Beverly Heather D'Angelo

Beverly D'Angelo's entire career, which spans forty years, is fascinating and inspiring, and more than fascinating. It is possible that she deserves better films that she would have been in, she nevertheless was always a source for fascination and the one to watch...whatever the role. Hollywood loved her bright persona, relaxed manner of speaking, and ability to make scenes. Beverly Heather D'Angelo was the daughter of Eugene Constantino Gene "Gene" D'Angelo and Priscilla Ruth Smith she was a violinist as well as bassist, who also owned a television station. Howard Dwight Smith was her maternal grandfather and the designer of the Ohio ("Horseshoe") Stadium. Her mother was an English, Irish and Scottish-born mother. Her father was Italian. Beverly went to an American school in Florence. At first, she was drawn to art. Beverly worked as a animator/cartoonist at Hanna-Barbera Productions before moving to Canada to pursue a rock singing career in order to earn a living. she worked as singer-in-situ and sang wherever she could -- from bars with topless tables to coffeehouses. Ronnie Hawkins invited Beverly to be part of his rockabilly band at the time. Beverly's acting career began after she quit Hawkins and joined the Charlottetown Festival. While on tour in Canada, Ophelia was playing the role of Ophelia in "Kronborg 1582" the musical rock version of Shakespeare's Hamlet. Colleen Dewhurst saw potential in Beverly and the production. Eventually musical director Gower Champion was added to the equation and the show was overhauled and became the rock musical "Rockabye Hamlet" that eventually was able to make its way to Broadway in the year 1976. The show was only a few months in existence, but Beverly's Ophelia received acclaim. Soon, she was on West Coast with TV and film opportunities. Following this she was never back on the stage but did star alongside Ed Harris in the 1995 off-Broadway version of Sam Shepard's "Simpatico", which earned her an Theatre World Award. She was part of the TV miniseries Captains and the Kings (1976) as well as later playing an insignificant role in The Sentinel (1977), and Annie Hall (1977), both Woody Allen classics. A sequence of co-starring parts was followed by First Love (1977), the Clint Eastwood starrer Every Which Way but Loose (1978) and the film version of the popular music video Hair (1979). The most memorable thing for Beverly was her stunning role as the singular Patsy Cline in the acclaimed biopic Coal Miner's Daughter (1980). She and Sissy Spacek, a friend of fellow country music star Loretta Lynn, both provided their voices with skill.