Betty Lynn Buckley (born July , ) is an American actress and singer.
She won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her
role as Grizabella in the original Broadway production of Cats. She
went on to play Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard (â€") in both London
and New York, receiving a Olivier Award nomination for Best Actress
in a Musical, and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress
in a Musical for Triumph of Love. Her other Broadway credits include
(), Pippin (), and The Mystery of Edwin Drood (). She is also a
two-time Daytime Emmy Award nominee, a two-time Grammy Award nominee,
and a American Theater Hall of Fame inductee.Buckley starred in the
TV series Eight Is Enough from to and played gym teacher Ms. Collins
in the film Carrie, before going on to star in the short-lived
Broadway musical version of Carrie in , playing Carrie White's mother,
Margaret. Her other film roles include Dixie Scott in Tender Mercies
(), Sondra Walker in Frantic (), Kathy in Another Woman () and Mrs.
Jones in The Happening (). She received a Saturn Award nomination for
her role as Dr. Karen Fletcher in the film Split. Her other
television credits include the series Oz (â€"), and the series
Preacher (). From September -August she starred as the title role in
the U.S. national tour of Hello, Dolly.Betty Lynn Buckley was born in
Big Spring, Texas, and raised in Fort Worth, Texas, the daughter of
Betty Bob (née Diltz), a dancer and journalist, and Ernest Lynn
Buckley, a retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force, former
dean of engineering at South Dakota State University, and
Architectural Structures professor at the University of Texas -
Arlington. She is the oldest of their four children. She has three
brothersâ€"Norman Buckley is a film editor and TV director, and
Patrick and Michael Buckley are engineers. While a student at Texas
Christian University, she was a member of Zeta Tau Alpha. She was
crowned "Miss Fort Worth" in and was runner-up in the Miss Texas
competition. Buckley was then invited to perform at the Miss America
pageant in Atlantic City, where she was spotted by a talent scout.
After returning to TCU to earn her college degree, she toured Asia to
visit soldiers wounded in the Vietnam War. Then she worked for a time
as a reporter for the Fort Worth Press, but went to New York City in ,
where she landed the role of Martha Jefferson in her first day in
town.She is known for the â€" TV dramedy Eight Is Enough. She joined
the show in its second season when the original star, Diana Hyland,
died after the first four episodes of season one, and her character
Joan Bradford died as well. Buckley was cast as the widower's new
romantic interest, Sandra Sue "Abby" Abbott, who became stepmother of
the eight children to which the series' title refers.
She won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her
role as Grizabella in the original Broadway production of Cats. She
went on to play Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard (â€") in both London
and New York, receiving a Olivier Award nomination for Best Actress
in a Musical, and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress
in a Musical for Triumph of Love. Her other Broadway credits include
(), Pippin (), and The Mystery of Edwin Drood (). She is also a
two-time Daytime Emmy Award nominee, a two-time Grammy Award nominee,
and a American Theater Hall of Fame inductee.Buckley starred in the
TV series Eight Is Enough from to and played gym teacher Ms. Collins
in the film Carrie, before going on to star in the short-lived
Broadway musical version of Carrie in , playing Carrie White's mother,
Margaret. Her other film roles include Dixie Scott in Tender Mercies
(), Sondra Walker in Frantic (), Kathy in Another Woman () and Mrs.
Jones in The Happening (). She received a Saturn Award nomination for
her role as Dr. Karen Fletcher in the film Split. Her other
television credits include the series Oz (â€"), and the series
Preacher (). From September -August she starred as the title role in
the U.S. national tour of Hello, Dolly.Betty Lynn Buckley was born in
Big Spring, Texas, and raised in Fort Worth, Texas, the daughter of
Betty Bob (née Diltz), a dancer and journalist, and Ernest Lynn
Buckley, a retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force, former
dean of engineering at South Dakota State University, and
Architectural Structures professor at the University of Texas -
Arlington. She is the oldest of their four children. She has three
brothersâ€"Norman Buckley is a film editor and TV director, and
Patrick and Michael Buckley are engineers. While a student at Texas
Christian University, she was a member of Zeta Tau Alpha. She was
crowned "Miss Fort Worth" in and was runner-up in the Miss Texas
competition. Buckley was then invited to perform at the Miss America
pageant in Atlantic City, where she was spotted by a talent scout.
After returning to TCU to earn her college degree, she toured Asia to
visit soldiers wounded in the Vietnam War. Then she worked for a time
as a reporter for the Fort Worth Press, but went to New York City in ,
where she landed the role of Martha Jefferson in her first day in
town.She is known for the â€" TV dramedy Eight Is Enough. She joined
the show in its second season when the original star, Diana Hyland,
died after the first four episodes of season one, and her character
Joan Bradford died as well. Buckley was cast as the widower's new
romantic interest, Sandra Sue "Abby" Abbott, who became stepmother of
the eight children to which the series' title refers.
Share this
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
Join us for free and get valuable content delivered right through your inbox.