Veronica Hamel is a retired model and Hollywood actress, who is mostly known for her role of Joyce Davenport, the public defender in the “Hill Street Blues” TV series.

Early life and family

Veronica Hamel was born on 20 November 1943, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA, so she holds American nationality and her zodiac sign is Scorpio. Veronica’s father was a carpenter, while her mother was a housewife, taking care of her kids. It is known that Veronica was not an only child in her family, yet there is no information on the number of her siblings, as she likes to keep her private life low-key. From her early years, Veronica knew that she was beautiful enough to start a modelling career, so she dreamt about it since becoming a teenager.

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However, she had to work as a secretary for a factory which produced ironing board covers to save some money, and to feel independence from her parents.

Educational background

Veronica matriculated her local high school in Philadelphia at the age of 17 in 1960, and instantly started working as a model. She tried to study at Temple University, but her tight work schedule left her no choice but to quit college and to focus on her modelling career, which brought her a lot of money despite her young age.

Career

Modelling career

In her interview with People magazine in 1982, Veronica shared that she started working as a model anonymously, and enjoyed the fact that she could hide her real name.

Discovered by Eileen Cecile Ford, the co-founder of Ford Models, 17-year-old Veronica began modelling for Vogue, participating in multiple photoshoots and catwalk shows; her pictures in haute couture dresses are now called ‘iconic’ by many sources and magazines. She had a chance to wear the legendary Mondrian dress, created by Yves Saint Laurent, captured in September 1965 by one of the most famous photographers of those times, Helmut Newton.

Veronica worked as a model for more than a decade, earning six-figure salaries and frequently having a chance to travel around the globe. She is also famous for appearing in the last cigarette commercial that was on air in the US, as Richard Nixon, who was the president of the US those years, signed legislation which banned cigarettes advertising on TV and radio.

Veronica Hamel

The last cigarette commercial appeared on TV right at midnight between 31 December 1970 and 1 January 1971 during an advertising block of “Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show”; Veronica could be seen in the short episode of the ad.

However, by the age of 30 Veronica had got bored (she insists it was her own decision and not the lack of job offers) and decided to conquer Hollywood as an actress. In 1971 she appeared as a model in the movie “Klute” starring Jane Fonda and Charles Cioffi, which made her think she made the right choice, so she closed all her modelling contracts and prepared to move to ‎Los Angeles.

Starting an acting career

In 1975 Veronica landed her first role in Hollywood, portraying Elenora in the episode “How Cruel the Frost, How Bright the Stars” of the TV series “Kojak”.

In 1976 she appeared in such series as “The Bob Newhart Show”, “Starsky & Hutch”, “Switch” and “The Rockford Files”. She then played Vicki Webber in one of the episodes of “Family”, and Laura Koshko in the TV mini-series “79 Park Avenue”. Veronica struggled a lot during her first years in Hollywood, as she was always offered similar roles of beautiful women who don’t talk too much, and mostly smile while being filmed: ‘There’s a stigma put on models—that you can’t walk and talk at the same time, let alone act. So you have to work twice as hard’, she remembers her first years of acting experience in one of her interviews to People. On that note, she declined an offer to become an Angel for “Charlie’s Angels” series; she was considered for the role of Kelly Garrett, but when the producers knew about her decision to turn down the role, they chose Jaclyn Smith instead.

Veronica remembers her agents were ‘in tears, had stokes, convulsions’ when they found out the news on her turning down the offer, but Veronica felt she made the right choice, finally quitting the dull pattern of living off her looks. ‘They said it would make me a star. But I said, ‘You’re talking about my life, my work—and I’ll be miserable’, she recalled the situation.

Starring in “Hill Street Blues”

After several years of landing episodic roles in such series as “The Eddie Capra Mysteries”, “The Hustler of Muscle Beach” and “Eischied”, Veronica was cast for the series “Hill Street Blues” in 1981. She landed the role of Joyce Davenport, an independent, dedicated and smart defense attorney, and that role made her truly famous. Veronica shared that she liked the role as both Joyce and Veronica herself were ‘not appendages’, and lived on their own, never living through anyone else.

