Stockard Channing Movies
Born Susan Williams Antonia Stockard Channing Schmidt on February 13, 1944, Channing is the daughter of a wealthy shipping executive, and became interested in the dramatic arts while attending college at Radcliffe. After graduating in the mid-sixties, Channing joined Boston's experimental Theater Company. Several unsuccessful Broadway auditions later, she landed a lead role in a Los Angeles production of Two Gentlemen of Verona. Eventually, Channing made it to Broadway, and won a Tony for her performance in A Day in the Death of Joe Egg.In the early '70s, Channing appeared in several small television roles, and made her big screen debut in 1971's The Hospital. In 1973, the actress starred in the Joan Rivers-penned black comedy The Girl Most Likely To..., a TV movie about an overweight college girl who loses weight, gets cosmetic surgery, and sets off in hopes of getting even. Channing's first major film role came two years later, when she starred in Mike Nichols' The Fortune with Jack Nicholson and Warren Beatty. It wasn't until 1978, however, that Channing would win her most memorable role to date -- tough gal Rizzo in the retro-musical Grease. Interestingly enough, although she was cast as a teenager, the actress was in her early thirties when she was chosen for the film. Around the same time, Channing starred in two similar and short-lived sitcoms: Stockard Channing in Just Friends and The Stockard Channing Show.
By 1980, Channing's film career was idling in neutral, so she focused her energies on the theater, though she began showing up in various supporting film roles in the mid to late eighties. In 1993, she was nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe for playing the formidable Upper East Side matron of Six Degrees of Separation; the role had also earned her a Tony nomination when she performed it in the film's stage version. Channing subsequently made steady appearances in both film and television, and co-starred as a witch in Practical Magic with Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock, as well as The First Wives Club, Moll Flanders, Edie & Pen, and An Unexpected Family. In 2000, Channing would play one of the more eccentric residents of a small Oklahoma town in Where the Heart Is. After filming Other Voices in 2001, which was screened at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival, Channing would receive a solid amount of critical success for her role in The Business of Strangers (2001), in which she starred as a high-level corporate player who saves her own job only to find out her boss is a rapist. In between filming a variety of television and documentary appearances - namely, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister (2002), A Girl Thing (2001), Out of the Closet, Off the Screen: The William Haines Story (2001), and New York Firefighters: The Brotherhood of 9/11 (2002) -- Channing joined up with Oscar-winner Angelina Jolie in Stephen Herek's Life or Something Like It.
In 2003, Channing made a cameo appearance in Bright Young Things, and went on to co-star in Le Divorce with Kate Hudson, Glenn Close, and Matthew Modine during the same year. The actress also signed on with the legendary Woody Allen in Anything Else, in which she played a middle-aged mother determined to land a role in a cabaret production.
~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Stockard Channing stars in this made-for-cable comedy-drama as Dr. Beth Noonan, a female psychiatrist trying to hold her life together as she guides four of her patients through personal turmoil. Lauren Travis (Elle MacPherson), a respected lawyer, finds her sexual identity thrown into question when she discovers she's attracted to another woman, Casey (Kate Capshaw). Helen McCormick (Glenne Headly) is forced to spend a week with her two estranged sisters, Kathy (Allison Janney) and Kim (Rebecca DeMornay) after the death of their mother. Nia Morgan (Lynn Whitfield) is convinced her husband is being unfaithful to her; she hires Rachel (Linda Hamilton) to lure her spouse into infidelity, but Rachel learns that Nia's husband is actually involved with Betty (Mia Farrow), an older and unglamorous waitress. And after Dr. Noonan decides she can't handle the deep neuroses of Suzanne Nabor (Camryn Manheim), Suzanne snaps and takes the doctor hostage, along with three other people. It's a Girl Thing also stars Scott Bakula, Buck Henry, and Bruce Greenwood; it first aired in two parts on the Showtime premium cable network in January, 2001. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stockard Channing, Elle MacPherson, (more)
- 2001
