Louisa Moritz

Louisa Moritz (born Luisa Cira Castro Netto; September 25, 1936[3] – January 4, 2019)[4] was a Cuban-American actress and lawyer. After arriving in New York from Cuba, she became a film and television actress, then earned a law degree. She is best known for her roles in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and the television show Love, American Style.

Louisa Moritz
Born
Luisa Cira Castro Netto[1]

(1936-09-25)September 25, 1936[2]
Havana, Cuba
DiedJanuary 4, 2019(2019-01-04) (aged 82)
Los Angeles, California
Other namesLouisa Castro
Alma materAbraham Lincoln University School of Law
OccupationActress, lawyer
Years active1966–2000

Early life

Moritz was born in Havana,[5][6] where she worked as an accountant. Due to the political upheaval of the late 1950s she left Cuba and moved to New York, arriving on July 15, 1960, aged 23. She later shaved 10 years off her true age, adopting 1946 as her year of birth.[2][7] She adopted the last name Moritz after seeing the Hotel St. Moritz in New York City and to avoid association with Fidel Castro, to whom she was distantly related.[4][8]

Professional life

Unable to speak English when she first moved to the United States in 1960,[8] Moritz started acting in commercials in the 1960s.[6] Her first film was The Man from O.R.G.Y. in 1970. In 1982, Moritz had the lead role in The Last America Virgin as the prostitute Carmela.[4][6] Moritz generally played ditzy blondes, appearing in numerous films of which the best known was One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in 1975 as the prostitute Rose, and in TV shows, including Happy Days, M*A*S*H, and Love, American Style, where she was a regular.[4]

Moritz later studied law at the University of West Los Angeles[6] and Abraham Lincoln University.[9] She was admitted to the California Bar in 2004.[10] According to her publicist, she was at the top of her class[4] and won the American Jurisprudence Bancroft Whitney Prize for Contracts.[7]

On June 25, 2015, Moritz was suspended from the State Bar of California. On October 1, 2017, she was disbarred for failure to comply with terms set out in her previous disciplinary actions and she failed to respond to the California Bar.[9][11]

Moritz also invested in real estate, owning a hotel in Beverly Hills that she renamed the Beverly Hills St. Moritz,[6][7] and produced self-defense programs for TV.[7]

Death

After being injured in a fall during a visit to Washington, D.C.,[12] Moritz died in a hospital in Los Angeles, aged 82, on January 4, 2019, of natural causes.[4][13]

Accusations against Bill Cosby
Main article: Bill Cosby sexual assault allegations

In November 2014, Moritz became one of the first women to accuse Bill Cosby, claiming Cosby sexually assaulted her in the green room for The Tonight Show in 1971.[6][14][15][16] After Cosby accused her of lying, she sued him for defamation; her lawyer planned to continue the lawsuit after her death.[8][12]

Selected filmography

Film

Television

References
  1. "Luisa Cira Castro Netto v. U S Bancorp et al :: Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles: State Civil Lawsuit No. BC555281". Plainsite.org. Retrieved 2017-07-26.
  2. New York State, Passenger and Crew Lists, 1917–1967 for Netto Luisa Cira Castro A3998 – New York, 1957–1967, ancestry.com; accessed March 14, 2019.
  3. "Ancestry Library Edition". ancestrylibrary.proquest.com. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  4. Maria Puente (January 30, 2019). "Louisa Moritz, actress, lawyer and one of Bill Cosby's accusers, dies at 72". USA Today.
  5. "Louisa Moritz profile". Archived from the original on October 22, 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-18.
  6. Margeaux Sippell (January 30, 2019). "Louisa Moritz, Actress and Cosby Accuser, Dies at 82 (sic)". Variety.
  7. Greg Evans (January 30, 2019). "Louisa Moritz Dies: 'One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest' Actress, Bill Cosby Accuser Was 72 (sic)". Deadline Hollywood.
  8. Nancy Dillon (January 30, 2019). "Actress Louisa Moritz, who accused Bill Cosby of sexual assault, dies". New York Daily News.
  9. California, The State Bar of. "State Bar of CA: Louisa Moritz Netto". members.calbar.ca.gov. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
  10. http://members.calbar.ca.gov/fal/Licensee/Detail/232509
  11. "Case No. 15-O- 15111 -YDR" (PDF). The State Bar of California. Retrieved February 11, 2018.
  12. Madhur Dave (January 31, 2019). "Louisa Moritz's Bill Cosby Lawsuit to Continue Despite Actress' Death, Lawyer Says". International Business Times.
  13. Evan Real (January 30, 2019). "Louisa Moritz, 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' Actress, Dies at 82 (sic)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2019-02-01.
  14. Nancy Dillon; Corky Siemaszko (November 24, 2014). "Bill Cosby accuser Louisa Moritz wants him to admit to alleged sex assaults". New York Daily News. Retrieved 2014-11-26.
  15. "Bill Cosby accuser Louisa Moritz hoping to file class-action lawsuit against comedian". Fox News Latino. November 24, 2014. Retrieved 2014-11-26.
  16. Kyle Kim; Christina Littlefield; Melissa Etehad (September 25, 2018). "Bill Cosby: A 50-year chronicle of accusations and accomplishments". Los Angeles Times.
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