Actress Sondra James Dies at 82

Sondra James (nee Weil) the Film, TV and Theatre actress whose resume includes Ben Affleck, Joaquim Phoenix, Robert DeNiro, Christopher Lloyd, Mike Birbiglia, Stephen Colbert and so many more died at the age 82 on September 12th at her home in New York City surrounded by family and friends following a 5 month battle with Lung Cancer.

Born and raised on the Lower eastside of NYC, she attended Bronx Science Highschool (Class of '55) and CCNY with a double major in Anthropology and Archeology. She made her stage debut in the National Tour of "Funny Girl" starring Debbie Gibson, and toured with the indelible Valerie Harper in Charles Busch's "The Tale of the Allergist's Wife".

Her numerous TV Series and Guest roles included "Law & Order", "Blue Bloods", "What We did in the Shadows", Sky TV UK "Sick of It" (2 Season) with Karl Pilkington and a recurring guest role on Woody Allen's "Crisis in Six Scenes" for Amazon and so much more.

A Proud member of SagAftra and Actors Equity Association for over 4 decades, Ms. James has racked up a plethora of Film credits including leading and supporting roles in; Multi-Award winning "Joker" directed by Todd Philips, Mike Birbiglia's "Don't Think Twice" and "Sleepwalk With Me", "Shiva Baby", "The Climb" (Winner 2018 Cannes Film Festival Un Certain Regard), "Keep The Change" (Winner 2017 Tribeca Film Festival - Dramatic Competition), "The Dictator" opposite Sacha Baron Cohen, "Taking Woodstock" with director Ang Lee, and her latest and last film "The Tender Bar" directed by George Clooney and starring Ben Affleck and Christopher Lloyd to be released in 2022.

Ms. James is also the Founder & director of Speakeasy a post-production Loop Group with over 20 years of experience organizing voice work for producers, directors, sound designers & editors. Her voice and team can be heard in over 500 films, TV shows and animation. She has provided the background voices for the 6 Seasons of "Sex & The City", "Royals Pains", "Damages", "Boardwalk Empire", "Nurse Jackie", "True Grit", "The Reader", "The Devil Wears Prada", "The Sixth Sense", "World Trade Center" and many more to numerous mention.

She has had the honor of working with some of the most prolific film directors in our industry today. Ms. James is survived by her sons Michael (Nadine) Shenkman, Marc (Dina) Shenkman; her grandchildren Matthew, Jake, Jordana, Jenna, Zach; great grandchildren; Lynden, Harlow; brother Elliot Webb; sister Carol Raskin. A diehard Yankees fan, a lover of Foie gras, mystery novels, pickles and Katz's Deli, Sondra James was a very proud native New Yorker.

In lieu of Flowers, donations to the The Actor's Fund would be greatly appreciated.

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