Farrah Forke

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Farrah Forke
Born
Farrah Rachael Forke

(1968-01-12)January 12, 1968
Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S.
DiedFebruary 25, 2022(2022-02-25) (aged 54)
Houston, Texas, U.S.
Other namesFarrah R. Forke
OccupationActress
Years active1991–2005
Children2

Farrah Rachael Forke[1] (January 12, 1968 – February 25, 2022) was an American actress best known for her roles as Alex Lambert on the NBC sitcom Wings and Mayson Drake on Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. She also voiced the character Big Barda on the animated television series Batman Beyond and Justice League Unlimited, starred as Carey on the short-lived cult sitcom Dweebs, Nikki Harkin on Mr. Rhodes, Carol Ashby in the pilot episode of the 90's remake of Fantasy Island, and appeared in several made-for-TV movies such as Nurses on the Line (1993), Journey to the Center of the Earth (1993), Bionic Ever After? (1994), and theatrical movies like Disclosure (1994) and Heat (1995).

Early life[edit]

Forke was born in Corpus Christi, Texas, on January 12, 1968.[2][1] She was one of two children of Chuck Forke and Beverly (Mendleski).[1][3] Forke was named after Farrah Fawcett, who was a family friend. In an interview, she said: "I was a huge fan of hers, thinking as a child 'If she can do it so can I.'"[1][4] She attended the Hockaday School, an all-girls private school in Dallas, where she was a cheerleader.[4] She started acting with a role in a Texas production of the musical The Rocky Horror Show. After graduating from high school, she relocated to New York City in 1989 to study acting at the Lee Strasberg Institute. She also worked as a bartender while studying in the city.[1][4]

Career[edit]

Forke made her feature debut in the 1991 film Brain Twisters (1991).[1][5]

Wings[edit]

She became best known as Alex Lambert for two seasons on the NBC sitcom Wings. Only her second professional acting role, it became one of her biggest roles.

She said she was nervous during the early episodes. "I was so green and so nervous," she said. "There were so many people around, and four cameras. My hands used to shake in the early episodes. You'll see me holding coffee cups with both hands to control the shaking."[4] She drew on personal experience to play the character, who was not at all like the actress. "I am really nothing like her," she said in an interview, "but the toughness I got to display as a real bartender in New York at closing time prepared me for the role of Alex. I would lower the tone of my voice to show I meant business and I used that in my audition. I knew I could play her."[4]

Overall, the part taught the young actress a lot. "It was a great learning experience. I learned so much, especially from Steven Weber and Tony Shaloub."[4] The part was a recurring role during the 1992–93 season, the fourth season of the show, and a regular cast role the following year, the fifth season.[1][6]

Forke was upset not to be asked back for the sixth season as a regular cast member. The writers found the Alex character difficult to write for and felt they had run out of stories for the character and wanted to explore her onscreen boyfriend Brian's (played by Weber) single life instead. Forke was asked back for a guest appearance in one episode of the sixth season, which gave a conclusion to her character.[4]

Post-Wings, Lois & Clark, Justice League and other roles[edit]

After Wings, Forke starred as Carey, an office manager for a computer software company, in the short-lived CBS sitcom Dweebs (1995), and then, from 1996 to 1997, a guidance counselor at a prep school in NBC's Mr. Rhodes.[7][8] She also appeared on Ned and Stacey with her Wings castmate Thomas Haden Church.[4] Forke was the voice woman of several companies, such as Arby's, Cadillac, Checkers, and Vanderbilt.[5][9]

Forke had a recurring role on Lois and Clark as Mayson Drake, an attorney who considers Superman a vigilante, but holds a candle for Clark Kent.[10][11]

Forke would once again take part in the Superman universe by voicing the character Big Barda in two episodes of Batman Beyond and one episode of Justice League Unlimited, animated shows set in the same universe as Superman: The Animated Series.[1][6]

In films, she featured in Academy Award winner Barry Levinson's Disclosure (1994), Michael Mann's Heat (1995),[1] and Ground Control (1998).[9] She appeared in Kate's Addiction (1998), in which she and actress Kari Wuhrer play women in a lesbian love affair, as well as the TV-movies Nurses on the Line: The Crash of Flight 7 (CBS, 1993) with Lindsay Wagner. Other TV movie roles include Journey to the Center of the Earth (NBC, 1993), Complex of Fear (CBS, 1993), Bionic Ever After? (CBS, 1994) (again with Wagner), and Abandoned and Deceived (ABC, 1995).[9][7]

Her final onscreen role was in the 2001 movie It Is What It Is directed by Billy Frolick.[12] Forke was very proud of the role. "It's by far the best work I've ever done," she said in a 2003 interview.[3] She also served as executive producer on the movie.[3] Around the time of the 2003 interview, she moved to New Mexico and, though mentioned she was planning to return to LA for pilot season,[3] seemingly decided to retire permanently from acting, later moving back to Texas. She would later say: "I have no plans to return to Hollywood. I love my life here in Texas, raising my twin boys. Life is good."[4] She had one more role, a voice role, in 2005, resuming her voice work as Big Barda in Justice League Unlimited.[13]

Personal life[edit]

Forke underwent plastic surgery in 1989, when she was 21, to receive silicone breast implants. However, the implants later ruptured and caused her health complications. She consequently had them removed four years later in February 1993. She then filed a lawsuit in Houston on March 24 of the following year against Dow Corning, the Dow Chemical Company, the Inamed Corporation and the McGhan Corporation.[14][15]

She was dear friends with actress Caroline Aaron, who played Mary Pat Lee on Wings. The two featured together in Forke's last episode of the series.[4]

