Dukakis passed away three years after the death of her husband, fellow actor Louis Zorich. Cinematographer Federico Cesca was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. [9], Prior to her film career, Dukakis began a decades-long stage life working in 1961 in productions at the Williamstown Summer Theater, in the northwestern corner of Massachusetts. Beloved screen and stage actress Olympia Dukakis died May 1 at the age of 89. May 1, 2021, 04:36 PM EDT | Updated May 3, 2021. The Oscar-winning actress Olympia Dukakis has died at the age of 89, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Olympia Dukakis, a character actress best known for her Oscar-winning supporting turn in Norman Jewison's " Moonstruck " and for her role as the wealthy widow in " Steel Magnolias ," has died.. Olympia Dukakis, Oscar-Winning 'Moonstruck' Star, Dies At 89. Its been just over a year since the death of Oscar-winning actress Olympia Dukakis. [9][3], Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, The Librarian: Return to King Solomon's Mines, American Comedy Award for Funniest Supporting Female Performer Motion Picture or TV, Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress Motion Picture, Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress, National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress, BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress, American Comedy Award for Funniest Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture, Grand Jury Award for Outstanding Actress in a Feature Film, Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role, Seattle International Film Festival Award for Best Actress, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie, Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress Series, Miniseries or Television Film, British Academy Television Award for Best Actress, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie, Satellite Award for Best Actress Miniseries or Television Film, Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie, "Olympia Dukakis, Oscar Winner for 'Moonstruck,' Dies at 89", "Olympia Dukakis, theater veteran and Oscar-winning 'Moonstruck' actress, dies at 89", "Olympia Dukakis and Memories of Montclair", "Theater Review; In 'Rose,' A Survivor Living on the Other Hand", "Olympia Dukakis, 'Moonstruck' and 'Steel Magnolias' actor, dies aged 89", "Dukakis Stays Grounded After 'Moonstruck' Success", "A Role About Winter for Julie Christie, a Star in Eternal Spring", "A Life for a Life: The True Story of Stefan Kiszko (1998)", "Olympia Dukakis, Oscar-winning star of 'Moonstruck,' dies at 89", "Carry On star Joan Sims dies after long illness", "Romola Garai: An actor's life for me at least for now", "Olympia Dukakis, Oscar-winning 'Moonstruck' actress, dies at 89", "Olympia Dukakis: The newest fan of the Chicago way", "Milk Train, with Dukakis and Anderson, Begins Hartford Stage Run May 15", "Academy Award Winner Premieres Shakespeare Adaptation in Whitefish", "Keck's Exclusives: SVU Secures Oscar Winner Olympia Dukakis", "Olympia's golden moment: Dukakis recalls how Oscar win opened doors for her", "Olympia Dukakis Honored With Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame", "Eleftheromania: A Film that Gives a Voice to Those Who Were Silenced", "How Armistead Maupin's 'Tales of the City' Evolves in Netflix Return", "How Tales of the City Avoided a Trans Casting Controversy", "Oscar Winner, and BU Alum, Olympia Dukakis Dies at 89", "Oscar-winning actress and N.J. theater pioneer Olympia Dukakis dies at 89", "Olympia Dukakis, Oscar-winning 'Moonstruck' star, dies at 89", "Olympia Dukakis remembered: A life in the theater, and then 'Moonstruck' made her famous", "Oh, Goddess! Later roles included Clairee Belcher in the 1989 film Steel Magnolias, in which she encourages a grieving MLynn Eatenton, portrayed by Sally Field, to slap Shirley MacLaines character, saying, Knock her lights out, MLynn!. Dukakis passed away at her New York City home. Steam as well as Mr Comas latest feature film American Falls, currently in post-production. "I love this chaotic, contradictory, loving mess that has been my life.". Fords television credits include the Emmy-nominated 'Frontier House' series for PBS, and the ground-breaking documentary series,'Family Bonds', for HBO. Long a vital, respected thespian of the classic and contemporary stage, this grand lady did not become a household name and sought-after film actress until age 56 when she turned in a glorious, Oscar-winning performance as Cher 's sardonic mother in the romantic comedy Moonstruck (1987). Honored in 2012 as one of Greek Americas 40 Under 40. As Director of Photography,Ryan has shot three feature documentaries as well as numerous commercialsand branded content. Before we talked about her lifeunder Hollywood's glare, we talked about her life under the street lamps of Lowell. In Moonstruck, she turned lines like that (or the even more indelible Whats the matter with you? Olympia practiced as a physical therapist during the polio epidemic. Dukakis's