Susan Tolsky

Susan Gaye Tolsky (April 6, 1943 – October 9, 2022) was an American actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, Tolsky began acting in high school and later studied nursing at the University of Texas at Austin before switching her major to theater. In 1967, she relocated to Hollywood and made her television debut on the sitcom The Second Hundred Years. Within a year, she earned a main role on the ABC comedy Western series Here Come the Brides (1968–1970) as Biddie Cloom.

A self-described character actress, Tolsky made her film debut in Pretty Maids All in a Row (1971) and gained wider recognition as a regular on the variety series The New Bill Cosby Show (1972–1973) on CBS. Following several guest roles on television throughout the 1970s, Tolsky was part of the main cast on the syndicated sitcom Madame's Place (1982–1983) in the role of Bernadette Van Gilder. Her film credits include supporting roles in Charley and the Angel (1973), Record City (1977), and How to Beat the High Cost of Living (1980).

Tolsky ventured into voice acting in the 1980s, beginning with Annabell on Hanna-Barbera's animated series Foofur (1986–1988). She continued her career in voice-over in the next decade with recurring roles as Aunt Ruth on Bobby's World (1990–1998), Binkie Muddlefoot on Darkwing Duck (1991–1992), and Aunt Janie on Pepper Ann (1997–2000). She also provided guest voice roles on a number of Disney Television Animation productions. Tolsky's final credit is the Disney Channel animated comedy series The Buzz on Maggie (2005–2006), where she voiced Mrs. Pesky.

Early life and education

Susan Gaye Tolsky was born on April 6, 1943, in Houston, Texas, to shop owners Sarah (née Hartstein) and Abe Tolsky. She was of Russian Jewish descent. She had one older sister, Noel.

She attended Bellaire High School, where she grew fond of acting and stand-up comedy. When her father advised her not to pursue a career in acting, she enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin to major in nursing. She took care of children at Houston Methodist Hospital and Texas Children's Hospital until officials believed she "could work anywhere" in the medical center. She then began working as a medical technician and was involved in obstetrics and gynecology.

At university, she regularly appeared in school plays, stating that she "acted [her] head off in everything from Greek tragedy to musical comedy". She shared an apartment in Hollywood with actress Susan Howard. In 1968, Tolsky made her television debut on an episode of The Second Hundred Years, where she had one line, followed by a small role on an episode of Bewitched, both on ABC. The plot was loosely based on the Mercer Girls, women who moved from the East Coast of the United States to Seattle, Washington, in the 1860s. Howard believed Tolsky was perfect for the role of Biddie Cloom. Foy was less enthused of her chances of securing the part, believing she could not play a character from Massachusetts due to her Southern accent. A few weeks later, she was given a contract for Here Come the Brides as a series regular. The series aired from September 1968 to April 1970, running for two seasons on ABC.

1971–1979: Film debut and The New Bill Cosby Show Tolsky made her film debut in Roger Vadim's comedy-mystery film Pretty Maids All in a Row (1971) as Miss Craymire, the secretary of Rock Hudson's character. The film received generally negative reviews in the press, and was described as a "sex satire-murder mystery". After watching the final product at a preview, Tolsky told Vadim, "Now I know why I'm the only girl in the movie who didn't get asked to take off her clothes." Tolsky was slated to appear in Dirty Little Billy (1972) as the Texan girlfriend of Michael J. Pollard's title character, but the plans fell through. In 1972, Tolsky guest starred on the season four finale of the CBS sitcom Here's Lucy, starring Lucille Ball and her daughter Lucie Arnaz. The episode was a backdoor pilot for a proposed spin-off starring Arnaz. Tolsky was one of three finalists for the role of Arnaz's friend Sue Ann Ditbenner, and she landed the role after reading for the part at Ball's home. Tolsky then guest starred as another character, Miss Quigley, on a season five episode of Here's Lucy.

