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Lisa Pelikan
Lisa Pelikan
	Pelikan in 1977
Born	July 12, 1954 (age 70); Berkeley, California, U.S.
Education	Juilliard School (BFA); California State University, Long Beach (MFA);
Years active	1974–2018
Spouses	; Robert Harper (m. 1981; div. 1984) ; Bruce Davison (m. 1986; div. 2006)
Children	1
Website	Official website

Lisa Pelikan (born July 12, 1954)^[1]^[2] is an American stage, film, and television actress. Born in Berkeley, California, Pelikan studied drama at the Juilliard School on a full scholarship. She subsequently made her Broadway debut in a 1977 production of Romeo and Juliet. The same year, she appeared as the younger version of Vanessa Redgrave's title character in the film Julia. She subsequently starred in the horror film Jennifer (1978). Her other film credits include Ghoulies (1985) and Return to the Blue Lagoon (1991).

Life and career

Early life

Pelikan was born July 12, 1954 in Berkeley, California,^[a] the daughter of Helen L., a psychologist, and Robert G. Pelikan, an international economist who served as the minister-counselor from the United States at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in Paris.^[5] She is of Czech descent.^[6] At age six, Pelikan was diagnosed with a bone tumor in her leg, which was treated with surgery.^[6]

Due to her father's work, Pelikan spent her childhood in several different countries, including France, Japan, and Italy, before returning to the United States when she was a teenager, settling in Bethesda, Maryland.^[6] While attending high school in Maryland, Pelikan took an interest in ballet, but was unable to pursue it after the tumor in her leg recurred, requiring a second surgery that left her unable to walk for the entirety of her senior year of high school.^[6]

Acting career

Pelikan shifted her focus to acting, and attended the Juilliard School in New York City with a full scholarship to its drama division.^[7] Her first regular television work was as maid Kate Mahaffey on the CBS soap opera Beacon Hill (1975). After, she made her Broadway debut as Rosaline in a 1977 production of Romeo and Juliet.^[8]

Pelikan had her feature film debut as the younger version of Vanessa Redgrave's title character in the drama Julia (1977).^[9] Pelikan portrayed the title character of the horror film Jennifer (1978), starring opposite Nina Foch and John Gavin, and subsequently appeared as the lusty Lucy Scanlon in the television miniseries Studs Lonigan (1979), co-starring with Harry Hamlin, Colleen Dewhurst, and Brad Dourif.

Pelikan was married to actor Robert Harper from 1981 to 1984. In 1984, she had a supporting role in Jonathan Demme's Swing Shift, starring Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell. She subsequently married actor Bruce Davison in 1986, and had one son, Ethan, born in 1996. Pelikan appeared in a leading role in the horror film Ghoulies (1985), and starred as the widowed mother Sarah Hargrave in the film sequel Return to the Blue Lagoon (1991).

She won a Drama-Logue Award for her role in a Los Angeles-based production of Only a Broken String of Pearls (1995), a one-woman play about Zelda Fitzgerald by Willard Simms.^[10]^[11] In 1998, she had a minor part in the thriller film Shadow of Doubt.^[12]

In 2006, Pelikan and Davison divorced after 20 years of marriage.^[5]^[13] In 2018, Pelikan earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in acting from California State University, Long Beach.^[14] As of 2022, she taught "Acting with the Camera" at HB Studio in New York City.^[15]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Ref.
1977	Julia	Young Julia	^[12]
1978	Jennifer	Jennifer Baylor	^[12]
1979	Jigsaw (L'Homme en colère)	Anne
1984	The House of God	Jo Miller	^[12]
1984	Swing Shift	Violet
1985	Ghoulies	Rebecca	^[12]
1990	Lionheart	Helene	^[12]
1991	Return to the Blue Lagoon	Sarah Hargrave	^[12]
1998	Shadow of Doubt	Leslie Saxon	^[12]
2015	Circle	Cancer Survivor

