Theresa Saldana

Theresa Saldana (August 20, 1954 – June 6, 2016) was an American actress, activist, and writer. She was best known for her role as Rachel Scali on the television series The Commish (1991–96), for which she received a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film.

Saldana's other notables roles included a teen Beatles fan in Robert Zemeckis' Beatlemania comedy I Wanna Hold Your Hand (1978) and as Lenora LaMotta in Martin Scorsese's Raging Bull (1980). She was also known for raising public awareness of the crime of stalking after surviving a knife attack by an obsessed fan at her home in 1982.

Early life

Saldana was born in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, and was adopted at five days old by Divina and Tony Saldana, a family of Puerto Rican and Italian-American heritage.

Saldana took dance lessons as a child. After suffering a serious shoulder injury while part of a tumbling team, she enrolled in acting classes at age 12. After being spotted by a talent scout while performing in an Off Broadway musical called The New York City Street Show in 1977, she was cast in the 1978 film Nunzio.

Stalking incident

On March 15, 1982, Saldana was stalked by Arthur Richard Jackson, a 46-year-old drifter from Aberdeen, Scotland. Jackson became obsessed with Saldana after seeing her in the 1980 films Defiance and Raging Bull. He hired a private investigator who obtained the unlisted phone number of Saldana's mother. Jackson then called Saldana's mother and posed as Martin Scorsese's assistant, saying he needed Saldana's residential address in order to contact her for replacing an actress in a film role in Europe.

thumb|Saldana on the set of Illusion Infinity, with its filmmaker Roger Steinmann

Jackson approached Saldana in front of her West Hollywood residence in broad daylight on March 15, 1982 and repeatedly stabbed her with a hunting knife, puncturing a lung. His attack was so fierce that the blade bent. Although there were many nearby onlookers, including children,

Victim advocacy

Following her long recovery, Saldana founded the Victims for Victims organization and participated in lobbying for the 1990 anti-stalking law and the 1994 Driver's Privacy Protection Act, both of which came into being partly as a consequence of the attack. The experience also inspired Saldana to play herself in the television film Victims for Victims: The Theresa Saldana Story, and she authored the book Beyond Survival, a memoir of her experiences after being attacked.

Personal life

Saldana's first marriage was to Fred Feliciano from February 11, 1979 to 1986. In March 1989, she married for the second time, to Phil Peters, with whom she had a daughter, Tianna Saldana Peters (born August 30, 1989, in Los Angeles). They remained together until her death.

Death

Saldana died on June 6, 2016, at age 61, after being hospitalized with pneumonia at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Michael Chiklis, who played Saldana's husband on The Commish, wrote that it was "painful to hear the news."

Filmography

Film

{| class="wikitable sortable"

! Year

! Title

! Role

! class="unsortable" | Notes

| rowspan="2" |1978

|I Wanna Hold Your Hand

|Grace Corrigan

|Nunzio

|Maryann

| rowspan="3" |1980

|Home Movies

|Judy

|Defiance

|Marsha

|Raging Bull

|Lenora LaMotta

|1984

|Rhiana Hidalgo / Nancy

| rowspan="2" |1988

|Rhonda

|Double Revenge

|Angie Corello

|1989

|Of Men and Angels

|Maria

|1990

|Angel Town

|Maria Ordonez

|1999

|Carlo's Wake

|Theresa Brock

| rowspan="2" |2004

|Gang Warz

|Carmela Cruz

|Illusion Infinity

|Maria

Television

{| class="wikitable sortable"

! Year

! Title

! Role

! class="unsortable" | Notes

|1979

|240-Robert

|Rosie

|Episode: "The Applicant"

|1980

|Sophia Loren: Her Own Story

|Maria Scicolone

|TV film

|1981

|Nurse

|Rita

|Episode: "The Gifts"

| rowspan="2" |1983

|Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

|Angelina

|Episode: "Promised Land"

|T. J. Hooker

|Maria Santini

|Episode: "Too Late for Love"

|1983

|American Playhouse

|Pregnant Again

|Episode: "Miss Lonelyhearts"

|1984

|Victims for Victims: The Theresa Saldana Story

|Herself

|TV film

| rowspan="2" |1985

|Inez

|Episode: "Dead Woman's Shoes"

|Cagney & Lacey

|Dr. Strathmore

|Episode: "Old Ghosts"

| rowspan="3" |1986

|Simon & Simon

|Mrs. Karnofsky

|Episode: "Full Moon Blues"

|Matlock

|Sonia Cardenas

|Episode: "The Affair"

|Tales from the Darkside

|Audrey Webster

|Episode: "Black Widows"

| rowspan="4" |1987

|Hunter

|Jennifer Hartman

|Episode: "Any Second Now"

|Santa Barbara

|Carlotta Quivar

|2 episodes

|CBS Schoolbreak Special

|Laura Chacon

|Episode: "Juvi"

|Angela Brown

|TV film

|1987–88

|Werewolf

|Rosa

|Episode: "World of Difference"

| rowspan="2" |1988

|Buck James

|Marta Ortiz

|Episode: "Lives in the Balance"

|Falcon Crest

|Pretty Woman

|Episode: "False Faces"

| rowspan="2" |1990

|MacGyver

|Maria

|Episode: "The Treasure of Manco"

|New Kids on the Block

|Rosa (voice)

|Main cast

|1991–96

|Rachel Scali

|Main cast

|1991

|Confessions of Crime

|Herself

|Series host

|1993

|Shameful Secrets

|Rachel Morales

|TV film

|1994

|Captain Planet and the Planeteers

|Mame Slaughter (voice)

|2 episodes

| rowspan="2" |1995

|Law & Order

|Juror

|Episode: "House Counsel"

|Jonny Quest vs. The Cyber Insects

|Dr. Eve Belage (voice)

|TV film

|1996

|She Woke Up Pregnant

|Doris Cantore

|TV film

|1996–97

|Estella Velasquez (voice)

|2 episodes

| rowspan="3" |1997

|Diagnosis: Murder

|Kirsten Foxx

|Episode: "In Defense of Murder"

|Nothing Sacred

|Paula

|2 episodes

|All My Children

|Christina Vargas

|24 episodes

|1998

|Martial Law

|Maria Hamilton

|Episode: "Bad Seed"

|1999

|Thrill Seekers

|Cortez

| rowspan="2" |TV film

|2000

|Ready to Run

|Sonja Ortiz

|2001

|Batman Beyond

|Mrs. Diaz (voice)

|Episode: "Unmasked"

|2003

|Lydia

|Episode: "Maid Man"

Books

References

External links

Interview on CNN Larry King Live with Saldana and Fenn on July 13, 2004.
The Jazz Tap Ensemble
Theresa Saldana(Aveleyman)