Beverly Heather D'Angelo

Beverly D'Angelo's entire career that spans nearly more than four decades, is captivating and inspiring, and more than captivating. While she might have appeared in better films than the ones she usually found herself in, she was a fascinating persona and one to watch regardless of what role she was in. Hollywood loved her lively persona, easy-going manner and ability to steal scenes. Beverly Heather D'Angelo was born on November 15, 1951 in Columbus, Ohio, the daughter of the musicians Priscilla Ruth (Smith), a violinist and Eugene Constantino "Gene" D'Angelo as a bass player. She also ran a television station. Howard Dwight Smith was her maternal grandfather and the architect of the Ohio ("Horseshoe") Stadium. Her mother was an English, Irish and Scottish-born mother. Her father was Italian. Beverly attended an American school in Florence. Beverly was at first drawn to art and worked as an animator/cartoonist for Hanna-Barbera Productions. She then relocated to Canada to pursue an opportunity in rock singing. To make ends work she would sing wherever she could including topless bars and coffeehouses. The young singer was asked to sing with Ronnie Hawkins, a rockabilly legend. Beverly started her acting career when she joined the Charlottetown Festival repertory troupe and quit Hawkins. She was traveling across Canada in the role of Ophelia in "Kronborg 1582" A musical that was a rock version of Shakespeare's "Hamlet" when the renowned Colleen Dewhurst was able to see a show and noticed the potential in Beverly and the production. The show was later renamed Rockabye Hamlet after Gower Champion as the musical director was added to the mix. The show, though short-lived, Beverly's Ophelia was a hit and soon she was finding herself on the West coast with TV and film opportunities. She did not return to the stage again after the show, but she did appear as a star in Ed Harris' 1995 off-Broadway production of Sam Shepard's "Simpatico,, which won her a Theatre World Award. Parts of The Sentinel (1977), and Annie Hall (1977) were her first TV role. First Love (1977), Clint Eastwood's starring role in Every Which Way but Loose (78), and the film version of the popular counterculture music Hair (1979) were a few of the co-starring roles she played. Beverly's best performance was that of Patsy Cline (the one and only) in the biopic Coal Miner's Daughter (1980). She as well as Sissy Spacek, a friend of fellow country music star Loretta Lynn, each provided their vocals with skill.