Suzanne Pleshette was an American actress with an estimated net worth of $5 million at the time of her death in January 2008. She accumulated that wealth across a career spanning five decades — starting on Broadway at age 20 and building one of the most recognizable television presences of her generation. Best known for playing Emily Hartley opposite Bob Newhart on The Bob Newhart Show (1972–1978), Pleshette was a performer of uncommon range: sardonic and warm, effortlessly funny, with a voice so distinctive — low, husky, and immediately recognizable — that it became a calling card of its own. She worked steadily right up to her final years, racking up over 100 acting credits across stage, film, and television.
Quick Facts
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Full Name |
Suzanne Pleshette |
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Date of Birth |
January 31, 1937 |
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Place of Birth |
Brooklyn, New York |
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Date of Death |
January 19, 2008 (aged 70) |
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Nationality |
American |
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Estimated Net Worth |
$5 million |
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Known For |
The Bob Newhart Show, The Birds, Spirited Away |
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Emmy Nominations |
Four Primetime Emmy nominations |
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Golden Globe Nominations |
Two |
Early Life
Suzanne Pleshette was born on January 31, 1937, in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. She was the daughter of Eugene and Geraldine Pleshette, both Jewish, with grandparents who had emigrated from Austria-Hungary and Russia. Her mother, Geraldine (née Kaplan), was a dancer and artist who performed under the stage name Geraldine Rivers. Her father, Eugene, managed the Paramount Theater in both Brooklyn and Manhattan before becoming a network executive — making show business a thoroughly familiar world to Pleshette from childhood.
She attended Manhattan's High School of Performing Arts before spending a semester at Syracuse University, then transferred to Finch College in Manhattan. She ultimately trained as an actress under the celebrated teacher Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre.
Career
Stage
Pleshette began her professional career on stage at age 20. Her Broadway debut came in 1957 in Meyer Levin's Compulsion, inspired by the Leopold and Loeb case. She followed that with The Cold Wind and the Warm (1958–1959) and Golden Fleecing (1959), in which she co-starred with Tom Poston — who would eventually become her third husband four decades later.
In 1959, she was one of two finalists for the role of Louise in the original Broadway production of Gypsy. According to playwright Arthur Laurents's autobiography, "It came down to between Suzanne Pleshette and Sandra Church. Suzanne was the better actress, but Sandra was the better singer. We went with Sandra." In February 1961, Pleshette stepped into The Miracle Worker, succeeding Anne Bancroft as Anne Sullivan opposite Patty Duke's Helen Keller. She returned to Broadway in 1982 with Special Occasions.
Television: Early Career
Pleshette made her television debut in 1957 in an episode of Harbourmaster. Over the following decade and a half, she built an enviable résumé of guest spots across the era's top shows, including Have Gun-Will Travel, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Naked City, Route 66, Dr. Kildare, The Fugitive, Wagon Train, Columbo, Gunsmoke, and Bonanza, among many others. She received her first Emmy nomination for her work on Dr. Kildare in 1962.
The role that defined her television career came about through a famous stroke of serendipity. In May 1971, the producers of a new CBS sitcom were watching The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson when they noticed the unmistakable chemistry between Pleshette — a frequent, beloved guest — and another guest that evening: Bob Newhart. She was soon cast as his on-screen wife.
The Bob Newhart Show (1972–1978)
From 1972 to 1978, Pleshette played Emily Hartley, the smart, confident, and quietly scene-stealing wife of Bob Newhart's Chicago psychologist. The show ran for 142 episodes over six seasons and became one of the defining sitcoms of its era. Pleshette received two Primetime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her work on the show, in 1977 and 1978.
In 1990, she made one of the most celebrated cameo appearances in television history when she reprised the role of Emily Hartley in the finale of Newhart — Bob Newhart's second sitcom. The finale ended with Newhart's character waking up in bed next to Emily in their Chicago apartment, revealing the entire run of Newhart to have been a dream. The scene was kept secret from the cast and crew; the Newhart actors did not know about it until the night of filming. It remains widely regarded as one of the greatest TV series finales ever made.
Films
Pleshette's film work ran parallel to her television career throughout the 1960s and '70s. Her most iconic film role was Annie Hayworth in Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds (1963) — the schoolteacher who meets a memorably grim fate. The film was preserved in the Library of Congress' National Film Registry in 2016 for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
Other notable film appearances include Rome Adventure (1962), A Distant Trumpet (1964), Nevada Smith (1966) with Steve McQueen, and a string of lighter fare including Blackbeard's Ghost (1968), The Shaggy D.A. (1976), and Oh, God! Book II (1980) opposite George Burns. Her performance in If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium (1969) earned her a Laurel Award nomination.
