Jane Curtin Movies
Famed for (and lucky enough to be) one of Saturday Night Live's original Not Ready for Primetime Players, Jane Curtin made her debut in 1975 among such heavies as John Belushi, Chevy Chase, and Gilda Radner. Together they formed the sketch comedy troupe that wrote a new chapter in American comedy.Curtin is different from many of her famous SNL cohorts in that she left the show without being easily identified with a single character. Audiences loved her as Mrs. Conehead and as the co-anchor of Weekend Update with Dan Akroyd, but Curtin remained as understated as someone could be with a two-foot cone on her head; in short, she didn't become those characters to the public. With her motherly features and subtle acting style, Curtin never seems to intrude upon her characters. She doesn't force her own personality onto them, but instead, genuinely takes on the character and works through them.
After her two Emmy nominations from Saturday Night Live, Curtin went on to star in two other long-running sitcoms in the next 20 years, making her only the second comedy television star to burn brightly throughout three decades, a feat only matched by Lucille Ball. In the 1980s, viewers empathized with her as Allie Lowell in Kate and Allie (for which she won back-to-back Best Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Emmys in 1984 and 1985); in the 1990s, she kept audiences in stitches with her wacky characterization of Dr. Mary Albright, the anthropologist love interest of John Lithgow on 3rd Rock From the Sun.
She has also appeared in the TV-miniseries Common Ground and the made-for-TV movies Divorce Wars (1982) with Tom Selleck and Maybe Baby (1988) with Dabney Coleman. She co-hosted the retrospective Bob & Ray, Jane, Loraine, and Gilda -- 30 Years of Comedy's Greatest Hits (1979). She has toured with a number of plays and also appeared on Broadway, in Candida and A.R. Gerney's Love Letters. She also starred in the off-Broadway production of Pretzels, a musical revue that she co-wrote.
Before hitting it big, Jane Curtin studied drama at Northeastern College in Cambridge, MA. She lives with her husband and daughter in Connecticut. ~ Sandy Lawson, All Movie Guide
For over three decades, Saturday Night Live has been the source of young comedic talent and helped to launch the careers of countless performers, making them household names. Still considered iconic for their live performances from Studio 8H in New York, the original cast of SNL (including Dan Aykroyd, Gilda Radner and John Belushi) set the tone for years to follow with their irreverent, edgy humor. They combined anti-establishment political satire with rock-and-roll attitude for a show that spoke to the youth of the 1970's, turning it into an instant sensation. Although only the second year on the air, the 1976-1977 season turned out to be the last for Chevy Chase, but the first for a young comedian named Bill Murray. The complete second season of SNL contains legendary musical performances by artists Joe Cocker, The Band, Brian Wilson, Paul Simon, George Harrison, Frank Zappa, Chuck Berry, The Kinks, Santana and Tom Waits and classic appearances by hosts Lily Tomlin, Norman Lear, Steve Martin, Dick Cavett, Jodie Foster, Candice Bergen, Ralph Nader, Fran Tarkenton, Sissy Spacek, Elliott Gould and Shelly Duvall.
- Starring:
- Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, (more)
Continuing the enormous success of the previous two years, the third season of SNL (1977-78) showcased a fearless cast that created some of the most memorable sketches to ever appear on the show. With hilarious breakthrough characters like The Nerds (Bill Murray and Gilda Radner), Coneheads (Dan Aykroyd and Jane Curtin), lounge singer Nick Winters (Bill Murray), Samurai Warrior (John Belushi), a singing King Tut (legendary SNL host Steve Martin) and featuring Father Guido Sarducci (Don Novello) as well as "The Franken and Davis Show" (Al Franken and Tom Davis), SNL continued to define itself as the pinnacle of irreverent humor and political satire.
The complete third season of SNL contains unforgettable appearances by hosts Steve Martin, Michael Palin, Hugh Hefner, Buck Henry, Robert Klein, Chevy Chase, Madeline Kahn, Richard Dreyfuss, O.J. Simpson and the winner of the "Anyone Can Host" contest, Miskel Spillman, and classic musical performances by Elvis Costello, Billy Joel, Ray Charles, Leon Redbone, Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, Ashford & Simpson, Meat Loaf and The Blues Brothers.
The complete third season of SNL contains unforgettable appearances by hosts Steve Martin, Michael Palin, Hugh Hefner, Buck Henry, Robert Klein, Chevy Chase, Madeline Kahn, Richard Dreyfuss, O.J. Simpson and the winner of the "Anyone Can Host" contest, Miskel Spillman, and classic musical performances by Elvis Costello, Billy Joel, Ray Charles, Leon Redbone, Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, Ashford & Simpson, Meat Loaf and The Blues Brothers.