A teenager going through the typical traumas of adolescence has to confront an especially big hurdle in this made-for-TV drama. Jane (Ellen Muth) is a seemingly typical 15-year-old high school student; she's popular at school, does well in her classes, and has a good relationship with her parents, Janice (Stockard Channing) and Robert (James Naughton). Despite all this, Jane has always felt as if she's different in some way from the other kids at school, though she's not sure how. When Taylor (Alicia Lagano) moves into town and transfers into the same school as Jane, the two girls become fast friends. Before long, Jane and Taylor are inseparable, and Jane senses this is not an ordinary friendship; one night, Jane kisses Taylor, and Jane finally comes to the realization that she's attracted to women and has fallen in love with Taylor. While Jane and Taylor are happy together, Jane now faces the responsibility of telling her family that she's a lesbian, and her parents are not readily accepting of this news. The Truth About Jane features RuPaul in a rare dramatic role as Jimmy, a close friend of Janice who is also a gay man. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stockard Channing, Ellen Muth, (more)
Two women on different ends of the spectrum of corporate power come together with explosive results in this drama. Julie Styron (Stockard Channing) is a successful executive with a major international corporation who is starting to feel the pressure of her position; she has few friends and no family to buffer her from the responsibilities of her work, and she suspects that the company's CEO is thinking about replacing her. Trying to get one step ahead, she meets with the slightly manipulative headhunter Nick Harris (Frederick Weller). Julie's anxieties come to a head when she has to give a major out-of-town presentation without the help of her assistant Paula Murphy (Julia Stiles), who failed to show up on time. Furious, Julie gives Paula a severe dressing down before firing her, but then Julie is called into a meeting with Nick in which she gets some unexpected news -- she's going to be taking over his job. Eager to celebrate, Julie runs into Paula, and tries to apologize for their earlier encounter by offering her a hotel room for the night and a few drinks. In time, Nick also turns up at the hotel and the women - upon running into him - realize that he is a mutual acquaintance. Later, Paula shares a secret with Julie -- Nick raped one of her friends while they were in college, and since then Paula has pondered taking revenge against him. Julie is eventually drawn into Paula's plan when they encounter Nick later that evening. But there may be more to Paula than meets the eye. The Business of Strangers was the first feature from writer and director Patrick Stettner; the film was shown in competition at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stockard Channing, Julia Stiles, (more)
- 2001
While all but forgotten today, between 1926 and 1935, William Haines was one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, an affable leading man with cocky charm and a self-depreciating comic touch. Haines enjoyed his first major hit with the collegiate football comedy Brown of Harvard, and several years later he was one of the few silent stars who effectively made the transition to talking pictures. But a series of ill-advised pictures sent Haines' career into a tailspin, and he might have enjoyed a comeback if it weren't for one thing -- Haines was gay, and while in 1935 he could hardly openly declare his sexual orientation, he stubbornly refused to deny it either, and sometimes alluded to his lifestyle in fan-magazine interviews. Hollywood legend has it when executives at MGM told Haines he had the option of either agreeing to an arranged marriage with an actress or never working for the studio again, Haines chose the latter; the result was he never appeared in another film. Instead, Haines turned his hobby of interior decorating into a lucrative career, and he maintained a sometimes stormy but ultimately loyal relationship with his lover, Jimmy Shields, which lasted from 1926 up until Haines' death in 1973. Joan Crawford is quoted as saying they had "the happiest marriage in Hollywood." Out of the Closet, Off the Screen: The William Haines Story is a documentary produced for the cable film channel American Movie Classics that examines Haines' life, both onscreen and offscreen, featuring interviews with people who knew him as well as reenacted sequences, with Christopher Lawford and Chris Allen portraying (respectively) Haines and Shields. Stockard Channing narrates. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Lawford, Chris Allen, (more)
