Alison La Placa (born December 16, 1959, in New Jersey) is an American actress best known for her role of acid-tongued yuppie Linda Phillips in the Fox sitcoms Duet and its spin-off Open House, both of which aired in the late 1980s. is the 350th day of the year (351st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... “NJ” redirects here. ... The Fox Broadcasting Company, usually referred to as just Fox (the company itself prefers the capitalized version FOX), is a television network in the United States. ... A sitcom or situation comedy is a genre of comedy performance originally devised for radio but today typically found on television. ... Duet was a Fox sitcom (April 19, 1987-August 20, 1989) starring Matthew Laurance as Ben Coleman, Mary Page Keller as Laura Kelly, Chris Lemmon as Richard Phillips, and Alison LaPlaca as Linda Phillips. ... A spin-off (or spinoff) is a new organization or entity formed by a split from a larger one such as a new company formed from a university research group. ... Open House was a spin-off of Duet. ... The 1980s refers to the years from 1980 to 1989. ...

Though La Placa has guest-starred on some of the most successful programs in TV history: ER, Cheers, Family Ties, Desperate Housewives and Friends (as Rachel's boss, Joanna), she has become better known for her roles on short-lived sitcoms. La Placa was a regular on The Jackie Thomas Show (1992), Tom (1994), and the NBC sitcom The John Larroquette Show from 1994 to 1996. Because of her work on these less-successful shows, La Placa (like actors Ted McGinley, Rena Sofer, Carla Gugino, and Paula Marshall) is sometimes referred to as a "sitcom killer." ER is an Emmy-winning American serial medical drama created by novelist Michael Crichton and set primarily in the emergency room of fictional County General Hospital in Cook County, Chicago, Illinois. ... This article is about the TV series. ... For other uses, see Family Ties (disambiguation). ... Desperate Housewives is an American television comedy-drama series, created by Marc Cherry, who also serves as show runner, and produced by ABC Studios - The Walt Disney Companys main television studio - and Cherry Productions. ... For friendship, see friendship. ... Rachel Karen Green (born May 5, 1970) is a fictional character on the popular U.S. television sitcom Friends (1994-2004), played by Jennifer Aniston. ... For other persons named Tom Arnold, see Tom Arnold (disambiguation). ... Year 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar). ... Tom is American sitcom which premiered in mid-season 1994 on CBS. Tom was cancelled after eleven episodes. ... Year 1994 (MCMXCIV) The year 1994 was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by the United Nations. ... This article is about the television network. ... The John Larroquette Show is a situation comedy that ran on the NBC network from 1993 - 1996. ... Year 1994 (MCMXCIV) The year 1994 was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by the United Nations. ... Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... Ted Martin McGinley (born May 30, 1958) is an American actor. ... Rena Sofer (born December 2, 1968 in Arcadia, California) is an American actress. ... Carla Gugino (born August 29, 1971) is an American actress best known for her roles of Ingrid Cortez in the Spy Kids trilogy and the title character of the TV series Karen Sisco. ... Paula Marshall (born June 12, 1964 in Rockville, Maryland, USA) is an American actress, who has an unfortunate reputation for having many television series in which she is a main cast member cancelled in its first season and several shows on which she was a guest star cancelled soon after...

In continuation of this sinister theme, La Placa was a guest villainess on Batman the Animated Series, voicing the role of Baby Doll, a disgruntled has-been former sitcom star.

La Placa's presence in so many unsuccessful sitcoms inspired the Alison La Placa Open, a yearly contest in which players predict TV shows that will be canceled during the upcoming season.

La Placa is married to TV actor/director Philip Charles MacKenzie.

Early career

La Placa graduated from Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Illinois (a suburb of Chicago) and Illinois Wesleyan University, where she majored in drama. Name Adlai E. Stevenson High School Address 1 Stevenson Drive City Lincolnshire, IL 60069 Phone 847-634-4000 Established 1965 Type Public secondary Superintendent Dr. Timothy D. Kanold Principal Dr. Douglas Domeracki (since 2004) Religion None Students Coeducational Grades 9 to 12 Enrollment 4573 Students per teacher 16. ... Nickname: Motto: Urbs in Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location in the Chicago metro area and Illinois Coordinates: , Country State Counties Cook, DuPage Settled 1770s Incorporated March 4, 1837 Government  - Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Area  - City  234. ... Ames Library, located on the campus of Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington. ...

Shortly after moving to Hollywood, La Placa landed the part of Elyse in TV sitcom version of Barry Levinson's film Diner. That pilot didn't get picked up though, and soon thereafter La Placa got a part in the made-for-TV movie Listen to Your Heart (1983). The following year she earned a regular spot on the first of her on-today, gone-tomorrow sitcoms, Suzanne Pleshette is Maggie Briggs (1984). Diner (1982) is a film written and directed by Barry Levinson which along with Avalon, Tin Men, and Liberty Heights constitutes his series of Baltimore films. ...

External links

• Alison La Placa at the Internet Movie Database