Olympia Dukakis - # 263

Olympia Dukakis, Oscar Winner for 'Moonstruck,' Dies at 89

 

She was number 263 on the list.

The veteran stage actress also appeared in 'Steel Magnolias,' 'Mr. Holland's Opus' and as a transgender landlady four times on 'Tales of the City.'

Olympia Dukakis, the dignified actress who received a supporting Oscar for her performance as Cher's nitpicking Brooklyn mother in Moonstruck, died Saturday. She was 89.

Dukakis died in New York, her brother Apollo wrote on Facebook. "After many months of failing health she is finally at peace and with her [husband] Louis."

The late-blooming star also was known for her turn as Clairee Belcher, a woman of fiber and the elegant widowed friend of Ouiser Boudreaux (Shirley MacLaine), in Herbert Ross' Steel Magnolias (1989), and she portrayed a personnel director in Working Girl (1988) and a principal in Mr. Holland's Opus (1995).

Away from the big screen, Dukakis taught drama at NYU for more than 15 years and was a founding member of two regional theaters: The Charles Playhouse in Boston and the Whole Theater in Montclair, New Jersey.

Her husband of 55 years, stage and character actor Louis Zorich (Paul Reiser's father Mad About You), died in January 2018 at age 93.

She was a first cousin of former Massachusetts governor and 1988 U.S. presidential candidate Michael Dukakis.

After years toiling on the stage, Dukakis, then in her mid-fifties, turned heads as the nagging Sicilian wife and mother Rose Castorini in Norman Jewison's Moonstruck (1987). She also won a Golden Globe and top honors from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the National Board of Review for her career-defining performance.

"My daughter was going to college on credit cards when Moonstruck hit," she said in the 2013 documentary Olympia Dukakis: Undefined. "I didn't know about acting, I didn't know about anything."

Cher paid tribute to her movie mom on Twitter:

    Olympia Dukakis Was an Amazing, Academy Award Winning Actress. Olympia Played My Mom In Moonstruck,& Even Though Her Part was

    That Of a Suffering Wife, WeALL The Time.She Would Tell Me How MUCH She Loved Louis,Her”Handsome Talented,Husband”.I Talked To Her 3Wks Ago. Rip Dear One pic.twitter.com/RcCZaeKFmz

 

    — Cher (@cher) May 1, 2021

Dukakis made something of a career playing irritating moms, doing just that opposite Kirstie Alley in the three Look Who's Talking films released in 1989, '90 and '93 and then taking Ted Danson to task in Dad (1989).

"The fun part is that people pass me on the street and yell lines from my movies," she said in a 1991 interview with the Los Angeles Times. "For Moonstruck, they say, 'Your life is going down the toilet!' Or from Dad, they say, 'How much are those pork chops?' They say, 'Do you know who you are?' It's real funny."

In 1986-87, Dukakis starred on Broadway as a Jewish octogenarian (and Marlo Thomas' mother) in Mike Nichols' long-running comedy Social Security. (Jewison saw her on stage in that and then hired her for Moonstruck.)

She also appeared on the big stage in The Aspen Papers, Abraham Cochrane, Who's Who in Hell and in the one-woman show Rose, about a Holocaust survivor.

She revered the great classical roles of the theater, reflected in off-Broadway credits like Electra, Titus Andronicus and Peer Gynt (the last one came opposite Stacy Keach with the New York Shakespeare Festival in Central Park).

Dukakis also won Obie Awards for her work in Bertolt Brecht's A Man's a Man and Christopher Durang's The Marriage of Bette and Boo and starred in The Memorandum and Sam Shepard's Curse of the Starving Class.

Her final New York stage role was as Flora Goforth, the wealthy widow who spends her dying days at her Italian seaside villa with a seductive young man of mystery in Roundabout Theatre Company's 2011 revival of Tennessee Williams' rarely produced play The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore.

A three-time Emmy nominee, Dukakis played the transgender landlady Anna Madrigal on Armistead Maupin's four Tales of the City miniseries/series (the most recent one premiered in June 2019 on Netflix).

In a 2015 interview with The A.V. Club, she said she asked to speak with "a human being who's gone through this" when she arrived to play the character the first time.

"They found someone," Dukakis recalled. "She came, and when she opened the door, she was, like, 6-foot-2, with hands that could wrap around a football, but a soft voice. Lovely breasts. She walks into the room, she sits down, and … she was a sex therapist, and she evidently helps people with these transitions. And I asked her, 'What was it that you wanted so much that made it possible for you to go through this incredible journey?'

"And this is what she said to me: 'All my life, I yearned for the friendship of women.' And I started to cry. I couldn’t help it. I don't know what I expected her to say, but not that. And that I knew. And I totally understood. To have your voice silenced, to not be able to be able to speak and be who you are … Who doesn't know about that? So that’s how I was able to play Anna Madrigal."

