Joanna Kerns Movies
Though blonde actress Joanna Kerns may be best known for her breakthrough role as Maggie Seaver on the popular 1980s television sitcom Growing Pains, the seasoned actress-turned-director has subsequently made quite a name for herself behind the camera by taking the reigns of such popular small-screen series as Ally McBeal, Felicity, Judging Amy, and Boston Public. Born Joanna Cruisse de Varona in San Francisco in 1953, the talented teen pursued many avenues before eventually discovering her love of acting. Though she would compete unsuccessfully for a spot on the 1968 Olympics Gymnastics team (her sister Donna would later take home the gold medal for swimming), she remained steadfast in her athleticism and subsequently dropped out of high school to tour with the Gene Kelly stage musical Clown Around. It wasn't long before she gained affection for the spotlight, and following a move to New York, the aspiring young actress could be spotted in a Broadway production of Ulysses in Nighttown. A move back to the West Coast resulted in numerous film and television roles, and as her television career continued to take off, the up-and-coming actress married producer Richard Kerns. On the heels of minor roles in such films as Ape (1976) and Coma (1978), roles in Magnum, P.I., The A-Team, and Hill Street Blues made Kerns a familiar face to television viewers, and by the time she accepted the role of loving mother Maggie Seaver, Kerns had also turned heads in Hunter and V. Balancing out her seven-year run on Growing Pains with numerous made-for-television feature roles, Kerns ultimately realized that her small-screen fame would inevitably be short-lived, and that realization eventually led her to step behind the camera as a frequent director for the series. Of course, her prediction did come true, and after Growing Pains went off the air in 1992, Kerns juggled acting and directing in television throughout the 1990s in addition to remarrying Mark Appleton following the breakup of her previous marriage. After helming many of the decade's most popular shows, Kerns brought in the new millennium with a role as Winona Ryder's distant mother in Girl, Interrupted before experiencing something of a family reunion with 2000's The Growing Pains Movie. Kerns' frequent recognition of her Spanish roots has also made her something of a role model to Chicano and Latino youth. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 2004
The second of two made-for-television "reunion" movies starring the cast of the popular TV series Growing Pains (1985-1992), this one begins as newly retired psychologist Jason Seaver (Alan Thicke) and his wife Maggie (Joanne Kerns, who also directed the film) prepare to sell the family house and spend their declining years elsewhere. Jason wants to "hit the road" in an RV, but Maggie has her heart set on purchasing a villa in Tuscany. Meanwhile, the Seaver's children all react different to the news that their house is for sale. Wheeler-dealer Ben (Jeremy Seaver) is delighted, since he is the real estate agent who brokered the deal; older brother Michael (Kirk Cameron) and his wife Kate (Chelsea Noble) are less than delighted, since they'd hoped to leave their children with Jason and Maggie while Michael took on a new job in Japan; oldest sister Carol (Tracey Gold) is appalled, inasmuch as she needs to have her parents around to help her juggle motherhood and a career; and youngest sister Chrissy (Ashley Johnson), an aspiring rock singer, had intended to "crash" in her parents' home while looking for show-biz gigs. Thus is set up a situation straight out of the "original" Growing Pains, with Jason and Maggie each endeavoring to win the other over to their indivudal retirement plans, Mike and Carol going to extreme lengths to sabotage Ben's sale, and Chrissy setting herself up for another disillusionment. Also known as Growing Pains II: Home Equity, this film first aired October 16, 2004, on the ABC Family Channel. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2003
Annie Potts stars in the true story of Colorado housewife Julie Posey, whose sense of outrage goes into overdrive when her teenaged daughter is solicited online by a sexual predator. When her efforts to track down the pervert are thwarted, she briefly gives up -- only to be spurred forward with the encouragement of her husband when another little girl is killed by another Internet pedophile. Posing as a 14-year-old girl, Julie, working in concert with dedicated police detective Mike Harris (Michael O'Keefe), brings her daughter's would-be rapist out of the shadows, then embarks upon a worldwide crusade to stop other such pedophiles in their high-tech tracks. Directed by actress Joanna Kerns, the made-for-cable Defending Our Kids: The Julie Posey Story made its Lifetime network debut on July 21, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Annie Potts, Michael O'Keefe, (more)
