Louise Lasser (born April 11, 1939 in New York City) is an actress best known for her portrayal as the title character on the soap opera parody Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. Lasser had been married to Woody Allen in the 1960s and appears with him in some of his early films, most notably Bananas, where she plays Nancy, Woody's love interest.
She wrote the telemovie Just Me and You (1978) and starred in it, alongside Charles Grodin. This quirky and entertaining comedy follows the cross-country roadtrip of two mismatched characters, similar to that which opened the later film When Harry Met Sally....
Her most recent role of note was in the 1999 movie Mystery Men where she played the mother of Hank Azaria's character.
One of the first hosts to be barred from performing again was Louise Lasser, who hosted at the end of the first season on July 24, 1976. Lasser was said to be going through personal problems at the time and was reportedly nearly incoherent throughout the broadcast. Lasser refused to do all skits, and locked herself in her dressing room just before airtime, coming out just in time to do the opening monologue. This episode was such a disappointment to producer Lorne Michaels, that it was also barred from syndication until as late as 2002.
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