of its main plotline (the reveal of Laura Palmer's killer) when the writers were struggling to come up with new storylines. One episode was one of the rare directorial projects of actress Diane Keaton, which McCarthy found memorable. McCarthy commented on her role in a later interview, saying "my scenes with James (Marshall) were a little overdramatic and some of the lines were pretty silly, but it was cute, what can I say?" and was the niece of Oscar-nominated actress Joan Hackett. She married sound editor Mark Mangini in 1984, and they had two sons. They separated or divorced some time later.

McCarthy was a babysitter for both Sofia Coppola and Zooey Deschanel. and a director of client services at Mercury Sound Studios.