Alexa Kenin
{{short description|American actress (1962ā1985)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Alexa Kenin
| image = Alexa Kenin.jpg
| imagesize =
| caption =
| birthname = Alexa Jordan Kenin
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1962|2|16}}
| birth_place = New York City, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1985|9|10|1962|2|16}}
| death_place = New York City, U.S.
| resting_place = New Montefiore Cemetery
| occupation = Actress
| years_active = 1972–1985
}}
Alexa Jordan Kenin (February 16, 1962 – September 10, 1985) was an American actress. She is known for her supporting roles in several films released during the 1980s, including: Little Darlings (1980); Honkytonk Man (1982); and Pretty in Pink (1986), which was released after her death and dedicated to her memory.
Career
Kenin was born in New York City. Her parents divorced when she was young and her mother, actress Maya Kenin, married character actor John P. Ryan. Kenin began acting as a child and won her first professional part with a supporting role in the 1972 holiday TV special The House Without a Christmas Tree, which starred Jason Robards and Lisa Lucas.Young, Sandra (May 5, 1980). [https://www.newspapers.com/image/229254991/?clipping_id=87407345 "Tiger's Beat: Alexa Kenin Comments on 'Little Darlings"]. Daily World. p. 7. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
In 1977, Kenin appeared in John Guare's Landscape of the Body at The Public Theater and in the off-Broadway production of Elusive Angel. The following year she played David Janssen's daughter in the television miniseries The Word. In December 1980, she portrayed the role of "Libby" in the touring production of Neil Simon's I Ought to Be in Pictures, starring Bill Macy and Patricia Harty.{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=39ElAAAAIBAJ&sjid=XfMFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2400,2860641&dq=alexa+kenin+i+ought+to+be+in+pictures&hl=en|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130216041252/http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=39ElAAAAIBAJ&sjid=XfMFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2400,2860641&dq=alexa+kenin+i+ought+to+be+in+pictures&hl=en|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 16, 2013|title=Stars make 'Pictures' good theater|last=von Maurer|first=Bill|date=December 19, 1980|work=The Miami News|page=12D|accessdate=January 6, 2013}} She also guest starred in several episodes of ABC Afterschool Special, and in the 1982 TV film A Piano for Mrs. Cimino opposite Bette Davis.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/09/12/arts/alexa-kenin.html|title=Alexa Kenin|date=September 12, 1985|newspaper=The New York Times|accessdate=March 7, 2009}}
At the age of 17, Kenin and her mother moved to Los Angeles after her mother divorced John Ryan. Kenin attended Beverly Hills High School while also maintaining her acting career.{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=bPNZAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4EoNAAAAIBAJ&pg=5802,353048&dq=alexa+kenin&hl=en|title=Alexa Kenin Talented Girl|last=Kleiner|first=Dick|date=May 2, 1980|work=Waycross Journal-Herald|pages=Pā17|accessdate=January 6, 2013}} In 1979, she was cast in the CBS sitcom Co-Ed Fever. The series was canceled after one episode.{{cite web|url=https://ew.com/article/2005/01/24/ew-looks-back-tvs-one-show-wonders/|title=One-Show Wonders|last=Ross|first=Dalton|date=January 24, 2005|publisher=Entertainment Weekly|access-date=January 27, 2013|archive-date=December 13, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213233620/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1019333,00.html|url-status=live}} The following year, she co-starred in the teen comedy Little Darlings, starring Kristy McNichol and Tatum O'Neal.
In 1982, Kenin guest-starred on episodes of The Facts of Life and Gimme a Break!. In the same year she played, in Honkytonk Man, the part of an aspiring young singer alongside Clint Eastwood as he makes his way to Nashville. One of Kenin's final roles was in the John Hughes film Pretty in Pink (1986), released after her death.{{cite web|last1=Mackie|first1=Drew|title=30 Things You Might Not Know About Pretty in Pink, 30 Years Later|url=https://www.people.com/movies/30-things-you-might-not-know-about-pretty-in-pink-30-years-later/amp/|website=People|publisher=people.com|accessdate=January 15, 2017|date=February 24, 2016}}
Death
On September 10, 1985, at the age of 23, Kenin was found dead in her Manhattan apartment. She is buried in New Montefiore Cemetery in West Babylon, New York.{{cite book|last= Wilson|first=Scott|title=Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FOHgDAAAQBAJ&dq=Alexa+Kenin+intitle%3AResting+intitle%3APlaces&pg=PA400|year=2016|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-1476625997|page=401|edition=3}}
Filmography
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 1972
| The House Without a Christmas Tree | Carla Mae | Television film |
| 1976ā1982
| Various roles | 5 episodes |
| 1977
| | Episode: "A Piece of Cake" |
| 1977
| Off Campus | Alexis | Television film |
| 1978
| The Word | Judy Randall | Television miniseries |
| 1979
| Mouse | 6 episodes |
| rowspan= "2"|1980
| Dana | |
| A Perfect Match
| Angel | Television film |
| rowspan= "2"|1981
| Beverly | Television film |
| Too Close for Comfort
| Ethel Kadinsky | Episode: "Who's Sara Now?" |
| rowspan= "4"|1982
| Karen Cimino | Television film |
| The Facts of Life
| Jesse | Episode: "New York, New York" |
| Gimme a Break!
| C.C. | Episode: "Hot Muffins" |
| Honkytonk Man
| Marlene | |
| rowspan= "2"|1983
| Francie | Episode: "Edge of the River" |
| Princess Daisy
| Kiki Kavanaugh | Television miniseries |
| 1986
| Jena Hoeman | rowspan= "2"|Released posthumously |
| 1989
| Sheila Sandusky |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Portal|Biography}}
- {{IMDb name|0447782}}
- {{IOBDB name|19221}} ([https://web.archive.org/web/20151120163213/http://www.lortel.org/LLA_archive/index.cfm?search_by=people&first=Alexa&last=Kenin&middle= archive])
- {{Find a Grave|6465012}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kenin, Alexa}}
Category:20th-century American actresses
Category:20th-century American Jews
Category:American child actresses
Category:American film actresses
Category:American stage actresses
Category:American television actresses
Category:Burials at New Montefiore Cemetery