Lisa Aliff

Lisa Lynn Aliff Greenleaf (born September 10, 1960) is an American beauty pageant winner and former actress.

Early life, education, and career

Born in Roanoke, Virginia, Aliff attended Cave Spring High School, and thereafter graduated college with a degree in early childhood education.[1]

After being named Miss Roanoke Valley and being the runner-up in the 1981 Miss Virginia pageant,[2] Aliff won the pageant in 1983.[1][3] She then moved to Los Angeles and became an actress, appearing in a number of films and TV shows. Her first role was as Gail Kittredge on the TV show The Colbys, Season 1, Episode 24 "Checkmate" which aired on 22 May 1986. Over the next four years she also appeared in episodes of Cheers, Charles in Charge, Roomies, Valerie, Full House, Love and Betrayal, Who's the Boss?, Freddy's Nightmares, Dear John and Anything but Love.[4] In 1986, she was cast as Alice Sycamore (née Vanderhof) in a starring role on You Can't Take It with You, a half-hour sitcom produced for syndication in 1986, but only four episodes of the show were aired.[5][6]

In 1987, Aliff was the primary model for Sheer Indulgence pantyhose, appearing in two separate commercials which were broadcast nationally over the course of the next two years. The commercials were released upon the debut of the pantyhose, which were marketed as having department store quality but available in local markets at a lesser price.[7]

Aliff worked with Dan Aykroyd and Tom Hanks in the movie Dragnet (1987).[8] In 1994, Aliff was involved in a public divorce in which she said her husband falsely accused her of having an affair with Dan Aykroyd, so that her husband could obtain money through tabloid interviews and TV appearances.[8] Her husband's allegation appeared in a two-page spread in the National Enquirer and he appeared on The Montel Williams Show.[8] Aykroyd, who was married to another Miss Virginia, Donna Dixon, said the allegation was a "baseless fantasy" and a "flat lie".[8]

Her last acting roles were in 1990. After returning to Roanoke, she taught elementary school, middle school and high school.[1] As of 2015, she continued to be involved in the Miss Virginia pageant.[1]

Filmography

Movies

Year Title Role
1987 Dragnet April
1988 Remote Control Heroine
1989 Love and Betrayal Patty
1989 Trained to Kill Jessie Revels
1989 Damned River Anne
1990 Playroom Jenny

TV series

Year Title Role Notes
1986 The Colbys Gail Kittredge 1 episode
1987 Charles in Charge Gina 1 episode
1987 Roomies Melissa pilot episode
1988 Valerie (The Hogan Family) Julie Warren 1 episode)
1987-88 You Can't Take It with You Alice Sycamore 3 broadcast episodes
1989 Cheers Erin 1 episode
1989 Full House Patty Fogerty 1 episode
1989 Who's the Boss? Jill 1 episode
1989 Freddy's Nightmares Kiki 1 episode
1990 Dear John Ski Bunny 1 episode
1990 Anything but Love

References

  1. ^ a b c d Smith, Dan (4 November 2015). "Lisa Aliff Greenleaf". TheRoanoker.com.
  2. ^ "Vivky Pulliam Wins Crown", Bluefield Daily Telegraph, (July 12, 1981), p. 4.
  3. ^ "Former Miss Virginias, Miss Virginia:1983". Retrieved February 23, 2019.
  4. ^ "Lisa Aliff". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Baseline & All Movie Guide. 2008. Archived from the original on May 23, 2008. Retrieved September 7, 2013.
  5. ^ Vincent Terrace, Encyclopedia of Television Pilots, 1937-2012 (2014), p. 332.
  6. ^ Tim Brooks, Earle F. Marsh, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present (2009), p. 1554.
  7. ^ VHS Archive.
  8. ^ a b c d "Aykroyd, Aliff cited in divorce". Associated Press. January 25, 1994. Retrieved September 7, 2013.