RIP Linda Lawson

 

Los Angeles Times

June 5, 2022

 

January 11, 1936 - May 18, 2022 The actress and singer Linda Lawson passed away peacefully from natural causes at the Motion Picture and Television Retirement Home on May 18, 2022. She was 86 years old.

She was born Linda Spaziani on January 11, 1936, the youngest of three children to Italian immigrant parents, Maria Cataldi and Edward Spaziani. When she was five years old, her family drove west from Michigan and settled in Fontana, California, where she attended Chaffey Union High School as a teenager. Upon graduation, Linda followed her sister Diana Spaziani to Las Vegas. She was immediately hired to sing in the lounge at The Sands Hotel, where she opened for stars such as Lena Horn and Frank Sinatra. Linda went on to perform as a singer and dancer in the larger floor shows, and often referred to her time in Las Vegas as some of the most cherished years of her life. Linda moved to Los Angeles several years later, where her older brother Eugene Spaziani was earning a Master's Degree in Zoology and a PhD in Endocrinology at UCLA. Linda got a job working as a studio messenger at MGM when she was "discovered" in an elevator and given a screen test. She quickly became a full-time actress, with recurring and guest-starring roles on many television shows, including Sea Hunt, Adventures in Paradise, Don't Call Me Charlie, Bonanza and Ben Casey. She is perhaps best known for her starring role in the cult classic feature film Night Tide, shot on the Santa Monica pier, where she played Maura, a mysterious mermaid opposite Dennis Hopper.

Musically gifted from a young age, Linda considered herself a singer first and foremost. Her album Introducing Linda Lawson is considered a must-have for big band aficionados, because of the legendary musicians who play on it. She is also featured on several compilation albums, Music for a Bachelor's Den. Linda met and married movie producer John Foreman (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Man Who Would be King, Prizzi's Honor) in 1958. After the birth of her two daughters, Linda set her career aside to stay home and devote her time to them. Linda and John were known for throwing lively and extravagant parties, which were regularly attended by some of the most fascinating people in Hollywood, including Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, Roddy McDowall, Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood, Rock Hudson, Joan Didion and John Dunne, Anjelica Huston, Sydney Poitier, Judy Balaban, Christopher Plummer and many others. The house was always filled with animals, from rescued dogs and cats, to lizards and found birds who needed to be rehabilitated. Animals were Linda's lasting passion and influenced her decision to become a vegetarian and to donate to animal charities as often as she could. Linda and John were married until his death in 1992.

Throughout her life and up to the end, Linda remained a force of nature; funny, fierce and whip smart. A loyal, generous friend and a wonderful mother, Linda Lawson will be sorely missed by all who knew her. She is survived by her daughters Julie Foreman Hayes, Amanda Foreman and many grandcats and goddogs.

A bench on the walking path that runs just north of Santa Monica Boulevard, between Alpine and Rexford, is being dedicated to Linda, signified by a plaque, so that anyone who passes by can have a seat, take a moment and remember the fabulous Linda Lawson. For those who would like to express their condolences, Linda's daughters have asked that donations be made in her name to ASPCA or the animal rescue charity of your choice.

 

LAWSON, Linda (Linda Gloria Spaziani)

Born: 1/11/1936, Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.A.

Died: 5/18/2022, Woodland Hills, Califotnia, U.S.A.

 

Linda Lawson’s westerns – actress:

Maverick (TV) – 1959 (Lily)

Bonanza (TV) – 1960, 1965 (Maria Hackett, Melinda Bowers)

Colt .45 (TV) – 1960 (Barbara)

Overland Trail (TV) – 1960 (Ruby)

The Tall Man (TV) – 1960 (brunette)

Tales of Wells Fargo (TV) – 1960 (Kate Fallon)

Wagon Train (TV) – 1960 (Lia)

The Rifleman (TV) – 1961 (Vashti Croxton)

Stagecoach West (TV) – 1961 (Stella Smith)

Apache Rifles – 1964 (Dawn Gillis)

The Virginian (TV) – 1966 (Becky Ellis)