Jillian Kesner-Graver
Encyclopedia
Jillian Kesner-Graver was an American
actress and historian
who worked with her late husband, Gary Graver
, to preserve the work and legacy of director
Orson Welles
. She was best known as an actress for playing Fonzie
's girlfriend, Lorraine, on Happy Days
.
, on August 9, 1949. Her father was in the United States Navy
and she spent much of her childhood in Denver, Colorado
. She first moved to Los Angeles
in 1959 where she worked as a model
before getting into television
and movie acting
.
's girlfriend, Lorraine, on Happy Days
. She was credited as Jillian Kesner on Happy Days, as well as her other television and movie roles.
Kesner appeared in a large number of "B-rated" films throughout the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Her credits included Raw Force, Starhops and Jaded. She developed a large following among fans of B-level action films. She also appeared on a number of television shows, including Three's Company
, The Rockford Files
and Mork & Mindy.
She met her husband, director and cinematographer
, Gary Graver
, on the set of the film The Student Body in 1976.
, hospital of a staph infection. She was 58 years old.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actress and historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
who worked with her late husband, Gary Graver
Gary Graver
Gary Graver was an American film director and cinematographer. He was a prolific film-maker but is perhaps best known as Orson Welles' final cinematographer. Under the pseudonym of Robert McCallum he also directed adult films.Graver was born and raised in Portland, Oregon...
, to preserve the work and legacy of director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
Orson Welles
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
. She was best known as an actress for playing Fonzie
Fonzie
Arthur Herbert Fonzarelli is a fictional character played by Henry Winkler in the American sitcom Happy Days . He was originally a secondary character, but eventually became the lead...
's girlfriend, Lorraine, on Happy Days
Happy Days
Happy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in mid-1950s to mid-1960s America....
.
Early life
Kesner-Graver was born in Portsmouth, VirginiaPortsmouth, Virginia
Portsmouth is located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2010, the city had a total population of 95,535.The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard, is a historic and active U.S...
, on August 9, 1949. Her father was in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
and she spent much of her childhood in Denver, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
. She first moved to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
in 1959 where she worked as a model
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
before getting into television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
and movie acting
Acting
Acting is the work of an actor or actress, which is a person in theatre, television, film, or any other storytelling medium who tells the story by portraying a character and, usually, speaking or singing the written text or play....
.
Career
Kesner-Graver was best known for playing FonzieFonzie
Arthur Herbert Fonzarelli is a fictional character played by Henry Winkler in the American sitcom Happy Days . He was originally a secondary character, but eventually became the lead...
's girlfriend, Lorraine, on Happy Days
Happy Days
Happy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in mid-1950s to mid-1960s America....
. She was credited as Jillian Kesner on Happy Days, as well as her other television and movie roles.
Kesner appeared in a large number of "B-rated" films throughout the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Her credits included Raw Force, Starhops and Jaded. She developed a large following among fans of B-level action films. She also appeared on a number of television shows, including Three's Company
Three's Company
Three's Company is an American sitcom that aired from March 15, 1977, to September 18, 1984, on ABC. It is based on the British sitcom, Man About the House....
, The Rockford Files
The Rockford Files
The Rockford Files is an American television drama series which aired on the NBC network between September 13, 1974 and January 10, 1980. It has remained in regular syndication to the present day. The show stars James Garner as Los Angeles-based private investigator Jim Rockford and features Noah...
and Mork & Mindy.
She met her husband, director and cinematographer
Cinematographer
A cinematographer is one photographing with a motion picture camera . The title is generally equivalent to director of photography , used to designate a chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the image...
, Gary Graver
Gary Graver
Gary Graver was an American film director and cinematographer. He was a prolific film-maker but is perhaps best known as Orson Welles' final cinematographer. Under the pseudonym of Robert McCallum he also directed adult films.Graver was born and raised in Portland, Oregon...
, on the set of the film The Student Body in 1976.
Death
Jillian Kesner-Graver died on December 5, 2007, in a Irvine, CaliforniaIrvine, California
Irvine is a suburban incorporated city in Orange County, California, United States. It is a planned city, mainly developed by the Irvine Company since the 1960s. Formally incorporated on December 28, 1971, the city has a population of 212,375 as of the 2010 census. However, the California...
, hospital of a staph infection. She was 58 years old.
