Bridgette Andersen

{{Infobox person

| name = Bridgette Andersen

| birth_name = Bridget Marriah Andersen

| birth_date = {{birth date|1975|07|11}}

| birth_place = Inglewood, California, US

| death_date = {{death date and age|1997|05|18|1975|07|11}}

| death_place = Los Angeles, California, US

| occupation = Actress and model

| years_active = Late 1970s{{spaced en dash}}1987

}}

Bridget Marriah Andersen (July 11, 1975{{spaced en dash}}May 18, 1997) was an American child actress and child model. She starred in 1982's Savannah Smiles, for which she received her first of four Youth in Film Award nominations.

Personal life

In Inglewood, California, Bridget Marriah Andersen was born on July 11, 1975, to Frank and Teresa Andersen. By April 1982, she lived in Malibu, California, with her parents, younger sister Angelica, and two brothers. As an infant, Angelica appeared in television advertisements for Bank of America and Mervyn's.

A reader since age two-and-a-half, the Havre Daily News reported that six-year-old Andersen had "a staggering IQ". Her favorite author was Ernest Hemingway, and her favorite book was The Old Man and the Sea. A fan of the TV series Diff'rent Strokes and Silver Spoons, she decided to pursue acting, and aspired to produce and direct films as well.

Career

During a February 1983 interview with Johnny Carson on his late-night show, Andersen related a family anecdote of her trying to climb into the television and play with Our Gang ("The Little Rascals") at age two. Caught by her father, she was taught about actors and acting, whereafter she secured a talent agent and began acting. She spent three years fashion modeling and acting in television advertisements. She also appeared in television shows including King's Crossing and Washington Mistress.

In 1982, Andersen starred as Savannah Driscoll in the film Savannah Smiles. Writer and co-star Mark Miller was inspired by—and wrote the part for—his daughter, Savannah Miller. However, when the film was ready to shoot, Ms. Miller was too old for the part at age eleven, so Mark Miller auditioned almost 150 children before discovering and choosing Andersen for the part. In a contemporary interview, Andersen opined that she and the Driscoll character were "like twins! We do the same things." According to The Cumberland Times, only three months after the release of Savannah Smiles, Miller was already writing another script to star Andersen.

That same year, Andersen portrayed the six-year-old Mae West in the biographical television film, Mae West. In 1983, Andersen explained that she preferred working in films versus television because they gave her more to do. During the 1983–84 run of The Mississippi, Anderson was nominated for a Youth in Film Award ("Best Young Actress - Guest in a Television Series") for her work thereon. Andersen went on to star in the short-lived CBS sitcom, Gun Shy; she portrayed Celia, one of two children won in a card game by Barry Van Dyke's character, Russell Donovan.

=Credits=

class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" \|+ Film performances
scope="col" \| Year ! scope="col" \| Title ! class="unsortable" \| Role ! class="unsortable" \| Citation(s)
{{date table sorting\|1982\|04\|09\|format=y}} ! scope="row" \| Savannah Smiles \| Savannah Driscoll \|
{{date table sorting\|1983\|09\|09\|format=y}} ! scope="row" \| Nightmares \| Brooke Houston \| rowspan="2" \|
{{date table sorting\|1985\|format=y}} ! scope="row" \| {{sortname\|A\|Summer to Remember\|A Summer to Remember}} \| Jill
{{date table sorting\|1985\|11\|22\|format=y}} ! scope="row" \| Fever Pitch \| Amy Taggart \|
{{date table sorting\|1987\|07\|24\|format=y}} ! scope="row" \| Too Much \| Suzy \|

class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"

|+ Film performances

scope="col" | Year

! scope="col" | Title

! class="unsortable" | Role

! class="unsortable" | Citation(s)

