Actress Theresa Saldana, who is best known for her role on “The Commish” as well as being the center of a highly-publicized stalker attack has died at the age of 61, Variety reported Tuesday. It was.one of the earliest cases to bring attention to the issue of celebrity stalking. Her big break came in 1991, when she was tapped to star opposite Michael Chiklis in ABC’s crime drama The Commish. She played the wife of Joe Pesci’s character, brother to Robert De Niro’s boxer Jake La Motta.
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But it was her role in Martin Scorsese’s 1980 film “Raging Bull” that really seemed to signal her emergence. In 1987, she published a memoir about her life and the knife attack, titled Beyond Survival.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., on August 20, 1954, Saldana first gained attention for her role in Robert Zemeckis’ Beatle-mania-themed 1978 film “I Wanna Hold Your Hand”.
She continued her work on TV with guest spots on “Law & Order”, “Diagnosis Murder”, “Martial Law”, “All My Children” and “The Bernie Mac Show”. Saldana founded Victims for Victims, a victim advocacy group.
Off-set, Saldana made news in 1982 after being stabbed by a deranged fan outside her home in Los Angeles.
Chiklis took to Twitter to enquire about Saldana’s health yesterday after hearing she had passed away.
Saldana played herself in a TV movie based on the incident, and she went on to found the organization Victims for Victims.
Her career was overshadowed by the 1982 doorstep attack by deranged Arthur Jackson, from Aberdeen, who had travelled to the U.S. to track down and kill her. “Hooker”, “Cagney & Lacey”, “Simon & Simon”, “Matlock”, “Hunter,” “Falcon Crest” and “MacGyver“. “My family and I extend our love, condolences & support to her family in their time of grieving”.
Saldana was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1954 and was adopted at five days by an Italian-Puerto Rican family.
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Saldana and actor Phil Peters, who had a recurring role on The Commish, were married in 1989 and had a daughter, Tianna.
