| Date of Birth | 27 August 1943, New York City, New York, USA |
| Birth Name | Susan Ker Weld |
| Height | 5' 4" (1.63 m) |
Susan Ker Weld was born on August 27, 1943, in New York City. When her father, Lathrop Motley Weld, died three years later at the age of 49, the cute little girl, whose name by then had somehow been transmogrified into "Tuesday", took over the role of the family breadwinner, which included her mother Yosene Balfour Ker.
She became a successful child model, posing for advertisements and mail-order catalogs. Her work and the burden of responsibility estranged her from her mother Yosene, her two elder siblings, and forced the preteen girl into adulthood. At nine years of age, she suffered a nervous breakdown; at ten, she started heavy drinking; one year later, she began having relationships with older men, all of which led to a suicide attempt at age twelve.
In 1956 she debuted in the low-budget exploitation movie Rock Rock Rock! (1956) and decided to become an actress. After numerous TV appearances in New York she went to Hollywood in 1958 and was cast for Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys! (1958), something of a breakthrough for her. Over the next few years Tuesday became Hollywood's queen of teen, playing mainly precocious sex kittens. Her wild private life added to the entertainment of her fans.
Critics acknowledged her talent, directors approved of her professionalism, and in the late 1960s she even managed to grow out of her child/woman image and find more demanding roles - she had been "sweet little 16" for about 16 years. However, Tuesday Weld didn't achieve first-magnitude stardom.
Maybe she was just unlucky with her selection of jobs (she turned down Lolita (1962), Bonnie and Clyde (1967), True Grit (1969), Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969), among others); maybe her independence-loving mind made her instinctively shrink back from the restraints of super stardom. In any case, she kept on performing well in films that had either not much flair or not much success.
From the mid-'70s on she focused more and more on made-for-TV movies, which was ironic in that the best (Once Upon a Time in America (1984)) and the most successful (Falling Down (1993)) films that came her way happened after her big-screen career had pretty much petered out.
She became a successful child model, posing for advertisements and mail-order catalogs. Her work and the burden of responsibility estranged her from her mother Yosene, her two elder siblings, and forced the preteen girl into adulthood. At nine years of age, she suffered a nervous breakdown; at ten, she started heavy drinking; one year later, she began having relationships with older men, all of which led to a suicide attempt at age twelve.
In 1956 she debuted in the low-budget exploitation movie Rock Rock Rock! (1956) and decided to become an actress. After numerous TV appearances in New York she went to Hollywood in 1958 and was cast for Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys! (1958), something of a breakthrough for her. Over the next few years Tuesday became Hollywood's queen of teen, playing mainly precocious sex kittens. Her wild private life added to the entertainment of her fans.
Critics acknowledged her talent, directors approved of her professionalism, and in the late 1960s she even managed to grow out of her child/woman image and find more demanding roles - she had been "sweet little 16" for about 16 years. However, Tuesday Weld didn't achieve first-magnitude stardom.
Maybe she was just unlucky with her selection of jobs (she turned down Lolita (1962), Bonnie and Clyde (1967), True Grit (1969), Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969), among others); maybe her independence-loving mind made her instinctively shrink back from the restraints of super stardom. In any case, she kept on performing well in films that had either not much flair or not much success.
From the mid-'70s on she focused more and more on made-for-TV movies, which was ironic in that the best (Once Upon a Time in America (1984)) and the most successful (Falling Down (1993)) films that came her way happened after her big-screen career had pretty much petered out.
- IMDb Mini Biography By: Christoph Heuke <c_heuke@hotmail.com>
Spouse (3)
| Pinchas Zukerman | (18 October 1985 - 13 December 1998) (divorced) |
| Dudley Moore | (20 September 1975 - 18 July 1980) (divorced) (1 child) |
| Claude Harz | (23 October 1965 - 18 February 1971) (divorced) (1 child) |
Trivia (23)
Featured on the cover of the album "Girlfriend" by Matthew Sweet (1991).
Was considered for the title role in Lolita (1962).
Turned down the role of Bonnie in Bonnie and Clyde (1967).
She was director Roman Polanski's first choice for the title role in Rosemary's Baby(1968) because he thought her pure, American looks would contrast well with the film's dark undertones. The studio preferred Mia Farrow, however, who had become a star on the enormously popular night-time soap opera Peyton Place (1964). A few years later, Polanski wanted her to star in his film version of Macbeth (1971). She lost the part when she refused to do a nude sleepwalking scene. The role was eventually played byFrancesca Annis.
