April 23, 2021

Hello Fans,

Any fans of the classic 1970s TV series The Mary Tyler Moore Show out there? Well, if so, you're in luck because today's featured celebrity is Lisa Gerritsen!

Lisa Gerritsen, for those that don't remember, played the independent-minded daughter of Phyllis Lindstrom (Cloris Leachman) on the hit series.

Today, we are seeing what she's doing these days. So, without further ado...

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Take care,
Steve

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Lisa Gerritsen

Learn More About Lisa Gerritsen, see Then & Now pictures, and find out What She's Been Up To on Celebrity Nooz

BIRTH DATE: December 21, 1957 in Los Angeles, California, USA

BIRTH NAME: Leisa Orszag

CLAIM TO FAME: Lisa Gerritsen is an American former child actress most famous for her role as Bess, the independent-minded daughter of Phyllis Lindstrom on the 1970s television series The Mary Tyler Moore Show and its spin-off Phyllis.

FAMILY LIFE: Gerritsen has been married to John Rustan since 2000. Together they have one child, a son.

INFO: Great-granddaughter of actor/screenwriter/director True Boardman and actor Virginia True Boardman.

Her acting career began when she was eight years old.

In the 1990s, she worked for a large software company in California.

As of September 2008, she was working as an independent relocation coordinator and facilities project manager in the San Francisco Bay area.

TRIVIA: Landed her first professional role in an episode of The Doris Day Show in 1968.

Gerritsen followed this with guest appearances in numerous TV shows including The Odd Couple, Bonanza, The Courtship of Eddie's Father, The Virginian and Family Affair.

She was cast in several episodes of Gunsmoke, one of which helped her to land a regular role in the 1969 NBC comedy series My World and Welcome to It, starring William Windom and Joan Hotchkis, which was based on the cartoons of author James Thurber.

In 1970, she was cast as Bess Lindstrom, daughter of landlord Phyllis Lindstrom (Cloris Leachman) in The Mary Tyler Moore Show, for which she received critical acclaim. Bess was a precocious child whose mother believed in progressive parenting - Bess always called Phyllis by her first name, read Phyllis's books on child rearing, and much more.

Though she returned only sporadically for the next few years, she was memorable playing an off-beat, brainy, talented little girl.

Gerritsen returned in the role in the spin-off series Phyllis (1975-1977).

She made her first big-screen appearance in Airport, playing the role of Libby Bakersfeld.

Gerritsen left acting during the late 1970s, and not much was heard about her during the 1980s and onward.

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WHERE ARE THEY NOW: Gerritsen has been out of the Hollywood limelight since the late 1970s. She currently lives with her husband John Rustan and son in Northern California. It would be nice to see her comeback to the small screen, but maybe she got out of the entertainment biz while the getting was good.

CREDITS:

1970-1978 Insight (TV Series)...Lisa Sears / Anita
- It Can't Happen to Me (1978) ... Lisa Sears
- Old King Cole (1970) ... Anita

1975-1977 Phyllis (TV Series)...Bess Lindstrom / Bess Valenti
- A Baby Makes Six (1977) ... Bess Valenti
- The Apartment (1977) ... Bess Valenti
- The Elopement (1977) ... Bess Valenti
- Broken Hearted Bess (1977) ... Bess Lindstrom
- The Christmas Party (1976) ... Bess Lindstrom
- Bess Airs Her Views (1976) ... Bess Lindstrom
- Mother Dexter's Wedding (1976) ... Bess Lindstrom
- Mother Dexter Cohabitates (1976) ... Bess Lindstrom
- Out of the Closet (1976) ... Bess Lindstrom
- Phyllis Cries Wolf (1976) ... Bess Lindstrom
- Boss or Buddy or Both or Neither (1976) ... Bess Lindstrom
- Speech 1A (1976) ... Bess Lindstrom
- The Triangle (1976) ... Bess Lindstrom
- A Man, a Woman and Another Woman (1976) ... Bess Lindstrom
- Crazy Mama (1976) ... Bess Lindstrom
- Phyllis in Love (1976) ... Bess Lindstrom
- Phyllis and the Little People (1975) ... Bess Lindstrom
- All Together Now (1975) ... Bess Lindstrom
- The First Date (1975) ... Bess Lindstrom
- Phyllis Takes Piano Lessons (1975) ... Bess Lindstrom
- The First Day (1975) ... Bess Lindstrom
- Leaving Home (1975) ... Bess Lindstrom
- Bess, Is You a Woman Now? (1975) ... Bess Lindstrom
- Pilot (1975) ... Bess Lindstrom

