Tuesday Weld is an American actress, who often portrayed impulsive and reckless women acting out sexually.
She was nominated for a Golden Globe for Play It as It Lays (1972), an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977), an Emmy Award for The Winter of Our Discontent (1983), and a BAFTA for Once Upon a Time in America (1984). Since the late 1980s her acting appearances have been infrequent.
Born Susan Ker Weld in 1943, in the bustling heart of New York City, Tuesday Weld’s journey to stardom commenced at a remarkably young age.
Her early foray into show business saw her as a child model and actress in television commercials, a path that would lead her to the glitzy world of Hollywood.
By the dawn of the 1960s, she had already made her presence felt in the entertainment industry.
Weld’s performance in Rally ‘Round the Flag, Boys! impressed executives at Fox, who signed her to a long-term contract.
They cast her in the CBS television series The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, with a salary of $35,000 for one year.
Weld’s mother was scandalized by her teen daughter’s love affairs with older men, such as actor John Ireland, but Weld resisted, saying, “‘If you don’t leave me alone, I’ll quit being an actress—which means there ain’t gonna be no more money for you, Mama’. Finally, when I was sixteen, I left home. I just went out the door and bought my own house”.
Weld began in television, starring in Reflections of Murder (1974) and F. Scott Fitzgerald in Hollywood (1975) in which she played Zelda Fitzgerald.
Weld attracted attention as the favored, out-of-control Katherine in Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977) – packing into her short screen time an orgy, a divorce, a lot of alcohol, and two abortions – and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Later she appeared in Who’ll Stop the Rain (1978) opposite Nick Nolte; and the ensemble satire Serial (1980).
She said she preferred television. “What I dig about TV is the pace”, she said. “Two weeks for even a heavy part – great. Too much thinking about a role is a disaster for me. I mean, let’s do it, let’s get it done.”
In 1984, she appeared in Sergio Leone’s gangster epic Once Upon a Time in America, playing a jeweler’s secretary, who is on a plan to steal a shipment of diamonds.
During the robbery, her character goads Robert De Niro’s character, David “Noodles” Aaronson, into “raping” her with her complicity.
Weld has been married three times. She was married to screenwriter Claude Harz from October 23, 1965, until their divorce on February 18, 1971. They had a daughter, Natasha, born on August 26, 1966.
She married British actor, musician and comedian Dudley Moore on September 20, 1975. On February 26, 1976, they had a son, Patrick. The couple divorced in 1980.
On October 18, 1985, she married Israeli concert violinist and conductor Pinchas Zukerman, becoming stepmother to his daughters. The couple divorced in 2001.
In court papers, Zukerman quoted Weld as saying, “Why do I need to go to another concert when I’ve heard the piece before?” and “I can’t stand the backstage scene. I don’t want to hear another note.”
Between marriages, Weld dated Al Pacino, David Steinberg, Mikhail Baryshnikov (whose previous girlfriend, Jessica Lange, had been Weld’s best friend), Omar Sharif, Richard Gere and Ryan O’Neal.
(Photo credit: Pinterest).
