Beverly Heather D'Angelo

   Interesting, inspirational as well as always interesting -- key adjectives when describing the career of Beverly D'Angelo, which has already passed the four-decade mark. Although she might have been in more prestigious films than she often appeared in, she was still an interesting character and the one to watch no matter what the role. Hollywood loved her bright smile, charming personality and her ability to steal scenes. Beverly Heather D'Angelo is the daughter of Eugene Constantino "Gene", an artist and bass player who was also the manager of a television station. She was born in Columbus, Ohio on November 15th the 15th of November, 1951. Howard Dwight Smith was her maternal grandfather, and also the designer of the Ohio ("Horseshoe") Stadium. Her mother was an English, Irish and Scottish-born mother. Her father was Italian. Beverly was a student at an American school in Florence. Beverly began her career as an animator/cartoonist with Hanna-Barbera Productions. After moving to Canada, Beverly became a session singer , and performed wherever she could in cafes and topless bars. Ronnie Hawkins invited Beverly to join his rockabilly band at the time. Beverly began her acting career when she was a part of the Charlottetown Festival repertory troupe and was dismissed by Hawkins. She was touring Canada as Ophelia in "Kronborg: 1582", a musical that was a rock version of Shakespeare's "Hamlet" when the world-renowned Colleen Dewhurst saw a performance and was impressed by the potential of Beverly and the production. In the end, Gower Champion was hired as the musical director. The show was modified and became the musical rock "Rockabye Hamlet". The show made it to Broadway in 1976. Even though the show ran only for a few weeks, Beverly's Ophelia was a hit and soon she found herself on the West coast with TV and film opportunities. She didn't return to the stage following her departure, but she was the main character in Ed Harris' 1995 off-Broadway production of Sam Shepard's "Simpatico which earned her the Theatre World Award. Parts in The Sentinel (1977), and Annie Hall (1977) were her first TV part. First Love (1977), Clint Eastwood's film Every Which Way but Loose (78) and the film version of the popular Counterculture Hair (1979) were just a few of her co-starring roles. Most memorable for Beverly was her powerhouse featured performance as the one-and-only Patsy Cline in the acclaimed biopic Coal Miner's Daughter (1980). She as well as Sissy Spacek, a friend of fellow country singer Loretta Lynn, both performed the vocals with aplomb.