Later Career: Television and Voice Work
After The Bob Newhart Show ended, Pleshette continued working steadily in television movies and series. She starred in the short-lived CBS sitcom Suzanne Pleshette Is Maggie Briggs (1984), which she had helped develop, and played Tracy Bridges on the CBS drama Bridges to Cross (1985). In 1989, she played Christine Broderick on NBC's medical drama Nightingales, and in 1990 delivered a well-received portrayal of hotelier Leona Helmsley in the TV movie Leona Helmsley: The Queen of Mean, earning both an Emmy and a Golden Globe nomination.
She co-starred with Hal Linden in The Boys Are Back (CBS, 1994–1995) and had recurring roles in several notable series in her final years: Sarah Eliot on The Single Guy (NBC, 1996–1997), Lois Whitley on Will & Grace (NBC, 2002–2004), and Claire Arnold — the outspoken grandmother and TV station owner — on Good Morning, Miami (NBC, 2002–2003). Following the death of John Ritter, she joined 8 Simple Rules (ABC, 2003) playing the mother of Katey Sagal's character.
Her voice acting work stands as a notable chapter in its own right. She voiced Zira in Disney's direct-to-video animated feature The Lion King II: Simba's Pride (1998), performing both the speaking role and the song "My Lullaby." In 2001, she voiced both the witch Yubaba and her twin sister Zeniba in the English dub of Hayao Miyazaki's Oscar-winning Spirited Away — bringing a gravitas to the dual role that was widely praised. The latter earned her an Annie Award nomination for Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting.
Real Estate
In 2005, Pleshette and Tom Poston sold their two-bedroom, three-bathroom condominium in West Los Angeles — approximately 2,500 square feet — for $1.7 million.
Personal Life
Pleshette was married three times. Her first marriage, on January 4, 1964, was to actor Troy Donahue, with whom she had co-starred in both Rome Adventure and A Distant Trumpet. The marriage lasted six months.
On March 16, 1968, she married Texas oilman Thomas Joseph Gallagher III. The couple remained together for over thirty years. Gallagher died of lung cancer on January 21, 2000. During their marriage, Pleshette suffered a miscarriage. In October 2000, she spoke to Screen India about not having children: "I certainly would have liked to have had Tommy's children. But my nurturing instincts are fulfilled in other ways. I have a large extended family; I'm the mother on every set. So if this is my particular karma, that's fine."
On May 11, 2001, Pleshette married actor Tom Poston — reuniting with her Golden Fleecing co-star from 1959. Both widowed, they rekindled a romance that had begun more than four decades earlier in New York. Poston had recurring roles on The Bob Newhart Show and was a regular cast member on Newhart. The marriage lasted until Poston's death from respiratory failure in April 2007.
Illness and Death
In August 2006, Pleshette publicly announced she was undergoing treatment for lung cancer, which had been discovered during a routine X-ray. She appeared to be recovering, but in late 2007 was hospitalized with a severe pulmonary infection that developed into pneumonia. Part of a lung was removed during her treatment. In September 2007, she attended a cast reunion for The Bob Newhart Show in a wheelchair.
Pleshette died on January 19, 2008, at her Los Angeles home — twelve days before her 71st birthday — of respiratory failure as a result of lung cancer. She was laid to rest at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, California, near her husband Tom Poston. On January 31, 2008 — what would have been her 71st birthday — her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was posthumously unveiled, with Bob Newhart, Marcia Wallace, and Arte Johnson among those speaking at the ceremony.
Awards and Nominations
Pleshette received four Primetime Emmy nominations across her career: Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role for Dr. Kildare (1962), Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for The Bob Newhart Show (1977 and 1978), and Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Special for Leona Helmsley: The Queen of Mean (1991). She received two Golden Globe nominations: Most Promising Newcomer – Female for Rome Adventure (1963), and Best Performance by an Actress in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television for Leona Helmsley: The Queen of Mean (1991).
In 1963, she won both a Photoplay Award for Most Promising New Star (Female) and a Laurel Award for Top New Female Personality. In 1999, she was nominated for an Annie Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting in an Animated Feature for The Lion King II: Simba's Pride. In 2005, The Bob Newhart Show was recognized with an Icon Award at the TV Land Awards.
