Jeramie Rain
{{short description|American actress}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Infobox person
|name = Jeramie Rain
|image = Jeramie Rain at 1988 Academy Awards (cropped).JPG
|caption = Rain in 1988
|imagesize =
| birth_name = Susan Davis
| birth_place = Charleston, West Virginia, U.S.
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1948|8|23}}
| death_date =
| death_place =
| death_cause =
| other_names = {{nowrap|Jeramie Rain Dreyfus}}
Sue Davis
Kristin Marle
| occupation = Actress, screenwriter, producer
| spouse = {{marriage|Richard Dreyfuss
|1983|1995|end=div}}
| children = 3
}}
Jeramie Rain (born Susan Davis; August 23, 1948) is an American screenwriter, producer, philanthropist and former actress. Rain began her career with starring roles in several local stage productions in Charleston before moving to New York City in the early 1970s. After appearing in a string of commercials, she made her film debut in the crime film The Abductors (1972), then became known for roles as Sadie in Wes Craven's controversial horror film The Last House on the Left (1972) and Willie Mae in Albert T. Viola's comedy film Preacherman Meets Widderwoman (1973).
Outside of film, Rain had a supporting role as Nurse Samantha Tolliver in the soap opera The Doctors (1972–77), followed by guest appearances on several soap operas, including General Hospital, and starring roles in off-Broadway productions, including 22 Years and The Fan Club. Rain quit acting in the mid-1970s and subsequently worked as a writer and producer for NBC and CBS. At the age of 28, Rain was diagnosed with systemic lupus and has launched several philanthropic efforts to bring awareness to the disease.
Early life
Rain was born as Susan Davis in Charleston, West Virginia, on August 23, 1948, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Davis. During her adolescent years, she worked with the Children's Theatre, Kanawha Players, and The Light Opera Guild. She graduated from George Washington High School in 1966, then moved to New York City in the early 1970s.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/?spot=9356286&fcfToken=665a7158261574c6b50666c696b78354677686a6b5a3138304e4d2f675a766239577a634a5a565450672f78396e6d723665354c742f5a582f35417a6b6c466a|title=Charleston Girl Building Acting Career In N.Y.|last=Haas|first=Ann Johnston|date=December 28, 1972|work=The Daily Mail Staff|access-date=March 28, 2018}}
Career
After appearing in a string of commercials, Rain had a short stage, film and television acting career from 1972 to 1973.
Rain made her film debut as Jane in Don Schain's 1972 crime film The Abductors.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9402E3DC103DEF34BC4151DFB7668389669EDE|title=The Screen:'The Abductors' Begins Run at the DeMille|last=Canby|first=Vincent|date=January 29, 1972|website=New York Times|access-date=April 6, 2017}} In January 1972, under the stage name Kristin Marle, Rain portrayed Sadie Mae Glutz (who was born only weeks before Rain) in the two-week run of 22 Years,{{Cite book|title=Off Broadway Musicals, 1910–2007: Casts, Credits, Songs, Critical Reception and Performance Data of More Than 1,800 Shows|last=Dietz|first=Dan|publisher=McFarland|year=2012|isbn=9780786457311|pages=468}} an off-Broadway musical production that revolved around the story of the Charles Manson murders.{{Cite book|title=Subversive Horror Cinema: Countercultural Messages of Films from Frankenstein to the Present|last=Towlson|first=Jon|publisher=McFarland|year=2014|isbn=978-1-476-61533-2|pages=135}} She next appeared as Sadie in Wes Craven's controversial rape and revenge film The Last House on the Left (1972).[http://www.fangoria.com/eventsmain/weekend-of-horrors/woh-updates/118-las-vegas-2009/4270-trinity-of-terrors-guest-spotlight-the-baddies-of-1972s-the-last-house-on-the-left.html TRINITY OF TERRORS Guest Spotlight: The BADDIES of 1972's THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT! - Jeramie Rain] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091015222854/http://www.fangoria.com/eventsmain/weekend-of-horrors/woh-updates/118-las-vegas-2009/4270-trinity-of-terrors-guest-spotlight-the-baddies-of-1972s-the-last-house-on-the-left.html |date=October 15, 2009 }}
Rain played Nurse Samantha Tolliver in the soap opera The Doctors from 1972 to 1977 and had guest appearances on General Hospital. In 1973, Rain was cast in the comedy film Preacherman Meets Widderwoman. After this role, Rain retired from acting and worked as a writer and producer at CBS. She worked in Rockefeller Center and the Los Angeles location.