- 1999
Habitually abused by her arrogant surgeon husband Thomas (Stephen Lang), successful realtor Elizabeth Cooper (Joanna Kerns) has decided to get a divorce. Shortly after this decision, Elizabeth is in conference with a new client, John Davis (Tim Matheson)--who stops her short by announcing that he is a "hit man", hired by Thomas to murder Elizabeth. But after meeting his potential victim, John has had a change of heart, and is now determined to rescue her from her husband. Togther, John and Elizabeth formulate a plan: She will disappear, he will arrange the evidence to make it seem as if he's killed her, and then he'll trap Thomas into a confession. Although she hates the idea of being so long separated from her beloved children, Elizabeth agrees to the scheme. That things don't go off precisely as intended should at this point be a foregone conclusion. Made for television (and based on a true story to boot!), At the Mercy of a Stranger first aired November 3, 1999, on CBS. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1998
This TV sitcom series centers around Denver advertising man Jack McLaren (Tom Selleck), such a powerhouse that he's nicknamed "The Legend." In the opening episode, his agency's biggest client is the U.S. Army, but after Jack beats the President of the United States on the golf course, he's out of a job the same week he's being divorced by his wife (Joanna Kerns). Turning down a competitor's offer, Jack snaps back into action with his own agency, assembling his team of veteran creative director Carl Dobson (Ed Asner), geeky copywriter Bruno (David Krumholtz), sharp-talking secretary Beverly (Suzy Nakamura), and Ivy League accountant Erica (Penelope Ann Miller). Meanwhile, he has to deal with his daughter Alex (Hedy Burress), who wants to drop out of college. Filmed in Burbank, the series began February 23, 1998 on CBS. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Selleck, Ed Asner, (more)
Tired of the loneliness pervading her daily life, 75-year-old Emma blows out her birthday candles and makes a single wish: that she be allowed a month in which to care for and make peace with her estranged daughter. The next morning, she awakens 35 years younger but still wise. Masquerading as a nanny, she convinces her daughter, who does not know her, to hire her. Once in the household, Emma realizes that there is trouble afoot, and that her daughter's marriage is in trouble. As only a mother can do, Emma begins to quietly help her daughter reassemble her life. This made-for-television drama originally aired on the CBS network. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joanna Kerns, Della Reese, (more)
- 1997
Ruthless social climber Celeste Cooper (Joanna Kerns) is determined to maneuver her grown daughter Laurel (Christine Elise) into a wealthy and prestigious marriage. But Laurel wants no part of her mom's machinations and weds the likeable but "socially undesirable" Ted Rogers (Grant Show). After doing everything in her power to break up the marriage, the increasingly unhinged Celeste decides to take Ted out of the picture permanently--by hiring a hit man. Purportedly based on an actual event, the made-for-TV Mother Knows Best was first seen over the ABC network on April 13, 1997. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
Pragmatic businesswoman Gail Metzger (Joanna Kerns) has never seen eye to eye with her eccentric sister Renee (Debrah Farentino), a bad situation made worse when the two women butt heads over a real estate deal. Later on, Renee turns up dead, an apparent suicide. But as more "facts" come to surface, the police change their minds about Renee's demise--and Gail is suspected of murder. In her efforts to find out what really happened, Gail is enveloped in a frightening atmosphere of suspense and mysticism. Adapted fromBarbara L. Parker's novel Suspicion of Innocence, the made-for-TV Sisters and Other Strangers made its initial CBS network appearance on May 6, 1997. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joanna Kerns, Debrah Farentino, (more)