Forke met Mark Layton Brown while he was working in the art department of Wings.[4] Together, they had two children: twin sons Chuck and Wit.[1][4] She took a hiatus from acting during the early 2000s and returned to Texas to raise her children, eventually deciding the hiatus would become a permanent retirement from Hollywood.[4][5]

Death[edit]

Forke died at her home in Spring, Texas, on February 25, 2022, at the age of 54. She had been battling cancer in the years leading up to her death.[1][6]

Many tributes were paid to her, including from her cast mate Steven Weber, who played her onscreen boyfriend Brian in Wings, saying: "She was every bit as tough, fun, beautiful and grounded as her character “Alex” on Wings."[16][17]

Filmography[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1991 Brain Twisters[7][18] Laurie Stevens
1992–1995 Wings[7][19] Alex Lambert 35 episodes
1993 Complex of Fear[13][20] Vicki
Nurses on the Line: The Crash of Flight 7[7][20] Fran Markoe
Journey to the Center of the Earth[7][18] Dr. Margo Peterson Television film
1994 Bionic Ever After?[7][20] Kimberly Haviland/Harmon
Disclosure[18][19] Adele Lewyn
1994–1995 Lois & Clark: The New Adventures Of Superman[19][13] Mayson Drake 4 episodes
1995 A Whole New Ballgame[21] Angela Episode: "Brett's Beef"[22]
Favorite Deadly Sins[7][19] Mrs. Spencer Television film
Heat[18][19] Claudia
Abandoned and Deceived[7][18] Sarah
Dweebs[18][13] Carey 10 episodes
1996 Ned and Stacey Megan Foster Episode: "A Tender Trap"[23]
1996–1997 Mr. Rhodes[7][18] Nikki Harkin 17 episodes
1997 Duckman[24] Herself Voice, episode: "Aged Heat 2: Women in Heat"
1998 Jenny[7] Kyra Campbell Episode: "A Girl's Gotta Hang with a Celebrity"
Grown-Ups[25] Jeanie Television film
Ground Control[7][18] Laura Franklin
Fantasy Island[7][18] Carol Ashby Episode: "Pilot"
1999 Kate's Addiction[7][18] Sara
Hitman's Run[7][18] Sarah
Party of Five[7][19] Tracy 3 Episodes
2000 Batman Beyond[26] Big Barda / Barda Free Voice, episode: "The Call"
2001 It Is What It Is[12] Teresa
2005 Justice League Unlimited[19][13] Big Barda / Barda Free Voice, episode: "The Ties That Bind"

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Diaz, Johnny (March 3, 2022). "Farrah Forke, Who Played a Helicopter Pilot on 'Wings,' Dies at 54". The New York Times. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  2. ^ Leszczak, Bob (December 25, 2020). There Once Was a Show from Nantucket: A Complete Guide to the TV Sitcom Wings. BearManor Media. ISBN 9781629336664. Farrah Forke was born a Capricorn on January 12, 1968 in Corpus Christi, Texas
  3. ^ a b c d Fulmer, Marcia (April 21, 2003). "Actress keeping busy, enjoying life in New Mexico". The Elkhart Truth. Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved January 26, 2009.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Leszczak, Bob (December 25, 2020). There Once Was a Show from Nantucket: A Complete Guide to the TV Sitcom Wings. BearManor Media. ISBN 9781629336664.
  5. ^ a b c Segarra, Edward (March 2, 2022). "Farrah Forke, actor on 'Wings' and 'Lois & Clark,' dies at 54: reports". USA Today. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  6. ^ a b c Aurthur, Kate (March 2, 2022). "Farrah Forke, 'Wings' and 'Lois & Clark' Actor, Dies at 54". Variety. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "Farrah Forke". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  8. ^ O'Connor, John J. (September 23, 1996). "Dead Poets Yield To Stand-Up Routines". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
  9. ^ a b c Barnes, Mike (March 2, 2022). "Farrah Forke, Helicopter Pilot Alex Lambert on 'Wings,' Dies at 54". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  10. ^ Peppard, Anna (December 8, 2020). Supersex: Sexuality, Fantasy, and the Superhero. University of Texas Press. p. 224. ISBN 9781477321607.
  11. ^ Saclao, Christian (March 2, 2022). "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Actress Farrah Forke Dies at 54". Geekspin. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
  12. ^ a b "It Is What It Is (2001)". Radio Times. Archived from the original on March 5, 2022. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  13. ^ a b c d e "Farrah Forke". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  14. ^ "Implant lawsuit". The Victoria Advocate. Victoria, Texas. March 26, 1994. p. 6D.
  15. ^ Langford, Terri (March 25, 1994). "Actress Files Breast Implant Lawsuit". Associated Press. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  16. ^ Weber, Steven (March 2, 2022). "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  17. ^ "'Wings' actress Farrah Forke dies at 54". Fox 8 Cleveland WJW. March 3, 2022. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  18. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Farrah Forke". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on January 13, 2018. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  19. ^ a b c d e f g "Farrah Forke List of Movies and TV Shows". TV Guide. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  20. ^ a b c "Farrah Forke – Filmography". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  21. ^ "Cautionary Love Stories". The Washington Post. February 12, 1995. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  22. ^ TV Guide. Vol. 43. Triangle Publications. 1995.
  23. ^ TV Guide. Vol. 44. Triangle Publications. 1996. p. 113.
  24. ^ Locker, D. V. D. "DVD Locker". www.dvdlocker.com. Archived from the original on August 27, 2021. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  25. ^ "Grown-Ups (1998)". Radio Times. Archived from the original on March 5, 2022. Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  26. ^ Perlmutter, David (May 4, 2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 63. ISBN 9781538103746.

External links[edit]

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