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Bernadette Peters
At a Broadway Barks book signing (San Francisco, 2008)
Born	Bernadette Lazzara February 28, 1948 (1948-02-28) (age 62) Ozone Park, Queens, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, Singer
Years active	1958–present
Spouse(s)	Michael Wittenberg (1996-2005)(his death)
Official website

Bernadette Peters (born February 28, 1948) is an American actress and singer from New York City. Over the course of a career that has already spanned five decades, she has starred in musical theatre, films and television, as well as performing in solo concerts and recordings. She is one of the most critically-acclaimed Broadway performers, having received nominations for seven Tony Awards, winning two, and eight Drama Desk Awards, winning three. Four of the Broadway cast albums on which she has starred have won Grammy Awards.

Peters first performed on the stage as a child and then a teenage actor in the 1960s, and in film and television in the 1970s. She was praised for this early work and for appearances on The Muppet Show, The Carol Burnett Show and in other television work, and for her roles in films like Silent Movie, The Jerk, Pennies from Heaven and Annie. In the 1980s she returned to the theatre, where she became one of the best-known Broadway stars over the next three decades. She also has recorded six solo albums and several singles, as well as many cast albums, and performs regularly in her own solo concert act. Peters also continues to act in films and on television, where she has been nominated for three Emmy Awards and three Golden Globe Awards, winning once.

Peters is particularly noted for her starring roles in stage musicals, including Song and Dance, Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, Annie Get Your Gun, and Gypsy, becoming closely associated with composer Stephen Sondheim. She had a four-year romantic relationship with comedian Steve Martin and was married to investment adviser Michael Wittenberg for over nine years until he was killed in a helicopter crash on September 26, 2005. Peters is known for her charitable work, including as a founder of the Broadway Barks animal charity.

Contents 1 Early life and career 2 Film appearances 3 Later theatre roles 4 Television appearances 5 Recordings 6 Concert performances 7 Other activities 8 Personal life 9 Honorary awards 10 Work 10.1 Stage (selected) 10.2 Filmography 10.3 Television 10.4 Concerts 10.5 Discography 11 Notes 12 References 13 External links

Early life and career

Peters was born Bernadette Lazzara to an Italian-American family in Queens, New York, the youngest of three children. Her siblings are casting director Donna DeSeta and Joseph Lazzara.¹ Her father Peter drove a bread delivery truck, and her mother, Marguerite (née Maltese), ² started her in show business by putting her on the television show Juvenile Jury at the age of three-and-a-half. She appeared on the television shows Name That Tune and several times on The Horn and Hardart Children's Hour at age five.²

In January 1958, at age nine, she obtained her Actors Equity Card in the name of Bernadette Peters to avoid ethnic stereotyping, with the stage name taken from her father's first name.² She made her professional stage debut the same month in This is Goggle, a comedy directed by Otto Preminger that closed during out-of-town tryouts before reaching New York.³ She then appeared on NBC television in A Boy Called Ciske, a Kraft Theatre production, on May 28, 1958, and as Anna Stieman in The Christmas Tree, a Hallmark Hall of Fame production, on December 14, 1958.⁴ She first appeared on the New York stage at age 10 in the New York City Center revival of The Most Happy Fella (1959).⁵ In her teen years, she attended the Quintano's School for Young Professionals, a former private school that several famous people, such as Steven Tyler, attended.³

At age 13, Peters appeared as one of the "Hollywood Blondes" and was an understudy for "Dainty June" in the second national tour of Gypsy.⁶ During this tour Peters first met her long-time accompanist, conductor and arranger Marvin Laird, who was the assistant conductor for the tour. Laird recalled, "I heard her sing an odd phrase or two and thought, 'God that's a big voice out of that little girl,'"⁷ The next summer, she played Dainty June in summer stock, and in 1962 she recorded her first single. In 1964 she played Leisl in The Sound Of Music and Jenny in Riverwind in summer stock at the Mt. Gretna Playhouse (Pennsylvania), and Riverwind again at the Bucks County Playhouse in 1966.⁸⁹¹⁰ Upon graduation from high school, she started working steadily, appearing Off-Broadway in the musicals The Penny Friend (1966) and Curley McDimple (1967)⁵ and as a standby on Broadway in The Girl in the Freudian Slip (1967). She made her Broadway debut in Johnny No-Trump in 1967 and next appeared as George M. Cohan's sister opposite Joel Grey in George M! (1968), winning the Theatre World Award.²