However, in a few years of portraying the public defender, Veronica felt a little uncomfortable to film in the sixth season of the series: ‘We feel the changes, obviously – I was not happy about it and I don’t think anybody was happy about it – but <…> everybody was trying to be professional and supportive and get it going again’, she said in her interview with The Morning Call in 1985. The show was rumored to be closed after the sixth season, yet none of the cast wanted to talk about it. In 1986 the seventh season was aired, after which the series eventually end. Veronica wanted to play more comedy roles, as she admired Kay Kendall, the late British comedian, so after “Hill Street Blues” was cancelled, Veronica was ready to jump into other series.

Further career

Done with “Kane & Abel” (1985) mini-series, in which Veronica played Kate Kane, the actress mostly appeared in TV films, as if she was fed up with series.

Veronica Hamel

She could be seen in such TV films as “A New Life” (1988), “She Said No” (1990), and “Stop at Nothing” (1991). She also played leading roles in “The Disappearance of Nora” (1993), “The Conviction of Kitty Dodds” (1993) and “A Child’s Cry for Help” (1994). Veronica landed the role of Lily Munster in “Here Come the Munsters” (1995), that of Sadie in “Talk to Me” (1996), and the role of Jennifer in “Stranger in My Home” (1997).

Among her latest works there are episodes of such series as “Touched by an Angel”, “The Division”, “The Fugitive” and “Philly”. From 2002 to 2003, Veronica appeared in several episodes of the series “Third Watch”, then played Margo Shephard in episodes of the popular series “Lost” from 2004 to 2010. She also played Commissioner Hayes in “Bone Eater” in 2008.

Personal life, ex-husband actor Michael Irving

In 1971 Veronica married her fellow actor Michael Irving; the couple lived together for more than 10 years, divorcing in 1981. In 1982 Veronica shared that she was not pitying at all being alone: ‘I have many friends. We organize tennis tournaments on Sundays. I have some close women friends I don’t think I could live without—that holds it all together’, she shared in her interview with People. Michael Irving was one of the co-founders of the Half Moon Theatre, which in 1990 was turned into the Half Moon Young People’s Theatre. Michael is an experienced stage and screen actor, who played in such productions as “Rough Music” and “Apart from George”, and in movies and series including “Lou Grant” (1977 – 1981), “Personal Services” (1987) and “How To Be” (2008), starring Robert Pattinson and written and directed by his son from his second marriage, Oliver Irving.

35 years ago today in 1984, the cover of #TVGuide featured #VeronicaHamel and #DanielJTravanti of the NBC police drama #HillStreetBlues. pic.twitter.com/cWZBDnZU7X

— Silver Age Television 📺 (@SilverAgeTV) March 24, 2019

Hobbies, favorite things and interesting facts

Veronica was an avid equestrian, however, she had to give up jumping as she was starring in “Hill Street Blues”, so any injuries could put the whole show under risk.

In 1972, Veronica and Michael Irving bought the house in Brentwood which was earlier owned by Marilyn Monroe. When the couple started replacing the roof, they discovered a telephone tapping system and bugging eavesdropping devices which covered every single room of the house. The most interesting fact was that all those devices were not commercially available in the years Marilyn lived in the house, but some experts recognized them as ‘standard FBI issue’.

Veronica and Michael had to spend over $100,000 to clean their house from the system.

After divorce from Michael, Veronica rented another house in Brentwood, not wanting to leave the area she liked so much. She admitted that she couldn’t afford to buy the house of her dreams as it would cost her around $1 million, yet her house was big enough to have parties and barbecues, even for such big companies as the whole cast of “Hill Street Blues”.

Appearance

Veronica has long naturally curly dark brown hair and green eyes. She is 5ft 8ins (1.76m) tall, but her current weight and vital statistics are not available.

Net worth and salary

As of 2020, Veronica’s net worth is reported to be around $4 million. Of course her annual income depends on her commitments during any specific year.

Who is Holly Hallstrom?

Holly Anne Hallstrom was born in San Antonio, Texas USA, on 25 August 1952 – her zodiac sign is Virgo and she holds American nationality. She is a former model, retired actress and a TV personality, who is still perhaps best known for having served as a model in the game show “The Price Is Right” from 1977 to 1995.

What is she doing today or has she died?

