Sandra Peabody facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sandra Peabody
Peabody in 1965
Born	Sandra Lee Peabody (1948-01-11) January 11, 1948 (age 77) Portland, Oregon, U.S.
Other names	Sandy Peabody Sandra Cassell Liyda Cassell Sandra Cassel Sandra Stubelek
Alma mater	Carnegie Mellon University
Occupation	Talent agent acting coach producer actress fashion model
Years active	1965–present
Spouse(s)	Timothy Stubelek
Children	1

Sandra Peabody (born January 11, 1948) is an American producer, writer, acting coach, talent agent, and former actress. She is well-known for her role as Mari Collingwood in the 1972 horror film The Last House on the Left.

After her acting career, Sandra became a successful producer of children's TV shows. She worked on programs for cable television. Her work earned her special awards, including an Emmy Award and a CableACE Award.

Sandra started acting when she was a teenager in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Her first professional play was Enter Laughing in 1965. She also appeared in movies like Misfit (1965) and The Horse Killer (1966). In 1966, she began studying drama at Carnegie Mellon University. She also trained in a special acting method called the Meisner technique. She learned this from the famous teacher Sanford Meisner.

Sandra Peabody stopped acting in the mid-1970s. She then taught theater to children at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Later, she moved to Portland, Oregon. There, she started a successful career producing children's television shows in 1982. Her work includes the show Get Movin' (1982) and the award-winning series Popcorn (1984-1992).

Early life and education

Sandra Lee Peabody was born on January 11, 1948. Her hometown is Portland, Oregon.

As a teenager, Sandra lived in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She went to Stranahan High School. In high school, Sandra was a great student. She was also a varsity cheerleader. She became very interested in acting and performed in school plays. Outside of school, she started getting roles in local professional theatre shows.

After finishing high school in 1966, Sandra had a chance to study drama at Florida State University. However, she chose to attend Carnegie Mellon University instead. In 1967, she spent the summer training as an actress. She worked at the Priscilla Beach Theater in Plymouth, Massachusetts. That same year, she was chosen to study the Meisner technique. She learned from acting teacher Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre.

Acting career highlights

Early stage and film roles

In 1964, Sandra was cast in a play called Riders to the Sea. It opened at Florida State University in July. She also appeared in the film Misfit (1965). She got the role after the original actress became ill.

During her last year of high school, Sandra acted in another play. It was Enter Laughing (1966). She played Wanda, the main character's girlfriend. The play opened in January 1966 in Florida. Critics liked her acting, especially in one scene. Sandra also played Beauty in a play of Beauty and the Beast. She was Katie Brown in Calamity Jane (both in 1966). Her next movie role was in The Horse Killer (1966). She played the best friend to the main character. She later said this film had a unique story. Her scenes involved a lot of horseback riding.

In 1969, she played Gwendolyn Pigeon in Neil Simon's play The Odd Couple. A critic called her a "competent" actress. Peabody also performed in other plays that year. These included Celebration, Little Mary Sunshine, and Stop the World – I Want to Get Off.

Breakthrough with The Last House on the Left

In 1970, Sandra had a role in the Off-Broadway musical Tarot. It was an experimental folk rock musical based on tarot cards. It opened at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

Sandra Peabody's most well-known acting role came in 1972. She was cast as Mari Collingwood in The Last House on the Left. This was Wes Craven's first film as a director. It was a loose remake of a 1960 film called The Virgin Spring. Sandra saw a casting notice for the film in a New York publication. She auditioned at Sean S. Cunningham's office. Craven and Cunningham first wanted her for another role. But after meeting her, they decided to cast her as Mari.

Sandra was unsure about some parts of the script. However, she trusted Wes Craven and Sean Cunningham. Craven said he liked Sandra a lot. He described her as "plucky" and "pretty." The film was a success when it was released. It earned over $2 million at the American box office. Sandra believes the filmmakers did a great job with limited money. Besides acting, she also did her own stunts in the movie.

Later roles and retirement from acting

Peabody in 1973

In 1973, Sandra played Gwen in the film Massage Parlor Murders!. She also had a small, non-speaking role in Legacy of Satan (1973). Both were horror films. In the early 1970s, Sandra also appeared on TV soap operas. These included All My Children, As the World Turns, The Edge of Night, and One Life to Live. She also appeared in various commercials.

Sandra also worked as a model. However, she did not enjoy modeling or acting in soap operas. She felt soap operas did not help actors improve their skills. In 1973, she returned to the stage. She had a major role as Minnie Oakley in the musical Annie Get Your Gun. She acted alongside Barbara Eden. Critics praised Sandra's performance. One writer said she was very believable as an actress.

In 1974, Sandra starred in the film Teenage Hitchhikers. She played Bird, one of two clever teenage runaways. Her acting received positive reviews. One critic called her performance "ingenious." Another praised her comic timing. This film has become a cult film. It is also one of filmmaker Quentin Tarantino's favorite movies.

Sandra's last acting role was in the stage play Tunnel of Love (1977). After she stopped acting, Sandra taught theater techniques to children. She worked at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts until 1982.

Producer and acting coach career

In 1982, Sandra Peabody created a late-night talk show called Portland Tonight. It was for Cablesystems Pacific. She was inspired by The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. She wanted to make a show focused on Portland. Sandra wrote, directed, and produced the variety show Get Movin' (1982). This show earned her a CableACE Award in 1983. Sandra came up with the idea for this series when TV networks were cutting money for children's shows. She wanted children's ideas to be a big part of the series. She asked kids to share their interests in a survey. She also held auditions to show off local talent. The series had 26 episodes.

Later, Sandra produced the children's public broadcasting series Popcorn (1985–92). This show was for the television station KATU. It started as a special in 1985. Then it became a weekly series in September 1986. Sandra signed a contract with KATU for this show. The series was highly praised. One writer called it "an unabashed celebration of children." Sandra said she was inspired by her belief that "There's still a lot of the kid left in me." As a producer, she won an Emmy Award for Popcorn. She also won an NAB award and two Iris Awards. In 1993, KATU canceled the series.

In 1988, Sandra Peabody created A Time to Care. This was a TV documentary film. It focused on local nursing homes. It showed how community volunteers helped the residents. She said it was "a neat idea for a series." The company Group W distributed the series. In 1994, Sandra was the casting director for a children's musical home video. It was called Wee Sing: Under the Sea. Sandra also wrote and produced an educational public TV series. It was called Zone In (2001). This show talked about "tough issues for kids."

Since the 2000s, Sandra has worked as an acting coach and talent agent. She teaches at theater schools like Northwest Children's Theater. Sandra teaches the Meisner technique she learned when she was young. She has helped many child actors start their careers. These include Bret Harrison and Alicia Lagano. She also guides students in the entertainment industry. In 2015, Sandra directed the first episode of LTC TV. This series shows events at Lakewood Center for the Arts.

Personal life

In the early 1970s, Sandra Peabody lived in Greenwich Village, New York City. In the summer of 1971, she took a long road trip. She traveled from New York to the West Coast. In 1973, Sandra said she studied both free-form jazz dance and Transcendental Meditation.

While filming The Last House on the Left, Sandra became close with the cinematographer, Victor Hurwitz. She said he was like a "fatherly kind of guy" to her. She was sad when he passed away a few years after the film's release. He once told her, "Have something else in your life besides acting because it's a terrible business."

Sandra Peabody has lived in Portland, Oregon, since the 1980s. She is married to Timothy Stubelek. They have one son together.

Filmography

Film

Stage

Television

Awards

See also

In Spanish: Sandra Cassel para niños