Dinah Manoff (born January 25, 1956) is an American stage, film, and television actress and television director. She is best known for her roles as Carol Weston on Empty Nest, Elaine Lefkowitz on Soap, Marty Maraschino in the film Grease, and Libby Tucker in both the stage and film adaptations of I Ought to Be in Pictures, for which she won a Tony Award.

Early life

Manoff was born in New York City to Ashkenazi Jewish parents, the daughter of actress, director, and writer Lee Grant (born Lyova Rosenthal) and screenwriter Arnold Manoff (born Pismenoff). Her mother was of Polish and Ukrainian Jewish descent, and her father's parents emigrated from Vilnius. Her half-brother, Tom Manoff, is the classical music critic for NPR's All Things Considered and a notable composer. Her stepfather is producer Joseph Feury.

Career

1970s

Manoff's first project was the animated independent film Everybody Rides the Carousel (1975), providing one of the voices. In 1976, she made her first television appearance on the PBS production of The Stronger. This was followed by a guest appearance on Welcome Back, Kotter in the episode "Sadie Hawkins Day", followed by an appearance in Visions. In 1977, she made a cameo appearance in her first TV movie, Raid on Entebbe In 1978 she appeared in the TV series Family playing the part of Mara.

In 1978, Manoff got the role of Elaine Dallas (née Lefkowitz) on the ABC sitcom Soap, and remained on the show until the end of the year. Manoff made her film debut in 1978 as Marty Maraschino, one of the Pink Ladies, in the movie version of Grease.

1980s

In 1980, Manoff made her Broadway debut as Libby Tucker in Neil Simon's play, I Ought to Be in Pictures. For her work in the play, she won the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play, as well as the Theatre World Award. She reprised the role for the film version in 1982, with Walter Matthau and Ann-Margret. They have three sons together: Dashiell Mortell, and twins Desi and Oliver Mortell. Dashiell was killed in an automobile accident on January 7, 2017, age 19.

Selected filmography

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|+ Films

|-

! Year

! Title

! Role

! class="unsortable" | Notes

|-

| 1975

| Everybody Rides the Carousel

| Stage 7 (voice)

| Voice

|-

| 1976

| The Stronger

|

|

|-

| 1977

| Raid on Entebbe

| Rachel Sager

|

|-

| 1978

| Grease

| Marty Maraschino

|

|-

| 1980

| Ordinary People

| Karen Aldrich

|

|-

| 1982

| I Ought to Be in Pictures

| Libby Tucker

|

|-

| 1988

| Backfire

| Jill Tyson

|

|-

| 1988

| Child's Play

| Maggie Peterson

|

|-

|-

| 1989

| Bloodhounds of Broadway

| Maude Miligan

|

|-

| 1989

| Staying Together

| Lois Cook

|

|-

| 1990

| Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael

| Evelyn Whittacher

|

|-

| 2000

| The Amati Girls

| Denise

|

|-

| 2001

| Zigs

| Marge

| Alternative title: Double Down

|-

| 2004

| Happy Birthday Oscar Wilde

| Herself

| Documentary

|-

| 2008

| Bart Got a Room

| Mrs. Goodson

|

|-

| 2017

| Cult of Chucky

| Maggie Peterson

| Archive footage

|}

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|+ Television

|-

! Year

! Title

! Role

! class="unsortable" | Notes

|-

| 1976

| Welcome Back, Kotter

| Charmaine

| Episode: "Sadie Hawkins Day"

|-

| 1976

| Visions

| Gisella Farkas

| Episode: "The Great Cherub Knitwear Strike"

|-

| 1976

| Raid on Entebbe

| Rachel Sager

| Television movie

|-

| 1977

| Night Terror

| Attendant's Girlfriend

| Television movie

|-

| 1977

| The Possessed

| Celia

| Television movie

|-

| 1978

| Family

| Mara

| Episode: "Sleeping Gypsy"

|-

| 1978

| Soap

| Elaine Lefkowitz

| 16 episodes

|-

| 1979

| $weepstake$

| Maggie

| Episode: "Dewey and Harold and Sarah and Maggie"

|-

| 1979

| Lou Grant

| Joanie Hume

| Episode: Bomb"

|-

| 1979

| Mork & Mindy

| Kathy

| Episode: "Mork's Baby Blues"

|-

| 1981

| For Ladies Only

| Mary Louise

| Television movie

|-

| 1982

| Table Settings

|

| Television movie

|-

| 1984

| A Matter of Sex

| Glennis

| Television movie

|-

| 1984

| The Seduction of Gina

| Mary

| Television movie

|-

| 1984

| Celebrity

| Missy Craymore

| Miniseries

|-

| 1984

| Flight 90: Disaster on the Potomac

| Priscilla Tirado

| Television movie

|-

| 1984

| Night Court

| Sister Sara

| Episode: "The Nun"

|-

| 1984

| Hot Pursuit

| Gillian

| Episode: "Gillian"

|-

| 1984

| Cagney & Lacey

| Jane Tanton

| Episode: "Fathers & Daughters"

|-

| 1986

| Classified Love

| Theresa Leonetti

| Television movie

|-

| 1987

| Murder, She Wrote

| Jenny Coopersmith

| Episode: "Murder in a Minor Key"

|-

| 1987

| CBS Summer Playhouse

| Franny

| Episode: "Sirens"

|-

| 1987

| Brothers

|

| Episode: "Las Vegas Serenade (Part 1)"

|-

| 1988-1995

| Empty Nest

| Carol Weston

| 170 episodes

|-

| 1989

| The Cover Girl and the Cop

| Denise Danielovitch

| Television movie

|-

| 1990

| Babies

| Laura

| Television movie

|-

| 1991-1992

| The Golden Girls

| Carol Weston

| 2 episodes

|-

| 1992

| Maid for Each Other

| Tibby Bloom

| Television movie

|-

| 1992

| Nurses

| Carol Weston

| 2 episodes

|-

| 1993

| The John Larroquette Show

| Kelly

| Episode: "Newcomer"

|-

| 1995

| Touched by an Angel

| Callie Martin

| Episode: "Interview with an Angel"

|-

| 1995

| Sister, Sister

|

| Director, Episode: "Weird Science"

|-

| 1996

| Cybill

| Amy Fitzpatrick

| 2 episodes

|-

| 1996

| Minor Adjustments

|

| Director, Episode: "My Fair Darby"

|-

| 1998

| George and Leo

| Mary

| Episode: "The Other Bookstore"

|-

| 1999

| Brother's Keeper

|

| Director, 3 episodes

|-

| 1999

| Movie Stars

|

| Director, 2 episodes

|-

| 1999

| Sabrina the Teenage Witch

|

| Director, Episode: "Prelude to a Kiss"

|-

| 2000

| The Lost Child

| Helen

| Television movie

|-

| 2002

| State of Grace

| Evelyn Rayburn

| 38 episodes

|-

| 2003

| A Carol Christmas

| Aunt Marla

| Television movie

|-

|}

References

<!--No citation that she's Jewish, commenting out category as per blp Category:Jewish American actresses-->