It was Peters's performance as "Ruby" in the 1968 Off-Broadway Dames at Sea, a spoof of 1930s musicals, that brought her critical acclaim and her first Drama Desk Award.⁵ She had appeared in an earlier 1966 version of Dames at Sea at the Off-Off-Broadway performance club Caffe Cino.¹¹¹²¹³ Peters had starring roles in her next Broadway vehicles—Gelsomina in La Strada (1969) and Hildy in On the Town (1971), for which she received her first Tony Award nomination. She played Mabel Normand in Mack and Mabel (1974), receiving another Tony nomination. Clive Barnes wrote: "With the splashy Mack & Mabel ... diminutive and contralto Bernadette Peters found herself as a major Broadway star."¹⁴ Although these had short runs, Peters was singled out for praise by the critics,² and the Mack and Mabel cast album became popular among musical theatre fans.⁵ She moved to Los Angeles in the early 1970s to concentrate on television and film work.

Film appearances

Peters has appeared in 32 feature films or television movies beginning in 1973, including Mel Brooks' 1976 film Silent Movie (for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award), the musical Annie (1982), Pink Cadillac (1989), in which she co-starred with Clint Eastwood, and Woody Allen's Alice (1990).

She starred opposite Steve Martin in the The Jerk (1979), in a role that he wrote for her, and Pennies From Heaven (1981), for which she won the Golden Globe Award as Best Motion Picture Actress in a Comedy or Musical.⁵ They had begun a romantic relationship in 1977 that lasted approximately four years.¹⁵¹⁶ By 1981, her popularity had led to Peters appearing on the cover and in a spread in the December issue of Playboy Magazine, in which she posed in lingerie designed by Bob Mackie.¹⁷

Peters appeared with three generations of the Kirk Douglas family in the 2003 film It Runs in the Family, in which she played the wife of Michael Douglas's character. In May 2006 she appeared in the movie Come le formiche (Wine and Kisses) with F. Murray Abraham, filmed in Italy, playing a rich American who becomes involved with an Italian family that owns a vineyard. The DVD was released in 2007 in Italy.¹⁸ She is starring in a film titled Coming Up Roses, playing a former musical-comedy actress with two daughters. The movie, produced by Bullet Pictures, Inc. and directed by Lisa Albright is being filmed in March 2010.¹⁹²⁰

Later theatre roles

In 1982, Peters returned to the New York stage after an eight year absence in one of her few non-musical stage appearances, the off-Broadway Manhattan Theatre Club production of the comedy-drama Sally and Marsha, for which she was nominated for a Drama Desk Award. She then returned to Broadway as Dot/Marie in the Stephen Sondheim–James Lapine musical Sunday in the Park with George (1984), for which she received her third Tony Award nomination, followed by Andrew Lloyd Webber's Song and Dance (1985), winning her first Tony for Best Leading Actress in a Musical for her performance in the role of Emma. Theater critic Frank Rich wrote in an otherwise negative review of the show that Peters "has no peer in the musical theater right now."²¹

She then created the role of the Witch in Sondheim-Lapine's Into the Woods (1987). Peters is "considered by many to be the premier interpreter of [Sondheim's] work," according to writer Alex Witchel.²² Raymond Knapp wrote that Peters "achieved her definitive stardom" in Sunday in the Park With George and Into the Woods.²³ Sondheim has said of Peters, "Like very few others, she sings and acts at the same time," he says. "Most performers act and then sing, act and then sing ... Bernadette is flawless as far as I'm concerned. I can't think of anything negative."²⁴ Peters continued her association with Sondheim with a 1995 benefit concert of Anyone Can Whistle. Additionally, she appeared in several concerts featuring Sondheim's work, and performed for him at his 1993 Kennedy Center Honors ceremony.²⁵

She next starred in the musical adaptation of Neil Simon's The Goodbye Girl with music by Marvin Hamlisch (1993). Peters won her second Tony for her performance as Annie Oakley in the 1999 revival of Annie Get Your Gun opposite Tom Wopat. Among many glowing notices for this role, critic Lloyd Rose of the Washington Post commented: "[Peters] banishes all thoughts of Ethel Merman about two bars into her first number, 'Doin' What Comes Natur'lly.' Partly this is because Merman's Annie was a hearty, boisterous gal, while Peters plays an adorable, slightly goofy gamine... For anyone who cares about the American musical theater, the chance to see Peters in this role is reason enough to see the show."²⁶ Playbill went even further: "Arguably the most talented comedienne in the musical theatre today, Peters manages to extract a laugh from most every line she delivers."²⁷

