The daughter of a scientist and a poet, Marjorie “Markie” Post was always destined for big things. In school, she was a high-flyer and a cheerleader. Later, she attended Lewis & Clark College in Oregon, where she achieved her bachelor’s degree.
In college, Markie Post also met the man who would become her husband, Stephen Knox.
“I fell for him because I had never met a man with real angst,” she explains. “He was charismatic and cynical. I married him out of passion; I had never had a sexual experience before. I was Snow White and he was James Dean.”
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But from a very young age, Markie had her heart set on working in the media.
She began her career in a purely “behind the scenes” capacity as part of the production crew for game show Split Second. This led her to branch out into an associate producer role in the Alex Trebek hosted Double Dare which ran between 1976 and 1977.
But her first onscreen appearance came when she acted as a dealer for another game show, Card Sharks.
Having paid her dues for a number of years in numerous production roles, Markie Post eventually took up acting in 1979. Her first part as an actress was a guest spot on CHiPs.
She followed up quickly with appearances on hit shows like The Incredible Hulk, Hart to Hart, and Eight is Enough. She showed herself to be an appealing and versatile screen personality, with a particular flair for comedy.
A notable 1981 appearance was in “Details at Eleven,” the pilot episode for the popular detective show Simon & Simon, which would go on to run until 1989.
This role and the variety of others that Markie undertook in the early ’80s paved the way for what many consider her big break. The regular series character of bail bondswoman Terri Michaels on the adventure series The Fall Guy, beginning in 1982.
During her three-year run on the show, Markie Post also made a string of guest appearances in other major TV productions like Cheers, The A-Team, and Fantasy Island.
But in 1984 she took on what was to be her longest-running and career-defining role, the naive public defender Christine Sullivan in the long-running sitcom Night Court.
Markie played Christine in a grand total of 159 episodes of Night Court, up until the series finale in 1992. The smash-hit comedy won a bunch of awards and attracted legions of fans, making stars out of its cast, Markie included.
Throughout her tenure on Night Court, her vivacious personality meant she was never short of screen work. In particular, she frequently served as a celebrity guest on game shows like Super Password and The $10,000 Pyramid, making her a familiar face to TV-viewers throughout the 1980s.
When Night Court finally drew to a close, Markie Post immediately snagged herself the lead in another sitcom, albeit a rather short-lived one. The show was Hearts Afire, in which she starred with John Ritter.
Embed from Getty ImagesIt was a politically-charged and topical sitcom, which featured cameos from public figures like Rush Limbaugh and Hugh E. Rodham, father of Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Although the show lasted for three seasons, until 1995, it was ultimately canceled before the season finale could be aired. Nevertheless, Markie starred in 54 episodes; a decent run after the success of Night Court.
In the ’90s, Markie Post began to focus more on movies. These were TV movies in the main, and typically suspenseful stalk-and-slash type fare. Titles included Stranger At My Door, Someone She Knows and I’ve Been Waiting For You.
They enabled Markie to flex her acting muscles and show she could comfortably play dramatic roles alongside her more established comedic persona.
In fact, she became such a mainstay of this particular subgenre that she was even a nominee for the tongue in cheek TV Land Icon Award for “Lady You Love To Watch Fight For Her Life In A Movie Of The Week” in 2007.
Having divorced from Stephen Knox, Markie Post is now married to actor Michael A. Ross, and the couple has two daughters together.
Markie continues to attract guest spots in high-profile shows like Ghost Whisperer and 30 Rock, not to mention a regular supporting role on Chicago P.D. between 2014 and 2017.
She has deservedly carved out a lengthy and successful career. Markie Post continues to be a regular and welcome presence on our screens, and will hopefully continue to do so for many years to come.
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