Where do I know her from? An Ulta-Long GINA HECHT APPRECIATION POST
#sorrynotsorry
Hey guys.
It’s Mother’s Day.
So we’re going to talk about ~*~*~* my mother *~*~
She’s a super great actress who, between her TV, film, and theater career, has been in literally hundreds of projects. My friends - usually actors themselves - are all, really??? What’s her name?
And I’m like Ghee-nuh Heck-t (phonetically) and they’re like who? And I’m like, here, she looks kinda like this:
And they’re like OMG TOTALLY YES I’VE SEEN HER FACE -
Where do I know her from?
I’mma help y’all out with this handy guide to who Gina Hecht is and why she is awesome and the best. Depending on your age and how much television you watch, you might have seen her in things like Castle, Glee, Bones, Hung, CSI, Dexter, Desperate Housewives, Medium, The District, The West Wing, ER, FRIENDS, Blossom, Baywatch, *Bowling for Soup’s 1985 Voice* even St Elmo’s Fire!
But let’s go deeper, shall we?
So she’s one of the most compassionate people I’ve ever known in my entire life and she’s the one who taught me never to kill spiders and always help people and be nice and all that mishigas so it goes without saying that she’s a huge supporter of LGBTQA+ rights, as many industry folks tend to be.
But wait.
How cool would it be if she played part of the FIRST LESBIAN COUPLE TO BE SERIES REGULARS IN ALL OF TELEVISION?
BOOM. THAT HAPPENED.
Was your mom the live-in lover of the first regular lesbian character in the history of TV? I don’t THINK so. Unless you’re Gail Strickland’s child. Or a secret sibling I didn’t know about. Or you’re Bailey Sue in which case heygirhey and my mother’s day post is finally gonna kick your mother’s day’s post’s butt
But wait. The above snippet says it was a “short-lived” medical series. How neat would it be if she were on a show for multiple seasons, like, idk, maybe the series that first made Robin Williams famous?
BAM.
Amazing. Look at that 80′s STAR. Look at the suspenders. Look at the haircut. Look how I included two shots from the same scene because FROG LAKE THE BALLET.
So obviously, that was by far the coolest/nerdiest show she was ever on -
STAR TREK, Y’ALL. SHE WAS ON STAR TREK.
But Maggie, you ask, why does this get a full pic-stitch when it was only one episode?
BECAUSE MOTHERFLIPPIN’ STAR TREK.
So between Mork and Mindy and Star Trek and everything else, she’s probably worked with some pretty famous people, right?
Yeah, I guess. I mean my tastes tend to run to the dorky, so, like, I’m less impressed by fame-level and would be more excited if she worked with basically anyone from a Joss Whedon show -
WA-POW!
Yes, the Nathan photo is a selfie out of character because I told her Firefly was my favorite ever show and she had to befriend him for me and she did a GREAT job.
But if you want some objectively more famous folk …
with Will Smith in Seven Pounds, playing Winona Ryder’s mom in The Last Word, and hanging out with a very young Patrick Swayze in like probably the ‘40s or 50s or something. Pretty cool, right?
Oh hey! Is that my mama casually leaning on the shoulder of a young pre-fame Jason Alexander? Cool that she knew him way back then … and oh look she played his therapist on Seinfeld and starred in the play Prisoner of Second Avenue with him and he directed her in Broadway Bound. Is it fate that keeps bringing them together or is it possible that -
BAM. Besties all day every day.
So wait! you say. Your mom married Jason Alexander or something ???
NO, FOOL! My mom married amazing screenwriter/actor/flippin JUDO CHAMPION Brian Herskowitz and they’re about to have their like 36th anniversary together (27 years of which were marriage) and they’re in love still and it’s disgusting and someone should totally stop them except not at all
Awwwww they like each other! And look at those pretty girls in the top picture ~ I bet the older one on the left totally loves her mom WAY MORE and is CRUSHING Mother’s Day this year.
So the next time you’re watching A Lesson in Romance, General Hospital, Tio Papi,The Middle, FlashForward, Desperate Housewives, The Broadroom, Seven Pounds, The Last Word, Getting Away with Murder, A Stranger’s Heart, What About Brian, Everwood, The Agency, Boomtown, Clockstoppers, Judging Amy, Strong Medicine, JAG, Any Day Now, The Huntress, Any Day Now, Providence, Diagnosis Murder, Edtv, Can I Play?, Alright Already, Without Warning, Phenom, Family Prayers, Taking Back My Life, Reasonable Doubts, LA Law, Life Goes On, Dream On, Ladies on Sweet Street, Heartbeat, Unfinished Business, Down and Out in Beverly Hills, Rags to Riches, Everything’s Relative, Hyper Sapien, Hollywood Beat, Rockhopper, St. Elsewhere, Night Shift, Trapper John, M.D., Mork & Mindy, The Love Boat, Hizzoner or Star Trek
and you see this face:
Just know that she is also an AMAZING human being, a wonderful painter, a killer Poker player, a great best friend, an animal lover, a fantastic wife, a repetitive cook, and a great novel-proofreader and audition coach.
and mother to two girls the older of whom finally won at mother’s day maybe?
Happy Mother’s Day to Gina “Oh-That’s-What-I’ve-Seen-Her-In!” Hecht
I love you so so so so much more than Bailey does