Sally Kirkland, star who earned an Oscar nomination in 'Anna,' dies at age 84

NEW YORK -- Sally Kirkland, a one-time exemplary who became a regular connected stage, movie and TV, champion known for sharing the surface with Paul Newman and Robert Redford successful “The Sting” and her Oscar-nominated rubric relation successful the 1987 movie “Anna,” has died. She was 84.

Her representative, Michael Greene, said Kirkland died Tuesday greeting astatine a Palm Springs hospice.

Friends established a GoFundMe relationship this autumn for her aesculapian care. They said she had fractured 4 bones successful her neck, close wrist and near hip. While recovering, she besides developed infections, requiring hospitalization and rehab.

Kirkland acted successful specified films arsenic “The Way We Were” with Barbra Streisand, “Revenge” with Kevin Costner, “Cold Feet” with Keith Carradine and Tom Waits, Ron Howard's “EDtv,” Oliver Stone's “JFK,” “Heatwave” with Cicely Tyson, “High Stakes” with Kathy Bates, “Bruce Almighty” with Jim Carrey and the 1991 TV movie “The Haunted,” astir a household dealing with paranormal activity. She had a cameo successful Mel Brooks' “Blazing Saddles.”

Her biggest relation was successful 1987's “Anna” arsenic a fading Czech movie prima remaking her beingness successful the United States and mentoring to a younger actor, Paulina Porizkova. Kirkland won a Golden Globe and earned an Oscar information on with Cher successful “Moonstruck,” Glenn Close successful “Fatal Attraction, Holly Hunter successful ”Broadcast News" and Meryl Streep successful “Ironweed.”

“Kirkland is 1 of those performers whose endowment has been an unfastened concealed to her chap actors but thing of a enigma to the wide public,” The Los Angeles professional wrote successful her review. “There should beryllium nary disorder astir her individuality aft this blazing comet of a performance.”

Kirkland’s small-screen acting credits see stints connected “Criminal Minds,” “Roseanne,” “Head Case” and she was a bid regular connected the TV shows “Valley of the Dolls” and “Charlie’s Angels.”

Born successful New York City, Kirkland’s parent was a manner exertion astatine Vogue and Life mag who encouraged her girl to commencement modeling astatine property 5. Kirkland graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and studied with Philip Burton, Richard Burton’s mentor, and Lee Strasberg, the maestro of the Method schoolhouse of acting. An aboriginal breakout was appearing successful Andy Warhol's “13 Most Beautiful Women” successful 1964. She appeared bare arsenic a kidnapped rape unfortunate successful Terrence McNally’s off-Broadway “Sweet Eros.”

Some of her aboriginal roles were Shakespeare, including the lovesick Helena successful “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” for New York Shakespeare Festival shaper Joseph Papp and Miranda successful an off-Broadway accumulation of “The Tempest.”

“I don’t deliberation immoderate histrion tin truly telephone him oregon herself an histrion unless helium oregon she puts successful clip with Shakespeare,” she told the Los Angeles Times successful 1991. “It shows up, it ever shows up successful the work, astatine immoderate point, whether it’s conscionable not being capable to person enactment control, oregon not being capable to admit connection arsenic poesy and music, oregon not having the powerfulness that Shakespeare automatically instills you with erstwhile you instrumentality connected 1 of his characters.”

Kirkland was a subordinate of respective New Age groups, taught Insight Transformational Seminars and was a longtime subordinate of the affiliated Church of the Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness, whose followers judge successful psyche transcendence.

She reached a vocation nadir portion riding nude connected a pig successful the 1969 movie “Futz,” which a Guardian reviewer dubbed the worst movie helium had ever seen. “It was astir a antheral who fell successful emotion with a pig, and adjacent by the dismal standards of the era, it was dismal,” helium wrote.

Kirkland was besides known for disrobing for truthful galore different roles and societal causes that Time mag dubbed her “the latter-day Isadora Duncan of nudothespianism.”

Kirkland volunteered for radical who had AIDS, crab and bosom disease, fed stateless radical via the American Red Cross, participated successful telethons for hospices and was an advocator for prisoners, particularly young people.