Dan McCormack spins this yuppie nightmare about lost identity, lost love, and New York. Phil (David Aaron Baker) and Anna (Mary McCormack) are a young couple whose marriage is slowly going sour. Each suspects the other of having an illicit affair. Anna shares with her analyst, Dr. Grover (Stockard Channing), that she is seeing another man, while Phil confides in his wildly erratic buddy John (Campbell Scott), that while he suspects Anna is sleeping around, he is engaging in a little extra-marital infidelity himself. Though Dr. Grover is unnerved by how flippantly Anna is treating her dalliances, John suggests that Phil consult with Jordin (Peter Gallagher in an outrageous French accent), one of Gotham's finest private dicks. Soon Phil finds himself jumped by Mink (Ricky Aiello), one of Jordin's goons, and Anna is stalked by her unhinged brother Jeff (Rob Morrow) who is trying to prevent a rendezvous between her and her mysterious lover. This film was screened at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mary McCormack, David Aaron Baker, (more)
- 2000
Abigail Bartlet (Stockard Channing) makes some bold statements concerning policy during an appearance on a talk show, causing a rift between her staff and the White House staff. When the head of the Federal Reserve passes away, President Bartlet (Martin Sheen) must consider appointing his wife's college boyfriend to the position. Toby (Richard Schiff) is asked by Josh (Bradley Whitford) to soften his prickly persona before attending a sensitive meeting with a powerful member of Congress. Charlie (Dulé Hill) and Zoey (Elisabeth Moss) clash over what to do when the Secret Service asks them not to attend a public event together because of credible death threats from racists. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- 2000
Serious health problems befall the White House as President Bartlet (Martin Sheen) passes out while preparing for the State of the Union Address, and Leo (John Spencer) publicly admits to his previous addictions to alcohol and pain killers. Lord Marbury (Roger Rees) finds a peaceful solution to the Pakistan/India issue. C.J. (Allison Janney) and Leo's daughter, Mallory (Allison Smith), each reveal romantic feelings for men in their lives. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
Jacqueline Susann spent a long career on the edges of show business as an actress and model, but it never really paid off until she quit acting to write her first novel. Valley of the Dolls was a proudly sleazy potboiler that sold 26 million copies and had readers wondering which characters matched up to which real-life show-biz figures. Susann wrote several other successful novels, but fame and fortune didn't make her life any less tumultuous; she had well-publicized problems with drugs and alcohol and a series of free-wheeling affairs, although she stayed with her husband Irving Mansfield until her death in 1974 at the age of 56. Isn't She Great is a screen biography that focuses on Susann's roller-coaster literary career, with Bette Midler as Susann and Nathan Lane as Mansfield; David Hyde Pierce, Stockard Channing, John Cleese, and Sarah Jessica Parker round out the supporting cast. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bette Midler, Nathan Lane, (more)
Pregnant 17-year-old Novalee Nation (Natalie Portman) runs away from her Tennessee home toward the bright lights of California, accompanied by her boyfriend, Willy Jack Pickins (Dylan Bruno). But Willy gets cold feet and abandons her at a Wal-Mart in Sequoyah, OK. Novalee's life savings amount to $5.55, so she moves into the Wal-Mart, sleeping there at night and venturing out during the day. With the help of the eccentric Sister Husband (Stockard Channing), and Lexie Coop (Ashley Judd), a nurses' aide, Novalee tries to get her life in order for the sake of her expected child, Americus Nation. Based on a novel by Billie Letts, Where the Heart Is also features Keith David, Joan Cusack, Richard Nance, and Heather Kafka. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Natalie Portman, Ashley Judd, (more)
- 2000
This three-part PBS series examines the different ways that American teachers have contributed to society since the 1830s. In candid interviews, teachers of different generations talk about the goals they hoped to accomplish when they began their careers. Featured classroom segments show lively exchanges between teachers and their students. This episode examines how America teaches children from various cultural backgrounds, and how students have responded to unique educational approaches like urban academies that let students help run their own schools. Viewers will also learn how teachers teach students what it means to live in a democratic society, and how teachers motivate kids who were defeated in their earlier school years. The other two titles in this series are Only a Teacher, Episode 1: A Teacher Affects Eternity and Only a Teacher, Episode 2: Those Who Can...Teach. ~ Elizabeth Smith, All Movie Guide
