Laurie Bird(1953-1979)
- Actress
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Soundtrack
Laurie Bird was a cute and charming actress who appeared in only three
pictures during her regrettably short-lived career. Bird was born on
September 26, 1953 in Long Island, New York. Laurie was working as a
model when she was chosen by director
Monte Hellman, from nearly 500 women, to
portray "The Girl" in
Two-Lane Blacktop (1971). Bird
gave a fine and impressively natural performance in her film debut as
the chatty and rootless hippie wanderer, "The Girl", in Hellman's
extraordinary road movie masterpiece. She was likewise excellent as
Harry Dean Stanton's snippy young
wife, "Dody Burke White", in Hellman's bleakly fascinating character
study Cockfighter (1974). Following
her small role as Paul Simon's L.A.
girlfriend in Woody Allen's
Annie Hall (1977), Laurie quit acting,
altogether, and became a photographer. Bird committed suicide in
boyfriend Art Garfunkel's Manhattan
penthouse, at the tragically young age of 25, on June 15, 1979.
Garfunkel dedicated his album, "Scissors Cut", to Laurie. The album
features a partial photograph of Laurie Bird on its back cover.
