Elizabeth Ann Sheridan was an American actress and dancer. While best known for her roles as Jerry’s mother in Seinfeld and the nosy neighbor, Mrs. Ochmonek, on sitcom ALF, her decades-long career was extensive and included work on the stage and large and small screens. In honor of what would have been her 80th birthday, here are five interesting facts about this beloved entertainer. The life and career of Liz Sheridan
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Early years
Born in Brooklyn, New York, Liz Sheridan began her stage career at a young age. She trained as a dancer for ten years, at which point she made her Broadway debut in 1955 in Tenderloin. With additional training under Lee Strasberg at The Actors Studio in New York City, she went on to perform with several repertory theater companies around town before landing roles on television. The life and career of Liz Sheridan
Broadway theatre
With a career spanning several decades, Liz Sheridan performed on Broadway for twenty years. She was featured in shows like The Electric Company in 1971 and A Chorus Line in 1976. She also performed frequently with the Mitzi Gaynor Repertory Company, where she played many different roles from a variety of shows. Her big break came when she was cast as Ruth Bucktooth, Jerry’s mother on Seinfeld.
Film and television
Liz Sheridan is most known for her roles as Jerry Seinfeld’s mother, Helen Seinfeld, on his long-running sitcom Seinfeld and as Betty Cranston, Archie Bunker’s sister-in-law, on Norman Lear’s All in the Family. She also had a recurring role on ALF as Ochmonek’s nosy neighbor Mrs. Ochmonek.
Later years
In 1995, Sheridan guest-starred on three episodes of Seinfeld as Jerry’s mother, who comes to visit from Florida. She appeared in an episode of Ned & Stacey opposite Thomas Haden Church.
- Born: 10 April 1929, Rye, New York, United States
- Died: 15 April 2022, Manhattan, New York, United States
- Spouse: William Dale Wales (m. 1985–2003)
- Children: 1
- Parents: Frank Sheridan, Elizabeth Poole-Jones
Is Liz Sheridan related to Ann Sheridan?
With a name like Elizabeth Ann, one would expect that actress Liz Sheridan would have some relation to one of Hollywood’s greatest screen stars, Ann Sheridan. However, while they were both born in San Francisco and both actresses (and indeed, both redheads) they are not related by blood. Perhaps they became so enmeshed in each other’s work because of their similar names or due to their mutual roles on Seinfeld and ALF?
Who played Jerry’s Mom in Seinfeld?
Elizabeth Ann Sheridan, who played Elaine’s clueless mom. She was a stage actor in New York for many years, appearing in both comedies and dramas. Her first screen role was playing Nicole Kidman’s mother in To Die For. But her most famous role is surely Mrs. Ochmonek, ALF’s nosy neighbor, who died when she jumped off a building when thinking that her husband (ALF) had been kidnapped by aliens from his ship.
Who are Jerry Seinfeld’s parents?
If you’re unfamiliar with Jerry Seinfeld, he played a semi-fictionalized version of himself on Seinfeld. In his show, Jerry was not only best friends with George but also his neighbor—and it just so happened that both George and Jerry’s parents were portrayed by two actors in one family: Wayne Knight (Newman) and Liz Sheridan (Jerry’s mother). And guess what? The Knights are real-life neighbors to Seinfeld!
How old is Jerry Seinfeld now?
Jerry Seinfeld has been performing stand up comedy since he was 17 years old. So how old is Jerry Seinfeld now? And just what is Jerry Seinfeld’s net worth? At 64 years old, Jerry Seinfeld is in his prime. He recently teamed up with Netflix to launch his own web series called Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee which will premiere on Crackle before it makes its way to Netflix.
Liz sheridan cause of death
In June 2011, Sheridan entered Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena, California, for an undisclosed surgical procedure. On June 24, she suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage during recovery from that surgery and died as a result later that day. She was 81 years old.
Lliz sheridan net worth
In 1983, Sheridan was cast as Jerry Seinfeld’s mother in a recurring role in NBC’s The Seinfeld Chronicles. In 1989, she became one of two actors to play Jerry’s mom throughout all nine seasons of NBC sitcom Seinfeld. She earned an Emmy Award nomination for her work on Seinfeld in 1996, winning a Screen Actors Guild Award that same year. During its run, she also appeared as Jackie Chiles’ nurse on ABC series The John Larroquette Show.
Liz sheridan daughter
Although her mother was largely absent from her life, Ann Bennett told CNN that she’s always thought a lot about Liz Sheridan and is glad to see that people are remembering her. While Mrs. Ochmonek may have been grating for some, she always got Mrs. Bennet’s daughter’s goat—and we love her for it. (This one is much shorter than it looks!)
Liz sheridan today
In 2010, Sherdian made a guest appearance on an episode of Entourage as a film producer that Turtle and Lloyd are trying to impress. In 2013, she appeared in several episodes as Peggy, a short-term love interest for Larry David’s character on his self-titled HBO comedy series Curb Your Enthusiasm. From 2014–2016, she played Aunt Gertrude in The Hub’s television series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic.
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