Olympia Dukakis | |
|---|---|
 Dukakis in 2019 | |
| Born | (1931-06-20)June 20, 1931 Lowell, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | May 1, 2021(2021-05-01) (aged 89) New York City, U.S. |
| Education | Boston University (BA,MFA) |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1961–2021 |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Relatives | Michael Dukakis (cousin) |
Olympia Dukakis (June 20, 1931 – May 1, 2021) was an American actress. She performed in more than 130 stage productions, in some 60 films, and in approximately 50 television series. Best known as a screen actress, she started her career in theater. Not long after her arrival in New York City, she won anObie Award forBest Actress in 1963 for heroff-Broadway performance inBertolt Brecht'sMan Equals Man.
She later moved to film acting and won anAcademy Award and aGolden Globe, among other accolades, for her performance inMoonstruck (1987). She received another Golden Globe nomination forSinatra (1992) andEmmy Award nominations forLucky Day (1991),More Tales of the City (1998) andJoan of Arc (1999). Dukakis's autobiography,Ask Me Again Tomorrow: A Life in Progress, was published in 2003.[1] In 2018, a feature-length documentary about her life, titledOlympia, was released theatrically in the United States.[2]
Olympia Dukakis (Greek:Ολυμπία Δουκάκη) was born inLowell, Massachusetts, on June 20, 1931, the daughter of Alexandra "Alec" (née Christou) and Constantine "Costas" S. Dukakis.[3] Her parents were Greek immigrants; her father arefugee fromAnatolia, and her mother an immigrant from thePeloponnese.[4][1] She had a brother, Apollo, six years her junior. Her cousin was formerMassachusetts governor and1988 U.S. presidential nomineeMichael Dukakis. As a girl, she was significantly involved in sports and was a three-time New Englandfencing champion.[5] She contended with pressures within her patriarchal Greek family and around her, "in a neighborhood where ethnic discrimination,particularly against Greeks, was routine."[6]
Dukakis was analumna ofArlington High School,[7] and was educated atBoston University where she majored inphysical therapy, earning aBA, of which she made use when treating patients withpolio during the height of theepidemic.[8] She later returned to BU and earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in performing arts.[9]
Prior to appearing in films, Dukakis began a decades-long stage life. She started in productions at theWilliamstown Theatre Festival inWilliamstown, Massachusetts.[10]
By 1963, she had begun her career on screen. Transitioning to a professional life centered inNew York City, she performed many times in productions inCentral Park at the renownedDelacorte Theater. Returning toWestern Massachusetts in 2013 for her last stage performance, she played Mother Courage inMother Courage and Her Children at Shakespeare & Company, inLenox, Massachusetts.[11]
In 1963, Dukakis's earlyOff-Broadway presence was rewarded with anObie Award for Distinguished Performance, as Widow Leocadia Begbick inMan Equals Man (a.k.a.,A Man's A Man).[12] She continued to perform there every few years, with her last appearance on that stage occurring in 2003, where she played multiple roles inThe Chekov Cycle.
In 1973, along with her husband,Louis Zorich, and with other acting couples, she co-founded the Whole Theater Company. The company's first play wasOur Town. With Dukakis as artistic director, the theater rolled out five productions per season for almost two decades. Across that span, productions included works byEuripides,Eugene O'Neill,Samuel Beckett,Tennessee Williams,Edward Albee, andLanford Wilson. Among the actors performing with Dukakis and her husband wereJosé Ferrer,Colleen Dewhurst,Blythe Danner, andSamuel L. Jackson.[13]
Dukakis's stage directing credits include many classics, such asOrpheus Descending,The House of Bernarda Alba,Uncle Vanya, andA Touch of the Poet, as well as more contemporary works, such asOne Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest andKennedy's Children.
She also adapted plays such as "Mother Courage" andThe Trojan Women for herMontclair, New Jersey-situated theater company. HerBroadway theatre credits includeWho's Who in Hell andSocial Security. She appeared inMartin Sherman's one-woman play,Rose, entirely a monologue about a woman who survived theWarsaw Ghetto, in London and then on Broadway.[14][15] For the role, she won the 2000Outer Critics Circle Awards for Outstanding Solo Performance. Twenty-two years after earning her first Obie, she won her second in 1985, an Ensemble Performance Award, for playing Soot Hudlocke inThe Marriage of Bette and Boo.[3]
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Dukakis' first appearance on screen was inavant-garde film creatorGregory J. Markopoulos' 1963 filmTwice a Man, in which she plays the role of the protagonist's mother whom he meets as a young woman.[16]
Dukakis appeared in a number of films, includingSteel Magnolias,Mr. Holland's Opus,Jane Austen's Mafia!,The Thing About My Folks andMoonstruck, for which she won anOscar forBest Supporting Actress.