- 2000
This three-part PBS series examines the different ways that American teachers have contributed to society since the 1830s. In candid interviews, teachers of different generations talk about the goals they hoped to accomplish when they began their careers. Featured classroom segments show lively exchanges between teachers and their students. This particular episode looks at how 19th and 20th century teachers have had to fight for better pay and respect for the work they do, and how they have advanced their causes through union membership and other means. Viewers are also introduced to several people who switched careers to help children where they need it the most -- in the classroom. The other two titles in this series are Only a Teacher, Episode 1: A Teacher Affects Eternity and Only a Teacher, Episode 2: Educating to End Inequity. ~ Elizabeth Smith, All Movie Guide
- 2000
This three-part PBS series examines the different ways that American teachers have contributed to society since the 1830s. In candid interviews, teachers of different generations talk about the goals they hoped to accomplish when they began their careers. A variety of experts discuss the many challenges that teachers face, including low pay, limited budgets for books and supplies, high drop-out rates, and large classes that limit individual attention. Featured classroom segments show lively exchanges between teachers and their students. This particular episode looks at how 19th century teachers approached their work, then compares and contrasts their efforts with those of current teachers. Other segments look at how students view their teachers as role models when they try to decide what they want to do with their lives. The other two titles in this three-part {@PBS) series are Only a Teacher, Episode 2: Those Who Can...Teach and Only a Teacher, Episode 3: Educating to End Inequity. ~ Elizabeth Smith, All Movie Guide
Such formidable villains as Shriek, Inque, the Jokerz and the Royal Flush gang continue to make like difficult for the "new" Batman, aka Terry McGinniss, as he tries to purge crime from the Gotham City of 2021 AD in Season Three of the animated Batman Beyond. Adding to Terry's burden this season is an old friend who has switched over to the dark side and reemerged as criminal genius "Big Time" Bigelow; and then there's that "invulnerable" supervillain whom even Batman cannot defeat despite a veritable arsenal of high-tech crimebusting hardware. As for "original" Batman Bruce Wayne, he is not as embittered and isolated as in seasons past, though he still yearns for the days of his idealistic youth, so much so that he agrees to undergo an experiment that will shave several years off his age--an experiment which, unfortunately, carries a heavy price tag. Episode highlights during the third season include the two-part "The Call", a crossover with the like-vintage superhero cartoon series Justice League of America, with guest appearances by Superman, Aquagirl, the Green Lantern and Warhawk--one of whom will, to universal horror, emerge as the villain of the piece. And in another two-parter, Terry/Batman goes "mano y mano" with a particularly vicious ninja gang known as Kobra. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Will Friedle, Kevin Conroy, (more)
- 1999
In this witty drama, the future of art is examined from two vantage points: the years 1699 and 1999. Roland (Dennis Hopper) is an avant-garde artist in Venice, California whose sister, Countess Camilla Volta (Lauren Bacall), lives on their family's estate in Venice, Italy. Their father, The Viscount (John Wood), is near death, and he announces, to the disappointment of both his offspring, that his home and priceless collection of art have been bequeathed to the Italian government. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lauren Bacall, Dennis Hopper, (more)
In this pilot film for the Batman Beyond television series (which aired as a two-part episode), Bruce Wayne (Kevin Conroy) has become too old for super heroics and has hung up his bat suit for good. However, a young man named Terry McGinnis (Will Friedle) wants to avenge the death of his father, which he believes was caused by the new head of Wayne Industries. After he does a bit of digging, McGinnis discovers Bruce Wayne's long-held secret and takes Bruce's suit out of mothballs to become the new Batman, with a new complement of high-tech gadgets at his disposal. Boasting a futuristic look inspired by Japanese anime, Batman Beyond also features appearances from Stockard Channing as the new Commissioner Gordon and Teri Garr as Mary McGinnis, Terry's mom. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1999
