Photographed in navy blue during an everyday outing
Susan Damante offered longtime viewers a reminder of the actress behind several memorable roles.
Her film career gained an unexpected opening in 1972, when an encounter with director
Michael Ritchie led to an uncredited appearance in The Candidate.
She later played Pat Robinson in The Adventures of the Wilderness Family and its sequels, while appearances in Columbo, The Rockford Files and Dallas brought her into living rooms across the country.
Her creative life continued beyond those familiar credits. Daughters Vinessa and Natalie Shaw became actresses, and Damante shared a credit with Vinessa in Ladybugs. She also developed the autobiographical stage production Life… Death… And Entertainment and wrote, directed and produced the 2018 short Repercussions. Alongside her experience with Crohn’s disease and longstanding Buddhist practice, that continued work reveals a life shaped by more than the screen roles audiences remember.
