Amanda Peterson

Template:Short description Template:Distinguish Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox person Phyllis Amanda Peterson (July 8, 1971 – July 3, 2015) was an American actress, most known for her roles as Cindy Mancini in the 1987 film Can't Buy Me Love and Sunny Sisk on the NBC drama series A Year in the Life (1987–1988).

Peterson died at age 43 from an accidental drug overdose when she mixed a post-surgery drug prescribed to her with illegally obtained morphine.<ref name="dowd"/>

Early life

Peterson was born in Greeley, Colorado,<ref name="greeleytribune">Template:Cite web</ref> the youngest of three children born to James Peterson—an ear, nose, and throat specialist—and his wife, Sylvia.<ref name="ostrow">Template:Cite web</ref> She had two older siblings: a sister, Anne Marie, and a brother, James Jr.<ref name="obituary">Template:Cite web</ref> She was credited as Mandy Peterson at the beginning of her career; "Mandy" was how she was known to her friends and relatives.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She later assumed "Amanda Peterson" as her professional name.

Career

At age seven, Peterson made her stage debut as Gretl von Trapp in a University of Northern Colorado production of The Sound of Music.<ref name="obituary"/> At 11, she won a role in the musical film Annie as a dancing extra. Peterson went on to land guest spots on Father Murphy and Silver Spoons,<ref name="pittsburgh">Template:Cite news</ref> while also appearing in more than 50 television commercials.<ref name= "obituary" /> Between 1983 and 1984, she co-starred as Squirt Sawyer on the NBC drama series Boone,<ref name="blade">Template:Cite news</ref> which was canceled after one season.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In 1985, Peterson won her first major film role, playing Lori Swenson in the sci-fi fantasy Explorers. Despite performing averagely at the box office, the Joe Dante-directed feature went on to secure a cult following.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Next, she co-starred as Sunny Sisk, the granddaughter of a successful businessman, in the Emmy Award-winning miniseries A Year in the Life; the third highest-rated miniseries of the 1986–87 U.S. television season.<ref>(Three or more parts.) TV Guide magazine, June 27–July 3, 1987, issue #1787. All figures are based on the Nielsen ratings. The rating represents the percentage of the 87.4 million TV households tuned to a station (sets watching this show). The share represents the percentage of TV sets tuned to a television station at the time of the broadcast (sets in use)</ref> It was later adapted into a full series, airing on NBC from 1987 to 1988.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> For her work as Sisk on the show, Peterson won a Young Artist Award.<ref name= "obituary" /> Though initially well received, Life was canceled after one season.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In 1986, 15-year-old Peterson was cast to play the headline role of Cindy Mancini in the Buena Vista romantic comedy, Boy Rents Girl. The title was later changed to Can't Buy Me Love after producers secured the rights to The Beatles' 1964 song of the same title, which featured on the soundtrack.<ref name="pittsburgh"/> Released in August 1987, Love received mixed reviews but became the sleeper hit of the summer,<ref name="blade" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> with Peterson going on to achieve teen idol status as a result.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In their critique of the film, The New York Times found Peterson's portrayal of Mancini to be "appealing", while highlighting her chemistry with co-star Patrick Dempsey.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1988, Peterson starred in a Roger Corman production, the post-apocalyptic adventure film The Lawless Land. This was followed by a co-starring role in the 1989 ensemble drama Listen to Me.<ref name="bryan">Template:Cite news</ref> She returned to her hometown of Greeley that same year to graduate from University High School, having been privately tutored while working in Los Angeles.<ref name="pittsburgh"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Shortly afterward, she starred in the straight-to-video thriller Fatal Charm (1990), playing a naïve high schooler who forms a dangerous bond with a serial killer. That fall, Peterson enrolled at Middlebury College,<ref name="bryan"/> where she appeared in a black box production of the Sarah Daniels play, Masterpieces, as well as guesting on Doogie Howser, M.D. while on semester break.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Following a recurring spot on the ABC drama series Jack's Place in 1993, Peterson's final appearance on-screen was a supporting role in the 1994 fantasy film, WindRunner, filmed when she was 22-years-old.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Later years

In 1994, Peterson retired from the entertainment industry and returned to her hometown of Greeley. According to her father, she left Hollywood to "choose a new path in her life".<ref name="ostrow"/> After briefly attending Middlebury College, she enrolled at Colorado State University for a year.<ref name="ostrow"/> Peterson later studied at the University of Northern Colorado.<ref name= "obituary" /> In May 2012, she appeared in her last-ever photoshoot.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Peterson was twice married and had two children.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She was first married to Joseph Robert Skutvik. After their divorce, she married David Hartley.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Peterson and Hartley were reportedly divorced at the time of her death.<ref name="ostrow"/>