She also played the role of Anna Madrigal in theTales of the Citytelevisionmini-series, which garnered her anEmmy Award nomination, and appeared onSearch for Tomorrow as Dr. Barbara Moreno (1983), who romancedStu Bergman. She appeared asDolly Sinatra in the mini-series ofFrank Sinatra's life (1992).[17]
Moonstruck (1987) was directed byNorman Jewison who predicted Dukakis would receive honors for the role.[18] She believed him after receiving theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress. In addition to her Oscar, she took theGolden Globe in the same category. 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.[19] Her role of the no-nonsense matriarch, Rose Castorini, plays offCher'sBest Actress Award-winning role as daughter Loretta.
She was nominated for the Canadian Academy Award forThe Event (2003) and in the middle of the first decade of the 21st century, her roles included3 Needles,The Librarian: Return to King Solomon's Mines,In the Land of Women, andAway From Her, the 2006 film which cast her alongsideGordon Pinsent as the spouses of twoAlzheimer's patients.[20]
She took on significant work on the small screen as well. In 1998, she starred as Charlotte Kiszko in theBritish TV dramaA Life for a Life: The True Story ofStefan Kiszko(ITV), based on the actual story of a man wrongfully imprisoned for seventeen years for themurder of a child, Lesley Molseed, after police suppressed evidence of his innocence.[21][22]
In another genre entirely, she provided the voice of Grandpa's love interest forThe Simpsons episode "The Old Man and the Key" (2002).[23]
In 2000, she played alongsideIan Holm,Judi Dench,Joan Sims (her final acting performance before her death in 2001),[24] andRomola Garai (her first professional role)[25] in thetelevision filmThe Last of the Blonde Bombshells.[26]
In 2008, Dukakis directed the world premiere production of Todd Logan'sBotanic Garden at Victory Gardens Theatre inChicago,Illinois.[27] The same year, she starred in the revival ofTennessee Williams'The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore, oppositeKevin Anderson at the Hartford Stage,[28] and co-adapted and starred in the world-premiere ofAnother Side of the Island, based onWilliam Shakespeare'sThe Tempest, atAlpine Theatre Project inWhitefish, Montana.[29]
In 2011, Dukakis guest-starred onLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit, as attorney Debby Marsh.[30] In 2013, she starred in and executive-produced the 2013 filmMontana Amazon, co-starringHaley Joel Osment.[31] The same year, on May 24, she was honored with the 2,498th star on theHollywood Walk of Fame.[32]
In 2018, Dukakis starred inEleftheromania, which follows anAuschwitz survivor as she recites a true story about a group from theAuschwitz-Birkenau death camp.[33] The following year, Dukakis reprised the role of Anna Madrigal, which she had first played in 1993, in aNetflix update ofArmistead Maupin'sTales of The City.[34][35]
In 2018,Olympia, an American documentary film about her life and career, had its festival premiere at DOC NYC. The film, directed by Harry Mavromichalis, featuresWhoopi Goldberg,Laura Linney,Ed Asner,Lainie Kazan,Armistead Maupin,Austin Pendleton,Diane Ladd and Dukakis's cousin, GovernorMichael Dukakis.[36] It was released theatrically in the United States in July 2020.[37]
Dukakis's final performance is as a judge in the 2021 filmNot to Forget.[38]
In 1962, Dukakis married fellow Manhattan stage actorLouis Zorich.[39] Planning for a family, they moved out of the city in 1970 to settle inMontclair, New Jersey.[40] It was there that they raised their three children: Christina, Peter, and Stefan. They had four grandchildren.[41]
In her 2003autobiography,Ask Me Again Tomorrow: A Life in Progress, Dukakis describes the challenges she faced as a second-generationGreek-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.[42]
She led an off-screen and off-stage active life. She taught acting for fifteen years atNYU[43] and gave master classes for professional theatre universities, colleges, and companies across the country.[42] She received theNational Arts Club Medal of Honor.[32]
Dukakis became an adherent ofGoddess worship, afeminist form ofmodern Paganism, during a production ofThe Trojan Women in 1982. From 1989, she was publicly outspoken about this and produced improvised stage performances based on the movement's mythology.[44] For ten years, beginning in 1985, she studied with Indian mentor Srimata Gayatri Devi in theVedanta school of Hindu philosophy.[45]
A strong advocate forwomen's rights andLGBT rights, includingsame-sex marriage, Dukakis embraced the roles of atrans landlady inTales of the City,[35] and abutch lesbian inCloudburst.[46] 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. She has said,[6][47]
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. It's not even the language!