When asked by a reporter what drove her into seclusion in the 1970s, she answered, "I think it was a Buick."
Gave birth to her 1st child at age 23, a daughter Natasha Harz on August 26, 1966. Child's father was her 1st ex-husband, Claude Harz.
Gave birth to her 2nd child at age 32, a son Patrick H. Moore on February 26, 1976. Child's father was her 2nd ex-husband, Dudley Moore.
Graduated from Hollywood Professional School in 1960 and was the class valedictorian.
Singer Walter Egan recorded "Tuesday Weld", his self-penned tribute to the actress, on his 1980 album "The Last Stroll".
Donald Fagen mentions her in his song "New Frontier" on the album "The Nightfly": "Introduce me to that big blonde/She's got a touch of Tuesday Weld."
Refused to screen test (as did Natalie Wood) for the part of "Daisy Buchanan" in the 1974 remake of The Great Gatsby (1974).
1958 Deb Star.
The first year she was on the set of The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (1959) she was mobbed so much by the press that she finally cut them off entirely. After that her name was seldom mentioned when the show was written about.
In Tiny Tim's recording of George M. Cohan's song "Then I'd be Satisfied with Life" (on his 1968 album "God Bless Tiny Tim"), he changes the line "If Hettie Green would only be my wife" to "If Tuesday Weld would only be my wife".
Born at 01:34 AM (EWT).
Was considered to play Mrs. Lovett in a film version of the musical "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street", but she passed on the role as time went on. When it was finally made in the 2000s, the role went to Helena Bonham Carter.
Sold her homes in New York in Manhattan, and beach house in Montauk and is now living in Colorado near Aspen.
First cousin of ex Governor William Weld of Massachussetts and both their lineages precede the founding fathers. The Weld name is on more buildings at Harvard in honor of her family establishing the University and is one of the most important family lineages in America.
Weld lives in Aspen area and has turned down work for over 10 years. Her major agents still send her scripts weekly, but she is writing and close to her daughter and grand daughter. She is offered "mother roles" on hit series, but looks better than her years. [June 2010]
In 1971 the 8th Street Playhouse in New York's Greenwich Village hosted a Tuesday Weld Film Festival.
Weld and her "Wild In The Country" co-star Hope Lange both portrayed the character of Selena Cross; Weld in the movie sequel "Return To Peyton Place" , Lange in the original film "Peyton Place" (1957).
Actor Anthony Perkins and actress Dina Merrill (both of whom were co-stars) are Weld's third cousins.
Personal Quotes (10)
I do not ever want to be a huge star. Do you think I want a success? I refused Bonnie and Clyde (1967) because I was nursing at the time but also because deep down I knew that it was going to be a huge success. The same was true of "Bob and Carol and Fred and Sue" or whatever it was called [Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969)]. It reeked of success.
[about Elvis Presley] He walked into a room and everything stopped. Elvis was just so physically beautiful that even if he didn't have any talent . . . just his face, just his presence. And he was funny, charming, and complicated, but he didn't wear it on his sleeve. You didn't see that he was complicated. You saw great needs.
It seems the brighter you are, the deeper the hole you get into.
[on her reputation as a "wild child"] As a teenager, I was a wreck. I drank so much I can't remember anything.
[on Sue Lyon] I don't think of her as an actress or otherwise. She just doesn't occupy that much of my mind. I don't know her.
[Asked about a 1971 Tuesday Weld Film festival] I was astonished. That's an honor usually reserved for someone like Garbo or Bogart.
[After being asked why she turns down sure hits like "Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice"] It reeked of success. I may be self-destructive, but I like taking chances with movies. I like challenges, and I also like the particular position I've been in all these years, with people wanting to save me from the awful films I've been in... I think the Tuesday Weld cult is a very nice thing.
[In a 1972 interview] I don't like interviews because your brain can be picked. That's not nice anywhere - even in a living room.
[About "Pretty Poison"] Don't talk to me about it. I couldn't bear Noel Black even speaking to me. When he said 'Good morning,' it destroyed my day.
[About her mother] I hated Mama. I didn't feel really free until she died. Otherwise her death really didn't affect me much. Mama is already back here wandering around doing something. I hope as a puppy dog.
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