Animal House actress Mary Louise Weller passed away at the age of 79 – one day before her 80th birthday – on Thursday, October 1, her partner has confirmed.
"It is with great sadness that I share the devastating news of the passing of our dear friend Mary Louise Weller. Beautiful Mary, friend, actress, model, equestrian, passed away quietly," close friend David Marks also shared on Facebook.
© ABCMary became famous for starring as Mandy Pepperidge in 1978's Animal House, as the snooty Pi House sorority sister who’s dating the arrogant Omega House chapter president Gregory Marmalard (James Daughton) but is the object of future U.S. senator John “Bluto” Blutarsky’s affection.
In 2012, Mary spoke about the legacy of her role in the movie, acknowledging that she was told at the time that the film would probably define her career.
© Getty Images"[ABC head Brandon Stoddard] knew it would be an enormous hit, but he warned me that it would be the movie I would always be known for," the late actress recalled.
The project also starred John Belushi, Tim Matheson, Kevin Bacon, John Vernon, Verna Bloom, Donald Sutherland and Thomas Hulce.
"I was the beautiful girl in trouble or the rich guy’s daughter who owns a Porsche and won’t give you the time of day," she once said of her career.
© Ron Galella Collection via GettyShe also had roles as the guest editor at a New York fashion magazine in the 1979 adaptation of Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar, and was Chuck Norris' love interest in the 1982 film Forced Vengeance.
Born on October 2, 1946 in New York, White Christmas actor Danny Kaye was her Godfather, and her family moved to Los Angeles before she turned 10. Mary worked as a Ford model before making her acting debut in the 1972 political comedy Hail!
© ABCShe has an uncredited role in Al Pacino's 1973 film Serpico, but it was 1978 when things blew up for the actress, as she also played a marine biologist in the NBC telefilm Hunters of the Reef, and a college student opposite Andrew Prine in the horror movie The Evil.
The actress worked with Ted Danson and Christopher Lee on the television film Once Upon A Spy in 1980, and also appeared in a number of TV shows such as Starsky And Hutch, CHiPs, Supertrain, and Fantasy Island.
© Getty ImagesIn 1981 Mary married Merritt Blake, but their divorce was finalized less than two years later. She was in a long-term relationship with her partner, Michael Roy Curtis, until her passing.
Mary is survived by her cousin Sheila Weller, an author.
