Wikipedia / Veronica Hamel
Wikipedia / Veronica Hamel
Veronica Hamel (born November 20, 1943) is an American actress and model. She was nominated five times for an Emmy Award for her role as attorney Joyce Davenport in the TV police drama Hill Street Blues.
Biography
The daughter of a Philadelphia carpenter and a housewife, Hamel graduated from Temple University. She worked as a secretary for a company that manufactured ironing board covers. She began a fashion modeling career after being discovered by Eileen Ford. In her first film role, she played a model in 1971's Klute, followed by roles in the disaster films Beyond the Poseidon Adventure and When Time Ran Out.
She was the model in the last cigarette commercial televised in the U.S. (for Virginia Slims, aired at 11:59pm on January 1, 1971, on The Tonight Show). Hamel had been a model in print advertisements, not just for Slims, but also for Pall Mall Gold cigarettes.
Hamel started appearing in TV series in 1975. She was considered for the role of Kelly Garrett on Charlie's Angels, but reportedly declined the role. Producer Aaron Spelling cast Jaclyn Smith, instead. Hamel is best remembered for playing Joyce Davenport, the dedicated public defender, who also happened to be the love interest of police captain Frank Furillo, on the long-running TV series Hill Street Blues from 1981 to 1987. She was a five-time Emmy nominee for that role.
Hamel was cast in a leading role in Alan Alda's 1988 film A New Life as his doctor and love interest. She played Elizabeth, the wife of Charles Grodin's character in the movie Taking Care of Business in 1990. She was named on Us magazine's "Best Dressed" list for 1983.
In 2002, she also appeared on Hill Street Blues creator Steven Bochco's legal drama Philly. In the late 2000s, Hamel had a recurring role in the NBC television series Third Watch and appeared as Margo Shephard, Jack's mother, in the ABC series Lost.
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
1971 | Model | Uncredited | |
1976 | Linda Maxwell | ||
Apple Pie | Artist | ||
1979 | Suzanne Constantine | ||
1980 | Nikki Spangler | ||
1988 | Kay Hutton | ||
1990 | Elizabeth Barnes | ||
1998 | Laura Duvann | ||
2002 | Determination of Death | Virginia 'Ginny' Halloran |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
1975 | Elenora | "How Cruel the Frost, How Bright the Stars" | |
1976 | Rosemary | "Peeper Two" | |
Nabilla | "Round Up the Usual Suspects" | ||
Marianne Tustin | "Tap Dancing Her Way Right Back into Your Hearts" | ||
Sandy Lederer / Marcy Brownell | "A Bad Deal in the Valley", "Return to the 38th Parallel" | ||
1977 | Vicki Webber | "Change of Heart" | |
Laura Koshko | TV miniseries | ||
Helen | TV film | ||
1978 | Vanessa | "Hutchinson for Murder One" | |
Ski Lift to Death | Andrea Mason | TV film | |
Janet Wilde | "The Intimate Friends of Janet Wilde" | ||
1979 | Leanne Rees | "Call Girl" | |
Helen | TV film | ||
1980 | Shannon Marshall | "Powder Burn" | |
Sheila Dodge | TV film | ||
1981 | Jennifer North | TV film | |
1981–1987 | Joyce Davenport | Main role | |
1983 | Sessions | Lee / Randy Churchill | TV film |
1985 | Kate Kane | TV miniseries | |
1989 | Deborah | "Part II" | |
1990 | She Said No | Elizabeth 'Beth' Early | TV film |
1991 | Nettie Forbes | TV film | |
Kathleen Holland | TV film | ||
1992 | Bianca Hudson | TV film | |
1993 | Nora Freemont | TV film | |
Kitty Dodds | TV film | ||
1994 | Stalker: Shadow of Obsession | Rebecca Kendall | TV film |
Dr. Paula Spencer | TV film | ||
1995 | Secrets | Etta Berter | TV film |
TV film | |||
1996 | In the Blink of an Eye | Micki Dickoff | TV film |
Sadie | TV film | ||
1997 | Home Invasion | Georgia Patchett | TV film |
Stranger in My Home | Jennifer | TV film | |
1998 | Judge Dolores Chaphin | "The Wind Beneath My Wings" | |
2001 | Myrna Roberts | "Mother's Day" | |
Dr. Diana Thayer | "Flesh and Blood" | ||
2001–02 | Judge Marjorie Brennan | Recurring role | |
2002–03 | Beth Taylor | "Two Hundred and Thirty-Three Days", "The Price of Nobility", "My Opening Farewell" | |
2004–2010 | "White Rabbit", "There's No Place Like Home: Part 1", "Lighthouse" | ||
2008 | Commissioner Hayes | TV film |
References
External links