Lanna Saunders, actress and wife of actor Lawrence Pressman died at the
age of 65 in Sherman Oaks, CA due to complications of Multiple
Sclerosis.
Born in New York City, Ms. Saunders was the third
generation of a family of actors and the daughter of Nicholas Saunders,
who died last August at the age of 92. She began her career on Broadway
at 13, where she appeared in Sunrise at Campobello, then as the ingénue
lead in
Jerry Herman's first Broadway hit, Milk & Honey and was
original member of the Lincoln Center Company under Elia Kazan and
Robert Whitehead. It was under Mr. Kazan's direction that she appeared
in After The Fall by
Arthur Miller.
She had an extensive TV and
film career, but was perhaps best known for her role of Roz Kraft in
the film Body Heat and as Sister Marie in the daytime drama, Days of
Our Lives.
Ms. Saunders is survived by her husband Lawrence and
son David Pressman as well as her mother and brother, jazz pianist Theo
Saunders.
In lieu of flowers, donations should be made to the
M.S. Society (2440 S. Sepulveda. #115, LA CA 90064) or Actors Fund
(5757 Wilshire Blvd #400, LA CA 90036).