While a gala state dinner for the leader of Indonesia is prepared for and transpires, the president (Martin Sheen) and his staff must deal with numerous sensitive situations. Federal agents are involved in an armed standoff with a group of extremists who are holding hostages, a powerful hurricane is coming down on a Naval vessel, and Teamsters are threatening to strike. Danny Concannon (Timothy Busfield) flirts with Press Secretary C.J. Cregg (Allison Janney), Sam (Rob Lowe) spots his call-girl girlfriend at the dinner on the arm of a politician, and Josh, Toby, and C.J. attempt to get a request granted from an Indonesian official. This episode marks the first appearance of Stockard Channing as First Lady Abigail Bartlet. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
In the decaying, crime-ridden Gotham City of the future, embittered millionaire Bruce Wayne is persuaded to pass along the mantle (and mask and cowl) of legendary "Caped Crusader" Batman to teenager Terry McGinniss in Season One of the animated series Batman Beyond. The two-part pilot establishes the fact that Terry has been given this honor because he has stumbled onto Wayne's long-buried secret identity, and because the teen wants to avenge the death of his own father by a sinister cartel bent on world domination. The elderly Wayne instructs Terry in the intricacies of his high-tech, gadget-laden Batsuit and shows him how to navigate the new flying Batmobile. Meanwhile, Wayne's business partner Derek Powers, the secret brains behind the conspiracy, works overtime to scuttle Terry McGinniss/Batman's crusade to restore law and order to Gotham City. Also in the opening episode, we are introduced to the Jokerz, a gang of "Clockwork Orange"-like street punks who have enshrined the memory of the "old" Batman's prankish nemesis, the Joker. Other villains whom the new Batman tangles with this season are shapeshifting female saboteur Inque; the Royal Flush Gang, so named because they were card-like costumes and go by the names of King, Queen, Jack, Ten and Ace; Shriek, who can demolish skyscrapers with his high-pitched sound waves; the mesmerindign Spellbinder, Curare, a ninja assassin; Derek Powers' son Paxton, every bit as ruthless and demonic as his dad; and even a revitalized Mr. Freeze--or rather, Mr. Freeze's cryogenically frozen head. Plus: Just as Terry McGinnis had accidentally glommed onto the fact that Bruce Wayne and the earlier Batman were one and the same, so to does his discover in a rather spectacular fashion the fact that the current police commissioner of Gotham City, silver-haired Barbara Gordon, once went by the name of Batgirl. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Will Friedle, Kevin Conroy, (more)
- 1998
For this TV movie, writer-director Jane Anderson adapted her own play contrasting biological and adoptive mothers. Impoverished and pregnant Wanda LeFauve (Laura Dern) lives in a trailer outside Shreveport with her four children and her unemployed husband Al LeFauve (Richard Lineback). When Wanda spots the classified ad of a couple who want to adopt a newborn baby, she responds with a phone call that puts her in touch with a wealthy Los Angeles Jewish couple -- Rachel (Stockard Channing) and Richard Luckman (Peter Riegert). The Luckmans arrive in Louisiana to meet the donors, and both couples deal with the legalistics, while also overcoming their fears and transcending the inevitable cultural and class barriers. Filmed in Vancouver, the film preemed August 23, 1998 on Showtime. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Laura Dern, Stockard Channing, (more)
The Nobody's Fool (1994) team of Paul Newman, director Robert Benton, and scripter Richard Russo reassembled for this L.A. detective drama, beginning with a Puerto Vallarta prologue showing private eye Harry Ross (Newman) accidentally shot by 17-year-old Mel Ames (Reese Witherspoon) during his efforts to get her to return home. Two years later, the broke and divorced Ross lives in a garage apartment on the estate of Mel's parents, his movie-star friends Jack and Catherine Ames (Gene Hackman and Susan Sarandon). The cancer-ridden Jack is not unaware that Harry is attracted to Catherine. Delivering a package for Jack, Harry encounters elderly Lester Ivar (M. Emmet Walsh), who shoots at Harry and then dies. Harry's curiosity is provoked when he discovers that Ivar was an investigator checking into the disappearance of Catherine's first husband, written off 20 years earlier as an unsolved case, but now reactivated as Harry's sleuth-work leads him on a trail of past crimes and cover-ups. The Ames residence is actually the former Cedric Gibbons-Delores Del Rio home, and a never-completed Frank Lloyd Wright house near Malibu served as the Ames' ranchhouse. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Newman, Susan Sarandon, (more)
