For five seasons, from 1995 to 1999, fans tuned into NewsRadio to watch the antics of the WNYX staff. One of the most memorable members of the gang was Beth, the eccentric secretary played by Vicki Lewis. The character’s signatures were her gum chewing, her quirky personality, and her distinctly ’90s outfits.
But while she’s still beloved for playing Beth by NewsRadio fans, Lewis has also appeared in many others roles on screen, as a voice actor, and on the Broadway stage. Read on to find out more about the 62-year-old actor’s career today.
RELATED: See 3rd Rock From the Sun Star Kristen Johnston Now at 54.
In addition to starring on NewsRadio, Lewis has also been on many other TV series in recurring and guest roles. These include How I Met Your Mother, Modern Family, The Blacklist, and most recently, The Goldbergs. She was also appeared in the Disney Channel movie Upside-Down Magic in 2020.
Lewis is a prolific voice actor, too. She voiced characters on the Nickelodeon series Rugrats, played Deb and Flo in Finding Nemo and Finding Dory, and most recently voiced Tundra on Doc McStuffins.
Lewis has also used her talents to teach others about acting. She’s an adjunct lecturer at the University of Southern California (USC) School of Dramatic Arts. In 2018, Lewis spoke to Playbill about taking a break from teaching to take more roles on herself.
“I’ve been teaching in LA at USC,” she said. “And I love it, but when you teach and you teach and you teach and then you don’t recharge the battery, you become a bad teacher who’s a little resentful and a little not all there.”
RELATED: For more celebrity news delivered right to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.
When Lewis stepped back from teaching in 2018, it was because she wanted to return to New York and her theater roots.
“It was actually my husband,” she told Broadway.com. “You know, I teach at USC. I’ve been teaching there for nine years, and I do my television thing there [in Los Angeles], but I was so missing it. And he looked at me one day and said, ‘You got to get out of here … You’re going to be miserable if you don’t.'”
So, Lewis decided to spend some time in New York and “see if it sort of lit [her] back up.” The next thing she knew, she landed a part in the stage adaptation of Anastasia. “It’s a fantastic role,” she said.
Lewis’ husband, who gave her the career-changing advice, is Philip G. Allen, a sound designer who also teaches at USC. He has worked in theater sound design, as well as on TV productions.
RELATED: She Played Gina on Martin. See Tisha Campbell Now at 53.