Verna Frances Bloom (August 7, 1938 – January 9, 2019) was an American actress. She is noted for roles in the films Medium Cool (1969), High Plains Drifter (1973) and Animal House (1978).
Early life and education Verna Frances Bloom, born on August 7, 1938, in Lynn, Massachusetts, grew up in a Russian Jewish family where her father, Milton, operated a grocery store. Her mother, Sara (Damsky) Bloom, initially focused on managing their household. After Milton and Sara divorced, Sara took charge of the family grocery business and later transitioned to bookkeeping for a trucking company. She attended the School of Fine Arts at Boston University, graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1959. She also studied at the Herbert Berghof Studio for actors in New York City.
Career On Broadway, Bloom portrayed Charlotte Corday in The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade (1967) and Blanche Morton in Brighton Beach Memoirs (1983). She made her film debut in Medium Cool, and then co-starred in Clint Eastwood's 1973 film, High Plains Drifter and in the 1974 made-for-TV movie Where Have All The People Gone? with Peter Graves and Kathleen Quinlan. Bloom also had roles in more than 30 films and television episodes beginning in the 1960s, including playing Mary, mother of Jesus, in The Last Temptation of Christ in 1988 and Marion Wormer in Animal House in 1978.
Personal life and death Bloom married Richard Collier, but they separated by 1969. They began the Trident Theater in Denver Colorado, which operated from 1963 to 1965. In 1972 she married film critic Jay Cocks. They had a son, Sam, born in 1981. The couple remained married until her death.
Bloom died aged 80 on January 9, 2019, in Bar Harbor, Maine, from complications of dementia.
Filmography Film + Year Title Role Notes1969 Medium Cool Eileen 1969 Children's Games The Girl 1970 Street Scenes 1970 Herself 1971 The Hired Hand Hannah Collings 1973 High Plains Drifter Sarah Belding 1973 Badge 373 Maureen 1978 National Lampoon's Animal House Marion Wormer 1982 Honkytonk Man Emmy 1985 The Journey of Natty Gann Farm Woman 1985 After Hours June 1988 The Last Temptation of Christ Mary, Mother of Jesus 2003 Where Are They Now?: A Delta Alumni Update Marion Wormer Short film, (final film role)
Television + Year Title Role Notes1967 N.Y.P.D. Barbara Laney Episode: "The Screaming Woman" 1969 Bonanza Ellen Masters Episode: "The Fence" 1969 The David Frost Show Herself 1 episode1972 Particular Men Evelyn TV movie1973 Doc Elliot Mary Beth Hickey Episode: "Pilot" 1973 Police Story Elizabeth Shaner Episode: "The Ten Year Honeymoon" 1974 Where Have All the People Gone? Jenny TV movie1975 The Blue Knight Moody Larkin Episode: "Pilot" 1975 Sarah T. – Portrait of a Teenage Alcoholic Jean Hodges TV movie1976 Police Story Marge Connor Episode: "Payment Deferred" 1976 Kojak Carrie Zachary Episode: "On the Edge" 1977 Visions Nancy Doucette Episode: "The Dancing Bear" 1977 Lou Grant Emily Episode: "Christmas" 1977 Gibbsville Episode: "A Case History" 1977 Contract on Cherry Street Emily Hovannes TV movie1980 Playing for Time Paulette TV movie1981 Rivkin: Bounty Hunter Bertha TV movie1985 Promises to Keep (uncredited) TV movie1987 Cagney & Lacey Joan Torvec Episode: "No Vacancy" 1988 The Equalizer Marian Grey Episode: "Target of Choice" 1989 The Equalizer Ellen Kaminsky Episode: "Race Traitors" 1993 Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman Maude Bray Episode: "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman" 2003 The West Wing Molly Lapham Episode: "The Long Goodbye"
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