Susan Lanier
Encyclopedia
Susan Lanier-Bramlett (born August 1, 1947) is an American film
, television
actress and entertainer.
Born as Susan Jean Engledow in Dallas, Texas
to Gene and Dorothy Lanier Engledow, she moved to New York City
to pursue an acting career in 1967 where she attended New York University
. After appearing in numerous off Broadway productions, TV commercials, and indie films in which she appeared as Jean Lanier, she relocated to Los Angeles
in 1974.
Lanier had a guest appearance on Welcome Back, Kotter
where she played John Travolta
's girlfriend, Bambi. During the 1970s, she guest starred on shows such as Barnaby Jones
, Electra Woman and Dyna Girl
, Alice
, Police Woman
and Eight is Enough
.
In 1976, she starred alongside John Ritter
and Joyce DeWitt
in the second pilot for Three's Company
on ABC
. Lanier, who served as the original choice by the producers to portray the newly created character Chrissy Snow
, replaced Susanne Zenor
in the cast when the characters, that were directly based from the original British sitcom Man About The House
were done away with, but Lanier herself was then replaced by Suzanne Somers
. In 1977, Lanier starred in the original cult classic, The Hills Have Eyes
. Lanier also starred as Sandi Chandler on the television series Szysznyk
from 1977 – 1978.
She was a series regular on Tony Orlando and Dawn
's Rainbow Hour for a season on CBS doing stand-up and comedy sketches with the show's guests. In the late 1970s, Lanier starred at The Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles in a production of Tennessee Williams
' (né Thomas Lanier Williams, to whom, like actress Diane Ladd
, she is related) The Night of the Iguana
, which starred Richard Chamberlain
.
In the 1980s, Lanier had her own country-blues band and performed in the LA club scene. She wrote music with her future and now late husband, legendary rock/blues artist, Delaney Bramlett
, writer of "Superstar" and "Never Ending Song of Love" fame. She has one son, Eric Dylan Thomas, rhythm guitarist for the punk band, The Dickies
.
She continued to act in movies of the week such as, Her Life As A Man and Madame X, and had recurring roles on TV in the soap, Days of our Lives
, and the sitcom, So Little Time
with the Olsen Twins. She starred in 2003 in the Los Angeles theatrical production of "Last of The Honkey Tonk Angels".
On December 27, 2008, she was widowed when her husband, musician Delaney Bramlett
, died from complications of gall bladder surgery.
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
actress and entertainer.
Born as Susan Jean Engledow in Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
to Gene and Dorothy Lanier Engledow, she moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to pursue an acting career in 1967 where she attended New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
. After appearing in numerous off Broadway productions, TV commercials, and indie films in which she appeared as Jean Lanier, she relocated to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
in 1974.
Lanier had a guest appearance on Welcome Back, Kotter
Welcome Back, Kotter
Welcome Back, Kotter was an American television sitcom starring Gabe Kaplan and featuring a young John Travolta.It originally aired on the ABC network from September 9, 1975 to June 8, 1979.-Premise:...
where she played John Travolta
John Travolta
John Joseph Travolta is an American actor, dancer and singer. Travolta first became known in the 1970s, after appearing on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter and starring in the box office successes Saturday Night Fever and Grease...
's girlfriend, Bambi. During the 1970s, she guest starred on shows such as Barnaby Jones
Barnaby Jones
Barnaby Jones is a television detective series starring Buddy Ebsen and Lee Meriwether as father- and daughter-in-law who run a private detective firm in Los Angeles. A spin-off from Cannon, the show ran on CBS from January 28, 1973 to April 3, 1980, beginning as a midseason replacement...
, Electra Woman and Dyna Girl
Electra Woman and Dyna Girl
Electra Woman and Dyna Girl is a Sid and Marty Krofft live action children's television series from 1976. The series lasted 16 weeks as part of the umbrella series The Krofft Supershow. During the second season, it was dropped along with Dr. Shrinker...
, Alice
Alice (TV series)
Alice is an American sitcom television series that ran from August 31, 1976 to July 2, 1985 on CBS. The series was based on the 1974 film Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. The show stars Linda Lavin in the title role, a widow who moves with her young son to start her life over again, and finds a job...
, Police Woman
Police Woman (TV series)
Police Woman is an American television police drama starring Angie Dickinson that ran on NBC for four seasons, from September 13, 1974, to March 29, 1978.-Synopsis:...
and Eight is Enough
Eight Is Enough
Eight Is Enough is an American television comedy-drama series which ran on ABC from March 15, 1977 until August 29, 1981. The show was modeled after syndicated newspaper columnist Thomas Braden, a real-life parent with eight children, who wrote a book with the same name...
.
In 1976, she starred alongside John Ritter
John Ritter
Jonathan Southworth "John" Ritter was an American actor, voice over artist and comedian perhaps best known for having played Jack Tripper and Paul Hennessy in the ABC sitcoms Three's Company and 8 Simple Rules, respectively...
and Joyce DeWitt
Joyce DeWitt
Joyce Anne DeWitt is an American actress most famous for playing Janet Wood on the ABC sitcom Three's Company.-Early life:...
in the second pilot for Three's Company
Three's Company
Three's Company is an American sitcom that aired from March 15, 1977, to September 18, 1984, on ABC. It is based on the British sitcom, Man About the House....
on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
. Lanier, who served as the original choice by the producers to portray the newly created character Chrissy Snow
Chrissy Snow
Christmas "Chrissy" Noelle Snow was a fictional character on the sitcom Three's Company. Chrissy was played by Suzanne Somers.In the original unaired pilot to Three's Company, the character that became Chrissy was portrayed by Susanne Zenor. Zenor was not picked for the second filming, so actress...