In 2003, Peters took on the role of Mama Rose in the Broadway revival of Gypsy, earning another Tony nomination. Ben Brantley in his New York Times review wrote, "Working against type and expectation under the direction of Sam Mendes, Ms. Peters has created the most complex and compelling portrait of her long career, and she has done this in ways that deviate radically from the Merman blueprint."²⁸ Arthur Laurents said: "But in 2003 there was a new Rose on Broadway: Bernadette Peters! Brilliant, original, totally unlike any of the others."²⁹ In February 2006, she participated in a reading of the Sondheim-Weidman musical Bounce.³⁰ On September 24, 2007, Peters participated in a one-time only charity reading of the play Love Letters with her former Gypsy co-star, John Dossett.³¹

Peters has been nominated for the Tony Award seven times and won twice.³² She has also been nominated for the Drama Desk Award eight times and won three times (Annie Get Your Gun, Song and Dance, and Dames at Sea).³³³⁴

Television appearances

Peters was nominated for Emmy Awards for her guest-starring roles on The Muppet Show (1977) and Ally McBeal (2001).³⁵ She was also nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award, Outstanding Performer in a Children's Special, for her work in the 2002 made-for-television movie Bobbie's Girl. She won the 1987 "CableACE Award" for her role as Dot in the television version of Sunday in the Park With George.³⁶

She has appeared in many variety shows with stars such as Sonny and Cher and George Burns. She has both performed and presented on the Academy Awards broadcasts in 1994, 1987, 1983, 1981 and 1976. Peters has been a presenter at the annual Tony Awards ceremony and co-hosted the ceremony with Gregory Hines in June 2002.³⁷ She also hosted Saturday Night Live in November 1981.³⁸³⁹ She made 12 guest appearances on The Carol Burnett Show⁴⁰ as well as appearing with Burnett in the made-for-television version of Once Upon a Mattress and the 1982 film Annie. She also performed at the Kennedy Center Honors ceremony for Burnett (2003).⁴¹ Peters appeared often on the Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson⁴² and on the day-time talk show Live with Regis and Kelly, both as a co-host and a guest.⁴³ Peters voiced stray cat Rita in the Rita and Runt segments of the animated series Animaniacs. Rita often sang on the show, sometimes in parodies of songs from Broadway musicals.⁴⁴ She appeared on Inside the Actor's Studio in November 2000, discussing her career and craft.⁴⁵

Peters has co-starred in a number of television movies, including The Last Best Year (1990) with Mary Tyler Moore, Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella (1997) with Brandy (receiving a nomination for the "Golden Satellite Award" for her role), and Prince Charming (2003) with Martin Short. She co-starred in her own television series, All's Fair, with Richard Crenna in 1976–77, for which Peters was nominated for a Golden Globe award as Best TV Actress — Musical/Comedy. In March 2005, she made a pilot for an ABC situation comedy series titled Adopted, co-starring with Christine Baranski, but it was not picked up.⁴⁶ Peters appeared in the Lifetime television movie Living Proof which was first broadcast on October 18, 2008. She played the role of Barbara, an art teacher with breast cancer, who is initially reluctant to participate in the study for the cancer drug Herceptin. Andrew Gans of Playbill wrote, "Peters is able to choose from an expansive emotional palette to color the character, and her performance... is moving, humorous and ultimately spirit-raising".⁴⁷

Peters's television work in recent years also includes guest appearances on several television series. She appeared as the sharp-tongued sister of Karen Walker (Megan Mullally) on the penultimate episode of the NBC series Will & Grace, "Whatever Happened to Baby Gin?" (May 2006); as a defense attorney on the NBC series, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (November 2006); as a judge on the ABC series Boston Legal (May 2007); and as an accident victim in Grey's Anatomy (September 2008). Of her role in Grey's Anatomy, TV Guide wrote: "Peters is especially fine as she confronts a life spinning out of control. I'd make her an early contender for a guest-actor Emmy nomination."⁴⁸ In January, February and May 2009, she appeared in the ABC series Ugly Betty in five episodes as Jodie Papadakis, a magazine mogul running the YETI (Young Editors Training Initiative) program that Betty and Marc are in.⁴⁹⁵⁰⁵¹

