[41] Her life off the screen and stage was very active. She received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Greek America Foundation, the National Arts Club Medal of Honor, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Anthoula Katsimatides is an actor, writer, producer, and voice-over artist. 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. She later moved to film acting and won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe, among other accolades, for her performance in Moonstruck (1987). "[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. See what he found. ), 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. 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. [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. 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. She was 89. When Rose learns that Loretta has gotten herself engaged to a middle-aged mediocrity shes not in love with, she offers the following advice: Good. Alexia Vassiliou is an award-winning multi-gold and platinum multi-genre conceptual international artist, songwriter, composer, and social activist. The news of the Oscar winner's passing was shared by her brother, Apollo Dukakis, on Facebook.. "My beloved sister . Bonnie Low-Kramen was the personal assistant to the actor Olympia Dukakis for 25 years. Olympia Dukakis's brother Apollo confirmed her death in a Facebook post, noting that the actress had been dealing with health issues. Sally Struthers - All in the Family. I just wanna hit something! Her brother, Apollo, confirmed the news in a Facebook post. She performed in more than 130 stage productions, more than 60 films and in 50 television series. Jackson. MAPLEWOOD, N.J. (AP) 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. Paul Cantelon is an American composer of film scores and contemporary classical music. In Dad (1989), as a woman laid up with a heart attack watching her husband (Jack Lemmon) enjoying a certain freedom, she is wickedly funny, putting a tincture of venom into almost every line. Dukakis again appeared in the miniseries, which was her last television role. Somehow, I wasntsurprised. I rapped on the door and heard her signature alto voice bellow, Its open! Tentatively crossing the threshold, I made my way down a narrow hallway. Originally intending to become a physical therapist, Dukakis turned to acting with work on and off-Broadway in productions such as "The Aspern Papers". I-I don't think I can take this! 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. [38] Planning for a family, they moved out of the city in 1970 to settle in Montclair, New Jersey. "[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. In the early 90s, Paul formed the eclectic band, Wild Colonials, with the singer, Angela McCluskey, recording two albums for Geffen Records and performing with such artists as Joe Cocker, The Kinks, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, George Clinton, Rickie Lee Jones, King Crimson and Ry Cooder. I-I don't think I can take this! According to a Facebook. Her husband,Louis Zorich, was also an actor, best known for his part in the sitcom "Mad About You." This gritty formermill town served as the backdrop for the first nine years of Dukakis life. [10] But her stage work began across the summer of 1961, in productions at the Williamstown Summer Theatre,[11] she continued to perform there every few years, with her last appearance on that stage occurring in 2003, where she played multiple roles in The Chekov Cycle. 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. She was 89 years old. [45] 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. 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Did you encounter any technical issues? [28], In 2011, Dukakis guest-starred on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. She gained a BA in physical therapy at Boston University, later returning to study performing arts for a master of fine arts degree. Returning to Western Massachusetts in 2013 for her last stage performance, she played Mother Courage in Mother Courage and Her Children at Shakespeare & Company, in Lenox, Massachusetts. She majored in physical therapy at Boston University, where she graduated with a BA. [20][21] In another genre entirely, she provided the voice of Grandpa's love interest for The Simpsons episode "The Old Man and the Key" (2002). 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. Another striking stage performance came in an off-Broadway production of Tennessee Williamss 1963 drama The Milk Train Doesnt Stop Here Anymore (2011), as the wealthy, dying gorgon Flora Goforth. 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. . But arguably her best role was in the TV mini-series Armistead Maupins Tales of the City (1993), as Anna Madrigal, the free-spirited, transgender, pot-smoking landlady in 1970s San Francisco. In a 1991 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Dukakis revealed that she enjoyed her new fame and the fans it earned her, and was particularly amused when they shouted her famous lines at her while she was out and about even when it was her "Moonstruck" quote, "Your life is going down the toilet. Olympia Dukakis and Cher hold the Golden Globes they won in January 1988 for their performances in "Moonstruck." Efforts at assimilation continued to evade her. "After many months of failing health she is finally at peace and. And yet, this ethnic commonality did little to ease her entry into the social circles of the neighborhood. She. Transitioning to a professional life centered in New York City, she performed many times in productions in Central Park at the renowned Delacorte Theater. [2], Olympia Dukakis (Greek: ) was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, on June 20, 1931, the daughter of Alexandra "Alec" (ne Christos) and Constantine "Costa" S. Her first experience as a theatre producer was for Opa! Facebook 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. Follow Cognoscenti on Facebook and Twitter. The actress referred to her 1988 win as the year of the Dukakii because it was also the year Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis, her cousin, was the Democratic Partys presidential nominee. In this June 26, 2011 file photo, Actress Olympia Dukakis, a celebrity Grand Marshall for the 41st annual Gay Pride parade, waves to the crowd in San Francisco. With Udon Productions, led by the award-winning Spanish director Toni Comas, she producedcampaigns for companies such as SodaStream and Mr. She was a Founding member and Producing Artistic Director of the Whole Theatre in Montclair, NJ, for 19 years; also a founding member of the Actors Company and the Charles Playhouse in Boston. 