‘ER’ and ‘Walker, Texas Ranger’ Guest Star Dead at 82: RIP to Valerie Perrine

Valerie Perrine has died at 82 years old.

The actress, who guest starred in shows such as ER and Walker, Texas Ranger, passed away “peacefully” at her home on Monday, according to a GoFundMe launched to give her the “farewell she deserves.”

Perrine spent over 15 years “waging a quiet, courageous battle against both Parkinson’s disease and debilitating central tremors, this luminous, vivacious woman finally rested,” reads the GoFundMe description. She died “surrounded by love, exactly as she had wished. Her passing leaves a void in Hollywood history — and in the hearts of millions of fans around the world.”

Born on Sept. 3, 1943 in Galveston, Texas, Perrine moved around a lot as a child as her dad was an army officer. After spending time in Japan, she went to Europe “to find herself,” later briefly attending universities in Arizona and Nevada. She dropped out of college and got her first paying gig as a topless showgirl in “Lido de Paris” at the Stardust Resort and Casino in Las Vegas in 1968. Perrine then made her way to Los Angeles, where she experimented with drugs and lived on welfare. After a chance encounter with an agent at a dinner party, she was soon cast as porn star Montana Wildhack in the George Roy Hill 1972 feature film Slaughterhouse-Five.

Two months after Slaughterhouse-Five was released, Perrine was featured nude in the May 1972 issue of Playboy Magazine, eventually making the cover in August 1981. She also appeared partially nude in a PBS televised version of the off-Broadway play Steambath in 1973.

Also in 1972, Perrine starred in the TV movie The Couple Takes a Wife. She went on to appear in Lenny, The Last American Hero, W.C. Fields and Me, Mr. Billion, and Ziegfeld: The Man and His Women. Perrine received nominations for the Golden Globes, Oscars, and BAFTAs for her role as Honey Bruce in 1974’s Lenny, winning the BAFTA for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles in 1976. In 1978, Perrine landed the role of Lex Luthor’s girlfriend Eve Teschmacher in Superman, reprising the role in 1980’s Superman II. The role earned her a Saturn Award nomination.  

Additional credits include The Electric Horseman, The Agency, Can’t Stop the Music, The Border, Malibu, Water, Leo & Liz in Beverly Hills, Maid to Order, Mask of Murder, Bright Angel, Boiling Point, The Secrets of Lake Success, Homicide: Life on the Stret, ER, The Break, Nash Bridges, 54, Walker, Texas Ranger, As the World Turns, The Californians, and Redirecting Eddie. Perrine’s final role was in the 2016 family dramedy Silver Skies.

In 2011, Perrine began experiencing the first signs of essential tremors and was ultimately diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2015. According to Inside Edition, in 2017, the actress was taking medication to manage her Parkinson’s, but it was making her teeth so brittle that they were falling out. She underwent a six-hour surgery to have implants put in to permanently replace her upper teeth.

“As roles dried up, so did the financial security that should have come with a lifetime of extraordinary work,” reads the GoFundMe. “Valerie spent what she had on medical care, determined to fight. She fought for fifteen years. She never complained. She kept smiling.”

Perrine’s final wish is to be laid to rest at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Hollywood Hills, “in the city that shaped her destiny.” As of Wednesday, over $39,000 of the $65,000 goal has been raised. Every dollar will go toward burial and interment at Forest Lawn, funeral and memorial service arrangements, and final care and administrative costs.

“I am devastated by the loss of my amazing sister Valerie this morning,” Perrine’s brother, Ken, who is also fighting Parkinson’s, said in a statement. “She lived an extraordinary life most us can only dream of. She will be missed by everyone that knew her, and especially her loving fans. She fought till the end and never gave up. Thank you all for the kind support over the years. I appreciate all the love you have given her. Please donate and share so we can make her final wish come true.”