Between October 2000 and May 2012, Peterson was arrested five times for the offenses of third-degree assault, harassment, DUI, and possession of drug paraphernalia and suspicion of distributing a Schedule 2 controlled substance.<ref name="moylan">Template:Cite web</ref> From September to December 2005, she spent nearly three months in jail.<ref name="people">Template:Cite news</ref> Peterson's last arrests were for a misdemeanor DUI and possession of narcotics equipment in April 2012, and suspicion of child abuse in May 2012, which was later dropped.<ref name="moylan"/> According to her father, she had previously struggled with drug issues, but was drug-free at the time of her death and had become "quite religious".<ref name="ostrow"/> He added that, in recent years, Peterson had suffered from sleep apnea, as well as bouts of pneumonia and sinusitis.<ref name="child">Template:Cite web</ref> For the last three years of her life, Peterson was receiving disability benefits and lived alone in an apartment in Greeley.<ref name="ostrow"/>

Death

Peterson was reported missing on July 3, 2015, after her family grew concerned when she failed to attend a planned dinner.<ref name="ostrow" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Two days later, on July 5, she was found dead at her home by Greeley police, three days short of her 44th birthday.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Though her apartment door was unlocked, authorities found no evidence of foul play.<ref name="greeleytribune" /><ref name="moylan" /><ref name="child" />

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight following Peterson's death, her mother stated that while her daughter had dealt with drug issues in the past, she believed her to be drug-free at the time of her death, emphasizing that it "was not in any way a drug thing".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

An autopsy was scheduled for July 6 by the Weld County coroner,<ref name="greeleytribune" /><ref name="obituary" /> with results released on September 2, 2015. The examination revealed Peterson's death resulted from an accidental drug overdose.<ref name="dowd">Template:Cite web</ref> She had recently undergone a hysterectomy and was prescribed Gabapentin for pain management. Additionally, she had been taking morphine, obtained from a friend a week prior.<ref name="Moylan">Template:Cite web</ref> The coroner attributed her death to respiratory failure triggered by a "morphine effect".<ref name="dowd" />

Two months after her death, in a September 2015 interview with talk show The Doctors, Peterson's family revealed that she had been raped at age 15 and had not disclosed it at the time, even to her sister.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> This incident changed her attitude and led to trust issues. Some family members stated that the incident led to her drug use.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1982	Annie	Dancer	Credited as Mandy Peterson
1985	Explorers	Lori Swenson
1987	Can't Buy Me Love	Cindy Mancini
1988	The Lawless Land	Diana
1989	Listen to Me	Donna Lumis
1990	Fatal Charm	Valerie
1994	WindRunner	Julie Moore	Template:Aka WindRunner: A Spirited Journey

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1982	Father Murphy	Elizabeth	Episode: "Matthew and Elizabeth"
1982	Silver Spoons	Sally Frumbel	Episode: "Takin' a Chance on Love"
1983–1984	Boone	Squirt Sawyer	Main cast
1984	Best Kept Secrets	Gretchen	Television film
1985	And the Children Shall Lead	Jenny	Television film
1986	Template:Sortname	Sunny Sisk	Miniseries, main cast
1986	Carly Mills	Trisha Mills	Television film
1987–1988	Template:Sortname	Sunny Sisk	Main cast
1989	Love and Betrayal	Stephanie	Television film Template:Aka Throw Away Wives
1990	Doogie Howser, M.D.	Bernadette Callen	Episode: "Vinnie's Blind Date"
1991	Hell Hath No Fury	Michelle Ferguson	Television film
1991	Posing: Inspired by Three Real Stories	Abigail Baywood	Television film Template:Aka I Posed for Playboy
1993	Jack's Place	Elodie Rayburn	4 episodes

Awards and nominations

Awards

Year	Award	Category	Title of work	Result
1984	Young Artist Award	Best Young Actress in a New Television Series	Boone	Template:Nom
1985		Best Young Supporting Actress in a Daytime or Nighttime Drama		Template:Nom
1986		Best Starring Performance by a Young Actress – Motion Picture	Explorers	Template:Nom
1987		Best Young Actress Starring in a Television Drama Series<ref name= "obituary" />	A Year in the Life	Template:Win
1988		Best Young Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy	Can't Buy Me Love	Template:Nom

See also

• List of solved missing person cases: 2010s

External links

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