Dorothy Lyman
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| Born | April 18, 1947 Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S. |
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Dorothy Lyman (born April 18, 1947) is an American television actress, director and producer. She is most commonly known for her work on the syndicated television series Mama's Family, as Naomi Harper.
Lyman was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the daughter of Violet E. (née Brightwell) and Hector H. Lyman, who was a stockbroker.[1] She first appeared on her first soap opera A World Apart as Julie Stark in 1971. Several years later, Dorothy appeared as the evil Elly Jo Jamison on The Edge of Night. She has also appeared in the serials Another World as Gwen Frame (1976-1980), on the Tales from the Darkside television series in the 'In the Cards' episode (1985), in ALF as Maura Norris in the episode 'Tequila' (1988), Generations as Rebecca Whitmore (1990-1991), and in The Bold and the Beautiful as Bonnie Roberts (1991-1992).
However, her most notable soap opera role has been on All My Children as Opal Sue Gardner, for which she received two Emmy awards -- as Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role in a Daytime Drama Series in 1982 and for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series in 1983. Interestingly enough, Lyman attended high school with Jill Larson, the actress who would eventually succeed her in the role of Opal Gardner.
In an appearance on Vicki Lawrence's talk show Vicki!, Lyman noted that she continued to perform on All My Children concurrently with the beginning of Mama's Family's production, flying back and forth each week between New York and Los Angeles. While the commute was brutal, she remembered it fondly, referring to that stage of her career as "All My Paychecks."
When Mama's Family ended its run, Lyman went behind the camera, producing and directing several episodes of The Nanny, even making a special guest appearance on the Fran Drescher sitcom. After Mama's Family ended in 1990, Lyman had a recurring role on Bob, Bob Newhart's third series. She also made a cameo appearance in I Love Trouble, a film starring Nick Nolte and Julia Roberts.
In 2007, Lyman guest-starred in the third season of the reimagined Battlestar Galactica as Starbuck's mother. Lyman is currently living in New York City after spending time in California. In California, she made a guest appearance on the TV sitcom Reba, playing Reba Hart's mother.