! scope="row" | Savannah Smiles

| Savannah Driscoll

! scope="row" | Nightmares

| Brooke Houston

| rowspan="2" |

! scope="row" | {{sortname|A|Summer to Remember|A Summer to Remember}}

| Jill

! scope="row" | Fever Pitch

| Amy Taggart

! scope="row" | Too Much

| Suzy

class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" \|+ Television performances
scope="col" \| Year ! scope="col" \| Title ! class="unsortable" \| Role ! class="unsortable" \| Episode(s) ! class="unsortable" \| Citation(s)
{{date table sorting\|1982\|format=y}} ! scope="row" \| Washington Mistress \| Jenny Reynolds \| \|
{{date table sorting\|1982\|02\|27\|format=y}} ! scope="row" \| King's Crossing \| \| \| rowspan="2" \|
{{date table sorting\|1982\|05\|02\|format=y}} ! scope="row" \| Mae West \| Mae West (age six) \| Television film
{{date table sorting\|1983\|04\|19\|format=y}} ! scope="row" \| Gun Shy \| Celia \| Six episodes \|
{{date table sorting\|1983\|12\|05\|format=y}} ! scope="row" \| Faerie Tale Theatre \| Gretel \| "Hansel and Gretel" \|
{{date table sorting\|1984\|format=y}} ! scope="row" \| The Return of Marcus Welby, M.D. \| Alison Lattimer \| Television film \|
{{date table sorting\|1984\|01\|31\|format=y}} ! scope="row" \| Remington Steele \| Angel \| "Blood Is Thicker Than Steele" \| rowspan="2" \|
{{date table sorting\|1986\|01\|18\|format=y}} ! scope="row" \| {{sortname\|The\|Golden Girls\|The Golden Girls}} \| Charley \| "The Truth Will Out"
{{date table sorting\|1986\|03\|10\|format=y}} ! scope="row" \| Between Two Women \| Kate Petherton \| rowspan="2" \| Television film \|
{{date table sorting\|1986\|07\|26\|format=y}} ! scope="row" \| {{sortname\|The\|Parent Trap II\|The Parent Trap II}} \| Mary Grand \|
{{date table sorting\|1987\|07\|17\|format=y}} ! scope="row" \| CBS Summer Playhouse \| Jamie Wilde \| "Doctors Wilde" \|

class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"

|+ Television performances

scope="col" | Year

! scope="col" | Title

! class="unsortable" | Role

! class="unsortable" | Episode(s)

! class="unsortable" | Citation(s)

! scope="row" | Washington Mistress

| Jenny Reynolds

! scope="row" | King's Crossing

| rowspan="2" |

! scope="row" | Mae West

| Mae West (age six)

| Television film

! scope="row" | Gun Shy

| Celia

| Six episodes

! scope="row" | Faerie Tale Theatre

| Gretel

| "Hansel and Gretel"

! scope="row" | The Return of Marcus Welby, M.D.

| Alison Lattimer

| Television film

! scope="row" | Remington Steele

| Angel

| "Blood Is Thicker Than Steele"

| rowspan="2" |

! scope="row" | {{sortname|The|Golden Girls|The Golden Girls}}

| Charley

| "The Truth Will Out"

! scope="row" | Between Two Women

| Kate Petherton

| rowspan="2" | Television film

! scope="row" | {{sortname|The|Parent Trap II|The Parent Trap II}}

| Mary Grand

! scope="row" | CBS Summer Playhouse

| Jamie Wilde

| "Doctors Wilde"

=Awards nominations=

class="wikitable sortable" \|+
Year(s) ! Award ! Category ! Title of work ! Result
1981–82 \| 4th Youth in Film Awards \| Best Young Motion Picture Actress \| Savannah Smiles \| {{nom}}
1982–83 \| 5th Youth in Film Awards \| Best Young Actress in a Comedy Series \| Gun Shy \| {{nom}}
1983–84 \| 6th Youth in Film Awards \| Best Young Actress - Guest in a Television Series \| The Mississippi \| {{nom}}
1984–85 \| 7th Youth in Film Awards \| Exceptional Performance by a Young Actress in a Television Special or Mini-Series \| A Summer to Remember \| {{nom}}

class="wikitable sortable"

Year(s)

! Award

! Category

! Title of work

! Result

1981–82

| 4th Youth in Film Awards

| Best Young Motion Picture Actress

| Savannah Smiles

| {{nom}}

1982–83

| 5th Youth in Film Awards

| Best Young Actress in a Comedy Series

| Gun Shy

| {{nom}}

1983–84

| 6th Youth in Film Awards

| Best Young Actress - Guest in a Television Series

| The Mississippi

| {{nom}}

1984–85

| 7th Youth in Film Awards

| Exceptional Performance by a Young Actress in a Television Special or Mini-Series

| A Summer to Remember

| {{nom}}

Death and legacy

Andersen died of a heroin overdose in Los Angeles, California, on May 18, 1997, at the age of 21.

