Susan Anspach

Susan Anspach Profile Photo

Characters played by Susan Anspach

Catherine Van Oost — Five Easy Pieces (1970)

Catherine Van Oost is a young pianist studying under and engaged to Carl Fidelio Dupea. She is immediately attracted to Robert Eroica Dupea, responds emotionally to his piano playing, and sleeps with him, but refuses to run away because she believes he cannot love others while rejecting himself.

Nancy — Play It Again, Sam (1972)

Nancy is Allan Felix's ex-wife, appearing in flashbacks and imagined conversations about the collapse of their marriage. She repeatedly ridiculed Allan's sexual inadequacy, contributing to his insecurity with women. Her fantasy appearances continue to trouble him, and during one uncontrolled vision she appears alongside Humphrey Bogart.

Lila Shay — The Big Fix (1978)

Moses’s former college girlfriend, Lila works on Hawthorne’s election campaign and brings Moses into the investigation through Sam. She helps trace the fake flyers to a printing order, but is later found murdered in her apartment, making her death a central motive for Moses’s continued investigation.

Penny Hart — The Devil and Max Devlin (1981)

Penny Hart is a widowed mother and the parent of Toby Hart. She operates a day care facility, which Max Devlin helps her manage while spending time with Toby. Max falls in love with Penny and eventually marries her, making their relationship central to Toby's willingness to sign and to Max's eventual moral transformation.

Dr. Judith Glass — Blue Monkey (1987)

An on-call hospital doctor who assists in treating the gunshot victim. She attempts to revive Fred using defibrillators, which causes his chest to explode, and later helps manage the disease consequences throughout the building.

Career Overview

Susan Anspach has 33 screen credits in a career dating back to 1966. Their work spans 2 cinematic universes — most prominently Cagney & Lacey Collection with 1 titles. Signature works include The First Time, Portrait of an Escort, Five Easy Pieces. Explore the interactive character relationship maps on each title page to trace how their roles connect across franchises.

Personal Facts

Known For
Acting
Gender
female
Known Credits
33
Birth Date
1942-11-23
Birth Place
New York City, New York, U.S.

Known For

Associated Universes

Universe traveler — spans 2 universes

Frequent Collaborators

Credits

Content sources

Related entry on Wikidata (Q276167), public domain (CC0).