- Starring:
- Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, (more)
Returning for a fourth season (1978-79), the cast and writers of Saturday Night Live maintained their reputation for hilarious characters and innovative sketch-comedy, creating characters such as the Blues Brothers (John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd), Nick the Lounge Singer (Bill Murray), Candy Slice (Gilda Radner), the Loud Family (Jane Curtin, Murray, and Radner), Fred Garvin: Male Prostitute (Aykroyd), and the Nerds (Murray and Radner). Other favorites include the return of iconic host Steve Martin (with Aykroyd as the "wild and crazy" Festrunk Brothers) and Buck Henry's inappropriate Uncle Roy. The 20 episodes of Season 4 feature classic performances from hosts Fred Willard, Carrie Fisher, Kate Jackson, Milton Berle, Michael Palin, Eric Idle, Elliott Gould, Frank Zappa, Gary Busey, and Walter Matthau. Unforgettable musical guests include Peter Tosh, Mick Jagger, the Doobie Brothers, Bette Midler, Talking Heads, Devo, Van Morrison, Grateful Dead, Rickie Lee Jones, James Taylor, and the Rolling Stones.
- Starring:
- Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, (more)
- 1980
- PG
- Add How to Beat the High Co$t of Living to QueueAdd How to Beat the High Co$t of Living to top of Queue
Jane Curtin and Susan Saint James share star-billing with Jessica Lange in this uninspired comedy about three women who need a cash infusion. (Curtin and Saint James would later co-star in the popular sitcom Kate and Allie.) Jane (Saint James) is divorced and financially pressed to raise her children in the manner to which they were accustomed. Elaine's (Curtin) husband left with all their assets except for the house and car, and Louise's (Lange) antique store is going to go bust unless she gets rid of the red ink. After the three women share their angst, they hit on a scheme of robbing cash from the local shopping mall, a place they know quite well. That familiarity, it turns out, cannot guarantee success. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Susan Saint James, Jessica Lange, (more)
- 1982
This superior ABC Theatre of the Month presentation is not so much about the reasons for divorce as it is about the tensions surrounding the actual litigation. Tom Selleck plays a topnotch Seattle divorce lawyer, juggling several delicate cases at once. Arrogantly secure in his legal prowess, Selleck suffers a major ego blow when his own wife (Jane Curtin) files for divorce. In a half-comic, half-serious manner, the travails of Selleck and Curtin are counterpointed with those of Selleck's clients. Donald Wrye and Linda Elstad's high-quality script for Divorce Wars: A Love Story bears a very faint resemblance to the recent movie hits Kramer vs. Kramer and Ordinary People--a resemblance pounced upon and amplified by the print ads for this TV movie. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1983
This comical video features the cast of the original Saturday Night Live and the quietly riotous Bob and Ray. Also featured is Willie Nelson who croons three tunes. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1985
Assembled long after John Belushi's death in 1982, The Best of John Belushi is at once hilarious and melancholy. From 1975 to 1979, Belushi was a member in excellent standing of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" on NBC's Saturday Night Live. This 60-minute video covers those amazing years, offering such highlights as "Samurai Delicatessen" and "The Honeybees." Best and most poignant of all the scenes is the elegiac "Don't Look Back in Anger". This is the one wherein an aged John Belushi strolls reflectively past the graves of all his SNL costars-then breaks into an exuberant dance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Belushi
In what can only be described as a dramatic change of pace, Robert Altman directed this raunchy teen comedy based on the antics of two characters featured in a series of stories published in the National Lampoon. Oliver Cromwell Ogilvie (Daniel Jenkins), aka O.C., and his buddy Mark Stiggs (Neil Barry), are a pair of misfit teenagers whose greatest joy in life is making those around them miserable. O.C.'s ancient grandfather (Ray Walston) has just had his insurance cancelled, and when he discovers that suburbanite salesman Randall Schwabb (Paul Dooley) is responsible, O.C. and Stiggs swing into a summer-long campaign to get revenge on Schwabb and his family. While it received some of the most brutally negative reviews of Altman's career, O.C. and Stiggs is worth a quick look for its cast, which includes fellow outcast auteurs Dennis Hopper and Melvin Van Peebles, comics Louis Nye and Jane Curtain, the one-time glamour girl of the Clifford Irving scandal Nina Van Pallandt, and Thomas Hal Phillips, reprising his role as Hal Phillip Walker from Nashville. World music superstars King Sunny Ade and his African Beats appear and provide the musical score. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daniel Jenkins, Neil Barry, (more)
The 1988 TV movie Maybe Baby stars Jane Curtin as Julia, a 39-year-old career woman, married to upwardly mobile 57-year-old Hal (Dabney Coleman). Julia and Hal had originally agreed not to have children, but after heeding the tick-tock of her biological clock, Julia has changed her mind. At first resistant to the concept of parenthood, Hal goes along with his wife's new agenda, confident that at her age the chances of pregnancy are slim. But Julia does get pregnant--and suddenly begins to harbor second thoughts. Maybe Baby ends with Julia settling upon her third thoughts, and deciding to shoulder the burdens of late motherhood. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Curtin, Dabney Coleman, (more)
- 1989