This made-for-TV shocker was inspired by a true story which occurred in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Housewife Jessica Rayner (Joanne Kerns) becomes the latest in a long line of victims when she is attacked in her own home by a vicious serial rapist and murderer who preys on blondes. The difference is that Jessica manages to survive the attack--the first victim to do so. Despite Jessica's testimony and a trail of clues, the police seem incapable of tracking down her assailant, forcing Jessica's husband Dan (Anthony John Denison) to militantly guard his wife round the clock. But it is ultimately Jessica herself who must devise the trap that will bring her attacker to justice. No One Could Protect Her debuted February 11, 1996 on ABC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joanna Kerns, Anthony John Denison, (more)
In this drama, a woman is found wandering the Boston streets in a blood-covered housedress and $10,000 in her pocket. The trouble is neither she (Joanna Kerns), nor the authorities know who she is or what happened to her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joanna Kerns, John Shea, (more)
Larry Shaw's adaptation of Robin Cook's Mortal Fear stars Joanna Kerns as a doctor working at a prestigious big city hospital. When patients start dying at an alarming rate, she must use all of her wits to defeat the personal at the hospital she begins to suspect are behind the mystery. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
A daughter haunted by the memory of a morbid love affair suspects that the man who once seduced her has returned to kill her after eighteen-years after being convicted and imprisoned for murdering her mother. Mother and daughter have both had a torrid love affair with the same man, and in the end the mother paid for the transgression with her life. Though the diabolical seducer was quickly convicted and sent to prison, nearly twenty-years have passed and now the woman who was once a frightened young girl begins to suspect that the man who killer her mother has returned to claim her life as well. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 1993
Originally broadcast as a prime-time telemovie in 1993, Going Underground re-explores a thematic landscape charted on the big screen by Sleeping with the Enemy (1991). Joanna Kerns (Cross My Heart, Growing Pains) is Maryanne Walker-Tate, suburban housewife to Daniel (Tim Matheson) and mother of two, Josie and Jason. But all is not domestic bliss. In public, Daniel charms to the point of perfection; behind closed-doors, he's a psychotic brute and a sadist who enjoys turning his family's life into a waking death dream. Now, Daniel drums up phony allegations of abandonment that force the seemingly content Maryanne down a one-way path; she snatches the children up and they flee from Daniel, assuming new lives and new identities in another town. But soon, Daniel discovers his family's whereabouts, and heads straight for them, hell-bent on an ugly onslaught of retribution. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- 1993
Beau Bridges stars in this fact-based TV movie as Dr. Norman Grayson (Beau Bridges, a man who may destroy his life because he loves not wisely but too well--and too often. Hopelessly smitten by three different women over the course of several years, Grayson ends up marrying all three, then spends the rest of the movie trying to be a good and faithful husband to each wife without the others discovering his tangled web of deceit. Only when one of the women, Robyn (Pam Dawber), starts putting the pieces together, do the other wives Lillian (Kathleen Lloyd) and Katy (Joanna Kerns) even begin to suspect that Grayson's frequent out-of-town trips are not professional nature. Ironically, audience sympathy is with the bigamous Grayson throughout the film--especially at the end, in which the three woman turn upon each other over base financial matters! Originally telecast on CBS, The Man With Three Wives first aired March 28, 1993. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Beau Bridges, Pam Dawber, (more)
- 1992
When his daughter Renee Witherspoon is stricken with leukemia, father Bruce Davison hopes to find a bone-marrow transplant within his own family. The most likely candidate is Renee's half-brother Joe Mazzello. But Joe's natural mother (and Renee's stepmother) Joanna Kerns, fearful that her son might endanger his own life, refuses permission for the operation. This being a TV movie rather than a weekly series, there are no easy answers to the dilemma, either morally or legally. Desperate Choices: To Save My Child was first telecast October 5, 1992. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joanna Kerns, Bruce Davison, (more)
- 1992
