LOUISE LASSER
(11 April 1939 – 6 July 2026)
The American actress Louise Lasser, who has died at 87 “of natural causes”, was much more than just an actress as she was also an accomplished television writer and performing arts teacher and director. She will be best remembered for the title role in Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, a part she played for over three hundred times in a schedule that put out five episodes a week. So, it wasn’t something that occupied her in her career for very long – just a couple of years in the mid-1970s. She was very popular as an ordinary Ohio housewife in what was a satire on the soap opera genre and earned her a Primetime Emmy nomination. Elsewhere she was married to Woody Allen and appeared in some of his early films. She was also host on Saturday Night Live and did guest shots on other popular TV shows such as Bob Newhart and Mary Tyler Moore and appeared in Taxi and Laverne and Shirley.
Louise Jane Lasser was born in New York City to a Jewish family, although she never accepted the Jewish religion until much later in her life. In 1961 her mother attempted suicide from which Louise saved her, although her mother never forgave her and finally succeeded in killing herself in 1964. Louise’s father also eventually took his own life. Obviously, her parents’ actions had a significant effect on her, which developed into mental problems later on. In 1962, Louise understudied a 19-year-old Barbra Streisand on Broadway in I Can Get It for You Wholesale which launched the latter’s career.
After meeting Woody Allen, Lasser did very well in his Take the Money and Run, a 1969 crime comedy, in Bananas (1971), a political farce, and in Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex... (1972), a spoof documentary on personal relationships. She also voice dubbed What’s Up, Tiger Lily? for which Woody sent up a Japanese spy movie. Working with and marrying Woody Allen obviously influenced both Lasser’s career and her private life.
Following the success of Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, which often included episodes from Lasser’s own experiences (including when she was arrested for possession of cocaine), she went on to host Saturday Night Live, in which she worked alongside Gilda Radner, Chevy Chase and Jane Curtin. She was supposed to have written her own improvs but that didn’t happen as she was showing signs of mental instability and the producers were finding her to be difficult. Instead, she did more film and TV work as well as a few theatre parts. She had a recurring role as the neurotic Aunt Charise in St Elsewhere, appeared in Woody Allen’s Stardust Memories, worked with Marty Feldman and Peter Boyle on In God We Trust, and was in Sam Raimi’s comedy Crimewave, written with the Coen Brothers. She made the comedy Surrender with Sally Field, Michael Caine and Peter Boyle, and was the mother in Craig Zadan’s musical drama Sing with Lorraine Bracco. In the 1990s more films materialised, including Frankenhooker and Todd Solondz’s award-winning, critically acclaimed ensemble black comedy Happiness (1988). Her last film appearance was in Funny Pages(2022)as the ‘pharmacy lady’ in Owen Kline’s black comedy shot on 16mm.
Louise Lasser married Woody Allen in 1966 and although they divorced in 1970 they carried on working together. Lasser did not marry again but was with her longtime partner, the film producer Michael Citriniti, until her death.
MICHAEL DARVELL