Bonnie Bartlett - Keeps the channel open

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First Published: April 2001

Bonnie Bartlett, Bob Odenkirk | "Better Call Saul" (2015) *

Michael Landon, Bonnie Bartlett | "Little House on the Prairie" (1974)

Bea Arthur, Bonnie Bartlett | "Golden Girls" (1985)

William Daniels, Bonnie Bartlett | Emmy Awards (1986)

Kelly Preston, Bonnie Bartlett, Chloe Webb | "Twins" (1988)

Bonnie Bartlett, Dick O'Neill | "Home Improvement" (1991)

Tim Allen, Dick O'Neill, Bonnie Bartlett | "Home Improvement" (1991)

Bonnie Bartlett | "Stargate SG-1" (1997)

William Daniels, Bonnie Bartlett | "Boy Meets World" (1993)

Rider Strong, Ben Savage, William Daniels, Bonnie Bartlett | "Boy Meets World" (1993) **

Phyllis Applegate, Bonnie Bartlett, Carol Mansell, Jean Effron | "Better Call Saul" (2015) *

Bonny Bartlett, grew up in Illinois. Her interest in theatre came from her father, an actor turned businessman, who loved to quote Shakespeare. A straight-A student, Bonnie attended Northwestern University to study acting. There she met her future husband, Bill Daniels, also an actor _{(our March 2001 Profile)}.

Thirty odd years later, she and Daniels played husband and wife on the hit TV series "St. Elsewhere", for which they both won the coveted Emmy Award in 1986 and for which Bill won in 1985 and Bonnie again in 1987.

But before this dramatic push into the limelight, Bartlett worked for years in screen, television and on stage. Her first big break came when she won the much sought after role of "Vanessa" in the soap opera, "Love Of Life". She spent four years working on the soap and then took a ten year break from her career to raise her two sons.

On Broadway she was in William Inge's "Natural Affection" and Lanford Wilson's "Lemon Sky". Bonnie appeared in the world premier of "Lemon Sky" at Studio Arena directed by Warren Enters. Off-Broadway she has had roles in "Telmachus Clay" and at the L.A. Westwood Playhouse in Jules Feiffer's "Hold Me". In 1991 Bonnie appeared in "At Long Last Leo" by Mark Stein at the Access Theatre in Santa Barbara. And performed with her husband, Bill, in A.R. Gurney's "Love Letters" in Buffalo, New York.

She has had roles in the movies "Primary Colors", "The Ghosts Of Mississippi", "The Grass Harp", "Promises In The Dark", "Shiloh", "Twins", and "Frances". Movies of the week have been "Tuesdays With Morrie", "Victim Of Love", "Take Me Home Again", "Sleeping with the Devil". "Ninja Murders", "Right To Die", "The Big One - L.A. Earthquake", "Deadly Intentions", "Deliberate Strangers", "Celebrity and Malice In Wonderland". Others include "Dempsey", "'V'", "A Long Way Home", "Rape and Marriage" and "Lizzie Borden".

T.V. Series, besides St. Elsewhere", "Once And Again", "Touched By An Angel", "Home Improvement", "E.R.", "The Practice", "I'll Fly Away", "Little House On The Prairie", "Barney Miller", "Golden Girls", "Midnight Caller", "La Law", "Matlock", "Seaquest" and "Wiseguy". Since our first publiction, she has added: "Once and Again", "Touched by an Angel", "NCIS", "General Hospital", "Grey's Anatomy", "Parks and Recreation", "Key and Peele", and "Better Call Saul" to name a few.

Bonnie has two sons, Roben and Michael, and two granddaughters, Shaina and Eliza. She currently divides her time between Studio City and Santa Barbara, California, and New York City with her husband, William Daniels.

Bonnie Bartlett's advice to the aspiring actor:

There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique.

If you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is; nor how valuable it is; nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours, clearly and directly, to keep the channel open.

You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep open and aware directly to the urges that motivate you.

Keep the channel open. No artist is pleased. There is no satisfaction, whatever at any time. There is only a queer, divine dissatisfaction; a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others.
Martha Graham (in a letter to Agnes DeMille)

Representation

Agency

Talent Agent

TalentWorks
http://www.talentworksla.com
Phone: 818-972-4300
Fax: 818-955-6411
3500 W Olive Ave. Ste 1400
Burbank, CA 91505
Representative: Harry Gold

Bonnie Bartlett's Credits

Actor Credits

2017 Better Call Saul (TV Series)
Helen

- Lantern (2017) ... Helen

- Fall (2017) ... Helen

2016/I Nina
Recital Stage Woman

2015 Key and Peele (TV Series)
Mother

- The Job Interview (2015) ... Mother

2013 Parks and Recreation (TV Series)
Paula Horke

- Women in Garbage (2013) ... Paula Horke

2012 Of Two Minds (TV Movie)
Kathleen

2011 Valediction (Short)
Annabel