Bitty Schram

Schram is from Mountainside, New Jersey, and she attended Jonathan Dayton High School, where she was a competitive athlete.^[1] She studied at the University of Maryland on a tennis scholarship and graduated with a degree in advertising design. Bitty was a nickname she decided to use when she became an actress.^[2] Schram is Jewish.^[3][4]

The role that initially brought her note was that of Evelyn Gardner, the Rockford Peaches' right fielder, in the Penny Marshall film A League of Their Own. Her character was the recipient of the classic admonition by manager Jimmy Dugan (Tom Hanks), "There's no crying in baseball!"^[5] Her character was also the mother of the obnoxious little boy, Stilwell.

During 1993–1995, she appeared in the original Broadway production of Neil Simon's Laughter on the 23rd Floor.^[6]

In 2002, Schram landed a major role opposite Tony Shalhoub on the USA Network series Monk. She was released midway through the show's third season. The network stated it had "decided to go in a different creative direction with some of its characters." The Hollywood Reporter reported that "some members of the series' supporting cast, including Schram, Ted Levine and Jason Gray-Stanford, attempted to renegotiate the terms of their contract[s]" and cited Schram's departure as evidence of the industry's "hard line against raise-seeking actors who aren't absolutely essential to the show." Levine and Gray-Stanford remained on the show.^[7] Natalie Teeger, played by Traylor Howard, replaced Schram's character as Monk's assistant. Schram made a guest appearance on one episode of the show's eighth and final season, titled "Mr. Monk and Sharona".^[8]