Whatever happened to Lisa Gerritsen (Bess on The Mary Tyler Moore Show)

Lisa Gerritsen is a former child star who is most well known for her role as Bess Lindstrom on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and its spinoff, Phyllis.  She was born Lisa Orszag in Los Angeles, California on December 21, 1957, the daughter of Ronald Aleander Orszag.  The name of her mother is not mentioned in available sources.  

Lisa has a remarkable acting pedigree.  Her great-great grandmother was Caroline "Caro" True Boardman (1857-1908), an actress and acting coach in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  Lisa is  also the great-granddaughter of silent film actors Virginia True Boardman (born Margaret Shields in 1889) and her husband, William "True" Boardman (1882-1918)   William "True" Boardman appeared in many silent films, including Tarzan of the Apes (1918) and The Further Adventures of Stingaree (1917).  Sadly, he passed away at the age of 36,  a victim of the flu epidemic of 1918.  Virginia True Boardman, however, lived until 1971.  The couple has one child, a son named True Eames Boardman, Lisa's grandfather.

Virginia True Boardman

William" True"  Boardman in 1910

True Eames Boardman (1909-2003) was a child actor and a screen writer.  As a child, he worked alongside Charlie Chapman in the 1918 silent film Shoulder Arms.  He played one of Chaplin's three sons in cut domestic scenes, intended for the beginning of the film.  However, he was best recognized as a screen writer.  His credits include the classic Abbott and Costello film Pardon My Sarong.

True Eames Boardman

Lisa's mother and her grandfather, were instrumental in kick starting her acting career.  At the age of eight, she acted in a local summer parks production.  It wasn't long before she became a  very busy child actor during the late 1960s and early 1970s.  She guest-starred in The Good Guys (1968),  three episodes of The Doris Day Show (2 episodes in 1968 and one episode in 1971), Gomer Pyle: USMC (1969), The Courtship of Eddie's Father (1969). The Virginian (1970), 3 episodes of Family Affair (2 episodes in 1969 and one in 1970), Gunsmoke (four episodes 1968-1970) and Bonanza (1971)  

Lisa's grandfather, True Eames Boardman, wrote that 1971 episode of Bonanza with Lisa in mind.  He was proud of Lisa and wanted to highlight her horse riding skills.  In the episode, entitled "Cassie" (Season 13, Episode 6 , Air Date: October 24, 1971), Lisa played Cassie O'Casey, whose father, Kevin O'Casey (Jack Cassidy), runs a horse racing scam.

Lisa in 1971 Bonanza episode

Lisa also appeared in a 1971 episode of The Odd Couple, starring Jack Klugman and Tony Randall.  She played Bunny in an episode entitled "Bunny is Missing Down by the Lake." (Season 1, Episode 18, Air Date: February 12, 1971).  In 1973, she appeared as Jenny Hutchins in two episodes of The Magical World of Disney and as Nancy Flynn in an episode of Ironside.

From 1969 to 1970, Lisa had a co-starring role on the sitcom My World and Welcome to It.  The half-hour comedy was based on the writings and cartoons of humourist James Thurber.  William Windom played John Monroe, a Thurber-like writer and cartoonist.  Joan Hotchkis played his wife, Ellen, and Lisa portrayed Lydia Monroe, his curious and intelligent daughter.  The show only lasted for one season of 26 episodes, despite positive reviews.  The show's ratings were only moderate (it was up against Gunsmoke), which prompted NBC to cancel the series.  My World and Welcome to It went on to win two primetime Emmys - Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series (William Windom).

However, it was Lisa's role on the popular Mary Tyler More Show that catapulted her to TV stardom.  She played Bess, the precocious daughter of Phyllis Lindstrom, Mary's landlord.  She appeared in in ten episodes of The Mary Tyler Moor Show from 1970 to 1975.  Below is a 1974 photo of Lisa with her TV mother, Cloris Leachman. as Phyllis Lindstrom.  

Lisa in 1975

In 1975, Lisa joined Cloris Leachman in a spinoff of The Mary Tyler Moore Show called Phyllis.  The premise of the sitcom was that Mary's newly widowed landlord returns to her hometown of San Francisco with her teenage daughter after the sudden death of her husband, Lars.  Lars, a dermatologist was never seen on screen.  Phyllis and Bess move in with Lars' ditzy mother, Audrey Dexter (Jane Rose) and her second husband, Judge Jonathan Dexter (Henry Jones).  Phyllis finds employment as the assistant to the CEO of a photography studio.

Phyllis aired for two seasons, from 1975 to 1977.  48 episodes of the show were produced and Lisa appeared in 24 of those episodes.

In her late teens or early 20s, Lisa Gerritsen began to consider her transition from a successful child actor to new career as an adult.  She decided to pursue interests outside of acting.  

Around 1977, she abruptly left the Hollywood scene, soon after Phyllis was cancelled. 

In 2000, at the time of a "Mary and Rhoda" reunion TV movie, Chicago Tribune writer, Eric Zorn, set out to find Lisa and ask her why she wasn't appearing on the show.  He had been intrigued by Lisa's sudden disappearance from the acting scene and tried really hard to track her down. He spoke to a fan who thought they'd worked with Lisa at a software company, and he wrote a column about his search entitled "Desperately seeking Lisa - or maybe not so desperately."  Zorn eventually procured Lisa's phone number, but after all that, decided not to call her.  He concluded that if she were that hard to find, she probably wanted and deserved to be left alone.

Lisa married John Rustan in 2000.  They have one son, Jonathan Rustan, and they lead very private lives.  

END NOTES

* Lisa Gerritsen has appeared in two full length feature films.  She played Libby Bakersfeld in the 1970 comedy/drama Airport. She also portrayed Linda Kozlenko in the 1972 Thurber-inspired comedy/drama The War Between Men and Women, starring Jack Lemon and Barbara Harris.

*  According to the Internet Movie Database (IMDb), Lisa worked for a large California software company in the 1990s.  According to the Blloomies website, she eventually obtained her real estate licence and began working for a prestigious brokerage firm in Los Angeles.  

SOURCES:  Bloomies (www.bloomies.com), "Lisa Gerritsen: From Child Star to Real Estate Agent," July 14, 2023; YouTube Video. "Whatever happened to Lisa Gerritsen - Bess from TV's "Phyllis," Dave Sundstrom; Wikipedia; International Movie Database (IMDb)

- Joanne