Suzanne Pleshette Movies

For the second half of the 20th century, Lew Wasserman was the most powerful man in show business, even if most people had no idea who he was. Born in Cleveland, OH, in 1913, Wasserman started out booking music for mob-controlled night clubs, and soon became an agent for Music Corporation of America, which became the most lucrative music agency in America. As Wasserman rose through the ranks at MCA, he established such innovative business practices as "packaging" talent (booking hot acts only in tandem with other artists who were a harder sell) and took the company into managing acting talent in Hollywood, where he changed the film business forever by negotiating a ground-breaking deal for James Stewart on the film Winchester '73, which reduced the actor's up-front salary in favor of a cut of the movie's profits, earning the actor a fortune in the process. Under Wasserman's tenure at MCA, the company took over Universal Pictures, established the studio's television branch (and made enough powerful friends to make it the most important production outlet in the business), created the wildly successful Universal City studio tours, and expanded MCA's recording branch into one of the biggest record companies in the world. Wasserman was also a man with no small degree of political influence (it didn't hurt that Ronald Reagan was one of his early clients when MCA want Hollywood), and was reputed to have some useful connections to organized crime (his personal lawyer was reputed to be the model for Robert Duvall's character in The Godfather). Wasserman was a secretive man who did not give interviews or commit anything to writing if it could be avoided, but he knew nearly everyone of consequence in show business, and The Last Mogul: The Life and Times of Lew Wasserman is a documentary that through interviews with his friends and business associates paints a detailed portrait of his remarkable career, from his childhood in Ohio to his death in 2002. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The NBC sitcom Good Morning, Miami was co-created by Max Mutchnick (Will & Grace) and David Cohen, who drew upon their own experience while working on a local TV news-and-variety program. Mark Feuerstein starred as hotshot young TV executive Jake Silver, who dedicated himself to "rescuing" Miami television's lowest-rated morning show. Initially, Jake balks at the assignment, figuring that the show's overly unctuous station manager Frank Alfonso (Jere Burns) and terminally stupid co-anchors Gavin (Matt Letscher) and Lucia (Tessie Santiago) are beyond redemption. Even worse, the show's only real selling card is its zany "weather nun," Sister Brenda Dillman (Brooke Dillman). But spurred on by his affection for the show's hairstylist Dylan Messigner (Ashley Williams) -- not to mention his fear of his trash-mouthed grandmother Claire (Suzanne Pleshette) -- Jake agrees to make the best of a deplorable situation. Good Morning, Miami debuted September 26, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Darrell Rooney directed this direct-to-video sequel to Disney's 1994 The Lion King, which climaxed with Simba (voice of Matthew Broderick) enthroned as the ruling king of beasts following the death of the evil Scar. With the spirited tune He Lives in You, Simba and his mate Nala (Moira Kelly) issue a triumphant announcement of the birth of Lion Princess Kiara (Neve Campbell)! Given to misadventures and mischief, Kiara wanders into the forbidden Outlands, the haunt of Scar's exiled minions, and there she encounters another mischievous cub, Kovu (Jason Marsden), son of lioness Zira (Suzanne Pleshette), once a close friend of the late Scar and now the leader of the exiles. Zira plots against Kiara, drawing her son into her scheme. Kovu has divided loyalties as his love for Kiara deepens. Several original characters (and original voices) from the 1994 film return in this sequel, an event so anticipated that Buena Vista Home Video initially shipped 15 million units for the 10/27/98 retail release. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

Dick Van Dyke stars as a doctor-turned-detective in this made-for-television medical thriller. Van Dyke stars as Dr. Mark Sloan, the ring leader of a small group of doctors who investigate the death of a U.S. Senator (David Richards) during surgery. Sloan has his own interest in finding out the cause of death -- his ex-lover (Suzanne Pleshette) is the prominent heart surgeon who was at the helm. Unfortunately though, Dr. Sloan gets more than he bargained for and stumbles onto a plot of revenge and murder. This two-hour movie was one of several which introduced viewers to Van Dyke's character and led to the popular TV-series Diagnosis Murder. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide

