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P. J. Soles | |
|---|---|
.jpg) P.J. Soles in 2015 | |
| Born | Pamela Jayne Hardon July 17, 1950 |
| Alma mater | Briarcliff College Georgetown University |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1973–present |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 2 |
Pamela Jayne Soles (née Hardon; born July 17, 1950) is a German-born American actress. She made her film debut in 1976 as Norma Watson in Brian De Palma's Carrie (1976) before portraying Lynda van der Klok in John Carpenter's Halloween (1978) and Riff Randell in Allan Arkush's Rock 'n' Roll High School (1979).
She has since appeared in a variety of films including Breaking Away (1979), Private Benjamin (1980), Stripes (1981), Sweet Dreams (1985), Jawbreaker (1999), and cult classics like The Devil's Rejects (2005) and Beg.
Early life[edit]
Soles was born Pamela Jayne Hardon in Frankfurt, Germany, to an American mother from New Jersey, Nancy Hardon, and a Dutch father from Rotterdam, Cornelis Johannes Hardon II.[1][2] At the time, her father was working for an international insurance company and the family moved all over the world. Soles lived in Casablanca, Morocco, and Maracaibo, Venezuela, where she learned to speak fluent Spanish, and then Brussels, Belgium, where she went to high school at the International School of Brussels.[3]
Soles attended Briarcliff College in White Plains, New York, later transferring to Georgetown University, and had aspirations to become the first woman ambassador to the Soviet Union.[3] This career goal changed when she visited the Actors Studio in New York City, and Soles was inspired to pursue acting.[3]
Career[edit]
Soles moved to Manhattan and began acting in commercials and modeling for fashion magazines. In 1974 she was hired by director Perry Henzell to portray a shampoo model in his film No Place Like Home. It would have been her first film appearance, however Henzell was not able to complete the film until 2006.[4] She relocated to Los Angeles in 1975.[3]
She was among the hundreds of actors auditioning for Brian De Palma and George Lucas in their joint casting session for Carrie (1976) and Star Wars (1977). She originally auditioned for the role of Princess Leia in Star Wars but the role ultimately went to Carrie Fisher.[5] However, she was cast as Norma Watson in Brian De Palma's Carrie. She starred alongside Sissy Spacek, Nancy Allen, John Travolta and Piper Laurie. Originally, her character was only supposed to have one line but De Palma expanded her role.[6] Soles was injured on the set during filming, when a blast from a fire hose during the prom scene ruptured her eardrum.[7]
The same year, she reunited with Carrie co-star John Travolta in Randal Kleiser's television film The Boy in the Plastic Bubble.[8] Subsequently, she went to Georgia to film Our Winning Season (1978) and met actor Dennis Quaid. They were married in 1978 in Texas on a dude ranch, and both appeared in the film Breaking Away in 1979.
She is most known for her performance as Lynda van der Klok in the classic horror film Halloween (1978) directed by John Carpenter, the final victim of the character Michael Myers. Carpenter wanted her for his film Halloween after seeing Carrie.[9] He wrote the role of Lynda specifically for her because of the way she said the word "totally".
The following year, Soles was cast as Riff Randell in the musical comedy film Rock 'n' Roll High School (1979) with The Ramones. She has a singing credit for a second version of the title song on the movie's soundtrack. She reprised the role of Riff Randell in the artwork for the Local H album Whatever Happened to P.J. Soles?.
In 1980, Soles portrayed Private Wanda Winter in the comedy film Private Benjamin. The following year, she portrayed Bill Murray's girlfriend, Stella Hansen, in the comedy film Stripes.
In 1981, Soles filmed a new scene to be inserted into the television version of Halloween.
In 1985, Soles starred alongside Jessica Lange as Wanda in Karel Reisz's biographical film Sweet Dreams. In 1999, Soles was cast in the black comedy film Jawbreaker. Soles appeared in The Donnas' music video for "Too Bad About Your Girl" (2003) as her character Riff Randell from Rock 'n' Roll High School. In 2005, Soles played the victim, Susan, of a family on a murderous rampage in the Rob Zombie movie The Devil's Rejects. In 2012, she starred alongside Barbara Steele, Heather Langenkamp, Camille Keaton and Adrienne King in The Butterfly Room.
In 2018, Soles was cast in a spoken cameo role as a teacher in the direct sequel, Halloween, directed by David Gordon Green.
Personal life[edit]
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She married J. Steven Soles in 1973, when she resided in New York, but then made the move to Los Angeles to work in television and movies. She and Soles subsequently divorced in 1975, although she decided to retain the name P.J. Soles. She was later married to actor Dennis Quaid from 1978 until their divorce in early 1983. Later that same year, she married Skip Holm, who was a stunt pilot on The Right Stuff (1983). They have a son named Sky (born 1983) and a daughter named Ashley (born 1988). She and Holm were divorced in 1998.