Peters's appearance at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival in June 2009 was filmed and broadcast in Australia later that month.⁵²⁵³

Recordings

Peters has recorded six solo albums and several singles.⁵⁴ Three of her albums have been nominated for the Grammy Award. Peters's 1980 single "Gee Whiz" reached the top forty on the U.S. pop singles charts.⁵⁵ She has recorded most of the Broadway and off-Broadway musicals she has appeared in, and four of these cast albums have won Grammy Awards.⁵⁶

Peters's debut album in 1980 (an LP), entitled Bernadette Peters contained 10 songs, including "If You Were The Only Boy", "Gee Whiz", "Heartquake", "Should've Never Let Him Go", "Chico's Girl", "Pearl's A Singer", "Other Lady", "Only Wounded", "I Never Thought I'd Break and You'll Never Know". The original cover painting by Alberto Vargas was one of his last works, created at the age of 84.⁵⁷ According to The New York Daily News, Peters "persuaded him to do one last 'Vargas Girls' portrait.... She just went to his California retreat, asked him to do one more, he looked at her and said, 'You ARE a Vargas girl!'" She kept the original painting.⁵⁸ The original title planned for the album was Decades.⁵⁹ It was re-released on CD in 1992 as Bernadette with the same cover art (pictured at left), together with some tracks from her 1981 album, Now Playing. Rolling Stone wrote of her debut album,

“

Peters debuts on record as a first-rate pop torch singer: Melissa Manchester with soul, Bette Midler on pitch. Her album has already spawned the hit single "Gee Whiz," a laid-back, doo-wop version... that makes Peters' piping, little-girl voice seem almost like a cutesy novelty. There are also a couple of Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil rock tunes in which she sounds slightly trashy and out of her depth. The Peter Allen songs on side two are really more her style. In fact, the whole second half of Bernadette Peters is just about perfect, from the star's semi-C&W rendition of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller's "Pearl's a Singer" to a wistful recap of Harry Warren and Mark Gordon's romantic "You'll Never Know." But the best cuts are in between. "Other Lady," written by Lesley Gore (!) with Ellen Weston, tackles an age-old problem with... devastating eloquence... and Peters delivers it with the proper brooding introspection. Allen's compositions, "Only Wounded" (co-written with Carole Bayer Sager) and the torchy "I Never Thought I'd Break" (co-written with Dean Pitchford), feature the finest singing on the LP. ...the unusual absence of airbrushing echo places heavy demands on the chanteuse's sultry soprano. That Bernadette Peters rises to the occasion makes her performance that much more impressive."60

”

Her next solo album, Now Playing (1981), featured songs by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, Carole Bayer Sager and Marvin Hamlisch, and Stephen Sondheim (for example, "Broadway Baby").⁶¹ Bernadette Peters was re-released on CD in 1992 as Bernadette, with the 1980 Vargas cover art, and included some of the songs from Now Playing. In 1996, she was nominated for a Grammy Award for her best-selling album, I'll Be Your Baby Tonight, which includes popular songs by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Lyle Lovett, Hank Williams, Sam Cooke, and Billy Joel, as well as Broadway classics by Leonard Bernstein and Rodgers and Hammerstein.² The live recording of her 1996 Carnegie Hall concert, Sondheim, Etc. - Bernadette Peters Live At Carnegie Hall, also was nominated for a Grammy Award.

Peters's next studio album, in 2002, Bernadette Peters Loves Rodgers and Hammerstein, consisted entirely of Rodgers and Hammerstein songs, including two that she sings in her concerts, "Some Enchanted Evening" and "There Is Nothin' Like a Dame".⁶² This album, which reached position 14 in the "Top Internet Charts",⁵⁵ was her third album in a row nominated for a Grammy. It formed the basis of her Radio City Music Hall solo concert debut in June 2002.⁶³ Her last solo album, titled Sondheim Etc., Etc. Live At Carnegie Hall: The Rest of It, was released in 2005. It consists of all of the songs (and patter) from her 1996 Carnegie Hall concert that were not included in the earlier recording.⁶⁴

Additionally, Peters has recorded songs on other albums, such as "Dublin Lady" on John Whelan's Flirting with the Edge (Narada, 1998). On the Mandy Patinkin Dress Casual 1990 album, Patinkin and Peters recorded the songs from Stephen Sondheim's 1966 television play, Evening Primrose. On the tribute album Born to the Breed: A Tribute to Judy Collins Peters sings "Trust Your Heart".⁶⁵⁶⁶

