Ellen Greene

Greene was born in Brooklyn, New York. Her mother was a guidance counselor, and her father was a dentist.^[2][3] She attended W. Tresper Clarke High School in Westbury, New York. She spent summers at Cejwin Camps in Port Jervis, New York, where she performed in musical theatre productions.^[4] Her first marriage was to Tibor Hardik, and she married Christian Klikovits on September 25, 2003; both marriages ended in divorce.^[5]

Greene's career began as a nightclub singer in clubs such as The Brothers and Sisters, Continental Baths, Grand Finale, and Reno Sweeney's. She received rave reviews from critics such as Rex Reed, George Bell, and John S. Wilson.^{[citation needed]} Around this time, she befriended Peter Allen. She first starred on Broadway in the title role of Rachael Lily Rosenbloom (And Don't You Ever Forget It), which had 7 previews in 1973 and closed before officially opening.^[6] She then played Chrissy in Joseph Papp's production of In the Boom Boom Room off-Broadway at the Public Theatre in November and December 1974.^[7] In Next Stop, Greenwich Village (1976),^[8] She played Sarah, her first starring role in a film.^[9]

Continuing her work with Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival, Greene next played the role of Jenny in The Threepenny Opera (1976) at the Vivian Beaumont Theater in Lincoln Center, for which she was nominated for the 1977 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.^[10] She continued to appear in other productions with the New York Shakespeare Festival and elsewhere, such as the part of Suzanne/The Little Rose in The Little Prince and the Aviator (1981).^[11][12] At the WPA Theater, she met Howard Ashman and Alan Menken. Their friendship led to her playing the role of Audrey from 1982 in the long-running off-Broadway premiere of Little Shop of Horrors, which she reprised in the 1986 film version opposite Rick Moranis.^[13] Greene returned to Broadway as Mabel in a revival of Three Men on a Horse (1993).^[14]

She has worked in films such as I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can (1982),^[15] Talk Radio (1987),^[16] and Pump Up the Volume (1990).^[17] She has appeared on television in, among other programs, Miami Vice, The Adventures of Pete and Pete, Cybill, Law & Order, Suddenly Susan, The X-Files, and Heroes.^{[citation needed]} In 1983 she was the voice of Creeping Ivy in the animated TV special The Magic of Herself the Elf.^{[citation needed]} Greene was the voice of Goldie in the Don Bluth film Rock-a-Doodle (1991).^[18]

Greene released an album in 2004 entitled In His Eyes, on which she was accompanied by her husband and musical director, Christian Klikovits. Other work includes the role of Vivian Charles on the television series Pushing Daisies (2007)^[19] She played the voice of Dolly Gopher in the animated Out of Jimmy's Head.^{[citation needed]}

In July and August 2009, Greene starred as Miss Adelaide in a concert version of the musical Guys and Dolls, which had a 3-day engagement at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California.^[20] In 2011, she appeared in five episodes on the soap opera The Young and the Restless as Primrose DeVille.^[21] She appeared in the musical Betwixt! at the Trafalgar Studios in London's West End from July 26 to August 20, 2011.^[22]

Greene appeared in two episodes of the ABC Family show Bunheads (2012).^[23] She portrayed Doctor Gale Macones in The Walking Dead Webisodes: The Oath.^[24] In 2015, Greene again played Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors at New York City Center in the Encores! Off-Center Series staged concert.^[25]

Greene performed in the 2016 Democratic National Convention's "Fight Song" video.^[26]

Film

More information Year, Title ...

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1976	Next Stop, Greenwich Village	Sarah Roth
1982	I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can	Karen Mulligan
1986	Little Shop of Horrors	Audrey
1988	Me and Him	Annette Uttanzi
	Talk Radio	Ellen
1990	Pump Up the Volume	Jan Emerson
1991	Rock-a-Doodle	Goldie (voice)	[27]
	Stepping Out	Maxine
1992	Fathers & Sons	Judy
1994	Naked Gun 33+1⁄3: The Final Insult	Louise
	Wagons East	Belle
	Léon: The Professional	Margie Lando, Mathilda's mother
1995	Killer: A Journal of Murder	Elizabeth Wyatt
1996	An Occasional Hell	Della
	One Fine Day	Elaine Lieberman
1997	States of Control	Carol
1998	Jaded	Louise Smith
2001	Alex in Wonder	Clarice
2003	The Cooler	Doris
	Love Object	Typing Supervisor
2010	Privileged	Mrs. Rothman	Video
2016	Muddy Corman	Dawn Denford
2017	Love's Last Resort	Ms. Leigh
2019	The Untold Story	Lydia
2026	California Scenario	Renee

Close

Television

More information Year, Title ...

