Suzanne Shepherd, Mafia Mother-In-Law In The Sopranos And Goodfellas, Has Died At 89
We're sad to report that actress Suzanne Shepherd has passed away at the age of 89, as confirmed by her agent and her daughter Kate Shepherd. A character actress who had roles in movies and TV stretching back to the 1980s, two of Shepherd's parts were practically the same role.
In "Goodfellas," Shepherd played the mother of Karen Hill (Lorraine Bracco). She has a short but memorable scene where she scolds her daughter for letting Henry (Ray Liotta) stay out so late and for marrying a Gentile man in the first place. When Henry finally comes home at the crack of dawn, she snaps at him and he walks off. This leads to the scene's comedic capstone, in which Tommy (Joe Pesci) mocks Karen's mother by nagging Henry in the same voice.
Many "Goodfellas" alums later showed up on "The Sopranos," including Bracco and Shepherd. Bracco, wanting to play a role that was different than Karen, turned down the part of Carmela Soprano in favor of Dr. Jennifer Melfi, Tony's therapist Edie Falco played Carmela instead, and Shepherd had a recurring guest role as Carmela's mother, Mary DeAngelis, alongside Tom Aldredge as Mary's husband Hugh (Aldredge passed in 2011). Mary wasn't as loud as Karen's mother, but she had the same distaste for her son-in-law; see the episode, "Marco Polo," where she tries to keep Tony from attending Hugh's 75th birthday.
Shepherd's "Sopranos" co-star Ray Abruzzo (Carmine Lupertazzi Jr.) has posted a tribute to Shepherd on Instagram, describing her as "a force of nature."
An inspirational acting coach
Her film and TV credits speak for themselves, but Shepherd also used her craft towards educational ends as an acting coach. She studied herself under Stanford Meisner and maintained an acting studio in New York City up until her death. Her coaching career was also the subject of the documentary "A Gift of Fire."
Shepherd wrote an entry about her coaching work for Larry Silverberg's 1996 book "The Actor's Guide to Qualified Acting Coaches: New York" and described her approach thusly:
"I don't make a mystery of anything, I'll tell you that. The mystery is talent. No one knows where it comes from. It's a wonder and it's a holy thing. In training actors, I dedicate myself to respecting their talent by helping them make the best use of that talent. All actors are insecure to some measure — I'm very careful about looking after that to the best of my ability. You see, I left acting for many years because I had no confidence and didn't feel I had the right to walk on stage. I'm mindful to not allow that to happen to people with talent. I try to help my students get rid of anything in the way of doing their work, whatever it is, and enjoying it."
The chapter also includes testimonials from her students, including Leo Rubenfien, who wrote: "[Shepherd is] the finest teacher I have seen work in any field. She gave me the ability to bring my own emotional life into my work whether it was in film or theater."
Other actors who have praised Shepherd's own talents include Alan Alda ("I think in Suzanne's work, and in fact when you just talk to her in real life, she's totally focused on you") and Joan Allen ("I would describe Suzanne as probably one of the most passionate people I've ever met in my whole life").
May her memory be a blessing.