Concert performances

Peters has been performing her solo concert in the United States and Canada for many years. ⁶⁷ She made her solo concert debut at Carnegie Hall in New York City in 1996, devoting the second half to the work of Stephen Sondheim.⁶⁸ She performed a similar concert in London, which was taped and released on video, and also aired on U.S. Public Television stations in 1999. She continues to perform her solo concert at venues around the U.S., such as the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami,⁶⁹ and with symphony orchestras such as the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra,⁷⁰ the Dallas Symphony,⁷¹ and the Los Angeles Philharmonic at Walt Disney Hall.⁷²

In a review of her 2002 Radio City Music Hall concert, Stephen Holden of the New York Times described Peters as "the peaches-and-cream embodiment of an ageless storybook princess... inside a giant soap bubble floating toward heaven. A belief in the power of the dreams behind Rodgers and Hammerstein's songs, if not in their reality, was possible."⁷³ Peters made her solo concert debut at Lincoln Center in New York City on May 1, 2006. Holden, reviewing this concert, noted, "Even while swiveling across the stage of Avery Fisher Hall like a voluptuous Botticelli Venus in Bob Mackie spangles... she radiated a preternatural innocence.... For the eternal child in all of us, she evokes a surrogate childhood playmate".⁷⁴ In June 2009, Peters was the headliner at the 2009 Adelaide Cabaret Festival in Adelaide, Australia.⁵³

Peters' concert performances often mark special occasions, such as her performance on an overnight cruise on the Seabourn Odyssey in a benefit for the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami in November 2009.⁷⁵ She was one of the performers to help celebrate the Center's grand opening, in October 2006.⁷⁶ She headlined The Alliance of The Arts Black Tie Anniversary Gala at Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza in Thousand Oaks, California, on November 21, 2009. She had helped to celebrate the opening of the Arts Plaza with concerts fifteen years earlier.⁷⁷⁷⁸

Other activities

Peters contributes her time and talents to various charitable and civic efforts. In 1999 Peters and Mary Tyler Moore co-founded "Broadway Barks", an annual animal adopt-a-thon held in New York City. Their goals are to promote adopting animals from shelters and to make New York City a no-kill city. To support this cause, Peters has written a children's book about a scrappy dog, based on her dog Kramer, titled Broadway Barks (Blue Apple Books, 2008) and words and music to a lullaby, titled "Kramer's Song", included on a CD in the book.⁷⁹ She has written a second children's book to benefit the charity, based on her pit bull, Stella, who would rather be a pig ballerina, but learns to accept herself. Titled Stella is a Star, it includes a CD with an original song written and performed by Peters and is expected to be released in May 2010 by Blue Apple Books. Both books are illustrated by Liz Murphy.⁸⁰⁸¹⁸²

Peters sings four songs on the CD accompanying the children's picture book Dewey Doo-it Helps Owlie Fly Again, for the Christopher Reeve Foundation. Her co-star from Sunday in the Park With George, Mandy Patinkin, also sings on the CD.⁸³⁸⁴ Peters serves on the Board of Trustees of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS⁸⁵ and participates in the organization's events, such as the annual Broadway Flea Market and Grand Auction,⁸⁶ and the "Gypsy of the Year" competition.⁸⁷ She is also a member of the Board of Directors of Standing Tall, a non-profit educational program offering an innovative program for children with multiple disabilities, based in New York City (Her late husband was the Director and Treasurer of Standing Tall).⁸⁸ In addition, the 1995 Anyone Can Whistle concert and her "Carnegie Hall" 1996 concert were benefits for the Gay Men's Health Crisis.