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1977	Seventh Avenue	Paula Class	TV miniseries
1978	The Rock Rainbow	Jess	Television film
1983	The Magic of Herself the Elf	Creeping Ivy (voice)	Television film[27]
1985	Miami Vice	Darlene	Episode: "Made for Each Other"
1987	Morning Maggie	Maggie McAllister	Television film
1988	Superman 50th Anniversary	Ariel Dickenson	Television film; documentary
1989	Glory! Glory!	Ruth	Television film
	CBS Summer Playhouse	Sally Maggio	Episode: "Road Show"
	Dinner at Eight	Kitty Packard	Television film
1994	The Adventures of Pete & Pete	Abilene Jones	Episode: "Time Tunnel"
1995	Cybill	Sharon	2 episodes
	Law & Order	Karen Gaines	Episode: "Bitter Fruit"
1997	Dellaventura	Elizabeth Brodkin	Episode: "Above Reproach"
2000	Suddenly Susan	Harriet Graham	Episode: "The Break Up"
2002	The X-Files	Vicki Louise Burdick	Episode: "Improbable"
	Crossing Jordan	Mrs. Dunham	Episode: "Secrets & Lies: Part 2"
2005	Mystery Woman: Sing Me a Murder	Carly	Television film
	Fielder's Choice	Jill	Television film
2006	Re-Animated	Dolly Gopher (voice)	Television film
2007–08	Out of Jimmy's Head	Dolly Gopher (voice)	Main role[27]
2007–09	Pushing Daisies	Vivian Charles	Main role
	Heroes	Virginia Grey	3 episodes
2009	Batman: The Brave and the Bold	Mrs. Manface (voice)	Episode: "Night of the Huntress!"[27]
2011	The Young and the Restless	Primrose DeVille	Recurring role
2012	Pound Puppies	Gertrude Washburn (voice)	Episode: "Olaf in Love"[27]
	Bunheads	Wiccan Friend	2 episodes
2013	Hannibal	Mrs. Komeda	Episode: "Sorbet"
	The Walking Dead: The Oath	Gale	2 episodes
2017	Tangled: The Series	Mrs. Sugarby (voice)	Episode: "Painter's Block"[27]
2025	Long Story Short	Vivian (voice)	Episode: "Uncle Barry"[27]

Close

Sources: Internet Off-Broadway Database;^[28] Playbill Vault^[29]

• Rachael Lily Rosenbloom (And Don't You Ever Forget It) (1973) (never officially opened)^[30]
• In the Boom Boom Room (1974) (Off-Broadway)
• The Threepenny Opera (1976) (Broadway)
• The Threepenny Opera (1977) (Delacorte Theater) (return engagement)
• Funny Face (1978) (Studio Arena Theater)
• Teeth 'n' Smiles (1979) (Off-Broadway)^[31]
• Wake Up, It's Time to Go to Bed (1979) (Off-Broadway) by Carson Kievman Archived March 12, 2022, at the Wayback Machine
• They're Playing Our Song (1979) (US national tour)^[32]
• The Little Prince and the Aviator (1982) (never officially opened)
• Little Shop of Horrors (1982) (Off-Off Broadway showcase, Off-Broadway and London)
• Starting Monday (1990) (Off-Broadway)
• Weird Romance (1992) (Off-Broadway)
• Three Men on a Horse (1993) (Broadway)
• Oliver! (1997) (North Shore Music Theatre)
• The First Picture Show (1999) (San Francisco)^[33]
• A Broadway Diva Christmas (2005) (Women's Project)^[34]
• Guys and Dolls (2009) (Hollywood Bowl concert)^[20]
• Betwixt! (2011) (London)^[35][22]
• Little Shop of Horrors (2015) (Encores! Off-Center)