Olympia Dukakis was born June 20, 1931, in Lowell, Massachusetts. Her father, a Greek immigrant, launched a drama club to stage the classic Greek plays. After graduating from Boston University, where she was a New England fencing champion — she also was pretty good at basketball, tennis, pingpong and riflery — she worked as a physical therapist to earn money to get her masters in theater arts.

After attaining her degree, Dukakis came to New York in 1958 and taught drama at NYU while pursuing parts. In summer stock, she panicked during her first onstage performance, unable to speak for an entire act.

Her first TV performances came in 1962 on episodes of The Nurses and Dr. Kildare. In Peter Yates' John and Mary (1969), she portrayed Dustin Hoffman's mom, and she was a mother again, this time Joseph Bologna's, in Made for Each Other (1971).

Her body of film work also includes Jules Dassin's The Rehearsal (1974), Death Wish (1974), Rich Kids (1979), The Wanderers (1979), The Idolmaker (1980), The Cemetery Club (1993), Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994) — in a cameo as herself at a chaotic Academy Awards telecast — Mighty Aphrodite (1995), 3 Needles (2005), Whiskey School (2005), Jesus, Mary and Joey (2005), In the Land of Women (2007), Cloudburst (2011) and The Infiltrator (2016).

Dukakis was a regular on the daytime drama Search for Tomorrow in the 1980s — taking the job to make ends meet when her husband was injured in a car accident and sidelined for many months — and had guest-starring stints on many TV series, including The Equalizer and Bored to Death, on which she had a torrid affair with Zach Galifianakis.

She met Zorich, a Chicago native, during an audition for an off-Broadway play. Neither got the part, but they did get each other. He gave her a 98-cent wedding ring that he purchased at Woolworth's, and they got married at City Hall.

"I remember her eyes, she was very sexy, and I said, 'Oh, my God, this woman …," Zorich said in the Undefined documentary. "And she wasn't a shrinking violet; she never was."

Survivors include their children, Christina, Peter and Stefan.Filmography

Film Year             Title       Role       Notes    Ref.

1964      Twice a Man       Young mother                  

1964      Lilith      Patient Uncredited        

1969      Stiletto Mrs. Amato        Uncredited        

1969      John and Mary John's mother                   

1971      Made for Each Other      Mrs. Panimba                   

1973      Sisters   Louise Wilanski Uncredited        

1974      Death Wish         Officer Gemetti                 Listed in opening credits only     

1974      The Rehearsal                                   

1979      The Wanderers Joey's Mom                       

1979      Rich Kids              Lawyer                 

1980      The Idolmaker   Mrs. Vacarri                       

1982      National Lampoon Goes to the Movies   Helena Naxos     Segment: "Success Wanters"     

1985      Walls of Glass    Mary Flanagan                 

1987      Moonstruck        Rose Castorini    Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress

American Comedy Award for Funniest Supporting Female Performer – Motion Picture or TV

Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture

Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress

Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress

National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress

Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Nominated—New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress         

1988      Working Girl       Personnel Director                          

1989      Look Who's Talking          Rosie                    

1989      Steel Magnolias                Clairee Belcher Nominated—American Comedy Award for Funniest Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture

1989      Dad        Bette Tremont                  

1990      In the Spirit         Sue                        

1990      Look Who's Talking Too                 Rosie                    

1992      Over the Hill       Alma Harris                        

1993      The Cemetery Club          Doris Silverman                                

1993      Digger   Bea                       

1993      Look Who's Talking Now               Rosie                    

1994      Dead Badge        Dr. Doris Rice                    

1994      The Naked Gun 33 ⅓: The Final Insult      Herself Uncredited        

1994      I Love Trouble    Jeannie                                

1995      Jeffrey Mrs. Marcangelo                             

1995      Mighty Aphrodite            Jocasta                

1995      Mr. Holland's Opus          Principal Helen Jacobs                   

1996      Mother                 Mrs. Jay                               

1996      Jerusalem            Mrs. Gordon                      

1996      Milk & Money   Goneril Plogg                    

1997      Balkan Island: The Last Story of the Century         Mother                

1997      Picture Perfect Rita Mosley                       

1998      Mafia!   Sophia Cortino                  

1998      Better Living       Nora                     

2000      Brooklyn Sonnet               Helen Manners                

2002      The Intended     Erina                     

2003      The Event            Lila         Grand Jury Award for Outstanding Actress in a Feature Film

Nominated—Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role          

2003      Charlie's War     Charlie                 

2005      The Great New Wonderful           Judy Hillerman Segment: "Judy's Story"               

2005      The Thing About My Folks            Muriel Kleinman                              

2005      3 Needles            Hilde                     

2005      Whiskey School                 Ellen Haywood                 

2005      Jesus, Mary and Joey      Sophia Vitello                   

2006      Away from Her Marian                 

2006      Day on Fire         Dr. Mary Wade                 

2006      Upside Out          Dr. Walker          

2007      In the Land of Women   Phyllis                  

2011      Cloudburst          Stella     Nominated—Seattle International Film Festival Award for Best Actress   

2011      Outliving Emily Emily Hanratty Short film           

2013      Montana Amazon            Ira Dunderhead                Also executive producer              

2013      The Last Keepers              Rosmarie Carver                              

2013      A Little Game     YaYa                     

2015      7 Chinese Brothers          Grandma                            

2015      Emily & Tim        Emily     Segment: "6" or "Attachment"  

2016      The Infiltrator    Aunt Vicky                          

2016      Broken Links       Arlene                  

2018      Change in the Air              Margaret Lemke                              

2019      Olympia               Herself DOC NYC, Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, Cleveland International Film Festival                

2021      Not To Forget    Judge                   

Television Year Title       Role       Notes    Ref.

1962      The Nurses         Ioana Chiriac      Episode: "Frieda"             

1962      Dr. Kildare           Anna Nieves       Episode: "The Legacy"   

1974      Nicky's World     Irene Kaminios Television film

1975      Great Performances       Pauline Episode: "The Seagull"  

1977      The Andros Targets         Marina Angelis Episode: "The Beast of Athens"

1980      FDR: The Final Years                        Television film

1980      Breaking Away                  Episode: "The Cutters"

1982      American Playhouse       Mama Nicola      Episode: "King of America"

1982      One of the Boys                Professor             Episode: "His Cheatin' Heart"     

1982      The Neighborhood          Mrs. St. Paul       Television film  

1983      Search for Tomorrow      Dr. Barbara Moreno        Television series              

1986      The Equalizer     Judge Paula G. Walsh      Episode: "Shades of Darkness"  

1991      Lucky Day            Katherine Campbell         Television film

Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie

1991      The General Motors Playwrights Theater               Laura Cunningham           Episode: "The Last Act Is a Solo"                

1991      Fire in the Dark Emily Miller        Television film  

1992      Sinatra Dolly Sinatra       Television miniseries

4 episodes

Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film

1993      Tales of the City                Anna Madrigal   Television miniseries   6 episodes

Nominated—British Academy Television Award for Best Actress

1995      Young at Heart Rose Garaventi Television film  

1996      Touched by an Angel      Clara      Episode: "A Joyful Noise"             

1997      Heaven Will Wait             Diana     Television film

1997      A Match Made in Heaven             Helen Rosner     Television film  

1998      Scattering Dad   Molly     Television film

1998      The Pentagon Wars         Madam Chairwoman      Television film  

1998      More Tales of the City    Anna Madrigal   Television miniseries

6 episodes

Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie

Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film

Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie  

1998      A Life for a Life Charlotte Kiszko                Television film  

1999      Joan of Arc          Mother Babette                Television miniseries    3 episodes

Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie

2000      The Last of the Blonde Bombshells           Dinah    Television film

2001      And Never Let Her Go    Marguerite Capano         Television film

2001      Ladies and the Champ    Sara Stevens      Television film

2001      Further Tales of the City                Anna Madrigal   Television miniseries

3 episodes         

2001      My Beautiful Son              Esther Lipman    Television film

2002      Guilty Hearts      Amanda Patterson           Television film  

2002      The Simpsons    Zelda (voice)      Episode: "The Old Man and the Key"       

2002      Frasier Caller #3 (voice)                Episode: "Frasier Has Spokane"

2003      Mafia Doctor      Rose      Television film

2003      It's All Relative   Coleen O'Neil     Episode: "Thanks, But No Thanks"

2004      The Librarian: Quest for the Spear            Margie Carsen   Television film

2004–2005          Center of the Universe   Marge Barnett   12 episodes       

2006      Numbers             Charlotte Yates Episode: "Hot Shot"        

2006      The Librarian: Return to King Solomon's Mines    Margie Carsen   Television film

2008      Worst Week       June       Episodes: "The Ring", "The Wedding"

2010–2011          Bored to Death Belinda 4 episodes         

2011      Law & Order: Special Victims Unit             Debby Marsh     Episode: "Pop"

2013      The Christmas Spirit        Gwen Hollander                Television film

2013–2015          Sex & Violence Alex Mandalakis                Television miniseries

Also executive producer   12 episodes

2013–2015          Forgive Me          Novalea                9 episodes         

2013      Mike & Molly     Narrator on TV Episode: "The Princess and the Troll"

2014      F to 7th                Marie    Television series

Episode: "Down to Zero"

2014      Big Driver            Doreen Television film

2016      TripTank               Ma / Caller (voice)           4 episodes         

2019      Tales of the City                Anna Madrigal   Main cast