Tyne Daly Movies
The daughter of actor
James Daly and sister of actor
Tim Daly, Emmy award-winning American actress
Tyne Daly was destined early on to enter the family business. After graduation from the American Academy of Dramatic Art, Tyne worked on stage and appeared in TV guest spots starting in the early '70s. While applauded for her talent, Daly found full stardom eluding her for several years during a long string of busted TV pilots like
In Search of America (1971),
Doctor Granger (1972),
Fitzgerald and Pride (1972) and
Hotshot Harry and the Rocking Chair Renegades (1979) did little to make her bankable (though her performance as Kate, female partner to Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry Callahan, in the 1976 action opus The Enforcer, most assuredly helped).
Then in 1981,
Tyne Daly and
Loretta Swit were cast in the pilot of
Cagney and Lacey, an unusual (for U.S. prime time television) story of two policewomen who could handle their jobs with courage and assuredness. The success of the pilot led to a series in 1982, with Daly cast as Detective Mary Beth Lacey (opposite Meg Foster and later Sharon Gless). The series witnessed the character fighting to be accepted on equal terms with her male counterparts, and also struggling to maintain a normal home life as wife and mother. Daly's realistic portrayal earned her considerable praise from real-life law enforcement officials.
Cagney and Lacey was cancelled in 1983, but returned to the air a year later thanks to a letter-writing campaign mounted by viewers. By the time the series ended in 1988, Daly had won four Emmy awards for her portrayal of Lacey. In 1994 she starred opposite
Kellie Martin in the short-lived inspirational TV drama Christy, and in 1995 appeared in a trio of
Cagney and Lacey reunions.
In subsequent years Daly switched venues, devoting her energies to the Broadway stage. Her accomplishments during this period included scoring a personal triumph and winning a Tony as Mama Rose in the 1989-90 revival of the 1959 musical Gypsy, and taking on untold challenges in a five-role, one-woman show, Mystery School, at Gotham's Angel Orensanz Foundation Center in 1998 (revived 2008). As time rolled on, the actress (like Cagney co-star Gless) returned to television, notably with a key supporting role as the lead character's domineering, judgmental mother on the series drama Judging Amy (1999-2005) (a series on which Gless occasionally appeared as a guest star)). Having caught the theatrical bug, however, Daly also retained her footing on stage in such outings as the acclaimed Rabbit Hole (2006) (opposite John Slattery and Cynthia Nixon). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

- 2001
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- 2002
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- 2003
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- 2004
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- 1987
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Kids Like These was cowritten by Emily Perl Kingsley, the mother of a Down's Syndrome child. Basing the script for this TV movie on her own experiences, Ms. Kingsley relates the story of Tyne Daly and Richard Crenna, the parents of a Down's baby. Refusing to accept the doctor's grim prognosis and suggestion that the child be institutionalized, Daly devotes herself to training her baby to surmount his handicaps. By the time the boy enters school, he is functioning at a higher level than anticipated, inspiring Daly to begin working with other parents of handicapped children. But her tireless activities on behalf of strangers takes a toll on her own family--and also blinds her to the still-existing limitations facing her son. Directed by Tyne Daly's then-husband Georg Stanford Brown, Kids Like These utilizes five Down's children to portray the son at various ages; the cast also includes real-life therapist Dr. Margaret Gianini. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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- 1974
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The title of the book, written by Dr. Robert McQueen, upon which this TV movie was based is the tragically on-target Larry: Case History of a Mistake. Frederic Forrest stars as Larry, who for 26 years was wrongly confined in a mental institution. Diagnosed as retarded, Larry is actually possessed of normal intelligence, as is belatedly discovered by the film's Dr. McQueen counterpart (Michael McGuire). The problem is now twofold: Larry must be taught to be self-sufficient by the hospital staff, and he must be prepared to enter society's mainstream. Filmed at an actual California facility for the mentally challenged, the fact-based Larry premiered April 23, 1974, as a GE Theater special. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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- 1982
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Magnum (Tom Selleck) is reunited with journalist Kate Sullivan (Tyne Daly), whom he'd met while she was covering the Vietnam war. At the moment, Kate has been assigned to interview a visiting dignitary from the Jororo Islands. . .or at least that's what she claims. As the story unfolds, it becomes obvious that Kate is more interested in securing the "inside story" on cross-dressing international assassin David Bannister (Christopher Morley)--whose own current assignment is to assassinate the man from Jororo! This episode was deemed strong enough to warrant a followup, "Jororo Farewell," which aired two seasons later. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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- 1970
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The fate of a Middle Eastern nation hangs in the balance as terrorist Ismet El Kabir (Michael Tolan) is scheduled to be pardoned from prison. The IMF must prevent Kabir's release, thereby forcing him into an escape attempt that will cost him his life. The plan involves the infiltration of Kabir's terrorist organization--and yet another of the IMF's patented "prison break-ins". Written by Laurence Heath, "Terror" made its network broadcast debut on February 15, 1970. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Peter Graves, Leonard Nimoy, (more)

