Stepfanie Kramer

This biography of a living person relies too much on references to primary sources. Please help by adding secondary or tertiary sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (February 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

Stepfanie Kramer (born Stephanie Lyla Kramer; August 6, 1956) is an American actress, writer, and singer/songwriter. She played detective Sgt. Dee Dee McCall on the NBC series Hunter.^[1] She was nominated for an Emmy in Special Class Programming and won Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actress from First Americans in the Arts Awards in 1995, 2002, and 2003.^[1] Kramer has written and directed for television, and is also a singer/songwriter.

Early life[]

Kramer was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She is part Native American from her mother's side. She graduated from Chatsworth High School in 1974. Her father was a classical violinist and her mother is an artist.^[2]

Career[]

Kramer's professional acting career started in the late 1970s, while she was still in school. Kramer graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts/West, where she has later taught as a guest instructor.^[1] Kramer starred in the NBC sitcom We Got It Made in 1983. Her big break came in 1984, when she landed a starring role in Hunter, a creation of television mogul Stephen J. Cannell. After a rough start, the show was broadcast for seven consecutive seasons. Kramer starred in six of them, appearing in 130 episodes. In an interview with Jay Leno in 1989, Kramer admitted that she had not believed the show would be as long-lived as it was.^[3]

In 1986, Kramer stated she was working on a rock album with composer Mike Post, who had penned music for Hunter. She announced that she might put out an album the following year.^[3] No album was forthcoming, though, and in 1990, Kramer announced her departure from Hunter. The press said it was to concentrate on her music career.^[4]

Shortly after leaving Hunter, she began recording an album in England with producer Nils Lofgren. The album was never released. In 1992, Kramer married. Two years later, she gave birth to a daughter. She continued to write music and star in made-for-TV movies and indie films. She is a trained mezzo-soprano,^[1] and during her TV career, she used her musical abilities on several episodes of Hunter, as well as on Bob Hope television specials.^[4] Kramer's first album One Dream was released on October 12, 1999. It contains 10 adult contemporary songs. Most are originals. The Great American Song Book, her second album, was released in early.2008.^[5] On it, Kramer covers 14 classic songs recorded live in a one-woman show which she performs in various national venues. In 2008, she represented the US at the in , Mexico.^[6]

After her departure from Hunter, she appeared in several TV shows and movies. Her most notable movie projects include Coins in a Fountain, Twin Sisters (1992), Beyond Suspicion (1994), Deceived by Trust (1995), The Dogwalker (1999), and The Cutting Edge: Going for the Gold (2006). She reprised her role as Dee Dee McCall in the two Hunter television movies (2002 and 2003). NBC attempted to bring back the television show, but the 2003 revival was canceled after only three episodes.^{[citation needed]}

Kramer teamed with writer/producer to write feature films, as well as writing feature films and television projects with writer/producer Chip Hayes.^[1] Kramer completed a book reading of the New York musical A Twist of Fate. She was a special guest in the Los Angeles stage production of .^[7]

She made a guest appearance on Pure Flix's internet series The Encounter, playing attorney Dee Sanders. She portrayed the matriarch Kate Meade in the CW series The Secret Circle (2012). In 2019 she appeared as Susan in the feature film Crossing. She portrayed Dorothy Calvin in the Hallmark film A Merry Christmas Match in 2020.

Honors and awards[]

In 2015, Kramer was honored as an Icon of Television at the 55th in Monte Carlo.

Filmography[]

• 9-1-1 (2020) — Janet
• A Merry Christmas Match (2019) — Dorothy Calvin
• CSI: Crime Scene Investigation — Vivian Brentson (1 episode, 2012)
• The Secret Circle (2012) — Kate Meade
• The Cutting Edge: Going for the Gold (2006) — Kate Mosley-Dorsey
• Hunter — Lt. Dee Dee McCall (4 episodes, 2003)
• Hunter: Back in Force (2003) — Det. Sgt. Dee Dee McCall
• Hunter: Return to Justice (2002) — Dee Dee McCall
• Twice in a Lifetime — Delia Harmony/Dana Rudolph (1 episode, 2000)
• The Dogwalker (1999) — Helene
• Moloney — Rebecca Kitchens (1 episode, 1997)
• Thrill (1996) — Teresa Colson
• Abducted: A Father's Love (1996) — Loretta Hymens
• Deceived by Trust (1995) — Sarah Ann Collins
• Beyond Suspicion (1994) — Karen Rikehardt
• Twin Sisters (1992) — Carol Mallory/Lynn Cameron
• Coins in the Fountain (1990) — Nikki Taylor
• Take My Daughters, Please (1988) — Jessica Fletcher
• Favorite Son (1988) TV mini series — Stevie Chandler
• Bridge Across Time (1985) — Angie
• Hunter — Det. Sgt. Dee Dee McCall (1984–1990)
• The A-Team — Fire Chief Annie Sanders (1 episode, 1984)
• Mike Hammer — Lisa (1 episode, 1984)
• We Got It Made — Claudia (1 episode, 1983–1984)
• Riptide — Tracy (1 episode, 1984)
• The Dukes of Hazzard — Anna Louise (2 episodes, 1984)
• The Man with Two Brains (1983) — Beautiful Girl Hit by Car
• Trapper John, M.D. — Cheryl (2 episodes, 1981–1982)
• The Devlin Connection — Gwendoline Adams (1 episode, 1982)
• Knots Landing — Marni (2 episodes, 1981–1982)
• Bosom Buddies — Jennifer (1 episode, 1981)
• Dynasty — Melanie (2 episodes, 1981)
• Vegas — Cathy (1 episode, 1980)
• Married: The First Year (1979) — Sharon Kelly
• The Secret Empire — Princess Tara (unknown episodes, 1979)
• Fantasy Island — Contessa Christina Kastronova/Denise Morot (2 episodes, 1979)
• The Runaways (1 episode, 1978)
• The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries — Jill Sommers (1 episode, 1978)
• Eight Is Enough (1 episode, 1978)
• Starsky and Hutch — Manicurist (1 episode, 1977)

References[]

External links[]

• Official Stephanie Kramer Web Site
• English/French Fansite dedicated to Stephanie Kramer
• Stephanie Kramer at IMDb
• Hunter & McCall.com A Fan-Based Hunter Web Site