There are rumors circulating the internet about how Holly died sometime in the early 2000s, as she hasn’t been appearing on TV or in the media, however, it is known that she decided to retire from appearing in TV shows in the late ‘90s, but came back on several occasions when invited as a guest in talk shows.

Today, Holly is renting-out several houses that she owns, and is leading a peaceful life in San Antonio.

Early life and education

Holly was raised alongside her younger sister in San Antonio, by the girls’ father who was a car mechanic, and their mother who was a housewife.

Holly grew up being focused on her studies, and when she enrolled at a local high school, she and her peers started reading girly magazines and watching models on TV – this is when Holly began dreaming about becoming a famous model one day, but still focused on her studies, and after matriculating in 1970, she enrolled at a college.

While still attending college, she visited Los Angeles in California, and there began working as a model which led her to quit college and focus on her career.

Career as an actress and a TV personality

Holly’s first appearance in a TV show was what made her famous – “The Price Is Right” starred Bob Barker, Janice Pennington and Dian Parkinson, and followed multiple contestants competing to win cash, cars and vacations. All the games in the show were related to the consumer goods pricing, and was a huge hit, winning 48 awards and being nominated for 122 others.

In 1980, Holly appeared as a panelist in two episodes of the comedy family game show “Match Game PM”, and in 1984 featured in the TV special “TV’s Funniest Game Show Moments”.

She made her debut TV series appearance in 1989, when she was cast to portray Newlywed Woman in the episode “The Nutt Cracker Suite” of the comedy “The Nutt House”, and in 1993 Holly made an uncredited appearance as the Spin the Wheel Girl in the action comedy crime movie “Loaded Weapon 1”. In the same year, she guest starred in a single episode of the game show “Family Feud”., and the following year made her second movie appearance when she played The Female Office

Holly Hallstrom

r in the short science fiction adventure comedy “Galaxy Beat”. Two years later, Holly played The Toothpaste Spokesperson in the adventure science fiction thriller movie “The Tomorrow Man”.

She featured in the TV special “The Price Is Right 25th Anniversary Special” in 1996, and in 2002 guest starred in a single episode of the documentary series “E! True Hollywood Story”. Her final two appearances on TV were captured in 2005, when she guest starred in an episode of the mini-series “Game Show Moments Gone Bananas”, and an episode of the talk show “The View”.

Filling a lawsuit

Holly was let go from “The Price Is Right” in 1995 by the show’s host Bob Barker, and subsequently claimed that she was dismissed because she gained 14lbs (6.4kgs), also that she was let go because she wouldn’t support Bob when he was sued for sexual harassment by Dian Parkinson, a former American model.

Bob counter-sued Holly, but dropped the suit two days before the trial began, and had to pay Holly’s legal fees – this motivated Holly to sue Bob, and the legal fight went on for years before it was settled in October 2005. During the years she fought Bob in court, Holly used all her savings, sold her house to pay for her lawyer, and lived in a car for a year. She eventually received several million dollars as settlement, and could’ve received more if she had accepted to not talk about Bob in the media ever again – she launched a foundation which has since been helping people who have been mistreated at their workplace.

After the models Kathleen Bradley and Janice Pennington, production assistants Sherrill Paris and Linda Riegert, and the director Paul Alter all testified against Bob, they were fired from the show – every one of them sued Bob, accepting out-of-court financial settlements, while Paul was eventually invited to come back to the show which he accepted in 2000.

Love life and relationships

Holly has kept details of her love life hidden from the media’s attention since she launched her modelling career, and there are rumors circulating the internet that she dated several men during those years she was shooting for “The Price Is Right”. Many of her fans claimed that they saw her walking hand in hand with several men in a period of three months, but Holly has never agreed to comment on her love life – it is also believed by some that she is a lesbian, while two of her fans have even claimed to have seen her kissing her female friend at a Los Angeles club.

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As of September 2020, Holly is single, she hasn’t married and doesn’t have children.

Hobbies and other interests

Holly has ventured into the real estate industry, and is the owner of several houses around San Antonio, most of which she leases, while she is today living in one of these.

She apparently spent her entire life being on a strict diet, eating mostly vegetables and fruits, and it wasn’t until she was done with modelling that she became interested in tasting various cuisines and travelling around the world – she has been to many European countries with her favorite being France, especially its capital city Paris, and she has also travelled to Asia on multiple occasions visiting China and Japan.

