Veronica Hamel
# Veronica Hamel

Veronica Hamel (born November 20, 1943) is an American actress and model. She was nominated five times for an Emmy Award for her role as attorney Joyce Davenport in the TV police drama Hill Street Blues.

## Biography

The daughter of a Philadelphia carpenter and a housewife, Hamel graduated from Temple University. She worked as a secretary for a company that manufactured ironing board covers. She began a fashion modeling career after being discovered by Eileen Ford. In her first film role, she played a model in 1971's Klute, followed by roles in the disaster films Beyond the Poseidon Adventure and When Time Ran Out.

She was the model in the last cigarette commercial televised in the U.S. (for Virginia Slims, aired at 11:59 pm on January 1, 1971, on The Tonight Show). Hamel had been a model in print advertisements, not just for Slims, but also for Pall Mall Gold cigarettes.

Hamel started appearing in TV series in 1975. She was considered for the role of Kelly Garrett on Charlie's Angels, but reportedly declined the role. Producer Aaron Spelling cast Jaclyn Smith, instead. She is best remembered for playing Joyce Davenport, the dedicated public defender, who also happened to be the love interest of police captain Frank Furillo, on the long-running TV series Hill Street Blues from 1981-87. She was a five-time Emmy nominee for that role.

Alan Alda's 1988 film A New Life cast Hamel in a leading role as his doctor and love interest. She was cast as Elizabeth, the wife of Charles Grodin's character in the movie Taking Care of Business in 1990. She was named on Us magazine's "Best Dressed" list for 1983.

In 2002, she also appeared on Hill Street Blues creator Steven Bochco's legal drama Philly. In the late 2000s, Hamel had a recurring role in the NBC television series Third Watch and appeared as Margo Shephard, Jack's mother, in the ABC series Lost.

## Filmography

### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1971 | Klute | Model | Uncredited |
| 1976 | Cannonball | Linda Maxwell | |
| 1976 | Apple Pie | Artist | |
| 1979 | Beyond the Poseidon Adventure | Suzanne Constantine | |
| 1980 | When Time Ran Out | Nikki Spangler | |
| 1988 | A New Life | Kay Hutton | |
| 1990 | Taking Care of Business | Elizabeth Barnes | |
| 1998 | The Last Leprechaun | Laura Duvann | |
| 2002 | Determination of Death | Virginia 'Ginny' Halloran | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1975 | Kojak | Elenora | "How Cruel the Frost, How Bright the Stars" |
| 1976 | The Bob Newhart Show | Rosemary | "Peeper Two" |
| 1976 | Switch | Nabilla | "Round Up the Usual Suspects" |
| 1976 | Starsky & Hutch | Marianne Tustin | "Tap Dancing Her Way Right Back into Your Hearts" |
| 1976 | The Rockford Files | Sandy Lederer / Marcy Brownell | "A Bad Deal in the Valley", "Return to the 38th Parallel" |
| 1977 | Family | Vicki Webber | "Change of Heart" |
| 1977 | 79 Park Avenue | Laura Koshko | TV miniseries |
| 1977 | The Gathering | Helen | TV film |
| 1978 | Starsky & Hutch | Vanessa | "Hutchinson for Murder One" |
| 1978 | Ski Lift to Death | Andrea Mason | TV film |
| 1978 | The Eddie Capra Mysteries | Janet Wilde | "The Intimate Friends of Janet Wilde" |
| 1979 | Dallas | Leanne Rees | "Call Girl" |
| 1979 | The Gathering, Part II | Helen | TV film |
| 1980 | Eischied | Shannon Marshall | "Powder Burn" |
| 1980 | The Hustler of Muscle Beach | Sheila Dodge | TV film |
| 1981 | Jacqueline Susann's Valley of the Dolls | Jennifer North | TV film |
| 1981–1987 | Hill Street Blues | Joyce Davenport | Main role |
| 1983 | Sessions | Lee / Randy Churchill | TV film |
| 1985 | Kane & Abel | Kate Kane | TV miniseries |
| 1989 | Twist of Fate | Deborah | "Part II" |
| 1990 | She Said No | Elizabeth 'Beth' Early | TV film |
| 1991 | Stop at Nothing | Nettie Forbes | TV film |
| 1991 | Deadly Medicine | Kathleen Holland | TV film |
| 1992 | Baby Snatcher | Bianca Hudson | TV film |
| 1993 | The Disappearance of Nora | Nora Freemont | TV film |
| 1993 | The Conviction of Kitty Dodds | Kitty Dodds | TV film |
| 1994 | Stalker: Shadow of Obsession | Rebecca Kendall | TV film |
| 1994 | A Child's Cry for Help | Dr. Paula Spencer | TV film |
| 1995 | Secrets | Etta Berter | TV film |
| 1995 | Here Come the Munsters | Lily Munster | TV film |
| 1996 | In the Blink of an Eye | Micki Dickoff | TV film |
| 1996 | Talk to Me | Sadie | TV film |
| 1997 | Home Invasion | Georgia Patchett | TV film |
| 1997 | Stranger in My Home | Jennifer | TV film |
| 1998 | Touched by an Angel | Judge Dolores Chaphin | "The Wind Beneath My Wings" |
| 2001 | The Division | Myrna Roberts | "Mother's Day" |
| 2001 | The Fugitive | Dr. Diana Thayer | "Flesh and Blood" |
| 2001–02 | Philly | Judge Marjorie Brennan | Recurring role |
| 2002–03 | Third Watch | Beth Taylor | "Two Hundred and Thirty-Three Days", "The Price of Nobility", "My Opening Farewell" |
| 2004–2010 | Lost | Margo Shephard | "White Rabbit", "There's No Place Like Home: Part 1", "Lighthouse" |
| 2008 | Bone Eater | Commissioner Hayes | TV film |