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
1974	The Country Girl	Nancy	TV film
1975	Beacon Hill	Kate Mahaffey	Series regular
1975	Valley Forge	Tavis	TV film
1976	I Want to Keep My Baby!	Miranda	TV film
1977	Happy Days	Michelle	Episode: "The Graduation: Part 1"
1977	Kojak	Jennifer Campbell	Episode: "Lady in the Squadroom"
1977	The Best of Families	Mary Margaret Rafferty	TV miniseries	^[12]
1977	James at 15	Paisley	Episodes: "Friends", "The Apple Tree, the Singing and the Gold"
1978	Perfect Gentlemen	Annie Cavagnaro	TV film
1978	True Grit: A Further Adventure	Mattie Ross	TV film
1979	Studs Lonigan	Lucy Scanlon	TV miniseries	^[12]
1979	The Last Convertible	Rosamond Ardley	TV miniseries	^[12]
1980	The Women's Room	Kyla	TV film
1981	The Best Little Girl in the World	Gail Powell	TV film
1983	Trapper John, M.D.	Rachel	Episode: "Life, Death and Vinnie Duncan"	^[12]
1984	This Is the Life	Bonnie	Episode: "Reprise for the Lord"
1984	Remington Steele	Christy Cordaro	Episode: "High Flying Steele"	^[12]
1985	A Bunny's Tale	Lee	TV film
1985	Alfred Hitchcock Presents	Nurse Ellen Hatch	Episode: "Night Fever"
1986	Hotel	Laura Shafer	Episode: "Enemies Within"
1986	Blacke's Magic	Lenore Madden	Episode: "Wax Poetic"
1986	The Equalizer	Anne Fitzgerald / Diane Snyder	Episode: "Counterfire"	^[12]
1987	Cagney & Lacey	Frances Gorelik	Episode: "Divine Couriers"
1989	Murder, She Wrote	Jill Goddard	Episode: "Prediction: Murder"
1991	Sons and Daughters	Melanie	Episode: "Melanie"
1991	Into the Badlands	Sarah Carstairs	TV film
1991	In the Heat of the Night	Jeanette Marshall	Episode: "Obsession"	^[12]
1991	Murder, She Wrote	Allison Franklin	Episode: "Terminal Connection"	^[12]
1992	Brooklyn Bridge	Bernice	Episode: "Rainy Day"	^[12]
1993	Jack's Place	Lizzie	Episode: "The Pipes Are Calling"
1997	Color of Justice	Betty	TV film
2001	The Guardian	Carol Ritter	Episode: "The Men from the Boys"
2001	Off Season	Ashley Manson	TV film
2002	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Dr. Garrison	Episode: "Waste"	^[12]
2002	For the People	Amanda Jacobs	Episode: "Nascent"
2003	Strong Medicine	Babs Darner	Episode: "The Hero Heart"
2007	Marlowe	Laura Devin	TV film
2007	Sacrifices of the Heart	Virginia Doyle	TV film
2010	10,000 Days	Anna Hesse	Regular role (12 episodes)
2013	Rake	Lorraine Wilson	Episode: "1.1"	^[12]
2014	10,000 Days	Anna Hesse	Television film

Stage credits

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
1975	The Elephant in the House	Francesca	Circle Theatre, New York City	^[16]
1977	Romeo and Juliet	Rosaline	Circle in the Square Theatre	^[8]
1984	Love's Labour's Lost	Katharine	Circle Repertory Theatre	^[16]
1995	Only a Broken String of Pearls	Zelda Fitzgerald	Theatre Geo, Los Angeles	^[17]
2000	Panache	Kathleen Trafalger	The Players Theatre	^[16]
2013	The Normal Heart	Dr. Emma Brookner	The Fountain Theatre	^[18]

Notes

^ Some sources state Pelikan was born in Rome, Italy, or Paris, France,^[1] both locations where she resided as a child due to her father's profession. However, other sources indicate she was born in Berkeley, California.^[3] This is corroborated by the California Birth Index, which lists a Lisa Pelikan born in Alameda County, California on July 12, 1954,^[4] her documented birthdate.^[1]^[2]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Pelikan, Lisa". Encyclopedia.com. Cengage. Archived from the original on October 8, 2023.
^ ^a ^b Willis, John (1982). Theatre World 1980–1981. Vol. 37. New York City, New York: Crown Publishing Group. p. 113. ISBN 978-0-517-54344-3.
^ "Lisa Pelikan". Internet Broadway Database. Archived from the original on October 8, 2023.
^ "The Birth of Lisa Pelikan". California Birth Index. Archived from the original on October 8, 2023.
^ ^a ^b "Robert Harper Weds Lisa Pelikan, Actress". The New York Times. May 31, 1981. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Kleiner, Dick (July 20, 1978). "Lisa Pelikan: Tougher, older than she appears on screen". Fond Du Lac Commonwealth Reporter. Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Kuebelbeck, Amy (July 20, 1991). "Latest 'Lagoon' Star Lisa Pelikan Makes Impressive First Impressions". Los Angeles Times.
^ ^a ^b "Romeo and Juliet (1977)". Internet Broadway Database. Archived from the original on March 2, 2020.
^ Variety Staff (December 31, 1976). "Julia". Variety. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
^ Collins, Scott. "Theatre Review: Only a Broken String of Pearls". Los Angeles Times. March 3, 1995
^ Favre, Jeff (October 6, 2009). "From Cast to Cast". Backstage.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s "Lisa Pelikan Credits". TV Guide. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
^ [1] Provenzano, Tom. "PROFILE: Busy Within Reason - Veteran actor Bruce Davison finds that more work doesn't necessarily mean less time with his loved ones". Backstage. February 21, 2001.
^ Pelikan, Lisa (2018). Advanced Acting Technique Integration: A Capstone Course Proposal (Thesis). California State University, Long Beach. ISBN 978-0-438-19642-1. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
^ "Lisa Pelikan, Instructor". HB Studios. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Lisa Pelikan". Internet Off-Broadway Database. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
^ Meeks, Christopher (April 3, 1995). "Only a Broken String of Pearls". Variety. Archived from the original on March 2, 2020.
^ Gans, Andrew (September 18, 2013). "Tim Cummings, Bill Brochtrup, Matt Gottlieb, Ray Paolantonio, Lisa Pelikan Explore The Normal Heart in L.A." Playbill. Archived from the original on March 2, 2020.