After a lengthy absence, Luke's truck-driver father George (Gary Grubbs) rolls back into his son's life, begging the boy to join him on his next road trip. When Luke (Leonardo DiCaprio) refuses, George claims to be suffering from a bad back. Mike (Kirk Cameron) thinks George is faking, but in fact his back problems are so severe that he is danger of becoming completely paralyzed--and before long, Jason (Alan Thicke) and Ben (Jeremy Miler) have agreed to drive George's latest load to its destination. Tracey Gold (Carol) does not appear in this episode, which marks the final series appearance of Leonardo DiCaprio (wonder whatever happened to him?) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
When post-partum depression causes the reawakening of long-dormant and traumatic memories of childhood rape by her father, an angry young mother takes her tormentor to court and in so doing nearly destroys her family. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joanna Kerns, Michael Brandon, (more)
- 1991
A new production staff is at the helm as Growing Pains launches its seventh and final season. The most significant development this year occurs when aspiring actor Mike Seaver (Kirk Cameron) returns to his family's Long Island home accompanied by 15-year-old homeless youngster Luke Brower, played by none other than Leonardo DiCaprio). Mike had met Luke while temporarily teaching at the inner-city Community Health Center, and felt that the boy could benefit by living in a loving and supportive family situation. Luke does his best to fit in with the Seavers, but he has serious honesty and behavior issues to deal with -- not to mention the unexpected return of his irresponsible father, George (Gary Grubbs). Mike himself has managed to land a role on the daytime soap opera "Big City Secrets," somewhat justifying his decision to pursue a show-business career to his doubting parents Jason (Alan Thicke and Maggie (Joanna Kerns) -- even though his TV character, "Strong Waverly," spends most of his time in a coma with no lines to speak. As for the other Seaver youngsters, 7-year-old Chrissy (Ashley Johnson) is now regularly attending school, making an effort to follow the rather dubious social and academic advice dispensed by her 16-year-old brother Ben (Jeremy Miller). Meanwhile, oldest daughter Carol takes leave of Columbia University to study abroad in London. This plot development was necessitated by the ongoing serious health problems of actress Tracey Gold, whose battle with anorexia had forced her to drop out of the series. Both Carol and Gold's absence were touchingly acknowledged in an episode wherein Ben cheers up his absent sister by sending her a family video that he has filmed. Of the season's guest stars, special attention should be paid to the actress playing the haughty Sasha Serotsky in the episode "Menage a Luke." Yes, it is Hilary Swank, long before either one of her two Oscar-winning film performances. The series ends with the two-part "The Last Picture Show," as the Seaver family prepares to move to Washington so that Maggie can accept a job as media-relations director for a prominent senator -- and in what is almost an afterthought, Mike finally proposes to his erstwhile girlfriend Kate Malone. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alan Thicke, Joanna Kerns, (more)
- 1991
The quiet family life of an Oregon couple and their infant is shattered when two criminals whacked-out on drugs burst into their home and hold them hostage. The film is based on a true story. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barry Bostwick, Joanna Kerns, (more)
- 1991
The superb, utterly convincing special effects in the two-part TV movie The Big One: The Great Los Angeles Earthquake cannot be faulted. Less convincing are the scenes in which the fictional TV reporters, demoralized and in tears, can't bring themselves to describe the extent of the destruction. Part One, telecast November 11, 1990, finds seismologist Joanna Kerns trying in vain to convince authorities that the entire LA basin will be shake-and-bake within a few days. This portion of the drama ends with "The Big One" wreaking havoc throughout Lala-land. Part Two, broadcast November 12, concerns itself with the aftermath, the rescues, the tragedies, and above all the effect the natural disaster has on Kerns and her friends and family. Also appearing in The Big One is Ed Begley Jr. as the one political official willing to listen to Kerns' warnings, and Richard Masur as one of those "I can't bear it!" TV journalists. The video version titled The Great Los Angeles Earthquake runs 106 minutes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1991
In this crime drama, a sequel to "Deadly Intentions," the protagonist, Dr. Charles Raynor, who was convicted of attempted murder, has been paroled. He goes home to his second wife. He is determined to get revenge upon those who had him convicted for trying to kill his first wife. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