In the early 1990s, she founded Mother's Touch, a Los Angeles-based charity that benefits children diagnosed with serious illnesses.{{Cite web |url=http://www.edn.com/index.asp?layout=article&articleid=VR1117862085&partner=enews |title=Streisand first on bill for inaugural gala - 23 November 1992 |access-date=March 29, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927174317/http://www.edn.com/index.asp?layout=article&articleid=VR1117862085&partner=enews |archive-date=September 27, 2007 |url-status=dead }} In 2000, David A. Szulkin interviewed Rain for his book Wes Craven's Last House on the Left, which tells the inside story of making the film.{{Cite book|title=Wes Craven's The Last House on the Left|last=Szulkin|first=David|year=2000|publisher=FAB Press |isbn=1903254019}} In 2003, Rain appeared as herself in the documentary Celluloid Crime of the Century.
Personal life
Rain was a friend of John Belushi and tried to discourage him from using drugs.{{Cite book|title=Wired: The Short Life & Fast Times of John Belushi|last=Woodward|first=Bob|publisher=Simon and Schuster|year=2012|isbn=978-1-451-66598-7}} She was diagnosed with systemic lupus at the age of 28, though she suffered from it all through her 20s. Her first pregnancy (1983) exacerbated her condition so severely that she could not hold her new daughter for two years due to the loss of use of both of her arms.[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-05-07-vw-245-story.html Lupus Sufferer Does Battle Against Silent Disease - May 7, 1990] Rain married actor Richard Dreyfuss in 1983,The New York Times [http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/d/richard_dreyfuss/index.html?query=DREYFUSS,%20JERAMIE%20RAIN&field=per&match=exact article on the divorce]{{Failed verification|date=September 2019}} and they had three children together before their 1995 divorce: Emily (born in 1983), Benjamin (born in 1986), and Harry (born in 1990).
In an interview in 2009, Rain—who once played Manson Family member Susan Atkins on stage—said that she was once picked up hitch-hiking by Tex Watson and Charles Manson, stayed in their van after her friends were dropped off, and that they later showed up at her aunt's house.{{Cite web|url=https://hardfeelings.wordpress.com/2009/11/04/last-house-killer-lived-in-tate-murder-mansion-michael-berryman-on-hills-have-eyes/|title='Last House' Killer Lived in Tate Murder Mansion; Michael Berryman on 'Hills Have Eyes'|date=November 4, 2009|website=Hard Feelings|access-date=April 6, 2017|archive-date=April 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170407055608/https://hardfeelings.wordpress.com/2009/11/04/last-house-killer-lived-in-tate-murder-mansion-michael-berryman-on-hills-have-eyes/|url-status=dead}}
Filmography
=Film=
| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 1972
| Jane | Feature film |
| 1972
| Sadie | Feature film |
| 1973
| Preacherman Meets Widderwoman | Willie Mae (as Sue Davis) | Feature film |
| 2003
|Celluloid Crime of the Century |Herself | Documentary, short |
=Theatre=
| class="wikitable sortable" style="min-width:30em" | |||
| Year
! Title ! Role !Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 22 Years | Sadie Mae Glutz (as Kristin Marle) | Off-Broadway |
| 1972 | The Fan Club | Supporting | Off-Broadway |
=Television=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes |
|---|
| 1972
|Supporting |TV pilot |
| 1972
|Guest |3 episodes |
| 1972-77
|Nurse Samantha Tolliver |30 episodes |
| 1987
|The Simon Wiesenthal Center Annual Humanitarian Awards Honoring Anatoly Scharansky |Herself |TV special |
| 1987
|The Annual Entertainment Industry Honors Presents a Salute to Bud Grant |Herself |TV movie |
| 1991
|1st Annual Environmental Media Awards |Herself |TV special |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|706942}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rain, Jeramie}}
Category:20th-century American actresses
Category:Actresses from Charleston, West Virginia
Category:American film actresses
Category:George Washington High School (Charleston, West Virginia) alumni
Category:Writers from Charleston, West Virginia