In this drama, the life of a San Francisco widow changes forever when she has a brief encounter with a younger man. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Seven years after the cancellation of the CBS TV series Kojak, the network attempted to revive the property with this adaptation of John Loftus' novel The Bellarus Secret. Telly Savalas returns to the role of lollipop-sucking New York police detective Lt. Theo Kojak, with George Savalas, Vince Conti, and Mark B. Russell likewise reprising their Kojak characters of Stavros, Rizzo, and Saperstein (conspicuous by his absence was Kevin Dobson as Bobby Crocker, who had by this time signed on as a regular on Knot's Landing). This time around, Kojak tried to solve the murders of three elderly Russians, who may or may not have been Nazi war criminals. The answer to the mystery lay in "The Belarus File," a top-secret document in the possession of the State Department. At first stymied by the government's lack of cooperation, Kojak receives unexpected assistance from compassionate bureaucrat Dana Sutton (Suzanne Pleshette). Originally telecast February 16, 1985, Kojak: The Belarus File (aka The Return of Kojak) did not immediately spark a wholesale Kojak revival, though the property did return to TV on an irregular basis as a component of the ABC "Mystery Movie" in 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After a seven-year absence from the small screen, NYPD detective Theo Kojak (Telly Savalas) made a comeback in the TV-movie The Belarus File (originally Kojak: The Belarus File). Adapted from John Loftus' best-selling spy novel The Belarus Secret, the film teams Kojak with federal agent Dana Sutton (Suzanne Pleshette). Following a labrynthine trail of evidence, the two investigators uncover a conspiracy that dates back to the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in the early 1940s. Max Von Sydow and Herbert Berghof guest star. Though Kojak himself is largely superfluous to the proceedings, the producers hoped that The Belarus File (premiere date: February 16, 1985) would serve as the launching pad for a weekly Kojak revival. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this lightweight made-for-television domestic comedy, a beautiful divorcee, who got the house and the kids, finds herself allowing her husband and his ditzy young fiancee to stay with them after he gets into financial dire straits. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A career woman is so desperate to conceive a child that when her boyfriend the sportswriter comes up short, she goes looking for a fertile stranger in this made-for-TV comic outing. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This made-for-TV suspenser stars Suzanne Pleshette as famous soap opera writer Carla Webber. Carla turns detective when the cast members of her program begin dying under mysterious circumstances. Barry Newman plays the investigating detective, while Robert Vaughn and Patrick O'Neal are special guest suspects. The film's principal attraction (and a hardly unexpected one) is the presence in the supporting cast of then-current soap opera stars: All My Children's Peter Bergman, General Hospital's Stuart Damon and Robin Mattson, Ryan's Hope's John Gabriel, and One Life to Live's Robert S. Woods. Fantasies was first networkcast January 18, 1982. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In this comedy a trio of undercover government cops in Miami decide that it would be a good idea to open a bogus fencing operation so they can trap criminals. When the crooks find out, trouble ensues and the fun begins. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Adapted from the novel by Pete Hamill, Flesh and Blood stars Tom Berenger as Bobby Fallon, a street punk who develops into a topnotch boxer while in prison. Upon his release, Bobby is taken under the wing of manager John Cassavetes. Outwardly tough and unmovable, Bobby is tortured with memories of his miserable childhood, which included an incestuous episode with his mother (Suzanne Pleshette). This two-part TV movie concludes with a heavyweight championship bout, bankrolled by Bobby's long-estranged father (Mitchell Ryan). Photographed with Rocky-like intensity by Vilmos Zsigismond, Flesh and Blood first aired on October 14 and 16, 1979. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Future WKRP in Cincinnati co-star Howard Hesseman reprises his role as Mr. Plager, the gay, culturally inclined member of Bob's therapy group. Urged on by Bob and the other patients, Plager writes, produces, and directs a play. Unfortunately, Plager's masterpiece, though ostensibly set during WWI, is a thinly disguised carbon copy of the group's therapy sessions, replete with characters based on Mr. Carlin, Mr. Petersen, Mrs. Bakerman -- and Bob himself. (For the record, these "faux" roles are filled by Jerry Devine, Lou Cutell, Amzie Strickland, and Frank Ashmore, respectively). Scripted by Andrew Smith, "Group on a Hot Tin Roof" was originally scheduled to air in February or March of 1978, but was moved up to January 28, due to Bob Newhart's absence from several other like-vintage episodes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide