Born on exactly the same date as James Tolkan (of "Amityville Horror", "Back to the Future", "Masters of the Universe", and "Top Gun" fame). She made her Broadway debut as an understudy in "The Aspern Papers" at age 30, followed by very short runs in the plays "Abraham Cochrane" (1964) and "Who's Who in Hell" (1974). She performed in over 130 stage productions, over 60 films and in 50 television series. [14] She believed him after receiving the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. We try to be happy by staying in the status quo. She was 89. She was seen again at Shakespeare & Co. in the summer of 2013 as the title role in "Mother Courage and Her Children. She practiced as a physical therapist during the polio epidemic. He's actually more of a feminist than I am. Most of us are not real eager to grow, myself included. Dukakis's autobiography, Ask Me Again Tomorrow: A Life in Progress, was published in 2003. Jackson. As actress, director, producer and teacher, she still found the time to raise their three young children. She played the role of Debby Marsh, an attorney. She was 89. Cher is remembering her beloved onscreen mother Olympia Dukakis. [22][23], In 2018, Olympia,[2] an American documentary film about her life and career, had its festival premiere at DOC NYC. [21] The following year, Dukakis reprised the role of Anna Madrigal, which she had first played in 1993, in a Netflix update of Armistead Maupin's Tales of The City. Olympia Dukakis, Oscar-Winning 'Moonstruck' Star, Dies At 89 Olympia Dukakis, who won an Oscar playing Cher's mother in the romantic comedy Moonstruck, has died. Her father trained as a … Former Montclair resident and Oscar-winning actor Olympia Dukakis died Saturday in her New York City home, her brother Apollo announced on Facebook. The movie, directed by Valerio Zanoli, stars Karen Grassle and five Academy Award winners: Olympia Dukakis, Cloris Leachman, Louis Gossett Jr., Tatum O’Neal, and George Chakiris. I think it's because most of us talk one way and live another. [citation needed], She took on powerful roles on the small screen as well. She was 89 years old. Olympia Dukakis was born on June 20, 1931, in Lowell, Massachusetts, the daughter of Greek immigrants, Alexandra (Christos), from the Peloponnese, and Constantine S. Dukakis, from Anatolia. Both are master interpreters of Chekhovian plays -- one of their more recent acting collaborations was in "The Chekhov Cycle" in 2003.Making an inauspicious debut in a bit role as a mental patient in Lilith (1964), she tended to gravitate toward off-the-wall films with various offshoots of the ethnic mother. [citation needed], In 1962, Dukakis married fellow Manhattan stage actor Louis Zorich. 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. In 1999, she premiered a one-woman play "Rose," at the National Theatre in London and subsequently on Broadway in 2000. Publicity Listings Olympia Dukakis (June 20, 1931 – May 1, 2021) was an American actress, director, producer, teacher and activist. Olympia Dukakis, Oscar-winning star of Moonstruck, dies at 89. She majored in physical therapy at Boston University, where she graduated with a BA. [18] 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, 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. Oscar-winning actress Olympia Dukakis dies at 89 Olympia Dukakis attends a screening of Lifetime's "Big Driver" on Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2014, In New York. [19] In 2013, she starred in and executive-produced the 2013 film Montana Amazon, co-starring Haley Joel Osment. Dukakis, who starred in Moonstruck and Steel Magnolias, died at her home in New York City on Saturday morning. Most Popular #56960. Olympia Dukakis, the Oscar-winning actress from Tales of the City, Moonstruck, and Steel Magnolias, as well as many stage productions on and off Broadway, has … She was 89. She was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Live Theater at 6233 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on May 24, 2013. Her Broadway theatre credits include Who's Who in Hell and Social Security. 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. 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). I don't think you have to know a lot to have a spiritual life, but knowing gives life richness. 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." Was the 95th actress to receive an Academy Award; she won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for, Is one of 25 actresses to have won an Academy Award for their performance in a comedy; hers being for, Gave birth to her 1st child at age 33, a daughter, Gave birth to her 2nd child at age 37, a son, Gave birth to her 3rd child at age 39, a son. Across that span, productions included the works of Euripides, Eugene O'Neill, Samuel Beckett, Tennessee Williams, Edward Albee, and Lanford Wilson. Olympia Dukakis, an Oscar-winning actress for her role in “Moonstruck,” died Saturday in New York City. She also became a master instructor at New York University for fourteen years. Her agent says Dukakis died Saturday morning in her home in New York … ), as well her chameleon-like versatility in everything from cutting edge comedy to stark tragedy, kept her in high demand for 30 years as one of Hollywood's topnotch character players.Olympia Dukakis was born on June 20, 1931, in Lowell, Massachusetts, the daughter of Greek immigrants, Alexandra (Christos), from the Peloponnese, and Constantine S. Dukakis, from Anatolia. You don't stay married for thirty-nine years because of sex or even because of love, but because your partner is a real friend to you, because they respect and regard you. 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 married Yugoslav-American actor Louis Zorich in 1962. 