The Heartfelt Karma of Sally Kirkland

Feisty, hard-working, famously liberal, with the trademark blonde hair, actress Sally Kirkland has certainly made an indelible mark on Hollywood history. Born in New York City, her mother was the fashion editor at Vogue magazine. Sally began her career on the off-Broadway circuit and trained under Lee Strasberg in the 1960's. It was not long before she made her transition into Hollywood movies, gaining more recognizable roles as the decade progressed. Sally's first role in a high profile film came in ‘The Sting,’ playing the role of "Crystal". Throughout the 1970's, Sally remained very busy in a variety of roles in movies such as the made-for-television ‘The Kansas City Massacre,’ ‘Breakheart Pass,’ 'The Way We Were,' and ‘Private Benjamin.’


Her work in the 1980's was mainly seen in movies including 'Paint It Black' and 'High Stakes' opposite Kathy Bates. Sally appeared in the martial arts drama 'Best of the Best' opposite Eric Roberts and James Earl Jones. There were also roles in TV soap opera, 'General Hospital' in 1982, and 'Falcon Crest' in 1983. Amidst all of this, Sally managed to garner critical & commercial acclaim and an Oscar nomination for her role as a struggling Czech has-been actress in 'Anna.' The New York-set drama proved an exceptional vehicle for Sally's talent. Sally won the Golden Globe and the Independent Spirit awards for her lead role.  Although she did not win the Academy Award, the role is often remembered as Sally's best and most challenging role to date.


In the 1990's, Sally appeared in many films. She spent more time on television in TV movies or guest appearances, and appeared in many feature films, as well. 'The Haunted' is worth mentioning for featuring Sally in a central role based on actual events.  She also surprised many with her role in the erotic thriller 'In the Heat of Passion,' playing a wealthy housewife who strips down for some passionate scenes with Jsu Garcia. In the same vein, Sally teamed up with erotic thriller connoisseur Andrew Stevens for 'Double Threat,' playing a washed-up actress involved with a double-crossing younger husband. Sally also appeared in a small role in the major feature 'JFK.' Her television guest appearances include 'Murder, She Wrote' in 1995, 'The Nanny' in 1996 and 'Felicity' in 1999.  She played Barbara Healy on 'Roseanne.' 


From 2000 onward, Sally's roles in film changed noticeably. She became involved in many independent movies on the film festival circuit. Notable films include the short movie 'Audit,''The Rose Technique,''Mango Kiss' and 'Coffee Date.' Many of her appearances highlight her liberal attitude towards contemporary social issues. 


Also an artist, she has her own gallery in Los Angeles displaying her unique work. She resides in Los Angeles. Looking great, Sally still sports her trademark blonde hair and, after over 150 film appearances, shows no sign of letting up.






AM:  Sally, you have been making short films lately.  What do you think about them?


SK:  I believe in short films.  I believe in a short amount of time you can really open the heart.  I’ve won three Best Actress and three Lifetime Achievement awards for the film, ‘Posey.’  It’s been a real good luck charm for me.


AM:  What is the story about?


SK:  The character Posey has Alzheimers and her granddaughter is trying to get her into assisted living and she really doesn’t want to go.  She has a break down scene with her granddaughter and she doesn’t like anyone there so Posey disappears and goes to the beach and falls asleep.  There she has a dream that she is the star of a Bollywood film.  Everyone in the assisted living home is in the dream and Posey falls in love with all of them in the dream.  After that experience she opens her heart to everyone around her instead of being closed off and fearful.



AM:  That sounds like an emotional and ultimately feel good film.  You’ve had your own transformations in life too haven’t you?


SK:  Yes, when I was a kid I did too much LSD.  To cut to the chase, I was pronounced dead from a suicide attempt.  I was sitting on the ledge of the thirteenth floor of a building and trying to jump.  I’d taken a hundred pills.  I ended up on the pavement of Fifth Avenue right outside Jackie Kennedy’s building.  My heart and lungs stopped.  They said last rites.  When I came out of that I immediately got into yoga at the Intrigual Yoga Institute and eight years later was ordained as a minister of light in the Church of The Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness. There was a transformation that happened ironically like Posey.  She has all this rage in her and then has this experience of unconditional love.


AM:  What was it like growing up in such an affluent atmosphere?


