Patricia Tallman: All-Around Performer
Women in Horror for Women’s History Month 2023
Patricia Tallman started her career with the George Romero clan as Julie in Knightriders (1981), as Janice Perry in season 4 episode 16 “Family Reunion” of the Romero-created Tales from the Darkside, a party guest in Monkey Shines (1988), and culminating with the re-envisioned Barbara character in the Tom Savini remake of Night of the Living Dead (1990). She also did stuntwork for Creepshow 2 (1987), and Monkey Shines, and worked as a stunt double in a completely different episode of Tales from the Darkside. We could stop there, but she didn’t, so we won’t.
After that period, she starred in three episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation as three different characters, three episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as three different characters, and two episodes of Star Trek Voyager, as two different characters, plus she is uncredited in Star Trek: Generations (1994). She worked as a stunt double for Gates McFadden in three completely different episodes of The Next Generation, and in seven episodes of Deep Space Nine. Still not done.
In her next phase she played Lyta Alexander, a major regular character in forty-seven episodes of the way-ahead-of-its-time TV show Babylon 5, created by J. Michael Straczynski, as well as the tv movie Babylon 5: Thirdspace (1998). She was apparently too busy working as an actor to do any stuntwork. Hang in there. There’s more.
Not only has Tallman worked with Romero and Straczynski, but she’s worked as an actor with Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz of Troma in their early comedy Stuck on You! (1983), she did stunts for Wes Craven’s Shocker (1989), and she played the possessed witch in Sam Raimi’s Army of Darkness (1992).
She’s also had small acting parts in Road House (1989), Kalifornia (1993), Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997), and the Walter Koenig-written InAlienable (2007). And she’s done stunt work for The Stand miniseries (1994), Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999), and more, as well as working as a stunt double for Laura Dern in Jurassic Park (1993), for Daryl Hannah in the TV movie Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman (1993), and the list keeps going.
Patricia Tallman could have stopped after her work with Romero and established herself in film history, but she kept going, working with some of the most important directors and creators, with some of the most important female actors, in some of the best genres films, and in some of the most popular TV shows ever put on the tube.