In 2007, Peters helped the Broadway community celebrate the end of the stagehand strike in a "Broadway's Back" concert at the Marquis Theatre.⁸⁹ In 2008, she was one of the participants in a fund-raiser for the Westport Country Playhouse,⁹⁰ and in the opening ceremony and dedication of the renovated TKTS discount ticket booth in Times Square.⁹¹ That year, she also presented Mayor Michael Bloomberg with the Humanitarian Award at the Breast Cancer Research Foundation awards.⁹² On March 8, 2009, she helped celebrate the last birthday of Senator Ted Kennedy (singing "There Is Nothin' Like a Dame") in a private concert and ceremony held at the Kennedy Center, hosted by Bill Cosby, with many Senators, Representatives, and President Barack and First Lady Michelle Obama in attendance.⁹³ On November 19, 2009, she helped to celebrate the opening of The David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center.⁹⁴ On February 8, 2010, she was one of the many to honor Angela Lansbury at the annual Drama League of New York benefit, singing "Not While I'm Around".⁹⁵

Personal life

Peters married investment adviser Michael Wittenberg on July 20, 1996 at the upstate New York home of long-time friend Mary Tyler Moore. Wittenberg died at age 43 on September 26, 2005 in a helicopter crash in Montenegro while on a business trip.⁹⁶⁹⁷

Peters has two dogs, a mixed-breed dog named Kramer and a pit bull named Stella, both adopted from shelters. Peters's goddaughter Isabelle and Kramer were the inspirations for the characters in her previously mentioned first children's book, Broadway Barks,⁹⁸ and Stella is the subject of the forthcoming second children's book.²⁷

Honorary awards

Peters has received many honorary awards over the years, including a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (April 1987);⁹⁹ the Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year (1987);¹⁰⁰ the Sarah Siddons Award for outstanding performance in a Chicago theatrical production (1994);¹⁰¹ the American Theatre Hall of Fame at the Gershwin Theatre in New York City (1996), becoming the youngest person so honored;¹⁰² The Actors' Fund Artistic Achievement Medal (1999);¹⁰³ an Honorary Doctorate from Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York (May 19, 2002);¹⁰⁴ the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame (June 28, 2002);¹⁰⁵ and the National Dance Institute 2009 Artistic Honoree (April 30, 2009).¹⁰⁶

Work

Stage (selected)

Production	Date	Notes
This is Goggle	1958	Professional stage debut
The Girl in the Freudian Slip	1967	Broadway debut (standby)107108
Johnny No-Trump	1967
George M!	1968	Theatre World Award for Debut Performance
Dames at Sea	1968	Drama Desk Award Outstanding Performer
La Strada	1969	The musical closed after one official performance.109 Peters's performance was praised.110
Nevertheless, They Laugh	1971	Lamb's Club, New York City, March 1971 (5 performances)111
W.C.	1971	Starring Mickey Rooney, the musical played only in out of town tryouts from May 1971-October 1971, never opening in New York City112
On the Town	1971 (revival)	Tony Award Best Featured Actress in a Musical (nominee), Peters's first Tony Award nomination
Mack and Mabel	1974	Tony Award Best Actress in a Musical (nominee) Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical (nominee)
Sally and Marsha	1982	Drama Desk Award (nominee)
Sunday in the Park with George	1984	Tony Award Best Actress in a Musical (nominee) Drama Desk Award Outstanding Actress in a Musical (nominee)
Song and Dance	1986	Tony Award Best Actress in a Musical Drama Desk Award Outstanding Actress in a Musical
Into the Woods	1987	Drama Desk Award Outstanding Actress in a Musical (nominee)
The Goodbye Girl	1993	Tony Award Best Actress in a Musical (nominee)
Annie Get Your Gun	1999 (revival)	Tony Award Best Actress in a Musical Drama Desk Award Outstanding Actress in a Musical Outer Critics Circle Award Outstanding Actress in a Musical
Gypsy	2003 (revival)	Tony Award Best Actress in a Musical (nominee) Drama Desk Award Outstanding Actress in a Musical (nominee)

Filmography

Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies (1973) The Longest Yard (1974) Silent Movie (1976) W.C. Fields and Me (1976) Vigilante Force (1976) The Jerk (1979) Tulips (1981) Pennies from Heaven (1981) Heartbeeps (1981) Annie (1982) Slaves of New York (1989) Pink Cadillac (1989)

Alice (1990) Impromptu (1991) Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas (1997) (voice) Anastasia (1997) (voice) Barney's Great Adventure (1998) (singer, title song) Wakko's Wish (1999) (voice) Let It Snow (2001) The Making and Meaning of We Are Family (2002) (documentary) It Runs in the Family (2003) The Land Before Time X: The Great Longneck Migration (2003) (voice) Come le formiche (Wine and Kisses) (2007) (DVD released in Italy)

