When She Began Her Career, 'Mother Cried, Daddy Swore'

Valerie Perrine, who swung from the Vegas showgirl circuit to superhero fame and an Oscar nomination, has died in Beverly Hills at age 82. Friend Stacey Souther announced her death on Facebook, noting Perrine's long battle with Parkinson's disease, which she was diagnosed with in 2015, and launched a GoFundMe to help fulfill Perrine's wish to be buried in Forest Lawn's renowned cemetery, per Variety. When Perrine initially set out for Sin City during her college years, she told People at the time that "Mother cried, Daddy swore." She also noted her showgirl time could be rough, with barely any time off, per Entertainment Tonight.

"Did not live a normal life for eight years," she said. "I had tin foil on my windows. But now, looking back on it, I wouldn't have changed that for anything." Perrine's showgirl stint led to other things, however, eventually leading to her breakout role as Honey in Bob Fosse's 1974 biopic Lenny, opposite Dustin Hoffman, which earned her an Oscar nomination. Perrine also became a pop-culture fixture as Miss Teschmacher, Lex Luthor's conflicted companion in the first two Superman films.

Her decades-long career cut across film and TV, with roles in the movies Slaughterhouse-Five, The Electric Horseman, The Border, and What Women Want, as well as in television series such as Northern Exposure, ER, and Just Shoot Me!, per Variety. A former Playboy cover model, Perrine also made television history in 1973's Steambath as the first actress to intentionally appear nude on American TV. Born Valerie Ritchie Perrine in Galveston, Texas, she worked steadily into the 2010s, closing her big-screen career with 2016's Silver Skies. "Let's come together to make her last wish a reality—she truly deserves it," Souther wrote online regarding the fundraiser.