After a period of ill health, Dukakis died underhospice care at her home inManhattan on May 1, 2021, at the age of 89.[9][3]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | The Nurses | Ioana Chiriac | Episode: "Frieda" | [26] |
| Dr. Kildare | Anna Nieves | Episode: "The Legacy" | [26] | |
| 1974 | Nicky's World | Irene Kaminios | Television film | [64] |
| 1975 | Great Performances | Pauline | Episode: "The Seagull" | [26] |
| 1977 | The Andros Targets | Marina Angelis | Episode: "The Beast of Athens" | |
| 1978 | The Doctors | Mrs. Martin | NBC-TV | |
| 1980 | FDR: The Final Years | Television film | ||
| Breaking Away | Episode: "The Cutters" | [65] | ||
| 1982 | American Playhouse | Mama Nicola | Episode: "King of America" | [65] |
| One of the Boys | Professor | Episode: "His Cheatin' Heart" | [53] | |
| The Neighborhood | Mrs. St. Paul | Television film | [52] | |
| 1983 | Search for Tomorrow | Dr. Barbara Moreno | NBC-TV/Procter & Gamble Productions | [51] |
| 1986 | The Equalizer | Judge Paula G. Walsh | Episode: "Shades of Darkness" | [51] |
| 1991 | Lucky Day | Katherine Campbell | Television film Nominated –Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie | [26] |
| The General Motors Playwrights Theater | Laura Cunningham | Episode: "The Last Act Is a Solo" | [56] | |
| Fire in the Dark | Emily Miller | Television film | [52] | |
| 1992 | Sinatra | Dolly Sinatra | Television miniseries 4 episodes Nominated –Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film | [52] |
| 1993 | Tales of the City | Anna Madrigal | Television miniseries 6 episodes Nominated –British Academy Television Award for Best Actress | [54] |
| 1995 | Young at Heart | Rose Garaventi | Television film | [56] |
| 1996 | Touched by an Angel | Clara | Episode: "A Joyful Noise" | [53] |
| 1997 | Heaven Will Wait | Diana | Television film | 2 |
| A Match Made in Heaven | Helen Rosner | [52] | ||
| 1998 | Scattering Dad | Dotty | ||
| The Pentagon Wars | Madam Chairwoman | [53] | ||
| 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 | [54] | |
| A Life for a Life | Charlotte Kiszko | Television film | [57] | |
| 1999 | Joan of Arc | Mother Babette | Television miniseries 3 episodes Nominated –Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie | [26] |
| 2000 | The Last of the Blonde Bombshells | Dinah | Television film | [26] |
| 2001 | And Never Let Her Go | Marguerite Capano | ||
| Ladies and the Champ | Sara Stevens | [66] | ||
| Further Tales of the City | Anna Madrigal | Television miniseries 3 episodes | [54] | |
| My Beautiful Son | Esther Lipman | Television film | [57] | |
| 2002 | Guilty Hearts | Amanda Patterson | Television film | [56] |
| The Simpsons | Zelda | Voice, episode: "The Old Man and the Key" | [26] | |
| Frasier | Caller #3 | Episode: "Frasier Has Spokane" | [26] | |
| 2003 | Mafia Doctor | Rose | Television film | |
| It's All Relative | Coleen O'Neil | Episode: "Thanks, But No Thanks" | ||
| 2004 | The Librarian: Quest for the Spear | Margie Carsen | Television film | [67] |
| 2004–2005 | Center of the Universe | Marge Barnett | 12 episodes | [26] |
| 2006 | Numbers | Charlotte Yates | Episode: "Hot Shot" | [26] |
| The Librarian: Return to King Solomon's Mines | Margie Carsen | Television film | [67] | |
| 2008 | Worst Week | June | Episodes: "The Ring", "The Wedding" | [68] |
| 2010–2011 | Bored to Death | Belinda | 4 episodes | [26] |
| 2011 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Debby Marsh | Episode: "Pop" | [26] |
| 2013 | The Christmas Spirit | Gwen Hollander | Television film | [69] |
| Mike & Molly | Narrator on TV | Episode: "The Princess and the Troll" | [70] | |
| 2013–2015 | Sex & Violence | Alex Mandalakis | Television miniseries; she was executive producer; participated in 12 episodes | [58] |
| Forgive Me | Novalea | 9 episodes | [9] | |
| 2014 | F to 7th | Marie | Episode: "Down to Zero" | [71] |
| Big Driver | Doreen | Television film | [72] | |
| 2016 | TripTank | Ma / Caller | Voice, 4 episodes | [58] |
| 2019 | Tales of the City | Anna Madrigal | Main cast | [54] |
