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Bibi Besch

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Bibi Besch
Born
Bibiana Maria Köchert

(1942-02-01)February 1, 1942
DiedSeptember 7, 1996(1996-09-07) (aged 54)
OccupationActress
Years active1954–1996
Spouse
Donald B. Mathis
(m. 1965; div. 1973)
ChildrenSamantha Mathis
Parents

Bibi Besch (born Bibiana Maria Köchert; February 1, 1942 – September 7, 1996) was an Austrian-American film, television, and stage actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Dr. Carol Marcus in the science fiction film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982). Her other notable film roles were in Who's That Girl (1987), Steel Magnolias (1989), and Tremors (1990). Besch also appeared in a number of television productions, including the television film The Day After (1983) and The Jeff Foxworthy Show, and received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations.

Early life

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Bibiana Maria Köchert was born in Vienna in 1942, the younger of two daughters born to theater actress Gusti Huber, who starred in German films during World War II, and Gotfrid Köchert, an Austrian racing driver, who served in the Wehrmacht. She had an elder sister, Christiana Barbara Köchert. Gusti and her two daughters remained in Vienna throughout World War II, immigrating to the United States after the war ended.[1]

Joseph Besch, a radio executive and former U.S. Army captain, married Huber, a divorcee, in 1946, and became Huber's daughters' stepfather; his stepchildren took his surname. Huber and Besch later had two children, born in the United States, Drea and Andrew, the half-siblings of Bibiana and Christiana.[2] She had a daughter, Samantha Mathis, also an actress.[3]

Career

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Most of Besch's early TV experience came from years spent on New York-based daytime soap operas — The Secret Storm (1966), The Edge of Night (1969), Love Is a Many Splendored Thing (1973) and Somerset (1974). In later years she was seen in primetime soaps, such as Secrets of Midland Heights (1980), The Hamptons (1983), Dynasty (1984), Dallas (1985), Falcon Crest (1985-1986), Knots Landing (1989) and an episode of Melrose Place which aired on September 9, 1996, two days after her death.[4]

Besch guest starred in a variety of television series, including Street Hawk, The Rockford Files, The Golden Girls, Murder, She Wrote, Backstairs at the White House, and It's Garry Shandling's Show. Having appeared on a 1979 episode of James Arness' western series, How the West Was Won, she reunited with him in the 1981 made-for-TV film McClain's Law which served as the two-hour debut episode of Arness' 1981–82 same-named police detective series.

She played Dr. Carol Marcus, the early love of Admiral James T. Kirk in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982). Her other films included Victory at Entebbe (1976), The Pack (1977), The Promise (1979), Meteor (1979), The Beast Within (1982), The Lonely Lady (1983), The Day After (1983), Mrs. Delafield Wants to Marry (1986), He's My Girl (1987), Who's That Girl (1987), Date with an Angel (1987), Steel Magnolias (1989), Tremors (1990), and Betsy's Wedding (1990).

In 1992, she received an Emmy Award nomination for her performance in Doing Time on Maple Drive, which starred William McNamara and Jim Carrey as her sons. She received another Emmy nomination in 1993 for her recurring-character role as the neurotic mother of Janine Turner's character on Northern Exposure. She continued to act until her death in 1996, having amassed well over 100 television and film credits.

Death

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Bibi Besch died of breast cancer at Daniel Freeman Hospital in Los Angeles on September 7, 1996. She was 54 years old.[3]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
1975 Distance Joanne Morse
1976 Victory at Entebbe German Woman TV movie
1977 The Pack Marge
1978 The Six Million Dollar Man Countess Lysandra Korischeva Episode: The Madonna Caper
1979 Hardcore Mary
1979 The Promise Dr. Faye Allison
1979 Meteor Helen Bradley
1981 McClain's Law Annie Lammon TV movie
1982 The Beast Within Caroline MacCleary
1982 Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan Dr. Carol Marcus
1983 The Lonely Lady Veronica Randall
1983 The Day After Eve Dahlberg TV movie
1983 Likely Stories, Vol. 3 Beth Warner
1984 Cagney & Lacey Linda Carson Episode: Matinee
1986 Mrs. Delafield Wants to Marry Doreen Delafield TV movie
1987 Who's That Girl Mrs. Worthington
1987 He's My Girl Marcia
1987 Date with an Angel Grace Sanders
1988 Family Ties Dr. Hewitt
1989 Kill Me Again Jack's Secretary
1989 The Golden Girls Helen Budd Episode: Sick and Tired (part 2)
1989 Steel Magnolias Belle Marmillion
1990 Night Court Mrs. Rollins
1990 Tremors Megan as The Doctor's Wife
1990 Betsy's Wedding Nancy Lovell
1991 Lonely Hearts Maria Wilson
1992 Doing Time on Maple Drive Lisa Carter TV movie
1992–1993 Northern Exposure Jane O'Connell 2 Episodes: "Burning Down the House" and "Grosse Pointe, 48230"
1995 My Family Mrs. Gillespie
1999 California Myth Harriet (final film role)

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Nominated work Result
1984 4th Golden Raspberry Awards Worst Supporting Actress Nominated
1992 44th Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Special Nominated
1993 45th Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series Nominated

References

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  1. ^ "BIBI BESCH, APPEARED IN TV ROLES". Archived from the original on October 17, 2017. Retrieved May 18, 2015. [when accessed on August 4, 2020, this link was no longer active]
  2. ^ Profile Archived 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine AmericanHeritage.com; accessed November 3, 2015. [when accessed on August 4, 2020, this link was no longer active]
  3. ^ a b Van Gelder, Lawrence (September 14, 1996). "Bibi Besch, 54, Dies; TV and Film Actress And a Force in Guild". The New York Times. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
  4. ^ Gelder, Lawrence Van (1996-09-14). "Bibi Besch, 54, Dies; TV and Film Actress And a Force in Guild". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
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