Whoopi Goldberg for Public Service. Goldberg serves on the national council advisory board of the National Museum of American Illustration. Goldberg has been married three times — in 1973 to Alvin Martin (divorced in 1979, one daughter); on September 1, 1986 to cinematographer David Claessen (divorced in 1988); and on October 1, 1994 to the union organizer Lyle Trachtenberg (divorced in 1995). She was romantically linked with actors Frank Langella, Timothy Dalton, and Ted Danson, who controversially appeared in blackface during her 1993 Friars Club roast. She has stated that she has no plans to marry again, commenting "Some people are not
Whoopi Goldberg eye of director Steven Spielberg, who cast her in the lead role of "The Color Purple", based on the novel by Alice Walker. "The Color Purple" was released in late 1985 and was a critical and commercial success. It was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, including a nomination for Goldberg as Best Actress. Goldberg starred in Penny Marshall's directorial debut "Jumpin' Jack Flash" (1986) and began a relationship with David Claessen, a director of photography on the set; the couple married later that year. The film was a modest success, and during the next two years, three additional motion pictures