She is a lover of animals, and has had many pet dogs and cats.

Holly likes to watch movies late at night, and her favorite actors and actresses are Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon and Angelina Jolie, and some of her favorite movies are “Titanic”, “Catch Me If You Can” and “Good Will Hunting”.

Net worth

Holly’s age is 68. She has long brown hair and blue eyes, her height is 5ft 11ins (1.8m) and she weighs around 155lbs (70kgs).

As of September 2020, her net worth has been estimated at over $10 million.

Who is Randy Quaid?

American actor Randy Randall Rudy Quaid was born in Houston, Texas USA, on 1 October 1950, making Libra his zodiac sign. He’s appeared in nearly 120 TV series and movies, probably still best known for playing Russell Casse in the 1996 action science fiction adventure movie “Independence Day”, which Roland Emmerich wrote and directed, and which starred Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman and Will Smith. It follows the united humans as they’re standing against alien invaders, and the movie won 36 of its 71 award nominations, including an Oscar Award for Best Effects, Visual Effects.

Image source

Education and early life

Randy and his younger brother Dennis Quad, who’s today also a famous actor, were raised in Bellaire, Texas by their father William Rudy Quaid who was an electrician, and passed away on 8 February 1987, and mother Juanita Bonniedale ‘Nita’ (nee Jordan) who was a real estate agent.

Randy was persuaded by a friend to take an acting class while attending high school, and didn’t expect that he would fall in love with it, but after only three lessons, he chose to pursue a career in the film industry. Randy matriculated in 1969 and then enrolled at the University of Houston; his drama professor helped him meet American-Serbian screenwriter, director and actor Peter Bogdanovich, who then cast Randy in his first movie: the 1971 romantic drama “The Last Picture Show”, which won 21 of its 43 award nominations, including two Oscar wins for Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Cloris Leachman) and Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Ben Johnson).

Randy graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in 1973, and then focused on acting.

Roles in TV series

Randy’s mostly appeared in movies, and hasn’t had many roles in TV series.

His debut TV series role was playing John in the 1972 episode “Lindemann’s Catch” of the fantasy horror “Night Gallery”, and from 1985 through 1991 (his following role), he played various characters in 18 episodes of the critically acclaimed comedy “Saturday Night Live”, which has been airing since 1975, and has won 297 of its 852 award nominations.

In 1991 and 1992, he starred as Dwight Davis in the popular comedy “Davis Rules”, created by Danny Jacobson and Norma Safford Vela, and which also starred Luke Edwards and Tamayo Otsuki. It follows the life of widower and elementary school principal Dwight Davis, and the series won four of its seven award nominations. The remainder of the ‘90s saw Randy appear in an episode or two of several series, such as the crime thriller “Murder in the Heartland”, the adventure “Tales of the Wild”, and the western “Streets of Laredo”.

In 2003, Randy played Chief Hank Shaw in the drama “The Brotherhood of Poland, New Hampshire”, starring alongside John Carroll Lynch and Mare Winningham; it follows the members of the Shaw family, and the series was nominated for only a single award.

He’s since appeared in only three TV series, all in 2005: five episodes of the action mystery mini-series “5ive Days to Midnight”, two episodes of the biographical musical drama “Elvis”, and two episodes of the action adventure “Category 7: The End of the World”.

Roles in movies

Randy played Herbie in the 1972 comedy “Getting Away from It All”, and some of his following roles were in the 1973 crime action “Lolly-Madonna XXX”, the 1974 drama “The Great Niagara”, and the 1977 crime comedy “The Choirboys”.

In 1984, he portrayed Harold ‘Mitch’ Mitchell in the popular drama “A Streetcar Named Desire”, directed by John Erman, and which starred Ann-Margret, Treat Williams and Beverly D’Angelo. It follows Blanche Dubois who’s come to visit her sister in New Orleans, and has learned that she’s facing issues in life; the movie won 10 of its 19 award nominations. Some of Randy’s other notable performances in the ‘80s were in the ‘86 romantic action horror “The Wraith”, the ‘87 crime thriller “No Man’s Land” and the ‘88 sports drama “Dead Solid Perfect”.

