Dorothy Tristan, a model, screenwriter, and actress most known for her roles in “Klute,” “The Looking Glass,” and “Scarecrow,” died in her home in northwest Indiana after battling Alzheimer’s for over ten years, her husband, director John D. Hancock announced on Facebook.
“I was lucky. She was something,” Hancock wrote. “In life, she was a gentle soul and my sweet darling.”
Tristan was most active in the 1970s, where she played in several films, including “Klute.”
After taking a break from the big screen, she resurfaced in 2015 and starred in a film she wrote, and her husband directed called “The Looking Glass.”
The independent film was about a 13-year-old troubled girl who lost her mother and had to relocate to Indiana and live with her grandmother, who was in the early stages of Alzheimer’s. Her grandmother wanted to pass on everything she knew to her granddaughter before it was too late.
Northwest Indiana was home in recent years, but Tristan was born in Yorkville Heights, Westchester County, New York, just north of New York City, on Jan 1. 1942. She got her start in the early 70s on the big screen playing in films like “The End of the Road” (1970) and “Scarecrow” (1973) with Gene Hackman and Al Pacino.
Not only did Tristan play roles on the big screen, but she also made appearances on TV in movies and series such as: “Isn’t It Shocking?” (ABC, 1973-74) and “Journey From Darkness” (NBC, 1974-75) and The Waltons” (CBS, 1972-1981).
Hancock said he is hosting an open house to celebrate her life on Saturday, Jan 14.
For more information about the open house, click here.