CAST BIOS

MARION ROSS (Leslie Clyde Onstott) – Marion Ross was born in a small Minnesota community called Watertown. At the age of 13, she changed the spelling of her name from "Marian" to "Marion" because she thought it would look better on a marquee. After her sophomore year in high school, she moved to Minneapolis and took a job as an au pair so she could take drama lessons at the MacPhail Center for the Arts. A year later, her family moved to San Diego, California, and Marion enrolled in San Diego State College.

As a freshman, Ross was named the school's most outstanding actress. After graduating, she performed in summer theater in La Jolla. The director was quite impressed by her talent and urged her to give Hollywood a shot. With the assistance of an old college professor, Ross worked her way into a contract for Paramount.

Ross has a number of feature film credits including "Forever Female," "The Glenn Miller Story," "Sabrina," and "Operation Petticoat" (1959). Her television credits include starring roles on the series "Life with Father," “Happy Days” and “Brooklyn Bridge”; recurring roles on “The Gilmore Girls,” “The Drew Carey Show” and “That ‘70’s Show”; and countless guest starring stints.

Ross lives in Los Angeles with actor Paul Michael, her longtime beau, on “Happy Days” farm – the home she built with her salary from the series. She has two grown children, also in show business: actor Jim Meskimen (“How the Grinch Stole Christmas”) and writer/producer Ellen Plummer (“Friends”). She is also the official spokeswoman for the town of Marion, Illinois. "They pay me money. My name’s on the water tower. The bank has my name, too – the Bank of Marion.” I said, 'You shouldn't have gone to all this trouble!' It's too cute."

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FRANK WHALEY (Richie Green) – Long renowned as a versatile actor, Frank Whaley made his directorial and writing debut with the critically acclaimed “Joe the King,” starring Val Kilmer and Ethan Hawke, which premiered at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival, taking home the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award.

Whaley’s most memorable film roles include Kevin Spacey’s put-upon assistant in “Swimming With Sharks,” a psychologically unbalanced celebrity fan in “Homage,” Lara

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Flynn Boyle’s boy-toy in “Café Society,” Archie “Moonlight” Graham in “Field of Dreams,” a music-loving German teen in “Swing Kids” and a pathetic drug dealer in “Pulp Fiction.”

A native of Syracuse, New York, Whaley received a B.A. in Theater from Albany State University. Upon moving to New York City, he began working steadily in such off- Broadway theater companies as Naked Angels, Circle in the Square and the Malaparte Theater Company which he co-founded.

Whaley’s other film credits include “Ironweed,” “Born on the Fourth of July,” “The Doors,” “I.Q.,” “Broken Arrow,” “Hoffa,” “The Freshman,” “A Midnight Clear” and “Career Opportunities.” Among his extensive television credits include “NCIS” and TV movies “The Desperate Trail,” “Fatal Deception: Mrs. Lee Harvey Oswald,” “To Dance with the White Dog,” “When Trumpets Fade,” and “The Wall.” He recently completed a co- starring role in HBO’s, “Mrs. Harris” starring Annette Benning. Currently he is working on his fourth film for Oliver Stone, “World Trade Center,” starring Nicolas Cage.

Whaley, who is bi-coastal, lives with his wife Heather and their two children. # # #

CHRISTINE ELISE (Annie Clark) – A native of Boston, Massachusetts, Christine Elise is best known for her recurring roles in the television dramas “ER” and “Beverly Hills, 90210,” writing several scripts for the latter. A regular in “A League of Their Own” and “L.A. Firefighters,” she has also guest-starred in a number of series including “Northern Exposure,” “Ellen,” “Fantasy Island,” “Strong Medicine,” “Family Law,” “Judging Amy” and “JAG.”

Elise loves to renovate old houses. She is also an accomplished photographer and animal activist. # # #

KEITH CARRADINE (Sheriff Clifford Laws) – Keith Carradine was born in San Mateo, California, the son of veteran actor John Carradine and brother of actors David and Robert. As a student at Colorado State University, he appeared in the University Production of “Becket” before leaving school to pursue his career. In March 1969 Carradine was cast in the Broadway musical “Hair” and spent a year in New York playing the principal role of Claude.

Soon after returning to Los Angeles in 1970, Keith landed the role of a young gunslinger in “A Gunfight,” with Kirk Douglas and Johnny Cash. He followed this with an important

(more) HALLMARK CHANNEL / ‘WHERE THERE’S A WILL’ -- Cast Bios – Page 3 role in Robert Altman’s “McCabe and Mrs. Miller” with Warren Beatty and Julie Christie, and then went on to star in the Altman classics “Thieves Like Us” and “Nashville.”

During the filming of “Thieves Like Us” Altman became aware of Carradine’s singing and songwriting talents and incorporated several of his compositions into the “Nashville” soundtrack. Carradine’s song “I’m Easy,” which he performed in the film, won an Academy Award® and Golden Globe.

Carradine has starred in a number of notable films, including a quartet directed by close friend and fellow Altman protégé Alan Rudolph: “Welcome to L.A.,” “Choose Me,” “Trouble in Mind” and “The Moderns.” Another of Carradine’s talents was unveiled when he painted several canvases for “The Moderns,” including one that became the film’s poster.

In 1982 Carradine appeared on Broadway with Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn in “Foxfire.” For his performance as the couple’s prodigal son, he received an Outer Critics Circle Award. He also created the title role in the Broadway production of “The Will Rogers Follies,” which earned him a Tony Award nomination.

Carradine was most recently seen as legendary gunfighter Wild Bill Hickock in the cutting-edge Western series “Deadwood.” Married and the father of three children (including actress Martha Plimpton), he lives in Los Angeles.

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PAUL MICHAEL (Wheeler Darden) – After serving as an Army sergeant in the South Pacific during World War II, Paul Michael graduated from Brown University, where he majored in the classics. Moving to the Big Apple, he studied music and voice at the Manhattan School of Music and appeared regularly with a number of small opera companies based in New York. A chance meeting with a hometown friend near Times Square led to Paul’s first audition for a Broadway show and he landed a key role in the major hit “Bells Are Ringing,” starring Judy Holliday.

For the next 25 years, his appearances on Broadway were interspersed with more traditional fields of employment – as editor of a weekly newspaper, minority programs evaluator for the Ford Foundation, job developer for ex-convicts and ex-addicts at the Vera Institute of Justice, New York City social worker with a caseload in Harlem.

A film offer drew Michael to Hollywood, where he landed a recurring role on “Hill Street Blues.” In between other film and television roles, he also appeared in the Los Angeles productions of “Hatful of Rain,” “Winterset,” “Brothers,” “Gods of the Lightning,” “Kafka’s Kastle Kareer” and “Cabin l2.” When he’s not working, Michael enjoys sharing his life with Marion Ross.

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