1976 Jigsaw John (TV Series)...The runaway
- Runaway (1976) ... The runaway

1970-1975 The Mary Tyler Moore Show (TV Series)...Bess Lindstrom
- Phyllis Whips Inflation (1975) ... Bess Lindstrom
- Neighbors (1974) ... Bess Lindstrom
- Not Just Another Pretty Face (1974) ... Bess Lindstrom
- It Was Fascination, I Know (1972) ... Bess Lindstrom
- The Care and Feeding of Parents (1972) ... Bess Lindstrom
- Baby Sit-Com (1972) ... Bess Lindstrom
- A Girl's Best Mother Is Not Her Friend (1971) ... Bess Lindstrom
- The Birds... and... um... Bess (1971) ... Bess Lindstrom
- Bess, You Is My Daughter Now (1970) ... Bess Lindstrom
- Love Is All Around (1970) ... Bess Lindstrom

1974 Harry O (TV Series)...Michelle March
- Ballinger's Choice (1974) ... Michelle March

1974 Mixed Company...Liz

1974 Locusts (TV Movie)...Sissy Fletcher (as Lisa True Gerritsen)

1973 Ironside (TV Series)...Nancy Flynn
- Double-Edged Corner (1973) ... Nancy Flynn

1973 The Magical World of Disney (TV Series)...Jenny Hutchins
- The Boy and the Bronc Buster: Part 2 (1973) ... Jenny Hutchins
- The Boy and the Bronc Buster: Part 1 (1973) ... Jenny Hutchins

1972 The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan (TV Series)...Various Characters
All 16 episodes

1972 The War Between Men and Women...Linda Kozlenko

1971 A Howling in the Woods (TV Movie)...Betsy Warren

1971 Bonanza (TV Series)...Cassie O'Casey
- Cassie (1971) ... Cassie O'Casey

1968-1971 The Doris Day Show (TV Series)...Jackie Clements / Sue Ann Cordovan
- Billy's First Date (1971) ... Sue Ann Cordovan
- The Black Eye (1968) ... Jackie Clements
- The Friend (1968) ... Jackie Clements

1971 The Odd Couple (TV Series)...Bunny
- Bunny Is Missing Down by the Lake (1971) ... Bunny

1970 The Virginian (TV Series)...Hannah Carson
- Hannah (1970) ... Hannah Carson (as Lisa True Gerritsen)

1968-1970 Gunsmoke (TV Series)...Jenny Pritchard / Christina Bascomb / Tracey Copperton / ...
- Jenny (1970) ... Jenny Pritchard
- Sam McTavish, M.D. (1970) ... Christina Bascomb
- The Twisted Heritage (1969) ... Tracey Copperton
- The Miracle Man (1968) ... Nettie

1969-1970 Family Affair (TV Series)...Geraldine Askins / Kathy / May
- Stamp of Approval (1970) ... Geraldine Askins
- The Young Man from Bolivia (1969) ... Kathy (as Lisa True Gerritsen)
- A Diller, a Dollar (1969) ... May

1969-1970 My World and Welcome to It (TV Series)...Lydia Monroe
All 26 episodes

1970 Airport...Libby Bakersfeld (as Lisa Gerritson)

1969 The Courtship of Eddie's Father (TV Series)...Alice
- The Library Card (1969) ... Alice (as Lisa True Gerritsen)

1969 Lancer (TV Series)...Vinny Buttermere
- The Great Humbug (1969) ... Vinny Buttermere

1969 Gomer Pyle: USMC (TV Series)...Girl Scout
- Gomer Maneuvers (1969) ... Girl Scout (uncredited)

1968 The Good Guys (TV Series)...Louella
- Nostradamus Rides Again (1968) ... Louella

To see Then & Now pictures of Lisa Gerritsen, visit: Celebrity Nooz