RIP Olympia Dukakis, dead at 89 - stage actress and director who came to films relatively late, had her “break-through” at age 56 in Moonstruck (1987) for which she won Best Supporting Actress
- when director Norman Jewison took her to the premiere, he told her she would win an oscar for it; she said to the effect, what, for playing a little Italian lady in a little Italian movie?
- (Cher also thought the movie would be a dud*, and a detriment to her acting career; she won Best Actress)
- fun fact: Dukakis was 15 years older than Cher, who played her daughter
- * Moonstruck was a huge financial success, making more than $80 million on a $15 million budget, and was nominated for Best Picture (it lost to The Last Emperor)
- oh yeah, she was in Death Wish (1974); she’s the cop in the briefing who expresses disbelief when Moonstruck co-star Vincent Ochoa (there her husband, here the investigating detective) outlines the police investigative steps; it was her only line; she disliked the movie and the director, but said it was one day’s work and she could take the money, go home, and say (f— you, and the horse you rode in on)
RIP Olympia
RIP Olympia Dukakis.
I really enjoyed the movie Moonstruck.
She was a cousin to Michael Dukakis.