The othe night on one of the many cable channel I have that seemingly are dedicated to showing films way past their time, I caught a few minutes of Bachelor Party, the one starring Tom Hanks. Okay, it was more like the better part of the film rather than a few minutes but that was because I wanted to see a few scenes with Wendie Jo Sperber in it.

She was one of those actress who was always recognizable but few ever placed the face. She was a staple of many of eighties and early nineties comedies on television and film playing the brassy but cute friend of whatever actress had the leading role. She got her break playing on Bosom Buddies and appeared in films like “1941″, “Bachelor Party” and “Back to the Future”. In the mid nineties, she appeared rarely as she fought her cancer and devoted time to raise her daughter Pearl who was born in 1990 but has appeared frequently in guest roles recently on television.

I always had a soft spot for her when I saw her on film or television in the eighties. She was no shrinking violet; no she was always loud and opinionated but I guess that to an introvert boy like myself back then she was a revelation. I thought that she was the girl that you wanted to be at parties with by mixing things up and keep things lively. I thought she was a pretty girl; full figured on a petite frame, yes, but with a fair face framed by soft dark curls, she was prettier than most girls I dated at that time. Still, with that brassy personality and a heart as big as herself, my attention was always drawn to her whenever she showed up on screen. So while other guys in the eighties were taken by a Bo Derek or a Tawny Kitaen, for me Wendie was one of the few actress/model types that I fantasied about along with Pia Zadora, Kate Bush, and Pat Benatar.

Life moves on though. When she passed away back in 2005, a true under appreciated talent was gone for good. She was one of a kind and she will be missed.