autobiography, Ask Me Again Tomorrow: A Life in Progress, was published in 2003. [29] In 2013, she starred in and executive-produced the 2013 film Montana Amazon, co-starring Haley Joel Osment. She played mom to such leads as Dustin Hoffman in John and Mary (1969), Joseph Bologna in the cult comedy Made for Each Other (1971) and Ray Sharkey in The Idolmaker (1980). Alexia Vassiliou is an award-winning multi-gold and platinum multi-genre conceptual international artist, songwriter, composer, and social activist. But what, exactly, is that? [44] A strong advocate for women's rights and LGBT rights, including same-sex marriage, Dukakis embraced the roles of a trans landlady in Tales of the City,[34] and a butch lesbian in Cloudburst. The first, for her to recite her most famous line from "Moonstruck." Sam has been working in Brooklyn for the last 10 years as an editor, assistant editor, and writer on many documentary feature films and television shows. She held her Oscar high over her head at the ceremony and called out: OK, Michael, lets go!. MAPLEWOOD, N.J. Olympia Dukakis, the veteran stage and screen actress whose flair for maternal roles helped her win an Oscar as Cher's mother in the romantic comedy Moonstruck, has died. She played the role of Debby Marsh, an attorney. He went on to score such films as the award-winning Diving Bell And The Butterfly (2007), Sony Pictures The Other Boleyn Girl (2008), Oliver Stones W (2008), New York, I Love You (2009), Tony Goldwyns Conviction (2010), Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has To Travel (2011), Woody Allen: A Documentary (2012), and most recently Jane Fonda in Five Acts (2018). As Rose says to her unfaithful husband, Cosmo (Vincent Gardenia), in Moonstruck, Your life is not built on nothing. She is quoted as having said, "I recognize that the real pulse of life is transformation, yet I work in a world dominated by men and the things men value, where transformation is not the coinage. I never told my parents, but by the time I turned 11, I carried a knife with me everywhere I went. appreciated. "[6][46], After a period of ill health, Dukakis died under hospice care at her home in Manhattan on May 1, 2021, at the age of 89. My ambition wasnt to win the Oscar, she said after her Moonstruck win. Her Broadway theatre credits include Who's Who in Hell and Social Security. I've always been ready to go first! Paul Cantelon is an American composer of film scores and contemporary classical music. There were no gates, no fences, no security. Her family home was located in The Acre, the largely Greek section of town. But what did it take for her to achieve this success? Sally Struthers - All in the Family. I flew to Los Angeles, rented a car and plugged the address her assistant had given me into my GPS. Although she had a stage career that spanned decades, Dukakis is best known for her portrayal of Rose Castorini, the nosy-but-sensitive Italian mother in the 1987 film Moonstruck, stealing many scenes from Cher, who played her daughter. Olympia herself was a delegate from New Jersey at the 1988 Democratic national convention. In one scene, she remains hostile until, alone in the hallway, she shrieks: Get that woman out of my house.. Given this prism, its easy to understand why the roles for which she is best known initially appealed to this grande dame of film. She scored theater triumphs in "A Man's a Man," for which she won an Off-Broadway Obie Award in 1962; several productions of "The Cherry Orchard" and "Mother Courage"; "Six Characters in Search of an Author"; "The Rose Tattoo"; "The Seagull"; "The Marriage of Bette and Boo" (another Obie Award); and, more notably, her many performances as the title role in "Hecuba." Follow Cognoscenti on Facebook and Twitter. From rebelling against her overbearing Greek mother to starting her own theatre company, Mavromichalis reveals both the public and private aspects of a woman who faced obstacle after obstacle as she learned how to be comfortable in her own skin and live life with blazing courage. MAPLEWOOD, N.J. (AP) Olympia Dukakis, the veteran stage and screen actor whose flair for maternal roles helped her win an Oscar as Cher's mother in the romantic comedy "Moonstruck," has died.. Playing characters like the flinty principal of Mr. Harrys directing and producing credits include Olympia; the award-winning, critically-acclaimed feature documentary on Academy Award-winning actress Olympia Dukakis and Yankee Restraint; a character driven piece that examines the intricacies of a gay relationship spanning decades and tackles issues of love and resentment. I was competitive and rebellious, something my mother was ill-equipped to handle., From there, the familywould move to Somerville, living amongst the French, Irish and Armenian working class. She also adapted such plays as "Mother Courage" and The Trojan Women for her Montclair, New Jersey situated theater company. Feed one more bite of my food to your dogs, old man, and Ill kick you to death, she tells her father-in-law at the dinner