A young man must deal with several generations of madness and familial intrigue in this screen adaptation of the acclaimed novel by Timothy Findley. Charlie Kilworth (Christian Campbell) is a young man whose mother, Lily (Stockard Channing), is the daughter of Frederick Wyatt (R.H. Thomson), the owner of a well-known piano manufacturing company. Lily is also a free-spirited and unstable woman, who bore Charlie out of wedlock, has had a number of lovers over the years, and has a unsettling fascination with fire. Lily's mother Ede (Wendy Crewson) has put her daughter in a mental hospital on several occasions, and is considering having Lily lobotomized. Charlie, meanwhile, has had affairs with a number of women but has never settled down with anyone; working as an events coordinator at a resort hotel, Charlie becomes infatuated with Alex Lamont (Sarah Strange), the singer in a dance band Charlie has booked into the ballroom. Lily urges her son to get married and raise a family, but Charlie isn't so sure he's ready for a lifetime commitment, and Alex becomes frustrated by Charlie's inability to take their relationship seriously. Meanwhile, Ede and Frederick have decided that Lily needs to be permanently committed to an institution; Charlie insists that they send her to a comfortable private facility, but then discovers that a mysterious benefactor has been supporting Lily for years, and Ede and Frederick have decided if Lily is to be in a private institution, then the generous stranger must be the one who pays for it. Surprisingly, The Piano Man's Daughter was produced in part by noted comic actress Whoopi Goldberg. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christian Campbell, Allan Price, (more)
Griffin Dunne directed this romantic fantasy adapted from the 1995 Alice Hoffman novel about the Owens family of witches, regarded as outcasts in the town where they live. Aunt Frances (Stockard Channing) and her sister Aunt Jet (Dianne Wiest) tried to pass on practical magic skills to their nieces, subdued Sally (Sandra Bullock) and fiery Gillian (Nicole Kidman), brought up by the two aunts after their parents died. The aunts concoct spells for the lonely and the lovelorn, but the family's use of witchcraft unfortunately invokes a curse that spells doom to the family's menfolk. Denying her powers, Sally attempted to lead a life minus magic. Her marriage to fish merchant Michael (Mark Feuerstein) brought two daughters -- and Michael's death. Moving into the aunt's seaside mansion, the widowed Sally warns the aunts not to influence her daughters. Sally intervenes when Gillian suffers at the hands of her abusive Bulgarian boyfriend Jimmy (Goran Visnic), and Arizona detective Gary Hallet (Aidan Quinn), investigating Jimmy's disappearance, turns up in town, eyeing Gillian and Sally as the leading suspects. Filmed in Washington (San Juan Island, Whidby Island, Coupeville, Friday Harbor). ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, (more)
- 1997
- PG
A USA original movie, this drama centers on a woman faced with a series of life-altering surprises. First her niece and nephew come to live with her, forever. Then she falls in love and her new beau moves in. The makeshift family decides that New York City life is too much for them and so they move into the countryside. Just when it looks like the little group may finally come together, the woman discovers that she is pregnant. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stockard Channing, Stephen Collins, (more)
- 1997
Man Ray, famed Dada artist, expatriate, and innovator, is the subject of this PBS American Masters Series episode. Stockard Channing hosts this in-depth documentary. Several interviews with the artist himself and other archival footage aptly covers and describes one of the 20th Century's most influential artists. ~ Ed Atkinson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
In this drama, a career woman is forced to re-evaluate her fast-track life after her sister's young children come to live with her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stockard Channing, Stephen Collins, (more)
