Suzanne Pleshette

Born in Brooklyn, New York the only child of Eugene and Geraldine Kaplan Pleshette, she entered the High School of the Performing Arts at twelve, and attended Syracuse University with a drama major.

She made her Broadway debut in 1957's ‘Compulsion' which was followed by ‘Golden Fleecing' with Tom Poston in 1958. That same year saw her feature film debut in ‘The Geisha Boy.' In 1961, she replaced Anne Bancroft in the Broadway production of ‘The Miracle Worker' winning critical acclaim.

She also appeared in numerous films including ‘The Birdsin 1963; ‘The Ugly Dachshund' and ‘Nevada Smith' in 1966; ‘Blackbeard's Ghost' in 1968; ‘If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium' in 1969; and ‘Support Your Local Gunfighter' in 1971. Additionally, she maintained a constant presence on television, appearing in guest roles from 1957's ‘Habourmaster'; to ‘Route 66' in 1961; and ‘It Takes a Thief' in 1969. Her signature role, however, remains that of Emily Hartley in ‘The Bob Newhart Show' which ran from 1972 to 1978 and for which she earned two Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. She reprised the role in 1990 during ‘The Newhart Show's final episode in one of the most talked finales in television history, and again in ‘The Bob Newhart Show 19th Anniversary Special' in 1991.

She continued as a guest star in a variety of television series as well as starring in made for television movies such as ‘The Queen of Mean' in 1990 and ‘A Twist of the Knife' in 1993. Her productivity waned as she spent more time with, Tom Gallagher, her husband of 32 years. He succumbed to lung cancer in January 2000. In the spring of 2001 she married long time friend Tom Posten.

Pleshette was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2006, less than a year before Posten's death from respiratory failure in 2007. After treatment she appeared in a cast reunion with ‘The Bob Newhart Show' veterans. Pleshette succumbed to respiratory failure at her home at age 70. She received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame posthumously on what would have been her 71st birthday.