SK:  It was incredible!  My father was Main Line Philadelphia, he wanted me to be a debutante so I was a debutante at the Waldorf Astoria Cotillion. I went to an all girls prep school. My mother was the fashion editor of Vogue in the Forties and then became the fashion editor and senior editor of LIFE under Henry Luce for twenty years.  She was the first person, along with photographer Irving Penn to put multiple models on one page at Vogue.  Up until then you saw one model on a page like a stick figure.  My mother said let’s get some step ladders and put all the models around. She was the first person to  show the no bra look, the mini skirt, Italian fashions, hippie chic, etc.


AM:  Did you ever model for your Mother?


SK:  She always put me in front of the cameras and I was very shy.  Irving Penn took a photo of me that was in Vogue.  I was a celebrity kid model and a runway model.  I never made any money from it but I was always in front of the camera which led to the acting.  


AM:  Your Mother must have known everyone.


SK:  Yes, she would hang out with Jackie Onassis, Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, Picasso and Dior. Andy Warhol had a crush on her.  It was a hard act to follow.


AM:  Did she ever ask your opinion of pop culture?


SK:  She’d call me up and say, “Come to the office dear.  Who are these Mopheads?”  I said, “Are you kidding?  Those are the BEATLES!  Just put them on the cover of LIFE and be done with it.” So I was the one who talked them into featuring the Beatles, Elvis Presley and Bob Dylan, etc. They counted on me to represent my generation.  So that’s what it was like growing up with her.



AM:  So you’ve influenced the masses with your opinions.


SK:  I'm not sure about influencing the masses, but the editors of LIFE definitely listened to me.


AM:  How do you stay grounded?


SK:  Well, I watch baseball and I meditate.  My biggest nemesis in life is I can’t stand being bored.




AM:  Perhaps that’s why you overindulged in drugs at times.


SK:  I only did cocaine once in 1976 with Bob Dylan and that was enough to teach me, but when I was a kid, no one knew about LSD.  I was an experiment with the doctors.  Once I started having those experiences I started doing bad acid off the street.  Then I got in trouble.


AM:  What changed in you and saved you?


SK:  At the point where I had a nervous breakdown I needed to know that Christ existed.  I had been brought up believing in Christ and then I didn’t believe anymore because my father fired my black nurse and broke her heart.  I thought, what is all this religion stuff if people don’t have a fair shot because of the color of their skin?  So, before I went to the thirteenth story to jump I went to a church to have a conversation with Jesus Christ.  I needed a miracle or I wanted out.  I was told that by the time I made it to the Metropolitan Hospital in Harlem I was brain dead so it was a miracle.  That was a huge turning point for me.


AM:  That’s understandable.


SK:   In the Church of The Movement of Spiritual Awareness in which I am Reverend Sally Kirkland, we believe "out of God comes all creation" and "no soul is lost".  I’ve been on that path since 1973.  It’s very much my priority in life.  Initially acting was my priority now Spirit is my priority.



AM:  That was a good shift.


SK:  A lot of people who know me well tell me, "had I not picked such an intense spiritual path I may have been a much more famous actress because that would have been my whole focus".  I had such a life changing experience that life became, for me, about wanting to give back.  I grew up in the Sixties and a third of my friends didn’t make it out of the Sixties.  During the Sixties, there was a Sexual Revolution in the Arts. In 1968 I became the first nude actress in American Theater in Terrence McNally’s play ‘Sweet Eros.’  That was before ‘Hair’ and ‘Oh Calcutta.’  The New York Times called me and asked, "Why?" I said, "I'm opposed to the Vietnam War and you can't carry a gun on a naked body." They had cops lined up at the back of the theater every night.


AM:  That is just remarkable Sally.  Since you mentioned spirituality being your priority, I’m curious what your concept of God is?


SK:  God is love. He's in you, me and everyone. God is all creation.  I believe in the cessation of againstness.  There is radical forgiveness like when Jesus forgave the murderer on his right and left while on the cross.  I was brought up in a traditional Episcopalian religion, my path now is inclusive of all paths.  Christ still sits at the head of the church, but there is Buddha, Alla and Krishna, all the different beings who held the light.


AM:  How long have you been on this path?



SK:  I’ve been on this path since 1973 and it took me until 1988 to get all the initiations of going through my emotional karma, my mental karma, my imagination karma and finally the soul.  There are 27 levels above soul that I’m still working my way through.  I believe in looking for ways to serve humanity.  I belong to an organization called ‘Heartfelt Foundation’ and we go to the home bound, the at risk and the dying.   I’ve been trained as a care-taker for patients with AIDS, heart disease and cancer.