Dorothy Lyman

Dorothy Lyman
Born	(1947-04-18) April 18, 1947 Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
Occupations	Actress director producer
Years active	1971–present
Spouses	John Tillinger ​ ​ (m. 1971; div. 1983)​ Vincent Malle ​ ​ (m. 1987; div. 2001)​
Children	3, including Emma Tillinger Koskoff

Dorothy Lyman is an American television actress, director, and producer. She is most known for her work as Gwen Frame on Another World, on All My Children as the original Opal Sue Gardner, as Rebecca Whitmore on Generations, and on the sitcom Mama's Family as Naomi Harper.

Life and career

Lyman was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Violet E. (née Brightwell) and Hector H. Lyman, who was a stockbroker. She is Protestant. Jill Larson, who succeeded Lyman in the role of Opal on All My Children, and she attended the same high school. She debuted on her first soap opera, A World Apart, as flower child Julie Stark in 1971. Several years later, Dorothy appeared as Elly Jo Jamison, an evil relation of wealthy Orin Hillyer's, (1972-1973) on The Edge of Night, and as architect Gwen Parrish Frame (1976–1980, 1989) on Another World.

Her most notable soap opera role, though, was on All My Children as Opal Sue Gardner (1981-1983), for which she received two Emmy Awards—as Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role in a Daytime Drama Series in 1982 and for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series in 1983. Lyman performed characters on other soap operas including Rebecca Whitmore (1990–1991) on Generations, and Bonnie Roberts (1991–1992) on The Bold and the Beautiful.

In 1983, Lyman became well known for her role as Naomi Harper on the sitcom Mama's Family, a role she played for the full six seasons. In an appearance on Vicki Lawrence's talk show Vicki!, Lyman noted that she continued to perform on All My Children concurrently with the beginning of Mama's Family's production, flying back and forth each week between New York City and Los Angeles. While the commute was brutal, she remembered it fondly, referring to that stage of her career as "All My Paychecks".

During this time, Lyman appeared in the Tales from the Darkside television series in the "In the Cards" episode (1985). She also played Ralphie's mother in Jean Shepherd's Ollie Hopnoodle's Haven of Bliss from 1988, appeared in ALF as Maura Norris in the episode "Tequila" (1988), and in Hunter as Sgt. Carol James Meyers in the episode "The Pit" (1989).

When Mama's Family ended its run in 1990, Lyman went behind the camera, producing and directing 75 episodes of The Nanny (all episodes of the third and fourth seasons, and all but four episodes of the fifth), even making a special guest appearance on the Fran Drescher sitcom. Lyman also had a recurring role on Bob, Bob Newhart's third series.

On the big screen, she made a cameo appearance in I Love Trouble, a film starring Nick Nolte and Julia Roberts. She made another cameo appearance in the 2001 film Blow starring Johnny Depp. She was seen in the 2006 films World Trade Center and The Departed.

In 2007, Lyman guest-starred in the third season of the reimagined Battlestar Galactica as Starbuck's mother. She made a guest appearance on Reba, playing the titular character's mother. She appeared in The Blacklist in the season-six episode "The Pawnbrokers".

Lyman performed My Kitchen Wars in Hollywood and New York as a one-woman show based on the book by Betty Fussell.

Personal life

From 1971 to 1983, Lyman was married to director and actor John Tillinger; they have two children, including daughter Emma Tillinger Koskoff, who is an Academy Awards-nominated producer. Her son, Sebastian Tillinger, is an actor. From her second marriage to French film producer Vincent Malle, Lyman has a son.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1971	The 300 Year Weekend	Jean
1980	Night of the Juggler	Nurse Jenny
1984	Summer Fantasy	Dr. Nancy Brannigan
1988	Ollie Hopnoodle's Haven of Bliss	Mom	Television film Nominated — CableACE Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Movie or Miniseries
1988	The People Across the Lake	Ruth Mortimer
1990	Camp Cucamonga	Millie Schector	Television film
1993	Ruby in Paradise	Mildred Chambers
1993	Jack the Bear	Mrs. Morris
1993	Young Goodman Brown	Sarah Good
1994	Tears and Laughter: The Joan and Melissa Rivers Story	Dorothy	Television film
1994	I Love Trouble	Suzie
1997	Dinner and Driving	Rita
2001	Blow	Judge
2006	World Trade Center	Allison's Mother
2006	The Departed	Woman at Bar
2008	Split Ends		Director and producer
2009	The Northern Kingdom	Nan	Director and producer
2015	Bad Hurt	Mrs. Salisbury
2016	Blind	Judge
2018	The Price for Silence	Wendy Moro
2018	Bullitt County	The Mrs.
2019	Back Fork	Susie
2019	Vault	Ma

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1971	A World Apart	Julie Stark	Series regular
1972-1973	The Edge of Night	Elly Jo Jamison	Series regular
1975	One Life to Live	Sister Margaret
1976-1980, 1989	Another World	Gwen Parrish Frame	Series regular
1981-1983	All My Children	Opal Cortlandt	Series regular Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (1983) Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (1982)
1985	Tales from the Darkside	Catherine	Episode: "In the Cards"
1985	Heart's Island	Johnie Baylor	Pilot
1988	ALF	Maura Norris	Episode: "Tequila"
1989	Hunter	Sgt. Carol James Meyers	Episode: "The Pit"
1983-1990	Mama's Family	Naomi Oates Harper	Series regular, 125 episodes
1990-1991	Generations	Rebecca Whitmore	Series regular
1991-1992	The Bold and the Beautiful	Bonnie Roberts	Series regular
1991-1993	Life Goes On	Mary McKenna	9 episodes
1993	Bodies of Evidence	Claudia Brooks	Episode: "Shadows"
1993	Bob	Patty Fleisher	3 episodes
1994	Picket Fences	Miriam Thorne	Episode: "Cold Spell"
1995	Sisters	Dr. Deborah Rosen	Episode: "A Lullaby to My Father"
1995	Hope & Gloria	Maxine	Episodes: "My Mamma Done Told Me" and "Love with an Improper Stranger"
1995	Murder, She Wrote	Norma Shey	Episode: "The Secret of Gila Junction
1993-1998	The Nanny		Director and producer, 74 episodes
2001	Days of Our Lives	Contessa Dorothea DiLyman	Special guest star
2002	Reba	Helen	Episode: "Meet the Parents"
2002	V.I.P.	Granny Goshen	Episode: "Valley Wonka"
1999-2002	The Practice	Dr. Diane Starger	3 episodes
2002	Judging Amy	Ms. Patterson	Episode: "Cause for Alarm"
2003	CSI: Miami	Vivian Kensington	Episode: "Dead Zone"
2005	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Principal Parker	Episode: "Alien"
2007	Battlestar Galactica	Socrata Thrace	Episode: "Maelstrom"
2009	Law & Order	Judge Dorothy Carr	Episode: "Reality Bites"
2015	Elementary	Belinda	Episode: "Absconded"
2016	Divorce	Bridget	Episode: "Christmas"
2018	FBI	Jilly Peters	Episode: "Pilot"
2019	The Blacklist	Delaine Uhlman	Episode: "The Pawnbrokers (No. 146/147)"
2022	The Girl from Plainville	Donna Roy	Episode: "Turtle"

External links

• Dorothy Lyman at IMDb
• Dorothy Lyman at the TCM Movie Database
• Dorothy Lyman at the Internet Broadway Database
• Dorothy Lyman at the Internet Off-Broadway Database