Television

The Carol Burnett Show (various shows, 1969–1991) George M! (1970) Once Upon a Mattress (1972) Paradise Lost (TV film, 1974) Maude – Episode titled "Rumpus in the Rumpus Room" (1975) All in the Family – Episode titled "Gloria Suspects Mike" (1975) All's Fair (TV series) (1976 - 1977) McCloud – Episode titled "The Day New York Turned Blue" (1976) The Muppet Show (1977) The Islander (1978) The Martian Chronicles (1980) (miniseries) Saturday Night Live (1981) (host and performer) Faerie Tale Theatre – Sleeping Beauty (1983) Sunday in the Park with George (1986) Diana Ross: Red Hot Rhythm and Blues (1987) David (TV film, 1988) Fall from Grace (TV film, 1990) The Last Best Year (TV film, 1990) Into the Woods (1991) The Last Mile (1992) Animaniacs (Rita and Runt, 1993 - 1994) (voice) The Larry Sanders Show – Episode titled "Montana" (1994) Live with Regis and Kelly (various appearances; 1996–2009)

The Odyssey (1997) (miniseries) Cinderella (TV film, 1997) What the Deaf Man Heard (TV film, 1997) Holiday in Your Heart (TV film, 1997) The Closer – Episode titled "Baby, It's Cold Outside" (1998) Inside the Actors Studio (2000) Frasier ("Sliding Frasiers") (2001) (celebrity call-in) Ally McBeal  – Episodes titled "The Getaway" and "The Obstacle Course" (2001) Bobbie's Girl (TV film, 2002) Prince Charming (TV film, 2001 (Peru), 2003 (USA)) Adopted (2005) (unsold ABC pilot) Will & Grace – Episode titled "Whatever Happened to Baby Gin?" (2006) Law and Order:SVU – Episode titled "Choreographed" (2006) Boston Legal – Episode titled "Guantanamo By The Bay" (2007) Grey's Anatomy – Episode titled "Dream a Little Dream of Me" (2008) Living Proof (TV film, 2008) Ugly Betty – Episodes titled "Dress for Success"; "There's No Place Like Mode", "Things Fall Apart (Ugly Betty)", "In The Stars", and Curveball (2009)

Concerts

Major concerts

• Various venues, summer of 1989: 10-city concert tour with Peter Allen.¹¹³¹¹⁴
• Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, California on September 6 and 7, 1996 (solo concert).¹¹⁵
• Carnegie Hall, New York City on December 9, 1996 (solo concert with guest singers/dancers, recorded on CD).
• Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia on January 7 and 8, 1998 (solo concert).¹¹⁶
• Royal Festival Hall, London on September 17, 1998 (solo concert with guest singers/dancers, recorded on video).^117118119
• Radio City Music Hall, New York City on June 19, 2002 (solo concert with guest singers).¹²⁰
• Lincoln Center (Avery Fisher Hall), New York City, on May 1, 2006 (solo concert).¹²¹
• Adelaide Cabaret Festival, Adelaide, Australia, on June 6 and 7, 2009 (solo concert). Peters headlined, and the concert was televised on June 27, 2009 on Foxtel.⁵³¹²²
• Benefit concert, "Bernadette Peters: A Special Concert for Broadway Barks Because Broadway Cares", Minskoff Theatre, New York City on November 9, 2009.¹²³¹²⁴

Other notable concerts

• "Sondheim: A Celebration At Carnegie Hall" (broadcast on PBS Great Performances in 1993) – June 10, 1992
• "Hey Mr. Producer! The Musical World of Cameron MacKintosh" – June 7, 1998¹²⁵
• Hollywood Bowl Sondheim Concert – July 8, 2005¹²⁶
• "Sondheim: The Birthday Concert", the New York Philharmonic at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall, a celebration of Sondheim's 80th birthday – March 15 and 16, 2010¹²⁷¹²⁸

Discography

Solo recordings

• Bernadette (1980) MCA.
• Now Playing (1981) MCA
• I'll Be Your Baby Tonight (1996) Angel Records – Grammy Award nominee
• Sondheim, Etc. - Bernadette Peters Live At Carnegie Hall (1997) Angel Records – Grammy Award nominee¹²⁹
• Bernadette Peters Loves Rodgers and Hammerstein (2002) Angel Records – Grammy Award nominee
• Sondheim Etc., Etc.Live At Carnegie Hall: The Rest of It (2005) Angel Records
• Kramer's Song (2008) Blue Apple Books (single)

