Wendie Jo Sperber: Difference between revisions

Wendie Jo Sperber (September 15, 1958 – November 29, 2005) was an American actress, best known for her performances in the films I Wanna Hold Your Hand (1978), Bachelor Party (1984) and Back to the Future (1985) as well as the television sitcom Bosom Buddies (1980–1982).

Sperber was born in Hollywood and aimed for a performing-arts career from high school onward. She attended the summer Teenage Drama Workshop at California State University, Northridge, during the 1970s, and began her screen career at a young age when she was cast in the small role of "Kuchinsky," in Matthew Robbins' 1978 teen comedy Corvette Summer, alongside Mark Hamill. She appeared in Robert Zemeckis' period comedy I Wanna Hold Your Hand, as the irrepressible "Rosie Petrofsky." Sperber was overweight, but was able to move quickly on screen (Entertainment Weekly described Rosie Petrofsky as "a screaming Beatlemaniac who, among other things, climbed through elevator shafts and leapt from a moving car"),^[1] and her “girl-next-door” appearance helped her to overcome the stigma of her weight.

She played the title role in the made-for-television feature Dinky Hocker and engaged in physical comedy in Steven Spielberg's 1941. Zemeckis, who also worked on 1941, brought Sperber back to the big screen in 1980 with a role in his comedy Used Cars, but it was on television that year that Sperber finally began to receive more serious attention. She was cast in the role of "Amy Cassidy;" a character that was funny, romantic, and exuberant— in the series Bosom Buddies, starring Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari. Following its cancellation in 1982, Sperber appeared in the comedy The First Time, and worked a year on the series Private Benjamin. She then resumed her feature work in the Tom Hanks theatrical vehicle Bachelor Party, directed by Neal Israel. Israel used her again in Moving Violations in 1985. That same year, she appeared as Linda McFly in Zemeckis' highly successful Back to the Future.

Sperber's roles grew larger in the wake of Back to the Future, and over the next decade she starred in the series Babes (a comedy about three zaftig women; her costar Susan Peretz would also lose her fight with breast cancer several years later), and had a major supporting part in the series Hearts Afire, as well as numerous big-screen comedies interspersed with the occasional drama. By her own account, however, she preferred comedy if given the choice. As she told TV Guide in 1990, “I'm an actress who likes to say something funny—everybody laughs and your job is done.”

In 1983, Sperber married Richard Velasquez and had a son, Preston, in 1986, and a daughter, Pearl, in 1990. Pearl also goes by the name "Daphne." The marriage ended in divorce in 1994.

In 1997, Sperber was diagnosed with breast cancer, which seemed to go into remission following treatment. She revealed in April of 2002, though, that the cancer had reappeared and spread throughout her body. She continued to work in television and movies during this period, including episodes of Unhappily Ever After, Home Improvement, Will & Grace, Grounded for Life, and the movies Desperate But Not Serious (1999) and Sorority Boys (2002). She died on November 29, 2005. Her last work was lending her voice to "Roger 'n' Me", an episode of American Dad in 2006, which aired after her death. The producers of the show renamed her character as Wendie Jo in honor of the actress.

In addition to her work on TV and movies, Sperber also was the founder of weSPARK Cancer Support Center, an independent organization formed in 2001 to advance and help support individuals and their families fighting various forms of cancer through free emotional support, information and social events/activities. In addition to being the founder, Sperber also served on the board of directors and wrote the quarterly newsletter. Each year, weSPARK has put on an extravagant benefit show called weSPARKLE to raise funds for the organization. The event has been attended by many of Sperber's friends and colleagues, including Tom Hanks, Bryan Cranston, John Ritter, and Eric McCormack. In 1998, Sperber also helped the United States Postal Service unveil and promote a breast-cancer stamp.

Sperber is the subject of the documentary The Show Must Go On, directed by Beth Murphy. The film follows the actress through her treatments to battle breast cancer during the production of the 2004 weSPARKLE event.

• My Dinner with Jimi (2003) as Louella
• Sorority Boys (2002) as Professor Bendler
• Pissed (2000) as Wendy
• Desperate But Not Serious (1999) as Landlady
• Big Packages (1996)
• The Return of Hunter (1995) (TV) as Lucille
• Mr. Payback: An Interactive Movie (1995) as Woman With Kitten
• Mr. Write (1994) as Roz
• Love Affair (1994) as Helen
• Back to the Future Part III (1990) as Linda McFly
• The Image (1990) (TV) as Anita Cox
• Delta Fever (1987) as Claire
• Stewardess School (1986) as Jolean Winters
• Back to the Future (1985) as Linda McFly
• Moving Violations (1985) as Joan Pudillo
• Bachelor Party (1984) as Dr. Tina Gassko
• The First Time (1983) as Eileen
• Used Cars (1980) (as Miss Wendie Jo Sperber) as Nervous Nona
• 1941 (1979) as Maxine Dexheimer
• Dinky Hocker (1979) (TV) as Susan 'Dinky' Hocker
• Corvette Summer (1978) as Kuchinsky
• I Wanna Hold Your Hand (1978) as Rosie Petrofsky

• American Dad as Old Lady/Wendie Jo (Voice) in "Roger & Me" (2006)
• Grounded for Life as Mrs. Robinson in "The Letter(s)" (2005)
• 8 Simple Rules as Alice in 4 episodes (2002–2005)
• Hearts Afire as Mavis Davis (1992–1993)
• Will and Grace as April in "My Fair Maid-y (1999)
• Married... With Children as Sandy, Al's old girlfriend from high school, from the episode "I Who Have Nothing" (1991)
• Babes as Charlene Gilbert (1990–1991)
• Designing Women as Estelle Rhinehart in the episode "The Women of Atlanta" (1989)
• Women in Prison as Pam (1987–1988)
• Private Benjamin as Pvt. Stacy Kouchalakas (1982–1983)
• Bosom Buddies as Amy Cassidy (1980–1982)

^1 As is often the case in Hollywood, Sperber's age was a matter of contention at the time of her death. Some reports stated she “died in her 40s.” According to an Associated Press report on December 1, 2005: "Her publicist first said that Sperber was 46, but later said she was 43 based on an Internet resource. The Associated Press reported in September that Sperber was 47." Her year of birth was widely published as 1962, but her California birth record shows her birthdate as September 15, 1958, thus she was in fact 47 at the time of her death.

• Please use a more specific IMDb template. See the documentation for available templates.
• "One Fun Babe", a 1990 Entertainment Weekly profile of Sperber that discusses her role on the sitcom Babes.
• The Show Must Go On documentary about Wendie Jo Sperber
• Wendie Jo Sperber at Find a Grave