In 2015, actress Amber Tamblyn published her third book of poetry—Dark Sparkler—"featuring elegies to late actresses both legendary and unknown, all who suffered untimely deaths." Andersen is the subject of one such poem, as is pornographic film actor Shannon Michelle Wilsey (1970–1994), whose stage name "Savannah" was derived from her favorite film: Andersen's Savannah Smiles. Wilsey's poem is written as "a meta-poem, where she's writing for Bridgette Andersen, and telling her how they're the same."

When MVD Entertainment Group published Savannah Smiles on DVD in 2018 as part of their MVD Rewind Collection, among the bonus materials included was "a featurette about the memories of Andersen".

References

{{reflist |refs=

{{cite web |url=http://www.youngartistawards.org/pastnoms4.htm |title=4th Annual Awards |year=1981–82 |publisher=Youth in Film Association |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080310011550/http://www.youngartistawards.org/pastnoms4.htm |archive-date=2008-03-10 |url-status=dead |access-date=2018-10-17}}

{{cite web |url=http://www.youngartistawards.org/pastnoms5.htm |title=5th Annual Awards |year=1982–83 |publisher=Youth in Film Association |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110403132035/http://www.youngartistawards.org/pastnoms5.htm |archive-date=2011-04-03 |url-status=dead |access-date=2018-10-17}}

{{cite news |date=1982-04-23 |title=Andersen is precocious actress |work=Havre Daily News |page=18}}

{{cite news |last1=Triplett |first1=Gene |date=1982-05-16 |title=Interview is almost too much for Gene |url=https://newsok.com/article/1983806/interview-is-almost-too-much-for-gene |url-status=live |work=The Oklahoman |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180824165513/https://newsok.com/article/1983806/interview-is-almost-too-much-for-gene |archive-date=2018-08-24 |access-date=2024-04-02}}

{{cite news |date=1982-06-26 |title=All-American Country Music Stars Belie Typical Lyrics |work=The Cumberland News |page=22}}

{{cite web |url=http://www.youngartistawards.org/pastnoms6.htm |title=6th Annual Awards |year=1983–84 |publisher=Youth in Film Association |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160506135203/http://www.youngartistawards.org/pastnoms6.htm |archive-date=2016-05-06 |url-status=dead |access-date=2018-10-17}}

{{cite episode |series=The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson |series-link= |network=NBC |date=1983-02-18 |season=22 |number=26}}

{{cite news |last1=Bledsoe |first1=Gloria |date=1984-08-30 |title=Child actress a TV and movie 'veteran' at age 9 |work=Statesman Journal |language=en |page=20 |issn=0739-5507}}

{{cite web |url=http://www.youngartistawards.org/pastnoms7.htm |title=7th Annual Awards |year=1984–85 |publisher=Youth in Film Association |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101114094139/http://www.youngartistawards.org/pastnoms7.htm |archive-date=2010-11-14 |url-status=dead |access-date=2018-10-17}}

{{citation |title=Marriah Bridget Andersen |publisher=State of California |work= California Death Index, 1940–1997 |location=Sacramento, California |department=State of California Department of Health Services |via=Ancestry.com}}

{{cite news |last1=Smetanka |first1=Andy |date=2003-09-04 |title=Dead end kids |url=https://www.csindy.com/coloradosprings/dead-end-kids/Content?oid=1120431 |url-status=dead |work=Colorado Springs Independent |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150913090243/https://www.csindy.com/coloradosprings/dead-end-kids/Content?oid=1120431 |archive-date=2015-09-13 |access-date=2018-08-18|quote=Or, how Hollywood eats its child actors}}

{{cite news |last1=Heldenfels |first1=Rich |date=2011-07-31 |title='Savannah Smiles' child star dies young |work=Jacksonville Daily News |page=31 |oclc=30050468 |quote=Bridgette Andersen, who played Savannah, worked at times following this movie, including in the TV comedy 'Gun Shy.'}}

