Zohra Lampert is a retired American actress, who has had roles on stage, film and television. She performed under her then-married name of Zohra Alton early in her career. Lampert achieved critical acclaim for her work on Broadway as well, earning two Tony Award nominations for her roles in Look: We've Come Through (1962) and Mother Courage and Her Children (1963). Her film performances include the title character in the 1971 cult horror film Let's Scare Jessica to Death. She won a Primetime Emmy Award for her guest role in a 1975 episode of Kojak.

Early life and education Lampert was the only child of Rose and Morris Lampert, both Russian-Jewish immigrants. In 1940, the family lived in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan, and Morris Lampert worked in a hardware store.Ancestry.com. 1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. She attended the High School of Music & Art and the University of Chicago, graduating in 1952. She later studied acting at HB StudioHB Studio Alumni with Uta Hagen; she also studied with Mira Rostova.

Career Lampert joined other University of Chicago alumni, including Ed Asner and Anthony Holland, in the Playwrights Theatre Club, which was established in Chicago by the theatrical producer David Shepherd. She later said that until she was thrust on stage as Grisha in Berthold Brecht's Caucasian Chalk Circle, in which she had initially joined the cast as assistant scenic designer, she thought, "I might want to become something scholarly. A librarian, not an actor." She subsequently appeared as The Actress in Rounddance, drawing praise from Sydney J. Harris of the Chicago Daily News as "unquestionably the find of the summer season. . . a gypsy-like girl with elfin grace and the dramatic constitution of Shirley Booth." She appeared on Broadway as Zohra Alton in the 1956 Broadway production of Diary of a Scoundrel.

She left the Playwrights Theater Club to study acting with Mira Rostova, Montgomery Clift's acting coach, even though her upbringing had taught her that acting "was an unserious thing to do." Along with Alan Arkin, Roger Bowen, and former Playwrights members Bill Alton (her ex-husband) and Andrew Duncan, Lampert became part of the second company of the Second City in Chicago but left for the New York company at Square East in 1961. That same year, Lampert, who began performing under her birth name after her divorce from Alton, gave a Tony-nominated performance in Look: We've Come Through. She also had a pair of small, noteworthy performances in the films Pay or Die (1960) and Splendor in the Grass (1961). In 1964, she became one of the 26 members of the newly established Lincoln Center Repertory Theater company.

In the 1960s/1970s, she was active in supporting roles in film and television including S1E18 of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. titled "The Mad, Mad Tea Party Affair." In 1971, she played the title character in the horror film Let's Scare Jessica to Death. The film went on to be regarded as a cult classic in later years. In 1975, Lampert won an Outstanding Guest Actress Emmy Award for her performance in an episode of Kojak. In 1977, she co-starred with Gena Rowlands in John Cassavetes' Opening Night.

She was a regular in the sitcom The Girl with Something Extra and the medical drama Doctors' Hospital. During the early 1970s, she originated the role of Ellie Jardin on the CBS soap Where the Heart Is until her character was killed off in 1972. In 1986, she appeared in an episode of Knight Rider (season 4, "Hills of Fire"). She worked less during the 1980s and 1990s. She appeared in The Exorcist III (playing actor George C. Scott's wife) and the 1999 film The Eden Myth.

After a ten-year absence from films, Lampert returned to acting in supporting roles in two films: The Hungry Ghosts (2009) and Zenith (2010).

Personal life Lampert married radio personality Jonathan Schwartz in 2010. She was previously married to Bill Alton, a founding member of Second City and fellow Playwrights Theater Club actor.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 1959 Odds Against Tomorrow Girl in Bar 1960Pay or DieAdelina Saulino1961Posse from HellHelen Caldwell 1961Splendor in the GrassAngelina1961Hey, Let's Twist!Sharon1966Evelyn Tupperman1968Bye Bye BravermanEtta Rieff1969Some Kind of a NutBunny Erickson1971Let's Scare Jessica to DeathJessica1977Opening NightDorothy Victor1984Alphabet CityMama1984TeachersMrs. Pilikian1989American Blue NoteLouise1990Stanley & IrisElaine1990Mary Kinderman1992Alan & NaomiMrs. Liebman 1992 Last Supper Short film 1994Barbara1999Alma Speck2009Ruth2010ZenithMs. Minor2014Sexual SecretsAlma Speck

Television Year Title Role Notes1954Greta PowersTV series1958DecoyAnne / Norma Hart"High Swing", "Cry Revenge"1960Cradle SongSister Maria JesusTV film1960Route 66Sue Ellis"Layout at Glen Canyon"1961Florence Meech / Eve Gideon Tubberbye"The Prowler", "Gideon's Follies"1962Sam BenedictSarah Friedman"Hear the Mellow Wedding Bells"1963Marie PetitSeason 1 Episode 18: "A Tangled Web"1963Dr. KildareRose Kemmer / Myra Krolik"The Thing Speaks for Itself", "A Place Among the Monuments"1963Naked CityClara Espuella"Barefoot on a Bed of Coals"1964Molly Gresham"Super-Star"1965Kay Lorrison"The Mad, Mad Tea Party Affair"1965Slattery's PeopleAsst. District Atty. Arlene Mancuso"Question: Who Are You Taking to the Main Event, Eddie?"1965Penelope"How Do You Get to Carnegie Hall?"1967I SpyZili"Blackout"1969Then Came BronsonMary Draper"Amid Splinters of the Thunderbolt"1970Mary Cochella"Deadfall"1970–71Where the Heart IsEllie JardinTV series1972Love, American StyleNancy Ellis"Love and the Jinx"1973HannahTV film1973Janine"Motel"1973–74AnneRecurring role1975Ladies of the CorridorMildred TynanTV film1975One of Our OwnDr. Norah PurcellTV film1975KojakMarina Sheldon"Queen of the Gypsies"1975–76Doctors' HospitalDr. Norah PurcellMain role1976SerpicoAnne"Trumpet of Time"1976Hawaii Five-0Anita Newhall"Let Death Do Us Part"1977HunterDeedee"The K Group: Parts 1 & 2"1977Mixed NutsDr. Sarah AllgoodTV short1977SwitchLita Verassiere"Fade Out"1978Quincy, M.E.Lynn Peters"Passing"1978Black BeautyPolly BarkerTV miniseries1978KojakDr. Ellen Page"The Halls of Terror"1978Hawaii Five-0Gloria Kozma"Small Potatoes"1978Lady of the HouseJulia de PauloTV film1979Sharon LoganTV film1980Wilma FarnhamTV film1980Children of DivorceMrs. GoldsmithTV film1981Secrets of Midland HeightsMme. Zeena"Letting Go"1981Wilma FarnhamTV film1982Romance TheatreTV series1984American PlayhouseEsther Mirkin"The Cafeteria"1984AirwolfDr. Lisa Holgate"Echoes from the Past"1985Izzy and MoeEsther EinsteinTV film1986Veronica Whitney "Torn"1986Knight RiderTess Hubbard"Hills of Fire"1986Trapper John, M.D."Fall of the Wild"

Accolades Year Award Category Nominated work Result Ref. 1975 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Single Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Comedy or Drama Series Kojak 1962 Tony Awards Best Supporting or Featured Actress in a Play Look: We've Come Through 1963 Mother Courage and Her Children

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