table. Stella, the butch lesbian of 2011s "Cloudburst," noted as much for its off-color script as for its tender love story. Laura Linney, left, and Olympia Dukakis in More Tales of the City, 1998. As afternoon arrived, I asked two favors of the legendary actress. Her character was the mother of Loretta Castorini, who was played by Cher, the Best Actress winner that year. The couple married in 1962 and cofounded The Whole Theatre Company in Montclair, New Jersey, running it from 1971 to 1990, according to IMDB. "Olympia married Yugoslav-American actor Louis Zorich in 1962. He began his career in film in the publicity department of 20th Century Fox in New York. Jackson. Olympia Dukakis (June 20, 1931 - May 1, 2021) was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, the daughter of Greek immigrants. She was an Editor onthe pay-it-forward series Returning The Favor (Facebook) with Mike Rowe. Olympia told her truth, loudly and often. The Heartbreaking Death Of Olympia Dukakis. The family has not disclosed an official cause of death. Dukakis is survived by her three children,Christina, Peter and Stefan. (Jeff Chiu/AP) It's been just. She was bestowed the National Arts Club Medal of Honor and her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was placed in 2013. [continues sobbing] Clairee : Here! (Photo: Theo Wargo/Getty Images) Olympia Dukakis, the Emmy- and Academy Award-winning actress hailed for her landmark portrayal of the transgender Anna Madrigal in Tales of the City, died on. Louis died in 2018, and she is survived by their three children, Christina, Stefan and Peter, four grandchildren and her brother, Apollo. The play earned her an Outer Critics Circle Award and Drama Desk Award nomination and she continues to tour the country with it.Olympia was seen on the New York stage in the Roundabout Theatre's production of "The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore" (2011), in San Francisco in A.C.T. She hopscotched from one ethnicity to the next: Italian in Moonstruck, Southern aristocrat in Steel Magnolias, Jewish in films like The Cemetery Club. But that was because of the universal language of which Dukakis was the grandmaster. Dukakis, with that noodgy droll gleam, let you know the answer was both. Her surname is well-known to my fellow Bostonians. [18] The role of a no-nonsense matriarch, Rose Castorini, plays off Cher's Best Actress Award-winning role as daughter Loretta. Andrew Fords recent feature length producing and editing credits include 'The Seventh Fire' (Berlin International Film Festival), 'Down the Shore (Anchor Bay, Starz, starring James Gandolfini and Famke Janssen), 'Killing Kasztner' (Toronto International Film Festival), 'A Walk to Beautiful' (Emmy winner, IDA best documentary feature winner, 5 audience awards), released theatrically and broadcast on Nova, and 'Until the Light Takes Us' (Golden Athena award winner for Best Documentary), focusing on Norwegian black metal music and enjoyed a worldwide theatrical release. He is an associate producer on the documentary feature Yankee Restraint, currently in production. Dukakis is a brand name here in the Bay State. Olympia Dukakis, the veteran stage and screen actress whose flair for maternal roles helped her win an Oscar as Cher's mother in the romantic comedy "Moonstruck," has died. A native of Massachusetts and the daughter of Greek immigrants, Dukakis was the first cousin of former state Gov. [26] That same year she starred in the revival of Tennessee Williams' The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore, opposite Kevin Anderson at the Hartford Stage,[27] and co-adapted and starred in the world-premiere of Another Side of the Island, based on William Shakespeare's The Tempest, at Alpine Theatre Project in Whitefish, Montana. The Crown star opens up about queerness. He has also served 10 years on the Board of Directors of Marvel Entertainment until its sale to Disney in 2009, as well as the boards of FIND (Film Independent) and University of California, Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive and San Franciscos SF FILM. Born in Lowell, Massachusetts, Olympia was the daughter of Constantine Dukakis and Alexandra (nee Christos), both Greek immigrants. In addition to decades in the theater and an award-winning film career, Dukakis also taught drama classes at New York University. A finalist for New Director of the Year at the 2016 shots Awards in London and winner of Best Test Commercial in North America at the 2015 Young Director Award in Cannes, Ryan's commercial direction has also received international acclaim from Porsche, Ciclope, and W3. . "My ambition wasn't to win the Oscar. Pamela Spyrs is a publicist, producer and activist based in Southern California who has accumulated a vast network of artists, filmmakers, designers, environmental game changers, and humanitarian leaders. No, no, I stammered, not of your face. Long a vital, respected thespian of the classic and contemporary stage, this grand lady did not become a household name and sought-after film actress until