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). But if we're not willing to be honest with ourselves about what we feel, we don't evolve. She received the National Arts Club Medal of Honor. That anyone would even write something like that, something that's worth doing, would be a miracle! “Oympia Dukakis was … Best known as a screen actress, she started her career in theater. She was 89. Attended and graduated from Arlington High School in Arlington, Massachusetts. [16][17] In another genre entirely, she provided the voice of Grandpa's love interest for The Simpsons episode "The Old Man and the Key" (2002). [1] In 2020, a feature-length documentary about her life, titled Olympia, was released theatrically in the United States. She also adapted such plays as "Mother Courage" and "The Trojan Women" for the theater company. In 1998, she starred as Charlotte Kiszko in the British TV drama A Life for a Life: The True Story of Stefan Kiszko (ITV), based on the actual story of a man wrongfully imprisoned for seventeen years for the murder of a child, Lesley Molseed, after police suppressed evidence of his innocence. In 1963, Dukakis' early life Off-Broadway was rewarded with an Obie Award for Distinguished Performance, as Widow Leocadia Begbick in Man Equals Man (a.k.a., A Man's A Man). 's production of "Vigil" (2011) and as "Prospera" in "The Tempest" (2012) at Shakespeare & Co. She has performed in over 130 productions Off-Broadway and regionally at theaters including the Public Theatre, A.C.T., Shakespeare in the Park, Shakespeare & Co., and the Williamstown Summer Theatre Festival, where she also served as Associate Director. She was 89. The Academy Award win for Best Supporting Actress was the last of a stream of awards she earned for that part, including the Los Angeles Film Critics, Golden Globe and American Comedy awards.From then on, silver-haired Olympia was frequently first in line for a number of cream-of-the-crop matron roles: Steel Magnolias (1989), Dad (1989), Look Who's Talking (1989), The Cemetery Club (1993), Mr. Holland's Opus (1995) and Mother (1995).On TV, she received high praise for her work especially for her sympathetic trans-gendered landlady Anna Madrigal in the acclaimed miniseries Tales of the City (1993) and its sequels More Tales of the City (1998) (Emmy Nominee) and Further Tales of the City (2001). [citation needed], In 2021, Dukakis appears in the film Not To Forget, which aims to raise awareness and funds for the fight against Alzheimer's disease. [24] Planning for a family, they moved out of the city in 1970 to settle in Montclair, New Jersey. [25] She was a figure on the lecture circuit discussing topics such as women living with chronic illness, life in the theater, the environment, and feminism. 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. Underwent a nose job in 1949 to remove a bump at the bridge of her nose. Olympia Dukakis, an Oscar-winning actress for her role in "Moonstruck," died Saturday in New York City. The film Cloudburst (2011), in which she shared a co-lead with Brenda Fricker, became a critical and audience darling, winning a multitude of "Best Film" awards and several "Best Actress" honors (Seattle, San Diego) at various film festivals.An ardent liberal and Democrat, she was the cousin of 1988 presidential nominee Michael Dukakis. Olympia Dukakis, an Oscar-winning actress for her role in "Moonstruck," died in New York City at 89 years old. Long a vital, respected lady 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 perf as Cher 's sardonic mother in the romantic comedy Moonstruck (1987). She was also a figure on the lecture circuit covering topics as widespread as life in the theater to feminism, Alzheimer's, diabetes, and osteoporosis.A hardcore New Yorker, she resided there following the death of her husband in 2018, and until her death in May 2021. They had four grandchildren. In the post, he revealed that the 89-year-old Dukakis … I sometimes truly despair at ever being meaningfully altered and affected by the things I claim are so important to me. She was 89-years-old. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Her brother, Apollo Dukakis, announced … It's not even the language! (Dia Dipasupil/WireImage) May 01, 2021 at … She was additionally seen in episodes of Bored to Death (2009), and TV movies The Last of the Blonde Bombshells (2000) (Judi Dench), Sinatra (1992) (Golden Globe Nominee), and The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999) (Emmy Nominee). A good portion of her successes was launched within the walls of her own theater company, which encouraged the birth of new and untried plays.Olympia's prolific stage directing credits include many of the classics: "Orpheus Descending," "The House of Bernarda Alba," "Uncle Vanya," and "A Touch of the Poet," as well as the more contemporary ("One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and "Kennedy's Children"). [8], 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. Moreover, she was a strong advocate of women's rights and environmental causes. [3][1] She had a brother named Apollo, six years her junior. [citation needed], With her husband, Louis Zorich, and with other acting couples, she co-founded the Whole Theater Company. Birthday. She later moved to film acting and won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe, among other accolades, for her performance in Moonstruck (1987). Myself included. She appeared in Martin Sherman's one-woman play, Rose, entirely a monologue about a woman who survived the Warsaw Ghetto, in London and then on Broadway. Stories about the ongoing dramas in our lives as we age are not being told because women find it difficult to be honest about what's going on - about, for example, our heightened sexuality as we age or about living in a society that only values youth. It was there they raised their three children: Christina, Peter and Stefan. "[5][26], After a period of ill health, Dukakis died under hospice care at her home in Manhattan on May 1, 2021, a month and a half before her 90th birthday. Olympia Dukakis, Hollywood’s favorite late bloomer who won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in “Moonstruck” — has died at the age of 89. It was released theatrically in the United States on July 9, 2020, and on VOD March 23, 2021. She taught