Robyn Douglass Explained

Robyn Douglass
Birth Date:21 June 1953
Birth Place:Sendai, Japan
Occupation:Actress, model
Yearsactive:1978 - 1999
Spouse:Rick Halprin
(2000; 200?)

Robyn Douglass (born June 21, 1953) is a retired American actress and model.

Early life

The daughter of an Army doctor and hospital administrator, Robyn Douglass was born in Sendai, Japan. She began acting while attending a Catholic girls' school in Mountain View, California.[1]

Career

Douglass's known acting career spanned 21 years, from 1978 to 1999. She was featured in the films Breaking Away, Romantic Comedy, and The Lonely Guy, and she had a recurring role on the television series Galactica 1980. Before all this, she had appeared on the cover of the December 1974 edition of Playboy.[2]

Her Life As A Man

In 1984, Douglass appeared in the fact-based made-for-television comedy-drama film Her Life As A Man, an adaptation of "My Life As A Man," an article Carol Lynn Mithers had written for the Village Voice. Her character, Carly Perkins, was an aspiring female reporter who sought a sportswriting job on a national magazine whose editor was infamously chauvinistic and she disguised herself as a man, using the alias of Carl Parsons convincingly enough to be able to get the inside story she wanted.

Legal disputes

Nude and erotic photos of Douglass also appeared in the 1981 edition of Hustler,[3] which led to her filing a lawsuit against the magazine. In the suit she claimed that the photos were published without her permission and portrayed her in a false light, including as a lesbian, which damaged her career as an advertising model. A jury ruled in her favor, but in 1985 the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reversed the judgment and ordered a new trial.[4] The United States Supreme Court let the order stand without comment.[5]

Marriage

On December 2, 2000, Douglass married criminal defense attorney Rick Halprin, known for representing high-profile clients, including Chicago crime boss Joseph Lombardo.[6]

In 2002, the sued Prairie Single Family Homes of Dearborn Park Association under the Civil Rights Act of 1968, claiming that the neighborhood association was allowing harassment of the couple because Halprin was Jewish. In 2004, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reversed part of a lower court's dismissal of the case on narrow grounds.[7] [8]

Douglass divorced Halprin sometime before his death in 2013 and moved from Illinois to California, where she opened a bed-and-breakfast.

In 2020, Douglass released an audio memoir Messages for the Future: The Galactica 1980 Memoirs reflecting upon her career while commemorating the 40th anniversary of Galactica 1980, detailing her career and life, produced by Daniel Earnshaw and published by Explore Multimedia.[9]

Filmography

Film and television
Year Title Role Notes
1978 The Clone Master Gussie Television film
1979 The Girls in the Office Karen Heineman Television film
1979 Breaking Away Katherine Feature film
1980 Tenspeed and Brown Shoe Martha Gribb 1 episode: "Pilot: Part 1"
1980 Galactica 1980 Jamie Hamilton Main cast (9 episodes)
1981 Trapper John, M.D. Sheila 1 episode: "Second Sight"
1981 Golden Gate Candy Martin Television film
1982 Partners Jill Feature film
1983 Romantic Comedy Kate Mallory Feature film
1984 More Than Murder Eve Warwick Television film
1984 The Lonely Guy Danielle Feature film
1984 Her Life As A Man Carly Perkins / Carl Parsons Television film
1985-86 Stingray Daphne Delgado 2 episodes: "Pilot" / "Orange Blossom"
1986 Lady Blue Officer Sylvie Swenson 1 episode: "Sylvie"
1986 The New Mike Hammer Dr. Bosnowski 1 episode: "Mike's Baby"
1987 Houston Knights Lt. Joanne Beaumont 2 episodes: "Mirrors" / "North of the Border"
1993 Freeze Frame Victoria Case Television film

Notes and References

  1. People, Barbara Kleban Mills (March 19, 1984), "Robyn Douglass Proves That Clothes Make the Man in a TV-Movie Tootsie", accessed December 12, 2010.
  2. Web site: Archived copy . 2010-12-11 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110707215802/http://s11.bdbphotos.com/images/orig/e/a/eagmath0fgg1amhe.jpg . 2011-07-07 .
  3. Web site: ImageBam. Imagebam.com. 3 February 2018.
  4. Web site: Robyn Douglass, Plaintiff-Appellee-Cross-Appellant, v. Hustler Magazine, Inc., Defendant-Appellant-Cross-Appellee, and Augustin Gregory, Defendant., 769 F.2d 1128. Vlex.com. December 11, 2010.
  5. Web site: Retrial is ordered in actress Robyn Douglass' false light invasion of privacy claim against Hustler magazine for unauthorized publication of nude photographs; United States Supreme Court lets stand Federal Court of Appeals decision reversing damage award to Douglass. Elr.carolon.net. December 12, 2010.
  6. Web site: Sobol . Rosemary Regina . 2013-06-04 . 'Passionate' mob defense lawyer dies of apparent suicide . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210707075859/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/chi-passionate-mob-defense-lawyer-dies-from-apparent-suicide-20130604-story.html . 2021-07-07 . 2022-05-15 . Chicago Tribune . en.
  7. Web site: Robyn Halprin and Rick Halprin, Plaintiffs-appellants, v. the Prairie Single Family Homes of Dearborn Park Association, et al., Defendants-appellees. Cases.justia.com. December 12, 2010.
  8. Web site: Post-Acquisition Harassment and the Scope of the Fair Housing Act. Alabamalawreview.org. December 12, 2010.
  9. Web site: Messages for the Future: The Galactica 1980 Memoirs. Amazon .