Audra Lindley

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

65

Gender

Female

Birthday

1918-09-24

Day of death

1997-10-16 (79 years old)

Place of Birth

Los Angeles, California, USA

Audra Lindley

Biography

Audra Marie Lindley (September 24, 1918 – October 16, 1997) was an American actress, most famous for her role as landlady Helen Roper on the sitcom Three's Company and its spin-off, The Ropers. Born in Los Angeles, California, Lindley was the daughter of show business parents. She got her early start in Hollywood by being a stand-in, which eventually progressed to stunt work. Nothing panned out, and she went to New York in her mid-20s to work in theater. Among her many Broadway plays were: On Golden Pond, Playhouse 90, Long Day's Journey into Night, and Horse Heavens. She took time off to get married and raise five children. Upon resuming her career, she began to make steady appearances on television, including the role of Sue Knowles on the CBS soap opera Search for Tomorrow, and a six-year stint as manipulative "Aunt Liz" Matthews on the NBC soap opera Another World. She also had regular roles as Meredith Baxter's mother in the sitcom Bridget Loves Bernie, as well as Lee Grant's best friend in Fay. Her greatest fame arrived when she began playing the wisecracking, perpetually unfulfilled and sexually frustrated Helen Roper on the hit sitcom Three's Company (1977). (Lindley wore a wig to maintain the character's exaggerated hairstyle.) The character and her husband, Mr. Roper (played by Norman Fell), were spun off to their own show, The Ropers (1979), which was not a success. Lindley continued to appear steadily on television and in film, such as Revenge of the Stepford Wives in 1980 and as Fauna, the owner of the "Bear Flag Restaurant," a Monterey, CA brothel portrayed in the 1982 film Cannery Row. In 1982, she appeared in the film Best Friends starring Goldie Hawn and Burt Reynolds. One of her last roles was a character part in the lesbian-themed film Desert Hearts (1985). Lindley wanted to reshoot one key scene. The director, Donna Deitch, replied that they did not have the budget for reshooting. Lindley said that she would buy a portion of the film if Deitch let her do just that one take again. Deitch agreed, and Lindley kept her word. Lindley garnered further parts of all sizes in various TV films and series, including playing Phoebe Buffay's grandmother on Friends, and her last, a recurring role as Cybill Shepherd's mother on the CBS sitcom Cybill. She had also played Shepherd's mother in the 1972 film The Heartbreak Kid. Lindley died from leukemia on October 16, 1997, at Cedars Sinai Medical Center with a Cybill script by her hospital bedside. She was married to and divorced from Dr. Hardy Ulm (1943–1960); they had five children. She later married and divorced James Whitmore (1972–1979) Description above from the Wikipedia article Audra Lindley, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia

Known For

  • The Mike Douglas Show

    The Mike Douglas Show

  • Friends

    Friends

  • Murder, She Wrote

    Murder, She Wrote

  • The Love Boat

    The Love Boat

  • The Love Boat

    The Love Boat

  • The Love Boat

    The Love Boat

  • The Love Boat

    The Love Boat

  • The Love Boat

    The Love Boat

  • The Philco Television Playhouse

    The Philco Television Playhouse

  • Robert Montgomery Presents

    Robert Montgomery Presents

  • Robert Montgomery Presents

    Robert Montgomery Presents

  • Matlock

    Matlock

  • Naked City

    Naked City

  • Naked City

    Naked City

  • Naked City

    Naked City

  • Route 66

    Route 66

  • Tales from the Crypt

    Tales from the Crypt

  • Three's Company

    Three's Company

  • Lux Video Theatre

    Lux Video Theatre

  • Lux Video Theatre

    Lux Video Theatre

  • Lux Video Theatre

    Lux Video Theatre

  • Chico and the Man

    Chico and the Man

  • Search for Tomorrow

    Search for Tomorrow

  • From These Roots

    From These Roots

  • The New Age

    The New Age

  • The Corpse Had a Familiar Face

    The Corpse Had a Familiar Face

  • The Day the Bubble Burst

    The Day the Bubble Burst

  • Spellbinder

    Spellbinder

  • The Ropers

    The Ropers

  • The Male Animal

    The Male Animal

  • Desert Hearts

    Desert Hearts

  • One Foot in Heaven

    One Foot in Heaven

  • The Relic

    The Relic

  • The Heartbreak Kid

    The Heartbreak Kid

  • Another World

    Another World

  • Stamp of a Killer

    Stamp of a Killer

  • Cannery Row

    Cannery Row

  • Revenge of the Stepford Wives

    Revenge of the Stepford Wives

  • When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder?

    When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder?

  • Sunday Drive

    Sunday Drive

  • The Silent Lovers

    The Silent Lovers

  • Skyward Christmas

    Skyward Christmas

  • Bridget Loves Bernie

    Bridget Loves Bernie

  • Hart to Hart: Crimes of the Hart

    Hart to Hart: Crimes of the Hart

  • Sisters and Other Strangers

    Sisters and Other Strangers

  • Sudden Death

    Sudden Death

  • Pearl

    Pearl

  • Manpower

    Manpower

  • The Bob Crane Show

    The Bob Crane Show

  • Bridesmaids

    Bridesmaids

  • The New Love Boat

    The New Love Boat

  • Troop Beverly Hills

    Troop Beverly Hills

  • Getting Married

    Getting Married

  • The Canterville Ghost

    The Canterville Ghost

  • Absolute Strangers

    Absolute Strangers

  • Perry Mason: The Case of the Lady in the Lake

    Perry Mason: The Case of the Lady in the Lake

  • Fay

    Fay

  • Best Friends

    Best Friends

  • Taking Off

    Taking Off

  • Take My Daughters, Please

    Take My Daughters, Please

  • Dangerously They Live

    Dangerously They Live

  • Pat Boone and Family: A Christmas Special

    Pat Boone and Family: A Christmas Special

  • An American Girl

    An American Girl

  • Deadline for Murder: From the Files of Edna Buchanan

    Deadline for Murder: From the Files of Edna Buchanan

  • Just My Imagination

    Just My Imagination