{{cite book |last1=Kulczyk |first1=David |editor-last1=Shurtleff |editor-first1=Alison Milne |editor-last2=Schumacher-Rasmussen |editor-first2=Eric |year=2013 |chapter=Savannah Smiled? (Shannon Wilsey, Los Angeles) |title=California Fruits, Flakes & Nuts: True Tales of California Crazies, Crackpots and Creeps |language=en |location=Fresno, California |publisher=Craven Street Books |pages=158–160 |isbn=978-1-61035-194-2}}

{{cite book |last1=Leszczak |first1=Bob |date=2016 |chapter=Gun Shy |title=Single Season Sitcoms of the 1980s: A Complete Guide |edition=illustrated |location=Jefferson, North Carolina |publisher=McFarland & Company |page=58 |isbn=978-0-7864-9958-8}}

{{cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Zack |date=2016-02-23 |title=Interview: Actress and Poet Amber Tamblyn Surveys Hollywood's Toll on Women in Dark Sparkler |url=https://www.indyweek.com/arts/archives/2016/02/23/interview-actress-and-poet-amber-tamblyn-surveys-hollywoods-toll-on-women-in-dark-sparkler |url-status=dead |work=Indy Week |issn=0737-8254 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170624122219/https://www.indyweek.com/arts/archives/2016/02/23/interview-actress-and-poet-amber-tamblyn-surveys-hollywoods-toll-on-women-in-dark-sparkler |archive-date=2017-06-24 |access-date=2018-08-23}}

{{cite web |url=https://www.vh1.com/news/gib72t/disney-stars-tragic-fate |title=Disney Child Stars Who Met With Incredibly Tragic Fates |last=Ferber |first=Taylor |date=2016-02-27 |publisher=VH1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160709143555/http://www.vh1.com/news/246620/disney-stars-tragic-fate/ |archive-date=2016-07-09 |url-status=live |access-date=2024-04-02 |quote=Unfortunately, no one ever saw any of this coming.}}

{{cite magazine |last1=Brody |first1=Richard |author-link1=Richard Brody |date=2016-10-13 |title=Richard Brooks's 'Fever Pitch' Never Got Its Due |url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/richard-brookss-fever-pitch-never-got-its-due |url-status=live |magazine=The New Yorker |publisher=Condé Nast |issn=0028-792X |oclc=320541675 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020151219/https://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/richard-brookss-fever-pitch-never-got-its-due |archive-date=2017-10-20 |access-date=2024-04-02}}

{{cite news |last1=Barta |first1=Preston |date=2018-05-18 |title=DVD reviews: 'Die Hard' turns 30 with high-definition explosions |url=https://www.dentonrc.com/entertainment/dvd-reviews-die-hard-turns-with-high-definition-explosions/article_8d82de21-d88d-5835-bfae-a626fc1731e4.html |url-status=live |work=Denton Record-Chronicle |publisher=Bill Patterson |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180522023449/https://www.dentonrc.com/entertainment/dvd-reviews-die-hard-turns-with-high-definition-explosions/article_8d82de21-d88d-5835-bfae-a626fc1731e4.html |archive-date=2018-05-22 |access-date=2024-04-02}}

{{citation |title=Social Security Applications and Claims, 1936–2007 |publisher=Social Security Administration |via=Ancestry.com}}

{{cite web |url=http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/3638%7C0/Bridgette-Andersen/filmography.html |title=Filmography for Bridgette Andersen |publisher=Turner Classic Movies |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190122173515/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/3638%7C0/Bridgette-Andersen/filmography.html |archive-date=2019-01-22 |url-status=dead |access-date=2025-04-20}}

{{cite magazine |title=Bridgette Andersen List of Movies and TV Shows {{pipe}} TV Guide |url=https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/bridgette-andersen/credits/142835/ |url-status=dead |magazine=TV Guide |issn=0039-8543 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180929233442/https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/bridgette-andersen/credits/142835/ |archive-date=2018-09-29 |access-date=2018-10-01}}

}}

External links

{{IMDb name|0026106}}
{{TCMDb name|3638{{!}}0}}

Category:20th-century American actresses

Category:1975 births

Category:1997 deaths

Category:accidental deaths in California

Category:actresses from Inglewood, California

Category:American child actresses

Category:American child models

Category:American film actresses

Category:American television actresses

Category:drug-related deaths in California

Category:film child actresses

Category:television child actresses