Laurie Bird - Life and Career

Life and Career

Bird's mother died when she was three. Her father, an electrical engineer, was ex-United States Navy and worked long hours. Although she had two brothers, she more or less raised herself.

Described by Hollywood columnist Dick Kleiner as "look like an innocent Hayley Mills", Bird appeared in just three films: Two-Lane Blacktop (1971), Cockfighter (1974), and a small role in Annie Hall (1977). Bird was the still photographer on Cockfighter, and shot the cover photo for Art Garfunkel's 1977 album Watermark. She was romantically involved with her Blacktop and Cockfighter director Monte Hellman, and later with Garfunkel for several years.

In 1979, Bird committed suicide by taking an overdose of Valium in the apartment she shared with Garfunkel in New York. At Bird's funeral, her father revealed that her mother's death, which was thought to be from ovarian cancer, was also a suicide. Garfunkel referred to his relationship to Bird in the liner notes of his 1988 album Lefty.

She was briefly featured in the 2006 documentary film Wanderlust.