- 1985
- PG
The "movers and shakers" in this weak comedy limned by Charles Grodin do not refer to a religious sect, but the big-wigs in Hollywood who determine how the next many millions are to be spent. Two parallel stories occupy center stage. On the one hand, Joe Mulholland (Walter Matthau) has made a promise to a dying producer that he would put together a film on "Love in Sex." The problem is that there is no script to go with that title -- a minor hurdle by Hollywood standards. On the other hand, Herb Derman (Grodin) is hired to make up the story, but he is neck-deep in marriage woes and will have a hard time holding down his personal life long enough to write. Mixed into both of these tales are parodies of behind-the-scenes Hollywood at its worst. These scenarios are helped along by a fine cast of actors and actresses. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Walter Matthau, Charles Grodin, (more)

- 1991
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An unlikely friendship develops between two seemingly dissimilar women in this made-for-television adaption. Gena Rowlands stars as Pat Foster, the wife of a wealthy Seattle businessman. When he dies unexpectedly, her finances are put into jeopardy and she suddenly feels empathy for a homeless woman (Tyne Daly) she regularly sees on the street. The film was adapted from Marsha Norman's play. ~ Bernadette McCallion, Rovi
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- 1993
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The 1992 Broadway cast performs Leonard Bernstein's musical comedy On the Town, based on an idea by Jerome Robbins. Three sailors -- Gabey (Thomas Hampson), Chip (Kurt Ollmann), and Ozzie (David Garrison) -- run around New York City when they are granted shore leave. In 24 hours time, they manage to meet three city girls (Frederica von Stade, Tyne Daly, and Marie McLaughlin). The music is performed by the London Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas, with chorus master Terry Edwards conducting the London Voices. Lyricists Betty Comden and Adolph Green provide video narration. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi
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- 1972
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Play It As It Lays offers what is probably the harshest view of Hollywood to be given a major production up to the time of its release; it depicts a world of narcissistic egotists who will do anything to inflate their own sense of importance. Based on the novel by Joan Didion, it tells of the rise and fall of one woman's acting career. Maria Wyeth (Tuesday Weld), a model, began her acting career in a Warhol-like film, and moved "up" to perform in a biker film. The director of both films, Carter Lang (Adam Roarke), discovered her, and soon afterwards, marries her. As Carter's career moves ahead, he pays less and less attention to Maria. She has a number of affairs to try to brighten her world, but nothing much works. When she gets pregnant by one of them, Lang divorces her. Then, her best friend (Anthony Perkins), who tried to bring about a reconciliation between Lang and her, commits suicide. Her world in tatters, she has a nervous breakdown. The film's story is told in flashbacks while she is in recovery. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
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- 1982
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After the death of a Down's Syndrome Child, pediatrician Barbara Lubow (Colleen Dewhurst) asks Quincy (Jack Klugman) to perform an autopsy. Much to his dismay, Quincy determines that the child had been starved to death by his parents--at the encouragement of their family doctor. Appalled by this callous attitude towards Down's children, Quincy becomes involved in the trials and tribulations of a married couple (Tyne Daly, Clu Gulager), whose efforts to establish a group home for six handicapped youngsters is meeting with violent opposition from their bigoted neighbors. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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- 1981
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Finding it increasingly difficult to offer consolation to the relatives of accident and murder victims, Quincy (Jack Klugman) solicits the advice of Dr. Pendleton (Michael Constantine), a psychiatrist who works with terminally ill patients. Circumstances dictate that Quincy must act as substitute for Pendleton while the doctor is called away on business. In this capacity, Quincy finds himself becoming emotionally involved in the plight of Kay Silver (Tyne Daly), a young woman dying of cancer. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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- 1980
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When one of the twin babies of Madeline and Bill Estes (Tyne Daly, Robert Ginty) dies under mysterious circumstances, the initial evidence points to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. But thanks to a small but criticial error in the coroner's office, Dr. Bob Gage (Jonathan Segal) suspects thar Madeline Estes actually murdered his child--and before long, even Madeline's husband Bill thinks that she's guilty. Can Quincy (Jack Klugman) come to the rescue before another tragic blunder occurs? ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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- 1993
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Overcoming limitations, whether real or perceived, is the topic of Reading Rainbow: Amazing Grace, as Tyne Daly reads the story of a young girl who manages to land the title role in a school play despite an assumption that she cannot due to her race and gender. Several guests appear on the program, including Whoopi Goldberg, Lauren Turner, and Sheila Haines, who discuss their experiences with obstacles in their careers. In the book review segment, kids analyze Great Women in the Struggle, Mirette on the High Wire, and Roses Sing on New Snow. ~ Alice Day, Rovi
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- 1993
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This powerful fact-based made-for-TV drama follows a poor, illiterate woman as she bravely takes on the government child protective services in hopes that they will return her three children. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
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- 1978
- PG
A female cop and a male private detective team up to bring car thieves to justice in this actioner. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
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- 1989
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The made for TV Stuck With Each Other stars Richard Crenna and Tyne Daly as two luckless New Yorkers, a salesman and a secretary respectively. One morning they come to the office to find that their boss has dropped dead--leaving behind an open safe containing $964,000 he's not supposed to have. Crenna and Daly divide the illicit funds between them, and are immediately pursued by two thick-eared thugs (Michael J. Pollard, Bubba Smith). Thus for the rest of the film, Crenna and Daly are reluctantly paired as a united front against the bad buys. Directed by Tyne Daly's then-husband Georg Stanford Brown, Stuck With Each Other premiered on October 17, 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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- 1977
- PG
Don Siegel took over the directing chores from Peter Hyams on this taut cold war action film, based on the novel by Walter Wager. With the cold war between the United States and the Soviet Union thawing, old KGB hard-liner Nicolai Dalchimsky (Donald Pleasence) activates a group of Americans who were brainwashed twenty years earlier to blow up United States defenses when a passage from a Robert Frost poem is recited to them. When bombs go off at an abandoned United States defense installation, the Kremlin realizes that they have a rogue KGB agent on their hands who is trying to re-ignite the cold war. To stop him, the Russians send out KGB agent Grigori Borzov (Charles Bronson). Accompanying him is KGB double agent Barbara (Lee Remick). As the two agents try to stop Nicolai from starting World War III, they find time to fall in love with each other. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Charles Bronson, Lee Remick, (more)

