Patricia Elliott
Llanview Presence
Renee Divine Buchanan (1987 to Present)
At a Glance
When it comes to delineating a Sondheim lyric or
delivering a Shakespearean passage, Patricia
Elliott is a whiz at enthralling Broadway
audiences. And since 1988, the Tony
Award-winning actress has been captivating "One
Life to Live" viewers with her high-spirited
portrayal of the good-hearted, generous Renee
Divine Buchanan, a former madam turned society
matron, and ex-wife of feisty oil baron Asa
Buchanan. She has received two Soap Opera
Digest nominations for her performance as the
much-beloved Renee.
Challenging roles are nothing new to Ms. Elliott,
who has been drawn to the theater all her life. As
a child in Denver, Colorado, she was, by her own
admission, a "constant show-off." After a brief
stint working in a public relations office at
Harvard, she headed for England, where she had
been accepted at the London Academy of Music
and Dramatic Arts.
In 1973, Ms. Elliott made her Broadway debut as
the Countess Charlotte in the critically acclaimed
Stephen Sondheim musical, "A Little Night
Music." This appearance (her first musical and
her first Broadway show) won her New York's
triple crown -- the Tony Award, a Theater World
Award and a Drama Desk Award. Then came an
equally dazzling performance in the Pulitzer
Prize-winning play, "The Shadow Box," which
earned her a second Tony nomination. Her other
Broadway ventures include "The Elephant Man,"
opposite David Bowie, and "A Month of Sundays,"
opposite Jason Robards.
In addition to those triumphs, the actress has
headlined in extensive off-Broadway and repertory
productions, tackling everything from Greek
tragedy to French farce. She played Dorine in the
Circle in the Square revival of "Tartuffe" (and won
her second Drama Desk nomination); starred in
"Bunker Reveries" and "Misalliance" at New
York's Roundabout Theater, and sparkled as
Beatrice in "Much Ado About Nothing" at the
American Shakespeare Festival. She won a Los
Angeles Dramalogue Award for her performance
in Noel Coward's "Hay Fever" at the Ahamson
Theatre. She most recently starred in "Durang!
Durang!," Christopher Durang's satirical evening
at the Manhattan Theatre Club.
She has also guest starred on numerous
primetime television series, including "Kate &
Allie," "Spenser: For Hire," "St. Elsewhere" and
"Hill Street Blues." Her other television
appearances include starring roles in
"Sometimes I Don't Like My Mother," "The
Ladies," "The Cartier Heist," "The Adams
Chronicles" and "Man Without a Country." In
1984, she was a regular on "Empire," a situation
comedy series satirizing corporate America.
Ms. Elliott has made three feature films:
"Somebody Killed Her Husband," "Natural
Enemies" and "Morning, Winter and Night."
One of her great loves is her work with Plays for
Living, an organization which produces
inspirational plays performed at schools, shelters,
prisons, churches and corporations. The
dramatic pieces focus on various issues
including alcoholism, drug abuse, homelessness,
AIDS, and racial prejudice, and are designed to
encourage audience discussion and participation.
Ms. Elliott is on the organization's board along
with Julie Harris, Philip Bosco, Frances
Sternhagen and Tony Randall, and she is "thrilled
by the profound impact and the awakened
awareness the organization and its plays bring to
the audience." Other performers who have been
involved include Helen Hayes, Katharine Hepburn,
Alan Alda and Jean Stapleton. Ms. Elliott is
chairman for the Theatre World Awards Fund.
Her committee includes, among others, Alan
Alda, Alec Baldwin, Carol Channing, Bernadette
Peters, and "One Life to Live's" Thom
Christopher and director Lonny Price.
A resident of Manhattan, Ms. Elliott claims she
has little time for hobbies, unless, of course, one
counts "bike-riding, race-walking, meditation,
enjoying elegant dinner parties with friends, and
swimming with dolphins."
Acting Portfolio
TELEVISION
Kate & Allie
in episode: "A Catered Affair" (episode # 5.13) 4 January 1988
One Life to Live
Renee Divine Buchanan
1987 to Present
The Ladies
Darlene
1987
A Special Friendship
.Mrs. Davis
1987
Spenser: For Hire"
Vera Canning
in episode: "I Confess" (episode # 2.12) 17 January 1987
Spenser: For Hire
in episode: "Discord in a Minor" (episode # 1.7) 25 October 1985
Hill Street Blues
in episode: "Dr. Hoof and Mouth" (episode # 5.14) 24 January 1985
The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo
voice
1985
Empire
Renee
(
1984
St. Elsewhere
Ms. Colman
in episode: "The Women" (episode # 2.19) 28 March 1984
Summer Solstice
Emily
1981
Tartuffe
Dorine
1978
The Quinns
Rita Quinn O'Neill
1977
Kojak
Christina
in episode: "The Godson" (episode # 4.15) 4 January 1977
The Man Without a Country
Mrs. Graff
1973
Acting Portfolio
FILM
101 Ways (The Things a Girl Will Do to Keep Her Volvo)
Ruth
2000
Richie Rich's Christmas Wish
Hazel
1998
Casper: A Spirited Beginning
Mortified Teacher
1997
Criminal Hearts
Good Samaritan
1995
Natural Enemies
Woman on train
1979
Somebody Killed Her Husband
Helene Birch
1978
Interval
Martha
1977
The Green Slime
Nurse
1968
Awards and Acclaim
Tony Award
: "A Little Night Music (1973)
Tony Award: Nominee, "The Shadow Box"
Soap Opera Digest Awards: Nominee, Outstanding Supporting Actress (1992)
Soap Opera Digest Awards: Nominee, Outstanding Supporting Actress (1993)
Vital Statistics
PLACE OF BIRTH: Gunnison, CO
DATE OF BIRTH: July 21st, 1942
HAIR:Brown
EYES: Brown
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