What series did Olympia Dukakis star in?
BY DAVID INMAN The (Louisville, Ky.) Courier-Journal
Sunday, November 04, 2012
Q. Olympia Dukakis starred in a TV series or
miniseries about life in San Francisco. The
story was of a woman who owned a boarding
house and the lives of the people who lived
there. I don't remember the author of the book
or the name of the TV series. Can you help?
A. That was “Tales of the City,” a miniseries
that aired on PBS in 1993. Based on the book
by Armisted Maupin, the cast also included
Laura Linney, Thomas Gibson, Billy Campbell
and Nina Foch, among others. There were
sequels that aired in 1998 and 2001. And
they’re on DVD.
Q. I watched a movie several years back with
Christopher Reeve. He was being tried for murder
and he was in a wheelchair. In order to
prove that Reeve was paralyzed, an attorney
stuck a ink pen in Reeve's leg. He didn't move
and was cleared of murder. Then at the end of
the movie it showed Reeve in his house walking
– he was not paralyzed. Can you tell me the
title of the movie?
A. That's the 1995 film “Above Suspicion,”
which also stars Kim Cattrall and Joe
Mantegna. Right after this film was released,
Reeve was paralyzed in real life.
Q. I am a big Elvis fan. There was a movie I
watched back in the 1970s titled “Elvis and the
Beauty Queen.” As far as I know it has only
been shown one time on television. I would
love to see it again! Is it on DVD?
A. “Elvis and the Beauty Queen” is a 1981 TV
movie about the relationship between the King
and beauty queen Linda Thompson, who was
the King’s companion from 1971 to 1976.
Stephanie Zimbalist played Thompson. The
movie’s on DVD.
Q. I remember a Western movie made in the
late 1960s or early ’70s about a white man who
falls in love with a young Native American
woman. The chief of the tribe decrees the man
can marry the woman if he subjects himself to
certain Indian rituals including having whale
bones inserted into his pectoral muscles and
then being lifted by rope a few inches from the
ground. Do you know the name of this movie
and is it on DVD?
A. Sounds like “A Man Called Horse.” It”s a
1970 film with Richard Harris in the title role.
And it’s on DVD.
Write David Inman in care of The
(Louisville, Ky.) Courier-Journal, 525 W. Broadway, P.O. Box 740031, Louisville, Ky.
40201-7431; or email him at incredibleinman@yahoo.com. No personal replies.