- 1973
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In this TV creation, a couple can't conceive (the husband is impotent) and they hire a stud man to solve their problem. ~ Rovi
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- 1998
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Steven Maler's first feature film made it's premiere at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival. Autumn Heart is a heavy melodrama set in 1970 about three daughters who go looking for their long lost brother. What they find is an opened Pandora's box about themselves. Sixteen years have passed since Ann (Tyne Daly) gave up her son and her husband. In that time, she raised only her three older daughters. Now Ann has had a heart attack and asked these three hard-living women (played by Ally Sheedy, Marceline Hugot and Marla Sucharetza) to find their long-lost brother somewhere in Boston. What they discover is a brother studying at Harvard and their estranged, upper class father. Now these hard-talking women must wrestle with their emotions about their own feelings of abandonment, as part of coming to terms with the realities of their lives. Can they also convince their brother to come back and visit? Can they forgive their mother for the secrets she withheld? Can a family heal the wounds of time? ~ Chris Gore, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Tyne Daly, Ally Sheedy, (more)

- 1985
- PG
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Based on a novel by Ernest Gann and set in 1928, this story starts out focusing on aviation and then flies in another direction at about three feet worth of altitude. Christopher Reeves is Edgar Anscombe, a pilot of a Stearman biplane running a mail route between the states of Washington and Nevada, when he is obliged to accept Tillie Hansen (Rosanna Arquette) as a passenger one day. Introverted at best, sullen and forbidding at worst, Edgar is struggling with his own trauma after surviving a crash that left him with an ugly scar across his face. Tillie personifies all the worse traits commonly attributed to the rich and spoiled -- and the two are set to joust from the beginning. After they take off, an accident occurs and although the dueling pair survive the crash, they are hard put to survive for long in the desolate mountains. Soon Edgar's friend Jerry (Scott Wilson) is out looking for him, and Tillie's obnoxious father is there at the base airport to put pressure on everyone to find her. Needless to say, Edgar and Tillie, in the meantime, are faced with dangers that make their previous problems seem minor. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Christopher Reeve, Rosanna Arquette, (more)

- 1976
- R
- Add The Enforcer to Queue
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Number three in the Dirty Harry series, The Enforcer equips macho cop Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) with a female assistant, Kate Moore (Tyne Daly). Their quarry is a terrorist organization which has kidnapped the mayor of San Francisco (John Crawford). Harry goes undercover, attempting to root out the terrorists by beating up anybody who looks at him cross-eyed. When Harry and Kate discover that the mayor is being held at Alcatraz Island, it is only a matter of time before the climactic bloodbath. The Enforcer cleared enough at the box office to warrant yet another Dirty Harry opus, Sudden Impact. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Clint Eastwood, Harry Guardino, (more)

- 1975
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This Americanized remake of John Osborne's play changes the locale from a seedy British amusement pier to an equally seedy burlesque house in Santa Cruz, California. Jack Lemmon assumes the Laurence Olivier role as Archie Rice, a third-rate entertainer who's a failure but won't admit it. Selfishly feeding his own ego, Archie destroys the lives of those around him, including his long-suffering wife (Sada Thompson), his formerly famous father (Ray Bolger) and his disenfranchised grown children. This made-for-TV film is set in the 1940s to allow for several period-flavor tunes by Marvin Hamlisch, the best of which is the jaunty "Honolulu Lulu". ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
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- Starring:
- Jack Lemmon, Ray Bolger, (more)