In the early 1970s, Tolsky regularly appeared as a guest on talk shows hosted by Merv Griffin and Virginia Graham. Following an appearance on The Merv Griffin Show, producer George Schlatter took notice of her and enlisted her for the main cast of The New Bill Cosby Show (1972–73), a variety series hosted by Bill Cosby on CBS. The cast portrayed themselves and different characters in sketches. Cosby told the New York Daily News that he "fought and won a battle" with the network to not establish Tolsky's character as a "dumb dame". In an interview prior to the series premiere, he stated, "Susan will be smart but different. She won't be a nasal sounding dumb person as they wanted to make her." The series was met with mixed reactions from critics, although Tolsky's performance was better received.

Tolsky's next film credit was Charley and the Angel (1973), a Disney comedy film directed by Vincent McEveety, in which she portrayed the character Miss Partridge. While reviewing the film, the Austin American-Statesman Marjorie Hoffman wrote that Tolsky "has a few good scenes as a self-admiring spinster". From 1972 to 1973, Tolsky acted on two episodes of ABC's anthology television series Love, American Style. She was a contestant on the ABC game show The Dating Game in September 1973, and appeared as a celebrity guest on the game show Showoffs for a week in August 1975. In the later part of the decade, she acted in the comedy film Record City (1977) and Stan Dragoti's comedy horror film Love at First Bite (1979). Tolsky starred in the television pilot Front Page Feeney with Don Knotts, which aired in syndication in August 1977. She also made episodic appearances on the drama series Quincy, M.E. (1977) and Fantasy Island (1978), and portrayed Mammy Yokum in a Li'l Abner television special, the musical film Li'l Abner in Dogpatch Today (1978).

1980–2006: Madame's Place and voice acting In the 1980s, Tolsky appeared on four episodes of the CBS sitcom Alice, portraying different one-time characters, from 1980 to 1983. She appeared in the films How to Beat the High Cost of Living (1980), directed by Robert Scheerer, and The Devil and Max Devlin (1981), directed by Steven Hilliard Stern. She also guest starred on two episodes of the ABC sitcom Barney Miller in 1981 and 1982, for which the scripts were not finished at the time of filming. She also guest starred on an episode of the crime drama series Matt Houston in 1982.

Tolsky earned her third main role on television on Madame's Place (1982–83), a comedy series about a puppet, controlled by Wayland Flowers, named Madame who hosts a late-night talk show from her mansion. Tolsky portrayed Bernadette Van Gilder, Madame's shy secretary. The series was well received by television critics and viewers alike. Madame's Place had a very rushed shooting schedule and aired five days a week in first-run syndication. According to Tolsky, 75 episodes were shot in a span of fifteen weeks, and she considered it one of her "most enjoyable" experiences, after Here Come the Brides. She felt that pleasant experiences on set became "less and less common by the 1980s"; she recalled, "The fifties and sixties and seventies – that was a wonderful era." and had a guest role on an episode of the sitcom Webster in 1988.

After her guest appearance on Webster, Tolsky's acting credits only consisted of voice roles in animation. She first became involved in voice acting on the NBC animated children's television series Foofur (1986–88), where she voiced Annabell. In the 1990s, she lent her voice to several animated television series; she had recurring roles as Aunt Ruth on Bobby's World (1990–98), Binkie Muddlefoot on Darkwing Duck (1991–92), Scara on Aladdin (1994), and Aunt Janie, the aunt of the titular character on Pepper Ann (1997–2000). Tolsky's final credit is the Disney Channel animated comedy series The Buzz on Maggie (2005–06), where she was part of the main cast. She provided the voice of Mrs. Pesky, the mother of the title character. The series premiered in June 2005 to a positive response from television critics, who praised its humor, voice acting, and writing. The Buzz on Maggie was canceled after one season, airing its final episode in May 2006.

Personal life and death Tolsky dated actor Christopher Stone, whom she met through the New Talent Program at Screen Gems in the late 1960s, for five years. Tolsky's interest in medicine remained after quitting pre-medical. She continued to read medical dictionaries and her social circle consisted of people working in the field. While visiting friends in hospitals, she had "this fantasy and make believe" the speaker operator would call for "Dr. Tolsky".

Filmography Film

Television