The year 1995 saw him play the main character Vic Damico in the romantic comedy “Bye Bye Love”, directed by Sam Weisman, and which also starred Matthew Modine and Paul Reiser. It follows the lives of three divorced men, and the film was nominated for two awards. Some of Randy’s following roles were in the 1997 comedy “Vegas Vacation”, the 1999 comedy “The Debtors”, and the 2000 musical “Sultans of Swing: The Very Best of Dire Straits”.

In 2003, Randy played the main character Charlie in the horror thriller “Black Cadillac”, written and directed by John Murlowski, and which also starred Shane Johnson and Josh Hammond. It follows three men in a car as they’re being chased by a mysterious man.

His final three roles, prior to disappearing from the film industry, were in the 2006 biographical historical drama “Goya’s Ghosts”, the 2008 comedy “Real Time”, and the 2009 sports comedy “Balls Out: Gary the Tennis Coach”; he returned for a single role in 2018, when he played Gordon in the comedy “All You Can Eat”.

Other roles

Randy received special thanks for the 1996 romantic comedy thriller “Mojave Moon”.

He produced the 1999 comedy movie “The Debtors”, and wrote and produced the 2011 documentary film “Star Whackers”.

Some of his recent talk-show appearances have been in “Access Hollywood”, “Good Morning America” and “Hollywood Insider”.

Awards and nominations

Randy’s won eight of his 26 award nominations, including a 1974 Oscar nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, for his performance in “The Last Detail”.

Some of his wins include a 1998 Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television, for “LBJ: The Early Years”, a 1990 Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead for “Parents”, and a 2005 Satellite Award for Outstanding Actor in a Supporting Role in a Mini-Series, for “Elvis”.

Legal Issues

Randy’s been arrested on a number of occasions, often together with his wife Evi Motolanez.

He and Evi were arrested for defrauding an innkeeper in 2009, after they used an invalid credit card to pay a bill; the case against Randy was dismissed, but Evi was ordered to do 240 hours of community service, and was put on probation for three years.

The two were charged with burglary in September 2010, after they spent five days at their former home in Santa Barbara – Randy and Evi claimed that they hadn’t sold the house, and that their signatures were forged. They failed to appear at court, and were thus arrested at the Canadian-American border on their US warrants in October of the same year.

Randy was arrested in 2013 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada for not having done the non-resident check-in.

#RandyQuaid now facing deportation in Canada after fleeing the U.S. with his wife in 2010. http://t.co/HN4yCOMPyk pic.twitter.com/gMCbIUYpri

— AP Entertainment (@APEntertainment) October 8, 2015

Love life and wife

Randy’s married twice. His first wife was American former model Ella Marie Jolly; the two exchanged vows on 11 May 1980, and their daughter Amanda Marie was born on 29 May 1983. Randy and Ella split on 9 September 1986, and their divorce was finalized three years later.

He and American actress Evi Motolanez met on the set of the comedy movie “Bloodhounds of Broadway” in December 1987, and married on 5 October 1989; they’ve been together ever since.

Randy’s yet to speak about other women whom he’s maybe been with, he’s married to his second wife Evi Motolanez as of April 2023, and has a daughter with his former wife Ella Marie Jolly.

Interesting facts and hobbies

Randy supported Donald Trump in both the 2016 and 2020 presidential election, and believes that the 2020 election was a fraud; Trump used Twitter to thank Randy for supporting him.

He’s highly active on Twitter, and has tweeted close to 5,000 times since the launch of his account in January 2015; more than 800,000 people are following Randy on the network today, and many of his tweets are related to politics.

Randy and his second wife Evi actually married thrice: the first time in Monticeto, California, the second in Hollywood, Los Angeles, and the third in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

He and Evi both sought asylum in Canada; Evi became a Canadian citizen in 2011, while Randy’s request was denied in January 2013.

His favorite actor’s Johnny Depp, while some of Randy’s favorite movies include “A Nightmare on Elm Street”, “Alice in Wonderland” and “Sleepy Hollow”.

Height, eyes and wealth

Randy’s age is 72. He has brown eyes and hair, is 6ft 5ins (1.96m) tall and weighs around 240lbs (110kgs).

Randy’s net worth’s been estimated at less than $1 million as of April 2023.