, replaced Susanne Zenor
Susanne Zenor
Susanne Zenor is an American actress best known for the role of Margo Anderman Horton on Days of our Lives.Zenor's career began in 1970 with the movie The Moonshine War in which she portrayed Miley Mitchell. Zenor appeared in the Woody Allen movie Play It Again, Sam in which her name was listed...
in the cast when the characters, that were directly based from the original British sitcom Man About The House
Man About the House
Man About the House is a British sitcom starring Richard O'Sullivan, Paula Wilcox and Sally Thomsett that was broadcast for six seasons on ITV from 1973 to 1976. It was created and written by Johnnie Mortimer and Brian Cooke. The series was considered daring at the time due to its subject matter of...
were done away with, but Lanier herself was then replaced by Suzanne Somers
Suzanne Somers
Suzanne Somers is an American actress, author, singer and businesswoman, known for her television roles as Chrissy Snow on Three's Company and as Carol Lambert on Step by Step....
. In 1977, Lanier starred in the original cult classic, The Hills Have Eyes
The Hills Have Eyes (1977 film)
The Hills Have Eyes is a 1977 American horror film directed by Wes Craven and starring Susan Lanier, Michael Berryman, and Dee Wallace. It is about a family on a road trip who become stranded in the Nevada desert, and are hunted by a clan of deformed cannibals in the surrounding hills...
. Lanier also starred as Sandi Chandler on the television series Szysznyk
Szysznyk
Szysznyk is an American television series. It was originally broadcast during 1977 and 1978 on CBS. The series stars Ned Beatty as Nick Szysznyk. It consists of only ten episodes.-Plot:...
from 1977 – 1978.
She was a series regular on Tony Orlando and Dawn
Tony Orlando and Dawn
Tony Orlando and Dawn was a pop music group that was popular in the 1970s. Their signature hits include "Candida", "Knock Three Times", "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree", and "He Don't Love You ".-History:...
's Rainbow Hour for a season on CBS doing stand-up and comedy sketches with the show's guests. In the late 1970s, Lanier starred at The Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles in a production of Tennessee Williams
Tennessee Williams
Thomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III was an American writer who worked principally as a playwright in the American theater. He also wrote short stories, novels, poetry, essays, screenplays and a volume of memoirs...
' (né Thomas Lanier Williams, to whom, like actress Diane Ladd
Diane Ladd
Diane Ladd is an American actress, film director, producer and published author. She has appeared in over 120 roles, on television, and in miniseries and feature films, including Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore , Wild at Heart , Rambling Rose , Ghosts of Mississippi, Primary Colors, 28 Days , and...
, she is related) The Night of the Iguana
The Night of the Iguana
The Night of the Iguana is a stageplay written by American author Tennessee Williams, based on his 1948 short story. The play premiered on Broadway in 1961. Two film adaptations have been made, including the Academy Award-winning 1964 film of the same name....
, which starred Richard Chamberlain
Richard Chamberlain
George Richard Chamberlain is an American actor of stage and screen who became a teen idol in the title role of the television show Dr. Kildare .-Early life:...
.
In the 1980s, Lanier had her own country-blues band and performed in the LA club scene. She wrote music with her future and now late husband, legendary rock/blues artist, Delaney Bramlett
Delaney Bramlett
Delaney Bramlett was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and producer. Bramlett's five decade career reached peaks in creativity, performance, and notoriety in partnership with his then wife Bonnie Bramlett, in a revolving troupe of professional musicians and Rock superstars dubbed Delaney...
, writer of "Superstar" and "Never Ending Song of Love" fame. She has one son, Eric Dylan Thomas, rhythm guitarist for the punk band, The Dickies
The Dickies
The Dickies are an American punk rock group formed in San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, California, U.S. in 1977.-History:The Dickies were among the first punk rock bands to emerge from Los Angeles...
.
She continued to act in movies of the week such as, Her Life As A Man and Madame X, and had recurring roles on TV in the soap, Days of our Lives
Days of our Lives
Days of our Lives is a long running daytime soap opera broadcast on the NBC television network. It is one of the longest-running scripted television programs in the world, airing nearly every weekday in the United States since November 8, 1965. It has since been syndicated to many countries around...
, and the sitcom, So Little Time
So Little Time
So Little Time is an American sitcom starring Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen that aired on Fox Family. The first half of the series aired from June 2, 2001 to August 15, 2001. The series then went on a four-month hiatus, due to network management changes...
with the Olsen Twins. She starred in 2003 in the Los Angeles theatrical production of "Last of The Honkey Tonk Angels".
On December 27, 2008, she was widowed when her husband, musician Delaney Bramlett
Delaney Bramlett
Delaney Bramlett was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and producer. Bramlett's five decade career reached peaks in creativity, performance, and notoriety in partnership with his then wife Bonnie Bramlett, in a revolving troupe of professional musicians and Rock superstars dubbed Delaney...
, died from complications of gall bladder surgery.