Her flaming red hair and in-your-face personality made Vicki Lewis perfect for musical comedy and sitcoms, and, indeed, beginning in the late 80s she became an active participant in both. She has recurring roles as Tim Allen's inept producer on ABC's "Home Improvement" and as Jason Alexander's bane-of-my-existence secretary on NBC's "Seinfeld" before landing the regular stint as Beth, the secretary from Smart Aleck 101, on "NewsRadio" (NBC, 1995-99).Although originally an awkward math major, Lewis took dancing lessons while in college and before long was performing for an audience. She went to New York, where she appeared in musicals and other comedies, including "Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?" Lewis was spotted by writer-director James L. Brooks, who offered her a part in a film he was making. It took several years before "I'll Do Anything" (1994) was released and then the musical numbers had been cut. Lewis had relocated to Hollywood and was working consistently in guest appearances.
She did take time to return to Broadway to appear in a revival of "Damn Yankees" playing a reporter who gains access to the men's locker room and belts out "Shoeless Joe From Hannibal, Mo." Lewis also appeared alongside Patti LuPone, Bebe Neuwirth and Peter Gallagher in the concert version of "Pal Joey" (1995), as Gladys Bumps, the woman who knows all about Joey's past. She also used her musical comedy skills as Gloria Rasputin in the TV version of "Bye Bye Birdie" (ABC, 1995).
Profession(s):
Actor, singer, dancer
Sometimes Credited As:
Family
father:Jim Lewis
mother:Marlene Lewis
sister:Denise Lewis (born c. 1964)
Companion(s)
Nick Nolte
, Companion
, ```..met during the filming of "I'll Do Anything" in 1993; lived together from 1994 to 1997
2001 Co-starred in the NBC midseason replacement sitcom "Three Sisters"
2001 Returned to Broadway playing Velma in the hit revival of "Chicago"
1999 Appeared opposite off-screen companion Nick Nolte in "Breakfast of Champions"
1999 Played Velma Kelly in the national tour of the stage musical "Chicago"; assumed role on Broadway in summer 2000
1998 Had featured role as a paleontologist in "Godzilla"
1997 Co-starred opposite Nathan Lane in "Mousehunt"
1994 Feature film debut, "I'll Do Anything"
1994 Appeared in Broadway revival of "Damn Yankees"
1994 Had recurring role as Ada, George's secretary on "Seinfeld" (NBC)
1992 - 1993 Played recurring role of Maureen Binford, producer of "Home Improvement" (ABC)
1988 First episodic guest appearance, "Annie McGuire"
1985 Co-starred with Nathan Lane in the short-lived Broadway musical "The Wind in the Willows"
1985 Early TV role, Schoolbreak Special, "The Day the Senior Class Got Married"
1982 Co-starred in musical, "Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?"
Played Beth the secretary on "NewsRadio"
