Wikipedia

Allyce Beasley

Allyce Beasley (née Tannenberg; born July 6, 1951) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as rhyming, love-struck receptionist Agnes DiPesto in the television series Moonlighting.[1] From 2001 to 2007, she was the announcer on Playhouse Disney, a morning lineup of programming for young children on Disney Channel. She appeared briefly as a guidance counselor in the comedy film Legally Blonde and played Coach's daughter, Lisa Pantusso, on Cheers.[2] She also announced the safety video during The Simpsons Ride at Universal Studios Hollywood and Florida.

Allyce Beasley
Beasley at the 1987 Primetime Emmy Awards
Born
Allyce Tannenberg

(1951-07-06) July 6, 1951 (age 72)
Brooklyn, New York City, U.S.
Occupations
  • Actress
  • voice actress
  • comedian
Years active1982–present
Spouses
Christopher Sansocie
​
​
(m. 1970; div. 1972)​
​
​
(m. 1985; div. 1988)​
Jim Bosche
​
(m. 1999)​
Children1

Early life edit

Beasley was born in Brooklyn, New York as Allyce Tannenberg, the daughter of Marvin, a magazine cartoonist,[3] and Harriet Tannenberg, who worked as a bookkeeper.[4] Beasley is Jewish.[3] She and her family moved frequently during her childhood, living in Philadelphia, Long Island and New York City, before settling in the latter location.[5]

She studied philosophy at SUNY Brockport,[3] aspiring to be a poet.[6] However, Beasley developed an interest in acting and soon shifted her focus to theater.[3] She dropped out of college and began acting in local theater productions in New Mexico.[7] Upon returning to New York, Beasley took drama classes under Lee Strasberg during the day while working nights as a waitress to make ends meet.[7] Her professional surname was chosen after football player Beasley Reece.[8] She moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1982.[7]

Career edit

Television and film work edit

Early in her career, Beasley appeared as Coach Pantusso's daughter on Cheers[9] and played the role of Latka Gravas' one night stand on sitcom Taxi.[10] She also made guest appearances on crime drama Remington Steele[8] and sitcom ALF.[11]

In 1985, she landed the role of receptionist[12] Agnes DiPesto on Moonlighting, starring opposite Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis.[10] Beasley claims to have auditioned for the role multiple times before getting the part.[13] For her work on Moonlighting, Beasley received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 1986 and 1987.[14] Beasley continued playing the character until the series ended in 1989.[15]

Following the end of Moonlighting, Beasley was often typecast in roles similar to Agnes, which she found creatively frustrating.[16] She was a friend of Susan Dey's character in television movie Lies and Lullabies[16] and acted in the 1993 miniseries The Tommyknockers, based on the novel by Stephen King.[17] Beasley started appearing in films during the 1990s, having roles in Dream with the Fishes (1997)[18] and Stuart Little (1999).[19]

She guest starred in one episode of Joan of Arcadia as Cat Woman God.[20] On Bored to Death, she played the role of Florence, the mother of Jonathan Ames (Jason Schwartzman),[21] and appeared on the YouTube Premium series Champaign ILL.[22]

Voice work edit

Beasley has also worked as a voice actress.[23] Her first voice over work was portraying two cats in the Garfield special Garfield on the Town (1983).[24] She is probably best known for her role as Miss Alordayne Grotke in the popular Walt Disney TV series Recess (1997−2001),[25] reprising this role in the feature film Recess: School's Out (2001)[26] and three direct-to-video specials.[24]

She voiced herself in an episode of Johnny Bravo,[24] made a guest appearance in the television series The Wild Thornberrys,[24] Extreme Ghostbusters, Pound Puppies, Darkwing Duck, Lloyd in Space and Duckman in addition to voicing several characters in the video game EverQuest II.

Beasley narrated for Playhouse Disney[21] from April 16, 2001, until March 30, 2007. She was also the announcer for the safety video with Itchy and Scratchy that plays during The Simpsons Ride at Universal Studios Hollywood and Florida.

Stage work edit

During the summer of 2009, she was seen onstage in The Drowsy Chaperone at Gateway Playhouse on Long Island, playing Mrs. Tottendale.

She replaced Veanne Cox in the role of Mme. Renaud/Mme. Dindon in the Tony Award-winning revival of La Cage aux Folles alongside Kelsey Grammer and Douglas Hodge on September 14, 2010.[21]

In the spring of 2014, she portrayed Doris in the musical Damn Yankees with Lora Lee Gayer at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Connecticut.