Filmography[edit]
Film[edit]
| Title | Year | Role | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blood Bath | ||||
| Carrie | With Sissy Spacek & Piper Laurie | |||
| Our Winning Season | With Dennis Quaid | |||
| Halloween | With Donald Pleasence & Jamie Lee Curtis | |||
| Old Boyfriends | ||||
| Breaking Away | ||||
| Rock 'n' Roll High School | With Vincent Van Patten & The Ramones | |||
| Private Benjamin | With Goldie Hawn | |||
| Halloween: Extended Edition | Additional footage for Halloween (1978) With Donald Pleasence & Jamie Lee Curtis | |||
| Stripes | With Bill Murray | |||
| Soggy Bottom, USA | ||||
| Listen to the City | ||||
| Innocent Prey | ||||
| Terror in the Aisles | Archive footage from Halloween (1978) | |||
| Sweet Dreams | With Jessica Lange | |||
| Saigon Commandos | ||||
| B.O.R.N. | Associate producer | |||
| Alienator | ||||
| Soldier's Fortune | ||||
| The Power Within | Direct-to-video | |||
| Uncle Sam | Direct-to-video | |||
| Little Bigfoot | ||||
| Jawbreaker | With Rose McGowan | |||
| Blast | ||||
| Mirror, Mirror IV: Reflection | ||||
| Kept | ||||
| Pee Stains and Other Disasters | ||||
| Murder on the Yellow Brick Road | ||||
| The Devil's Rejects | ||||
| Death by Engagemant | ||||
| The Tooth Fairy | Direct-to-video | |||
| Ray of Sunshine | ||||
| No Place like Home | Completed 2006. DVD release 2019 | |||
| Dead Calling | ||||
| Mil Mascaras vs. the Aztec Mummy | Chip Gubera | |||
| Love in the Age of Fishsticks | ||||
| Prank | Danielle Harris Heather Langenkamp | |||
| Alone in the Dark II | Peter Scheerer | Direct-to-video | ||
| Imps* | Segment: "Soda" | |||
| Beg | ||||
| Eternal | ||||
| The Butterfly Room | ||||
| 13 Girls | ||||
| November 1st | Short film | |||
| Halloween | Voice cameo | |||
| Candy Corn | Featured |
Television[edit]
| Title | Year | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Love Is a Many Splendored Thing | Soap opera | ||
| The Blue Knight | Season 2, Episode 3 "Upward Mobility" | ||
| Romance Theatre | Anthology series "The Awakening of Cassie" (5 parts) | ||
| Simon & Simon | Season 3, Episode 2 "D.J., D.O.A." | ||
| Cheers | Season 3, Episode 2 "Rebound: Part 2" | ||
| Airwolf | Season 2, Episode 8 "HX-1" | ||
| Simon & Simon | Season 4, Episode 10 "Our Fair City" | ||
| Hardcastle and McCormick | Season 3, Episode 4 "Something's Going on on This Train" | ||
| Knight Rider | Season 4, Episode 14 "Out of the Woods" |
Television film[edit]
| Title | Year | Role | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Boy in the Plastic Bubble | ABC television film With John Travolta | |||
| The Possessed | NBC television film | |||
| Alexander: The Other Side of Dawn | NBC television film | |||
| Zuma Beach | ||||
| The Other Woman | CBS television film | |||
| Sawyer and Finn | ||||
| Shake, Rattle and Rock! | Showtime television film From television series Rebel Highway | |||
| Out There | Showtime television film |
In popular culture[edit]
- American alternative rock band Local H released an album in 2004 entitled Whatever Happened to P.J. Soles?. The album also includes a song entitled "P.J. Soles".
- Soles is the subject of the song Sweet Pamela Jayne by English rock band The Breakdowns, from their 2014 album Rock 'n' Roller Skates. The song references the film Rock 'n' Roll High School in its lyrics.[10][11]
References[edit]
- ^ "Nancy Hardon Obituary". Retrieved October 21, 2017 – via Legacy.com.
- ^ Bozung, Justin (2010). "P.J. Soles Interview". Retrieved October 21, 2017.
- ^ a b c d Cziraky, Dan (1995). "Rock N Roll High School Alumni P.J. Soles". Chiller Theatre Magazine.
- ^ https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/22/movies/no-place-like-home-review.html
- ^ "The Almost-Stars of 'Star Wars'". CraveOnline. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
- ^ Greco, Patty (October 17, 2013). "P.J. Soles Remembers the Original Carrie, Brian De Palma, and the Inimitable Sissy Spacek". Vulture. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
- ^ "'Carrie' Turns 40: Secrets Behind the Iconic Horror Film". ABC News. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
- ^ "See the Cast of 'Carrie' Then and Now". Screen Crush. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
- ^ Exclusive: A Talk with P.J. Soles
- ^ Video on YouTube
- ^ Daley, Dom (February 22, 2014). "The Breakdowns - Uber Rock Interview Exclusive". Uber Rock. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
External links[edit]
 | Wikimedia Commons has media related to P.J. Soles. |
 | Wikiquote has quotations related to: P. J. Soles |
- P. J. Soles on IMDb
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