Susan Anton

Anton made her TV acting debut in "The Great American Beauty Pageant" (ABC, 1973), but she became a household face in 1976 when she was named the Muriel Cigar Girl and appeared in numerous advertisements. Her role as a woman turned practically into a robot to win the Olympics in the feature "Goldengirl" (1979), coupled with her nightclub performing gave her some celebrity status.An accomplished singer, particularly of country & western music, Anton co-starred with Mel Tillis in the 1978 ABC variety special "Mel and Susan Together" and the following year, headlined her own summer variety series on NBC. She starred as a photographer solving the murder of her brother in the "Stop Susan Williams" episodes of the NBC series "Cliffhangers" (1979). While Anton had an dramatic role in the sweet PBS special "The Boy Who Loved Trolls" (1984), she acted infrequently on TV until the 90s, when she played mother to junior lifeguard Nicole Eggert in episodes of "Baywatch" (syndicated) on which she appeared from 1992-1994. Over the years, however, she remained a staple of guest on variety and comedy specials featuring the likes of Bob Hope and David Copperfield.The small screen prove more hospitable than features. Anton's film appearances have been minor, although she had top billing as the mother of a would-be tennis star teen in "Spring Fever" (1981). In "Cannonball Run II" (1983), she was merely the object of Burt Reynolds' ogling. More recently, she appeared in the independent films, "Options" (1989) and "Lena's Holiday" (1991). Yet Anton has never stopped working in nightclubs and on the stage. She toured in the Neil Simon musical "They're Playing Our Song" in 1982, and made her Broadway debut in the second cast of David Rabe's "Hurlyburly" in 1985. Six years later, Anton was tapped to play Ziegfeld's favorite, a leggy showgirl, in the award-winning Broadway musical "The Will Rogers Follies." She has also toured with The Rockettes.