Susan Blakely

Many critics believe that Blakely's best performance was in the 1980 television film A Cry For Love, in which she gave an acclaimed performance as a drug addict. Carter is interred in the Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, California. Blakely's first major role was as Patty Simmons in the classic disaster movie The Towering Inferno. They were further shocked to discover that Carter had been living as a closeted lesbian, and that custody of her children had been left to her domestic partner. She first came to Hollywood in the early 1970s as a highly paid fashion model and then branched off into acting. She was the mother of two adopted teenagers. When she died, friends and family were surprised to discover barely $200 in her bank account. As the daughter of a career Army officer, Blakely was born in Germany . Carter died from heart disease complicated by diabetes in 2003.

Susan Blakely (born September 7, 1952) is an American movie actress who has mainly played supporting roles. Born Nell Ruth Hardy in Birmingham, Alabama, Carter won a Tony Award for her work in Ain't Misbehavin and appeared in Annie on Broadway and in the television shows Gimme a Break! and The Match Game. Nell Carter (September 13, 1948 - January 23, 2003) was an American singer and actress.