Anjanette Comer has died at the age of 86.
Videos by Wide Open Country
The Hollywood Reporter obtained the actress' death certificate. The star of The Loved One and The Appaloosa died on May 28 at UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center. She had been battling leukemia and several heart-related issues.
Anjanette Comer Passed on Two Big Roles
Comer was born on Aug. 7, 1939, in Dawson, Texas. She caught the attention of an agent while studying acting at the Pasadena Playhouse.
This led to several guest roles on television, and she was even nominated for a supporting actress Emmy for her role in the ABC drama Arrest and Trial.
She made her film debut in 1964 playing a flight attendant in the comedy Quick, Before It Melts. In 1966, she starred opposite Marlon Brando in The Appaloosa. She also worked with Robert Wagner and Jill St. John in 1967's Banning.
But Comer is perhaps infamous for the two roles she didn't take. She turned down the chance to star with Robert Redford in the 1967 film adaptation of the Neil Simon play Barefoot in the Park. Jane Fonda took the role. She also turned down the role of Bonnie Parker in Bonnie and Clyde. Faye Dunaway stepped in and was nominated for the Oscar for Best Actress.
Why Did Comer Turn Down Those Roles?
Comer turned down those roles because she was in a "very important relationship with a man, an actor, who didn't want me to work in movies. At that time, I was young and naive." She also "hated her career."
She was also slated to star opposite Michael Caine in the 1966 spy thriller Funeral in Berlin. However, producers didn't know she left Germany during filming to be with her boyfriend, and Eva Renzi replaced her.
"I had a reputation for being crazy because I'd walked out on Funeral in Berlin," said Comer in 1981. "And I guess I was crazy. You see, I didn't build my career slowly like most successful actresses do. After a couple of TV appearances, I became an instant movie star. I didn't know how to handle it all emotionally."
Nothing came of her relationship with the actor. And while she never reached the heights she did in the 1960s, Comer went on to have a successful acting career in film and television. She married author, screenwriter, and director Robert Klane in 1976. They divorced in 1983.
Comer is survived by her older sister, Jerra Tillman.
