Jillian Kesner(1949-2007)
- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Location Management
Sunny, dynamic and beautiful slender blonde actress Jillian Kesner was
born on August 9, 1949 in Portsmouth, Virginia and grew up primarily in
Denver, Colorado. Her father was a Navy officer. Jillian received a
B.A. in business from a Colorado university in 1967. In 1969 Kesner
moved to Los Angeles, California and worked as a model prior to
embarking on an acting career in both movies and television. Jillian
made her impressive film debut as fiery juvenile delinquent Carrie in
the fun drive-in exploitation romp "The Student Body." (She met her
future husband and noted cinematographer Gary Graver while acting in
this particular picture.) Other memorable movie roles include the
sweetly kooky, yet intelligent Angel in the amusing "Starhops," tough,
but sexy karate instructor Susanne Carter in the hugely enjoyable
"Firecracker," feisty martial arts expert Cookie Winchell in the
gloriously tasteless "Raw Force," and alluring vampiress Claudia in the
lowbrow hoot "Beverly Hills Vamp." Kesner was a regular cast member of
the short-lived sitcom "Co-ed Fever." Perhaps best known to the general
public as Fonzie's girlfriend Lorraine on "Happy Days," Jillian made
guest appearances on such TV shows as "S.W.A.T.," "The Blue Knight,"
"The Rockford Files," "Three's Company," "Mork & Mindy," and "T.J.
Hooker." Outside of her acting credits, Jillian also handled production
coordinator chores on a handful of low-budget straight-to-video movies
that were directed by Graver. In addition, both Kesner and Graver tried
to complete Orson Welles's unfinished film "The Other Side of the
Wind." Following Graver's death in 2006, Jillian continued her efforts
to preserve Welles's cinematic legacy. Jillian Kesner died at age 58
from a staph infection on December 5, 2007 in Irvine, California.