Personal life edit

Beasley married photographer[3] Christopher Sansocie in 1970. They divorced in 1972.[4] While appearing on Taxi, Beasley met actor Vincent Schiavelli.[3] The two were married from 1985 to 1988, and they had one son, Andrea Schiavelli. In 1999, Beasley married for the third time to her current husband Jim Bosche, a writer.[23]

Beasley was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1998.[19] After undergoing a partial mastectomy and stem cell transplant,[23] she was declared cancer free.[27]

Filmography edit

References edit

  1. ^ Gans, Andrew (July 17, 2008). ""Moonlighting" Star Beasley Joins Cast of Grecian Formula". Playbill. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  2. ^ Snauffer, Douglas (March 10, 2015). The Show Must Go On: How the Deaths of Lead Actors Have Affected Television Series. McFarland & Company. p. 54. ISBN 9780786455041.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Goodwin, Betty (August 17, 1986). "BEASLEY: 'A LOT OF ME IN DIPESTO'". chicagotribune.com.
  4. ^ a b Grant, James (April 28, 1986). "As Ms. Dipesto, Moonlighting's Ditzy Receptionist, Allyce Beasley Finally Answers the Call of Fame". People. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  5. ^ Pace, Constance (December 27, 1985). "Allyce Beasley always knew 'Moonlighting' would go far". Altus Times. p. 8B.
  6. ^ Gorga, Denise (December 14, 1986). "Subject: Allyce Beasley". Gadsden Times. p. 2.
  7. ^ a b c Guttman, Monika (April 1, 1986). "Allyce Beasley: 'Moonlighting For a Living'". The Spokesman-Review.
  8. ^ a b Buck, Jerry (March 14, 1986). "Zany Beasley jingled to stardom". Star-News. p. 3D.
  9. ^ Wolk, Josh (May 18, 2018). "'Cheers' Said Goodbye 25 Years Ago: Raise a Toast With These 9 Essential Episodes". The New York Times. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  10. ^ a b Carter, Alan (June 10, 1986). "Future's bright for Allyce Beasley". The Evening Independent. p. 5B.
  11. ^ Lentz, Harris M. (2001). Science Fiction, Horror & Fantasy Film and Television Credits: Television shows. McFarland & Company. p. 172.
  12. ^ "'Moonlighting' First Episode: THR's 1985 Review". The Hollywood Reporter. September 2, 2015. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  13. ^ Deeb, Gary (May 22, 1988). "Beasley key supporting ingredient". Herald-Journal. p. 4.
  14. ^ "Allyce Beasley". Emmy Awards. Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  15. ^ Buck, Jerry (May 9, 1989). "David and Maddie of 'Moonlighting' lose a case". Eugene Register-Guard. p. 6D.
  16. ^ a b King, Susan (May 9, 1993). "With An Eye On . . . : The Beast In Beasley Finally Emerges In 'The Tommyknockers'". The Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  17. ^ "Stephen King novel airs as miniseries". The Beaver County Times. May 9, 1993. p. 16.
  18. ^ Willis, John (February 1999). Screen World 1998. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 69. ISBN 9781557833419.
  19. ^ a b "Being recognizable fails to guarantee an income". The Vindicator. June 27, 2001. p. C4.
  20. ^ Terrace, Vincent (October 15, 2018). Television Series of the 2000s: Essential Facts and Quirky Details. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 129. ISBN 9781538103807.
  21. ^ a b c Henderson, Kathy (September 24, 2010). "What's Up, Allyce Beasley? The TV Fave Gets a Long Overdue Broadway Debut in La Cage aux Folles". Broadway.com. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  22. ^ Travers, Ben (December 12, 2018). "'Champaign ILL' Review: Adam Pally and Sam Richardson Pop in Sharp YouTube Comedy". IndieWire. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  23. ^ a b c Miller, Samantha (February 21, 2000). "Over the Moon". People. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  24. ^ a b c d "Allyce Beasley". Behind the Voice Actors. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  25. ^ Perlmutter, David (May 4, 2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 494. ISBN 9781538103746.
  26. ^ Willis, John; Lynch, Tom (December 2002). Screen World 2002. Applause Theatre & Cinema Book Publishers. p. 16. ISBN 9781557835987.
  27. ^ List of breast cancer survivorsArchived October 5, 2012, at the Wayback Machine

External links edit

 
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