Lucy Saroyan

Lucy Saroyan was an American actress and photographer born on January 17, 1946 in San Francisco, California. She was the daughter of celebrated Armenian‑American writer William Saroyan and actress Carol Grace, and grew up surrounded by artistic influences. Her brother, writer Aram Saroyan, also pursued a literary career, while her mother later married renowned actor Walter Matthau, making him Lucy’s step‑father. Lucy’s early exposure to the entertainment world led her to appear in a handful of film and television roles beginning in the late 1960s, and she worked as a film‑library archivist behind the scenes. She performed on Broadway and off‑Broadway, often in small but memorable parts, and she continued to develop her own visual sensibility through photography. Her most prominent screen appearance came in Paul Schrader’s gritty 1978 drama Blue Collar, where she portrayed Arlene Bartowski, the wife of Harvey Keitel’s character, a role that highlighted her ability to convey vulnerability and strength. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s she appeared in a variety of productions, including Cactus Flower, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, Greased Lightning, and the cult classic Xanadu, where she played a roller‑skater cameo. In addition to acting, Lucy built a modest yet respected career as a photographer, capturing candid portraits of friends, family, and fellow artists, with some of her images later exhibited alongside work by Richard Avedon. Her personal papers, letters, and photographic archives are preserved at the Fresno County Public Library, offering insight into her relationships with her father and her artistic network. Lucy Saroyan died on April 11, 2003 in Thousand Oaks, California, at age 57, after suffering from cirrhosis of the liver linked to hepatitis C. Her legacy endures through her film roles, photographic contributions, and the archival collection that documents a unique slice of American cultural history.