Valerie Perrine: Superman & Lenny Star Dies Aged 82

Valerie Perrine, the actress who earned an Academy Award nomination for her portrayal of Honey Bruce in Bob Fosse’s 1974 biopic Lenny and captivated audiences as Miss Teschmacher in Richard Donner’s Superman films, died Monday in Beverly Hills at the age of 82.

The news was announced by filmmaker Stacey Souther, who directed the 2022 documentary Valerie, chronicling Perrine’s life and her battle with Parkinson’s disease. Souther shared the news on Perrine’s official Facebook page, writing, “It is with deep sadness that I share the heartbreaking news that Valerie has passed away. She faced Parkinson’s disease with incredible courage and compassion, never once complaining.” Souther continued, praising Perrine as “a true inspiration” and lamenting that “the world feels less beautiful without her in it.”

Born in Galveston, Texas, Perrine’s early career involved performing as a showgirl in Las Vegas. A near-tragic encounter marked a turning point in her life. On August 9, 1969, she was invited to a party at the Benedict Canyon home of Sharon Tate by her then-partner, Hollywood hair stylist Jay Sebring. Perrine unexpectedly secured a perform commitment that evening, preventing her from attending the party where Tate and Sebring were among those murdered by members of the Manson Family.

Perrine’s breakthrough role came in 1972 with a part in the film adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five, where she played a soft-core porn actress. She followed this with a role in 1973’s The Last American Hero, alongside Jeff Bridges. That same year, she gained notoriety for an impromptu act of exposure during a PBS broadcast of Bruce Jay Friedman’s Steambath on May 4, 1973, becoming the first actress to appear nude on American network television.

Her performance as Honey Bruce, the wife of comedian Lenny Bruce, in Bob Fosse’s Lenny, starring Dustin Hoffman, cemented her status as a significant actress. The role garnered her the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival and Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations. The film itself, a biographical drama, explored Bruce’s life and struggles with obscenity laws and self-destruction, ultimately ending with his death from a morphine overdose in 1966.

Perrine’s versatility led to a memorable role as Miss Eve Teschmacher, Lex Luthor’s girlfriend in Superman (1978) and Superman II (1980). She also appeared in The Electric Horseman (1979) as Charlotta Steele, the ex-wife of Robert Redford’s rodeo champion, and alongside Jack Nicholson in 1982’s The Border. Her filmography included a turn as supermodel Samantha “Sam” Simpson in the 1980 cult classic Can’t Stop The Music, a pseudo-biopic of the disco group the Village People.

Diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2015, Perrine faced the illness with the same courage Souther described in her announcement. A GoFundMe campaign has been established by Souther to help cover the costs of Perrine’s burial at Forest Lawn Cemetery, as her finances were depleted by years of medical expenses.