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 1976 in film The year 1976 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*March 22 - Filming begins on George Lucas' Star Wars science fiction film... |
The Student Body | Carrie | |
| 1978 1978 in film The year 1978 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 1 - Bob Dylan's film Renaldo and Clara, a documentary of the "Rolling Thunder Revue" tour premieres in Los Angeles, California.... |
Starhops | Angel | |
| 1980 1980 in film - Events :* May 21 - Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back is released and is the biggest grosser of the year .... |
Ang agila at ang falcon | ||
| 1981 1981 in film -Events:*January 19 - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer acquires beleaguered concurrent United Artists. UA was humiliated by the astronomical losses on the $40,000,000 movie Heaven's Gate, a major factor in the decision of owner Transamerica to sell it.... |
Firecracker | Susanne Carter | aka Naked Fist in Australia |
| 1982 1982 in film -Events:* March 26 = I Ought to Be in Pictures, starring Walter Matthau, Ann-Margret and Dinah Manoff is released. Manoff would not appear in another movie until 1987's Backfire.* June = PG-rated film E.T... |
Raw Force | Cookie Winchell | aka Kung Fu Cannibals |
| Trick or Treats Trick Or Treats (1982 film) Trick or Treats is an 1982 slasher film made by Gary Graver. It was very low-budget, but had been released into theaters anyway.-Plot:A baby sitter is stuck watching over a young brat on Halloween night who keeps playing vicious pranks on her... |
Andrea | ||
| 1987 1987 in film -Events:*January 31 - The Cure for Insomnia premieres at The School of the Art Institute in Chicago, Illinois, to officially become the world's longest film according to Guinness World Records.... |
Moon in Scorpio | Claire | |
| Evil Town Evil Town Evil Town is a 1987 American zombie horror film directed by Edward Collins, Mardi Rustam, Larry Spiegel, and Peter S. Traynor. Evil Town was the last film with the actor Dean Jagger.-Production:... |
Dorothy | ||
| 1989 1989 in film -Events:* Batman is released on June 23, and goes on to gross over $410 million worldwide.* Actress Kim Basinger and her brother Mick purchase Braselton, Georgia, for $20 million... |
Jaded | Sara | |
| Beverly Hills Vamp | Claudia | ||
| 1992 1992 in film The year 1992 in film involved many significant films. -Top grossing films:-Awards:Academy AwardsGolden Globe AwardsNational Film Awards... |
Roots of Evil | Brenda | |
| 1996 1996 in film Major releases this year included Scream, Independence Day, Fargo, Trainspotting, The English Patient, Twister, Mars Attacks!, Jerry Maguire and a version of Evita starring Madonna.-Events:... |
Subliminal Seduction | Cherl | Made for TV Movie |
| 1997 1997 in film -Events:* The original Star Wars trilogy's Special Editions are released.* Production begins on Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.* Titanic becomes the first film to gross US$1,000,000,000 at the box office making it the highest grossing film in history until Avatar broke the record in 2010.*... |
Operation Cobra | Jasmine | aka Inferno |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | S.W.A.T. S.W.A.T. (TV series) ----S.W.A.T. is a 1970s American television series about the adventures of the WCPD's Olympic Division Special Weapons And Tactics team operating in an unidentified California city.... |
Miss California | Guest Star |
| 1976 | The Blue Knight The Blue Knight (TV series) The Blue Knight was a CBS Crime TV series, running in 1975 and 1976, starring George Kennedy as Officer Bumper Morgan. The show was a based on a novel by author Joseph Wambaugh and produced by Lorimar Productions.- Plot :... |
Lady in swimsuit | Guest Star |
| Happy Days Happy Days Happy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in mid-1950s to mid-1960s America.... |
Patty Petrolunga | Guest Star | |
| 1977 | The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries is a television series which aired for three seasons on ABC... |
Paula Clark | Guest Star |
| Happy Days Happy Days Happy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in mid-1950s to mid-1960s America.... |
Lorraine | Guest Star | |
| 1979 | Co-ed Fever Co-Ed Fever Co-Ed Fever is an American sitcom that aired on CBS in 1979. The series attempted to capitalize on the success of the motion picture National Lampoon's Animal House. It was the third of three "frat house" comedy series to air in early 1979... |
Melba | Main cast |
| The Rockford Files The Rockford Files The Rockford Files is an American television drama series which aired on the NBC network between September 13, 1974 and January 10, 1980. It has remained in regular syndication to the present day. The show stars James Garner as Los Angeles-based private investigator Jim Rockford and features Noah... |
Lily Showalter | Guest Star | |
| The Ropers The Ropers The Ropers is an American sitcom that ran from March 13, 1979 to May 22, 1980 on ABC. The series is a spinoff of Three's Company and based on the British sitcom George and Mildred... |
Linda Graham | Guest Star | |
| 1981 | Three's Company Three's Company Three's Company is an American sitcom that aired from March 15, 1977, to September 18, 1984, on ABC. It is based on the British sitcom, Man About the House.... |
The Sister | Guest Star |
| 1982 | Mork & Mindy | Judi | Guest Star |
| 1983 | T.J. Hooker | Crystal | Guest Star |