Cast recordings

• George M! – Sony (1968)
• Dames At Sea – Columbia Masterworks (1969)
• Mack and Mabel – MCA (1974)
• Sunday in the Park with George – RCA Records (1984) – Grammy Award winner (Best Cast Show Album, 1985)
• Song and Dance – The Songs – RCA Victor (1985)
• Into The Woods – RCA Victor Records (1988) – Grammy Award winner (Best Musical Cast Show Album, 1989)
• The Goodbye Girl – Columbia Records (1993)
• Anyone Can Whistle Live At Carnegie Hall – Columbia Records (1995)
• Annie Get Your Gun The New Broadway Cast Recording – Angel Records (1999) – Grammy Award winner (Best Musical Show Album, 2000)
• Gypsy The New Broadway Cast Recording – Angel Records (2003) – Grammy Award winner (Best Musical Show Album, 2004)
• Sherry! – Studio Cast Recording – Angel Records (2004)
• Legends Of Broadway-Bernadette Peters Compilation (2006) – Sony Masterworks Broadway (Original versions of songs from Dames At Sea, Annie Get Your Gun, Anyone Can Whistle, Sunday in the Park with George, Mack and Mabel, Song and Dance, Into The Woods and Gypsy.)¹³⁰

Other recordings

• Dress Casual – Evening Primrose suite with Mandy Patinkin – CBS Records (1990)¹³¹
• Sondheim – A Celebration at Carnegie Hall (Concert Cast) RCA Victor Broadway (1992)
• Hey Mr. Producer!: The Musical World of Cameron Mackintosh – Philips Records (1998)
• Flirting with the Edge – John Whelan – Narada (1998)
• Dewey Doo-It Helps Owlie Fly Again – RandallFraser Publishing (2005)
• Born to the Breed: A Tribute to Judy Collins – Wildflower Records (2008) - "Trust Your Heart"

Notes

References

• Bryer, Jackson R. and Richard Allan Davison. The Art Of The American Musical: Conversations With The Creators (2005), Rutgers University Press, ISBN 0813536138
• Crespy, David Allison. Off-Off-Broadway Explosion (2003), Back Stage Books, ISBN 0823088324
• Knapp, Raymond. The American Musical and the Performance of Personal Identity (2006), Princeton University Press, ISBN 0691125244

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bernadette Peters

• Bernadette Peters official website
• Bernadette Peters at the Internet Broadway Database
• Bernadette Peters at the Internet Movie Database
• Bernadette Peters at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Standing Tall website
• The Carol Burnett Show screengrabs, "As the Stomach Turns" episode
• Photo of Peters on Bing Crosby Christmas special
• Numerous photos of Peters

v • d • e Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical Donna McKechnie (1976) · Dorothy Loudon (1977) · Liza Minnelli (1978) · Angela Lansbury (1979) · Patti LuPone (1980) · Lauren Bacall (1981) · Jennifer Holliday (1982) · Natalia Makarova (1983) · Chita Rivera (1984) · Bernadette Peters (1986) · Maryann Plunkett (1987) · Joanna Gleason (1988) · Ruth Brown (1989) · Tyne Daly (1990) · Lea Salonga (1991) · Faith Prince (1992) · Chita Rivera (1993) · Donna Murphy (1994) · Glenn Close (1995) · Donna Murphy (1996) · Bebe Neuwirth (1997) · Natasha Richardson (1998) · Bernadette Peters (1999) · Heather Headley (2000) Complete list · (1948-1975) · (1976-2000) · (2001-present)

v • d • e Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Bernadette Peters (1981) · Julie Andrews (1982) · Julie Walters (1983) · Kathleen Turner (1984) · Kathleen Turner (1985) · Sissy Spacek (1986) · Cher (1987) · Melanie Griffith (1988) · Jessica Tandy (1989) · Julia Roberts (1990) · Bette Midler (1991) · Miranda Richardson (1992) · Angela Bassett (1993) · Jamie Lee Curtis (1994) · Nicole Kidman (1995) · Madonna (1996) · Helen Hunt (1997) · Gwyneth Paltrow (1998) · Janet McTeer (1999) · Renée Zellweger (2000) Complete List · (1950–1960) · (1961–1980) · (1981–2000) · (2001–present)

Persondata
NAME	Peters, Bernadette
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Lazzara, Bernadette
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Actress, singer
DATE OF BIRTH	February 28, 1948
PLACE OF BIRTH	Ozone Park, Queens, New York, United States
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH