Silvana Gallardo

Sandra Silvana Gallardo (January 13, 1947 – January 2, 2012) was an American film and television actress, acting coach, and writer.

Gallardo grew up on Fox Street in the South Bronx, daughter of Edward Francis Gallardo and Grace, née Mallory.

She was of Puerto Rican, Sicilian, and Cuban descent and proud of her Native American ancestry.

She attended Morris High School and was taught by Herbert Fein, then Chairman of the Music Department, who became a formative figure in her acting career.

Gallardo entered a drama school, the HB Studio in Greenwich Village.

There she studied with James Patterson, a Tony Award-winning actor.

Gallardo's television credits include episodes of Monsters (American TV series), Starsky & Hutch, Lou Grant, Quincy, Hill Street Blues, Cagney & Lacey, Kojak, Falcon Crest, Trapper John, M.D., The Golden Girls, Knots Landing, MacGyver, L.A. Law, Babylon 5, ER and NYPD Blue.

She also appeared in films including Windwalker, Death Wish II, and Silence of the Heart.

Gallardo began her teaching career in NYC.

She taught and coached some of Hollywood's biggest stars, including Angelina Jolie, Keanu Reeves, Billy Drago and Peta Wilson.

She was the creator of the "Gallardo Method," a method of acting where "there are no boundaries, there are no limits, there simply is The Art of the Infinite Possibility."

Gallardo was told at an early age, "You can't change the world".

'Perhaps not," She said. "But I sure can try." This message was carried throughout her life in her teachings.

She moved to Paris, Kentucky after having directed Fading To Zero, a feature docudrama based on the life and work of the late Brooklyn Poet Laureate Ken Siegelman.

In 1968, Gallardo married Gerald O'Connor; they divorced in 1978.

She married secondly, in 1985, the actor Billy Drago, who worked with her in presenting workshops for aspiring actors, some being sold on video; they subsequently separated, and she was survived by her partner and collaborator, John Gavigan.

While residing in Paris, Kentucky, Gallardo died on January 2, 2012, at Jewish Hospital, Louisville.

A cause of death was not released.