age 56 when she turned in a glorious, Oscar-winning performance as Cher 's sardonic mother in the romantic comedy Moonstruck (1987). Or the transgendered landlady of "Tales of the City," Anna Madrigal, the characters name an anagram for a man and a woman. This 1993 project came significantly before most actors were willing to take such roles. Olympia Dukakis, the Oscar-winning actress best known for her roles in Moonstruck and Steel Magnolias, has died at the age of 89. [38] Planning for a family, they moved out of the city in 1970 to settle in Montclair, New Jersey. I had a chip on my shoulder so big it was like a tree, she mused. She leaned across the table, looked me dead in the eye and said, Loretta, do you love him? I squeaked out the prescribed response, Ma, I love him awful. She gently shook her head and said, Aw God, thats too bad. And with that she smiled, grabbed my hand and gave it a quick squeeze, demurely signaling the end of our time together. [30] That same year, on May 24, she was honored with the 2,498th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In films, she took on several character roles, making an impression in scores of pictures for more than half a century. In 2014 he was awarded the ARRI-CSC Bahnemann Award for his outstanding student cinematography. Not long after her arrival in New York City, she won an Obie Award for Best Actress in 1963 for her off-Broadway performance in Bertolt Brecht's Man Equals Man. Starred in the Barra Grant play A Mother, A Daughter and A Gun, first at the Helen Hayes Theatre in Nyack, New York, and the off-Broadway at the Dodger Stages, New York, New York. As actress, director, producer and teacher, she still found the time to raise their three young children. From rebelling against her overbearing Greek mother to starting her own theatre company, Mavromichalis reveals both the public and private aspects of a woman who faced obstacle after obstacle as she learned how to be comfortable in her own skin and live life with blazing courage. Olympia Dukakis and Cher hold the Golden Globes they won in January 1988 for their performances in "Moonstruck." She majored in physical therapy at Boston University, where she graduated with a BA. "I never told my parents, but by the time I turned 11, I carried a knife with me everywhere I went.. With a career spanning thirty years, and 45recorded albumin the United States, Europeand Greece,Alexia changed Greek record sales history with her series of gold and platinum albums for CBS-Columbia, Air Music, Polygram, Universal Music, BMG, and Sony Music Internationalin the genres of Pop, Jazz, Improvisation/ Experimental, Worldand Film Music. Pamela has worked with innumerable clients bringing them to the next level and has established a respected reputation in doing so. Academy Award-winning actress and theater icon Olympia Dukakis is well known and beloved to viewers across America for her performances on stage and in classic films like, In crafting his revealing bio-documentary. Most recently alongsideOlympia,Sam editedParkland Risinganaward-winning documentary feature film about the Stoneman Douglas shootings which has been touring the festival circuit around the country. Butterfly (2007), Sony Pictures The Other Boleyn Girl (2008), Oliver Stones W (2008), New York, I Love You (2009), Tony Goldwyns Conviction (2010), Diana Vreeland: The Eye. The rough-and-tumble atmosphereof her earliest years acted as a crucible for Dukakis. She performed in over 130 productions on and off-Broadway and regionally at theatres including the Public Theater, A.C.T., Shakespeare in the Park, Shakespeare & Co., and the Williamstown Theatre Festival, where she also served as Associate Director. A member of SAG-AFTRA and AEA, a true artist at heart, her love for performing on-screen ismatched by her passion for theatre work. [19], She took on powerful roles on the small screen as well. 2. She reappeared in the sequels, More Tales of the City (1998), Further Tales of the City (2001) and again under the title of Tales of the City (2019). Twenty-two years after earning her first Obie, she won her second in 1985, a Ensemble Performance Award, for playing Soot Hudlocke in The Marriage of Bette and Boo. Olympia Dukakis, left, with Cher in Moonstruck. Brooke Lefferts. The New York-based couple went on to co-found The Whole Theatre Company in Montclair, New Jersey, and ran the company for 19 years (1971-1990). Harry has dual citizenship from the United States and Cyprus. Featuring interviews with Laura Linney, Whoopi Goldberg, Diane Ladd, Lainie Kazan and Armistead Maupin, "I love this chaotic, contradictory, loving mess that has been my life. Olympia Dukakis won an Oscar for her performance in Moonstruck Credit: Getty Seven best Olympia Dukakis quotes "The year of the Dukakii." (Dukakis was referring to 1988, when she won an Oscar and when cousin Michael Dukakis earned the Democratic nomination for president). Since graduating from the New York Film Academy in 2011, she collaborated with numerous filmmakers in New York City for short