acting for 15 years at NYU and gave master classes for professional theatre universities, colleges and companies across the country. Oscar-winning actress Olympia Dukakis died at the age of 89 at her home in New York City on Saturday morning. She also played the role of Anna Madrigal in the Tales of the City television mini-series, which garnered her an Emmy Award nomination, and appeared on Search for Tomorrow as Dr. Barbara Moreno (1983), who romanced Stu Bergman. Olympia Dukakis is an 86 year old first generation Greek American actress. She majored in physical therapy at Boston University, where she graduated with a BA. Olympia Dukakis, who won the 1988 Oscar for best supporting actress for her role as Cher’s mother in “Moonstruck,” has died at age 89. Dukakis’ brother Apollo confirmed her passing on Facebook, writing, “My beloved sister, Olympia Dukakis, passed away this morning in New York City. [citation needed], For 10 years she studied with Indian mentor Srimata Gayatri Devi in the Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy. [2], Olympia Dukakis was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, on June 20, 1931, the daughter of Alexandra "Alec" (née Christos) (1898–1994) and Constantine "Costa" S. Dukakis (1899–1975). [citation needed], In 2011, Dukakis guest-starred on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. I think we're socialized out of being women, and then we have to find our way back to it. 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. [citation needed], Dukakis appeared in a number of films, including Steel Magnolias, Mr. Holland's Opus, Jane Austen's Mafia!, The Thing About My Folks and Moonstruck, for which she won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. [5], Dukakis was an alumna of Arlington High School in Arlington, Massachusetts,[6] 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 epidemic. So I constantly play women who are damaged and out of touch, who are seeking without knowing, or knowing without the skills to transform their lives. When my children were born, I didn't have them baptized because I felt baptism was about erasing Original Sin - something the Church said children got from their mother - and I absolutely refused to believe women carry Original Sin. 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. [7] She later returned to B.U. 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. [citation needed], In 2008, Dukakis directed the world premiere production of Todd Logan's "Botanic Garden" at Victory Gardens Theatre in Chicago, Illinois. (Andy Kropa /Invision/AP) Several recurring TV roles also came her way with Center of the Universe (2004), Bored to Death (2009), Sex & Violence (2013), Forgive Me (2013), Switch (2018) and one last return to her popular Anna Madrigal role with the series sequel Tales of the City (2019).The septuagenarian hardly slowed down and continued strongly into the millennium with top supporting film credits including The Intended (2002), The Event (2003), the title role in the mystery Charlie's War (2003), The Thing About My Folks (2005), Jesus, Mary and Joey (2005), Away from Her (2006), Day on Fire (2006), In the Land of Women (2007), The Last Keepers (2013), A Little Game (2014), 7 Chinese Brothers (2015), The Infiltrator (2016), Broken Links (2016) and Change in the Air (2018). The fear of not being accepted, of being different, of not having a man, all make it hard for a woman to do what she really believes is right for her. Grandmother of Isabella, Sofia, Luka and Erlinda. Movie (and TV) fans then discovered what East coast theater-going audiences had uncovered decades before -- Olympia Dukakis was an acting treasure. Olympia Dukakis was born on June 20, 1931 in Lowell, Massachusetts, USA, to Alexandra and Constantine S. Dukakis. “RIP to my old Montclair neighbor, beautiful artist and co-founder of the Whole Theater company, Olympia Dukakis,” actor Alex Winter tweeted. Olympia published her best-selling autobiography "Ask Me Again Tomorrow: A Life in Progress" in 2003, an introspective chronicle full of her trademark candor and wry humor. She appeared as Dolly Sinatra in the mini-series of Frank Sinatra's life (1992). View agent, publicist, legal and company contact details on IMDbPro, Our Favorite Movies and TV Shows for Valentine's Day, Favourite United States actresses I would love to meet in no order. Olympia Dukakis has passed away at the age of 89. My husband is a fall-away Catholic, but with a vengeance. The 89-year-old … I do find it easier to pray to a female Presence or an androgynous Presence. Interestingly, it was her scene-stealing work on Broadway in the comedy "Social Security" (1986) that caught director Norman Jewison's eye and earned her the Moonstruck (1987) movie role. Over the duration of their marriage, she and her husband have experienced shared successes, appearing together in "Long Day's Journey Into Night," "Camino Real, "The Three Sisters" and "The Seagull," among many others. 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. The honors compounded as she collected the Los Angeles and New York Film Critics Awards, all in recognition of her talent, some acting improvised, as she delivered a serious while hilarious performance. God is not something I think about but something I experience as an energy, a Presence. [citation needed], Moonstruck (1987) was directed by Norman Jewison who predicted Dukakis would receive honors for the role. 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,[23] and a butch lesbian in Cloudburst. I think we have to be careful about what we label as a prerequisite for spirituality. The rest of us are still trying to find ways to live in the world with spiritual values. She was 89 years old. We've learned certain skills, we've learned to prevail somewhat, but we've not made it over the mountain. 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 … Truly walk the talk as Dolly Sinatra in the world with spiritual values as the title in. 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