‘CLAIRE’

CAST BIOS

VALERIE BERTINELLI (Claire Bannion) – Having been recently named as the new face of Jenny Craig, Valerie Bertinelli is best known to television audiences for her work on two television series: the ground- breaking Norman Lear comedy “One Day at a Time,” and the inspirational drama “Touched by an Angel.” Bertinelli also starred in the lead role in the comedy series “Café American” and “Sydney,” also serving as an executive producer on the latter. Her own production company developed the made-for-television movies “The Seduction of Gina” and “Mail Order Bride,” in which she starred. Among her additional TV movie and miniseries credits are “Murder of Innocence,” “In a Child’s Name,” “Poncho Barnes,” “Silent Witness,” “Shattered Vows,” “Two Mothers for Zachary,” “I’ll take Manhattan” and “Finding John Christmas.” Bertinelli also starred in the feature films “Ordinary Heroes,” “Number One with a Bullet” and “C.H.O.M.P.S.” A native of Wilmington, DE, Bertinelli resides in Southern California with her son, Wolfgang.

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RAY BAKER (Sheriff Birch) – A native of Omaha, NE, Ray Baker was raised in Colorado and graduated from the University of Denver. Baker began his acting career working in improvisational theatre in Boston and New York City. During almost two decades in New York, he appeared on Broadway in productions such as “Crimes of the Heart,” “Is There Life After High School” and “Torch Song Trilogy.” Baker’s feature film credits include “Holes,” “Sweet November,” “What Lies Beneath,” “Girl, Interrupted,” “Hard Rain,” “Ed Wood,” “Total Recall,” “Rain Man,” “Places in the Heart,” “Silkwood” and “Gloria.” Television audiences know him from his recurring role of “Dr. Richard Thorpe,” a.k.a. the notorious “Doctor Dick,” on “Cybill.” Other comedy series on which he had guest-starring roles are “The Cosby Show,” “Home Improvement” and “3rd Rock from the Sun.” His additional TV credits include starring in the movies “A Town Without Pity,” “Ali: An American Hero” and “44 Minutes: The North Hollywood Shoot-Out,” and guest-starring on the drama series “21 Jump Street,” “Dark Angel,” “ER,” “The Shield” and “Numb3rs.”

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PETER JASON (Harry Bannion) – Peter Jason and Valerie Bertinelli first worked together when he guest- starred on the comedy series “One Day at a Time.” However, Jason is known in the feature film world as a favorite of directors John Carpenter and Walter Hill. He has appeared in a dozen of Hill’s films including “Brewster’s Millions,” “48 Hours” and “Another 48 Hours,” and Carpenter cast him in “Escape from L.A.,” “Ghosts of Mars,” “The Prince of Darkness, “They Live,” “In the Mouth of Madness” and “Village of the Damned,” the last of which he also served on as casting director. Jason’s additional feature film credits include “Surviving Christmas,” “Seabiscuit,” “Adaptation,” “Dante’s Peak,” “Congo,” “Arachnophobia,” “The Hunt for Red October,” “Alien Nation,” “Red Heat,” “Sunset,” “Mommie Dearest” and “Rio Lobo.” In addition to previously working with Bertinelli, Jason’s television comedy series credits include “The Golden Girls,” “Coach” and “Roseanne.” He also has guest-starred on drama series ranging from classics such as “Gunsmoke,” “Daniel Boone” and “Hawaii Five-O” to “Remington Steele,” “Cagney & Lacey,” “JAG,” “Deadwood” and “Desperate Housewives.” # # #

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HALLMARK CHANNEL/ ‘CLAIRE’ – CAST BIOS – Page 2

MICOLE MERCURIO (Bunny Holden) – Micole Mercurio has appeared in numerous feature films, including “What Lies Beneath,” “While You Were Sleeping,” “Colors,” “The Mask,” “2 Days in the Valley,” “Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael” and “Flashdance.” Her television credits include recurring roles on the drama series “Hill Street Blues” and “The Guardian,” and guest starring on series such as “The Practice,” Night Court,” “Chicago Hope” and “Empty Nest.”

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FREDRIC LANE (Ben Goodrow) – Fredric Lane previously starred opposite Valerie Bertinelli when she portrayed the title role in the made for television movie “The Seduction of Gina.” Television audiences most know Lane from his recurring role of “Marshal Edward Mars” on the cult hit series “Lost.” He also had a recurring role on “Wise Guy” and starred in the miniseries “Favorite Son” and “From the Earth to the Moon.” His additional TV credits include guest-starring on the dramas “The X-Files,” “The Ghost Whisperer,” “China Beach,” “Crossing Jordan” and “Medium.” His feature film credits include “Being There,” “Foxes,” “Ordinary People,” “Con Air,” “Max” and “Men in Black.”

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