# Trish Van Devere
**Trish Van Devere** is an American actress, born Patricia Louise Dressel, best known for her comedic turn as Louise Callan in [Carl Reiner](https://www.edgepedia.org/carl-reiner)'s *Where's Poppa?* (1970) and for her marriage and frequent screen partnership with actor [George C. Scott](https://www.edgepedia.org/george-c-scott).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1941, Tenafly, New Jersey, per IMDb; IBDB and AlloCiné list 1943, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0886556/) • [2](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/trish-van-devere-68945) |
| Marriage | Married George C. Scott on September 14, 1972; widowed at his death on September 22, 1999[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0886556/) |
| Signature roles | Louise Callan in *Where's Poppa?* (1970); Aimee Brower in *One Is a Lonely Number* (1972), a Golden Globe-nominated performance[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/trish-van-devere/) |
| Broadway debut | *All God's Chillun Got Wings*, revival at Circle in the Square Theatre, March 20 to May 4, 1975, 53 performances, as Ella Downey, directed by Scott[2](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/trish-van-devere-68945) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0886556/) |
| Film span | *Where's Poppa?* (1970) to *Curaçao* (1993); the 1970s were her busiest decade with 7 films[4](https://www.whatsafterthemovie.com/person/trish-van-devere) |
| Children | Van Devere had no children; her stepdaughter was Devon Scott, George C. Scott's daughter from his marriage to Patricia Reed[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0886556/) • [9](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-sep-24-mn-13484-story.html) |
## Early career
Van Devere began in New York, working in alternative theater, joining the [Actors Studio](https://www.edgepedia.org/actors-studio), and supporting her life through soap opera work, first making her mark on *One Life to Live*. She was involved in activist causes including the civil rights and women's movements, then auditioned for and won the role of Louise Callan in *Where's Poppa?* (1970), opposite [George Segal](https://www.edgepedia.org/george-segal) and [Ruth Gordon](https://www.edgepedia.org/ruth-gordon).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0886556/) • [5](https://www.tcm.com/articles/81400/one-is-a-lonely-number)
**A promising lead.** She played Aimee Brower in *One Is a Lonely Number* (1972), directed by Mel Stuart for MGM, a drama about a young woman rebuilding her life after her husband walks out, with [Janet Leigh](https://www.edgepedia.org/janet-leigh) and [Melvyn Douglas](https://www.edgepedia.org/melvyn-douglas). The film received excellent reviews, and *Variety* predicted it would propel her toward stardom. The downbeat story did not find an audience; MGM tried retitleing it *Two is a Happy Number* and then yanked the film, but Van Devere earned a 1973 Golden Globe nomination.[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/trish-van-devere/) • [5](https://www.tcm.com/articles/81400/one-is-a-lonely-number)
## Marriage to George C. Scott
She met Scott when the two co-starred, along with his then-wife [Colleen Dewhurst](https://www.edgepedia.org/colleen-dewhurst), in the neo-noir *The Last Run* (1971). Scott separated from Dewhurst and married Van Devere in 1972. She then appeared with him in *The Day of the Dolphin* (1973), a [Mike Nichols](https://www.edgepedia.org/mike-nichols) thriller that was not a success, and *The Savage Is Loose* (1974), directed by Scott and barely released. Later in the decade they co-starred in the television movie *Beauty and the Beast* (1976), *Movie Movie* (1978), and *[The Changeling](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-changeling-film)* (1980), a period that coincided with the decline of Scott's stardom.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0886556/) All told, Scott is the colleague she shared the most films with, 7 in total.[4](https://www.whatsafterthemovie.com/person/trish-van-devere)
The TCM retrospective of her career states that during the 1970s she placed her husband's career before her own and appeared mostly in films with him.[5](https://www.tcm.com/articles/81400/one-is-a-lonely-number) By her own account to the *Los Angeles Times* in 1985, the marriage had often been tempestuous; a world cruise on the QE2 ended with the two not speaking, after a row about whether to leave the car to photograph baboons, and she moved to Los Angeles with her two horses while Scott stayed at their estate in [Greenwich, Connecticut](https://www.edgepedia.org/greenwich-connecticut).[6](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-05-11-ca-9873-story.html)
## Stage work
Van Devere became a stage actress under Scott's tutelage. Her Broadway debut came in the 1975 revival of [Eugene O'Neill](https://www.edgepedia.org/eugene-oneill)'s *All God's Chillun Got Wings* at Circle in the Square Theatre, directed by her husband, in which she played Ella Downey across 53 performances.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0886556/) • [2](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/trish-van-devere-68945) She next co-starred with Scott in *Sly Fox*, an adaptation of [Ben Jonson](https://www.edgepedia.org/ben-jonson)'s *Volpone*, which ran from December 14, 1976 to February 19, 1978 and was a hit.[2](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/trish-van-devere-68945) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0886556/) Their final Broadway collaboration, the mystery-romance *Tricks of the Trade*, opened on November 6, 1980 and closed that same night.[2](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/trish-van-devere-68945) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0886556/)
## Later career
*The Changeling* (1980), a supernatural thriller with Scott as a grieving composer tormented by a ghost in a Seattle-area mansion, remains her best-known film with modern audiences and holds an 85% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0886556/) • [7](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/trish_van_devere) After 1980 she worked mostly in less prominent movies and television, including a guest turn as television executive Kay Freestone in the *Columbo* episode "Make Me a Perfect Murder" (February 25, 1978), one-episode appearances on *The Fall Guy*, *Hardcastle and McCormick*, *Highway to Heaven*, and *The Love Boat*, and roles in *The Hearse* (1980), *Hollywood Vice Squad* (1986), and *Messenger of Death* (1988) with [Charles Bronson](https://www.edgepedia.org/charles-bronson). Her final screen credits were *Curacao* (1993) and, on television, the voice of [Clara Barton](https://www.edgepedia.org/clara-barton) in *The Great Battles of the Civil War* (1994).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0886556/) • [8](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/169202/trish-van-devere)
Scott died on September 22, 1999, ending a marriage of 27 years.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0886556/)
## References
1. [Trish Van Devere, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0886556/)
2. [Trish Van DeVere, IBDB](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/trish-van-devere-68945)
3. [Trish Van Devere, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/trish-van-devere/)
4. [Trish Van Devere Movies & Box Office, What's After the Movie](https://www.whatsafterthemovie.com/person/trish-van-devere)
5. [One Is a Lonely Number, Margarita Landazuri, Turner Classic Movies](https://www.tcm.com/articles/81400/one-is-a-lonely-number)
6. [Trish Van Devere Chooses a Different Port in the Storm, Los Angeles Times, May 11, 1985](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-05-11-ca-9873-story.html)
7. [Trish Van Devere, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/trish_van_devere)
8. [Trish Van Devere, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/169202/trish-van-devere)
9. [George C. Scott Dies at 71; Refused Oscar for 'Patton' : Actor: Colleagues praise the brilliant but reluctant star. He was known for intense, well-crafted performances.](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-sep-24-mn-13484-story.html)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames D to Di*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license