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. 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 later developed and produced autobiographical solo shows, What Will People, Think? & Warrior Without A Cause that have garnered many accolades and won, awards off-Broadway. 1972: Ruth Buzzi - Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. Born in South Korea, she has worked as a director, producer, and editor for broadcast networks 'KBS', 'SBS', and 'M-net' since 2005. in a career that spanned more than six decades, actor olympia dukakis appeared in classic stage plays like ibsen's peer gynt, sophocles' electra, and eugene o'neill's long day's journey into night, but it was her performance as cher's sardonic mother, rose castorini, in the 1987 romantic comedy moonstruck that brought her fameand an academy She was bestowed the National Arts Club Medal of Honor and her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was placed in 2013. And then just as quickly, threaded her fingers together as if in prayer. Or her 1989 performance as one of the Steel Magnolias, a fitting title for a woman known for her winsome heart and yet resolute demeanor. Macabre, hilarious and weirdly touching more or less sums up Ms Dukakiss performance, although a host of other adjectives might also be applied to her multihued portrait of a woman who has married and buried four husbands but cannot face the truth when the reaper comes to escort her from lifes banquet, reported a New York Times critic. 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. I wanna hit it hard! Television: Big Driver, Sex & Violence, Forgive Me, Bored to Death, Last of the Blond Bombshells, Sinatra (Golden Globe Nominee), Joan of Arc (Emmy Nominee), Tales of the City, More Tales of the City (Emmy Nominee), Further Tales of the City among more than 40 others. [22] In 2000, she played alongside Ian Holm, Judi Dench, Joan Sims (her final acting performance before her death in 2001),[23] and Romola Garai (her first professional role)[24] in the television film The Last of the Blonde Bombshells. Her adaptability to various ethnicities (Greek, Italian, Jewish, Eastern European, etc. The film, directed by Harry Mavromichalis, features Whoopi Goldberg, Laura Linney, Ed Asner, Lainie Kazan, Armistead Maupin, Austin Pendleton, Diane Ladd and Dukakis' cousin, Governor Michael Dukakis. appreciated. Dukakis is a brand name here in the Bay State. ", It's Boston local news in one concise, fun and informative email. In films, she took on several character roles, making an impression in scores of pictures for more than half a century. In Moonstruck, that delirious 1987 fairy tale of loopy passion, opera and dowdy depressives who learn how to bloom, Dukakis, as Rose the steel-lasagna wife and mother, attempts to counsel her daughter, the widowed Loretta (Cher), to do the right thing. Movie (and TV) fans then discovered what East coast theater-going audiences had uncovered decades before -- Olympia Dukakis was an acting treasure. Her family home was located in The Acre, the largely Greek section of town. The lioness of Lowell. "I never told my parents, but by the time I turned 11, I carried a knife with me everywhere I went.. [5] She contended with pressures within her patriarchal Greek family and around her, "in a neighborhood where ethnic discrimination, particularly against Greeks, was routine. Anne Gardner Twitter Cognoscenti contributorAnneGardneris an Episcopal minister and author of "And So I Walked: Reflections on Chance, Choice, and the Camino de Santiago. Lily Tomlin - Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. Hollands Opus or the trans landlord Anna Madrigal over four installments of Tales of the City, she had the mien of a psychiatrist: a debonair empath with X-ray vision and pouffy white-custard hair, articulating the stubborn truths other characters were bound to resist. [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. Anthoulais thrilled to be an executive producer ofOlympia, a film, about herinspiringmentor. 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. [40], In her 2003 autobiography, Ask Me Again Tomorrow: A Life in Progress, Dukakis describes the challenges she faced as a first-generation Greek-American in an area with anti-Greek ethnic bigotry, violence and discrimination; difficulties with her mother and in other relationships; and battles with substances and chronic illness. 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). [continues sobbing] Clairee : Here! Featuring interviews with Laura Linney, Whoopi Goldberg, Diane Ladd, Lainie Kazan and Armistead Maupin, Olympiaseamlessly blends past and present culminating on the steps of the Dukakis' humble ancestral home in Lesbos, Greece where we see Olympia's life come full circle. She and her late husband shared three children - Christina, Peter, and Stefan. The couple married in 1962 and cofounded The Whole Theatre Company in Montclair, New Jersey, running it from 1971 to 1990, according to IMDB. A dented screen door hung precariously from the hinges of the cottages doorframe. At the same time as she had picked up the Oscar for Moonstruck, her first cousin Michael Dukakis began his unsuccessful quest for the presidency against George HW Bush. She appeared as Dolly Sinatra in the mini-series of Frank Sinatra's life (1992). [25], In 2008, Dukakis directed the world premiere production of Todd Logan's "Botanic Garden" at Victory Gardens Theatre in Chicago, Illinois. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below. He has a degree in music and architecture and holds an MFA in filmmaking from NYU Tisch. 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." 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. It's not even the language! In one scene, she remains hostile until, alone in the hallway, she shrieks: Get that woman out of my house.. 2020 THE SUN, US, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | TERMS OF USE | PRIVACY | YOUR AD CHOICES | SITEMAP, Richard Dreyfuss and Olympia Dukakisin Mr Holland's Opus. 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