films, web-series, documentary, and feature films. Dukakis rose to fame starring in such hits as Moonstruck and Steel Magnolias. This was underlined by Cloudburst (2011), a road movie in which Dukakis, as a self-styled old butch dyke, and her companion of 31 years (Brenda Fricker), take off from the US to Canada to get married. Walter Mitty (2013) and 20th Century Fox in the films Epic (2013), Rio 2 (2014) and Ferdinand (2017). As a girl, she dominated in sports and was a three-time New England fencing champion. She gained a BA in physical therapy at Boston University, later returning to study performing arts for a master of fine arts degree. "[6], Dukakis was an alumna of Arlington High School in Arlington, Massachusetts,[7] and was educated at Boston University where she majored in physical therapy, earning a BA, which she made use of when treating patients with polio during the height of the epidemic. His work has screened at numerous film festivals including Venice, Cannes, Sundance, and Berlin. I just wanna hit something! After working professionally as a modern dancer and choreographer he went back to school and received his Masters in Film Directing from New York University. I always thought people's hands were the best barometer of the kind of life they had led. Her shoulders relaxed and she motioned for me to come alongside her. Candice Swanepoel shows off tangled blue and orange bikini from her range, Kerry Katona insists she's not 'bragging' about her new 2m house & a year ago she sold her jukebox to pay her rent, Teen Mom Jenelle Evans calls daughter Ensley, 4, 'sassy' after husband David 'threatened to smack her in the mouth', Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond's daughter Alex gets married as star's husband attends wedding with neck brace after crash, Inside Sheridan Smith's rainforest-themed party for her son Billy's first birthday, Ellie Goulding reveals she's given birth to her first baby with husband Caspar Jopling, Teen Mom fans shocked by Farrah Abraham's 'unrecognizable face' as star takes self-defense class with daughter Sophia. Olympia Dukakis, actor and director, born 20 June 1931; died 1 May 2021, American stage and screen actor who won an Oscar for her role in the 1987 film Moonstruck, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. The actress made her Broadway debut in The Aspern Papers in 1962, and the stage had been her first love. Looking up from her plate of scrambled eggs she purred, Want some, darlin'?. In crafting his revealing bio-documentary Olympia, Greek American filmmaker Harry Mavromichalis had unprecedented access to Olympia, her family, and the story of her life. 2023 Variety Media, LLC. Both would go on to win Academy Awards later that year. Sid Ganis co-founded OUT OF THE BLUE ENTERTAINMENT with partner (and wife) Nancy Hult Ganis, in 1996 following a distinguished career as an executive at major studios including Sony Pictures, Lucasfilm, Warner Bros., Paramount, and Columbia Pictures. She also became a master instructor at New York University for fourteen years. She also adapted such plays as "Mother Courage" and "The Trojan Women" for the theater company. Movie (and TV) fans then discovered what East coast theater-going audiences had uncovered decades before -- Olympia Dukakis was an acting treasure. "My beloved sister, Olympia Dukakis, passed away this morning in New York City, he wrote. In 1999, she premiered a one-woman play "Rose," at the National Theatre in London and subsequently on Broadway in 2000. kitchen in 1989. [31], Dukakis became an adherent of Goddess worship, a feminist form of modern Paganism, during a production of The Trojan Women in 1982. This work is among more than 40 other series, mini-series and guest starring roles she accumulated over her long career. She was sitting at the table dressed in a t-shirt and striped pajama bottoms, hair still wet from a quick dash through the shower. Shirley MacLaine, left, with Olympia Dukakis in Steel Magnolias, 1989. I have a willingness to engage that is rooted in being Greek, a willingness to take on a fight. Voiced with her signature gravelly timbre, Olympia told her truth, loudly and often. She has been successful placing clients in the media such as, THE TALK (CBS), Home & Family (Hallmark Channel), KTLA 5 Morning News, Good Day LA, Daily Variety, Los Angeles Times, OC Register, LA Weekly, LA Magazine, amongst others. During the polio epidemic laura Linney, left, with that noodgy droll gleam, let know... Away at her New York City, he wrote [ 19 ], she starred and..., has died at the ceremony and called out: OK,,. Acre, the Best actress award-winning role as daughter Loretta recite her most line... Eye and said, Aw God, thats too bad because of legendary... Drama classes at New York City home 1970 to settle in Montclair, New Jersey at the of... Her assistant had given me into my GPS not of Your face of Lowell after..., fellow actor Louis Zorich both Greek immigrants, Dukakis also taught drama classes at York. 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