Within a single year, Gilda Radner rose from talented but obscure improv comedienne to "America's Sweetheart" thanks to NBC's Saturday Night Live. The 60-minute video The Best of Gilda Radner is culled from SNL's vintage years, 1975 to 1980. Included are such beloved Radner creations as Roseanne Roseannadanna ("Thought ah wuz gonna die!"), Emily Litella ("Never mind!"), Lisa Looper ("That was so funny I a'most fergot t' LAFFFFF") and, of course, Baba Wawa. We are also treated to Gilda's takeoff of Lucille Ball and her extended "Dancing in the Dark" number with Steve Martin. You may find yourself alternately laughing and crying through The Best of Gilda Radner--crying because this matchless performer left this world much too soon. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1989
Cats can be very loving creatures, but they might resist someone who is overly affectionate, as Dolores learns in Duncan and Dolores, read by Jane Curtin. LeVar Burton visits Marine World Africa U.S.A., meeting Bengal tigers and their trainers in Reading Rainbow: Duncan and Delores. One of the highlights of the program occurs when viewers get a glimpse of the backstage action at the Broadway hit Cats. Through the wizardry of makeup artists, an actress is magically changed into Grizabella, one of the principal characters in the show. ~ Alice Day, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- LeVar Burton
- 1990
J. Anthony Lukas' 1985 Pulitzer Prize winning book Common Ground served as the basis of the two-part TV movie Common Ground. Jane Curtin plays Alice McGoff, and CCH Pounder plays Rachel Twymon, two Boston housewives and mothers on opposite sides of one of the city's bitterest racial battles. In 1974, the decision is made to improve the level of education received by Boston's black youth. The solution: bus black kids to white schools, and vice versa, on a quota basis. Spearheading the movement is idealistic Harvard-educated attorney Colin Diver (Richard Thomas). Nobody emerges the winner of this debacle, as newly integrated Charleston High School becomes a battlefield. Part one of Common Ground premiered March 25, 1990 (see separate entry for details on part two). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1990
In part one of the 4-hour TV movie Common Ground (see separate entry for details), the city of Boston embarks upon its 1974 school busing program. Instead of bringing unity and harmony, the buses have brought dissension, divisiveness, and some of the ugliest overt bigotry since the 1950s. The impact of Boston's well-meaning integration program has its most profound impact upon black and white Charleston High schoolmates Cassandra (Erika Alexander) and Lisa (Georgia Emelin). They can see most clearly what the adults are doing wrong-but no one listens. Also starring in Common Ground are Jane Alexander, CCH Pounder, Richard Thomas, and, as beleagured Boston mayor Kevin White, James Farentino. The film strives to be fair to both sides, pointing out the racist behavior of both white and black extremists. For the most part, this impartiality works; what doesn't work are the thick, irritating Bostonian accents adopted by some of the actors. Adapted from the fact-based, Pulitzer Prize-winning book by J. Anthony Lucas, Part Two of Common Ground was first telecast March 27, 1990. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
"The Coneheads" were a sketch on the Saturday Night Live television show of the late '70s which were expanded to feature-length proportions with this film. The story concerns Beldar (Dan Aykroyd) and Prymaat (Jane Curtin), who leave the planet Remulak to prepare for an invasion of Planet Earth. But due to a malfunction, they find themselves plunged into the Hudson River and forced to take up residence in Paramus, New Jersey where Beldar gets work as an appliance salesman and makes a deal for a phony social security card. Before long, all thoughts of invading Earth are left behind as Beldar and Prymaat quickly adapt to suburban life -- except for their coneheads and metallic-sounding voices, they become a typical middle-class suburban family. The Coneheads have a child, Connie (Michelle Burke) and Beldar becomes a New York cab driver and starts up his own driving school. Connie grows into a teenager and a neighborhood boy, Ronnie (Chris Farley), develops a crush on her because he likes to rub her conehead. But a nefarious INS agent, Gorman Seedling (Michael McKean), and his toady assistant, Turnbull (David Spade), are hot on The Coneheads' trail because of Beldar's false social security card. Not only that, but the Remulakian Highmaster (Dave Thomas) is beginning to wonder what ever happened to Beldar's invasion of the third rock from the sun. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dan Aykroyd, Jane Curtin, (more)
- 1995
The true story of Abraham Lincoln and the special relationship he had with his son is told in this made-for-television drama. Kris Kristofferson stars as the President, who during the Civil War years was raising his seven year-old son Tad (Bug Hall), with his wife Mary (Jane Curtain). The film shows Lincoln as a devoted father to the energy-filled young boy. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- 1996
- Add 3rd Rock From the Sun: Season 01 to QueueAdd 3rd Rock From the Sun: Season 01 to top of Queue
Upon assuming human form, the team of extraterrestrials calling themselves the Solomon family begin developing human emotions and character faults, as Season One of the fantasy sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun begins its first season. Despite the difficulties inherent in adjusting themselves to their new bodies (for one thing, they no longer swivel their heads to lick their backs!), the Solomons immediately go to work on their intelligence-gathering mission on Earth on behalf of their home-planet leader, the omnipotent Big Giant Head. "High Commander" Dick Solomon (John Lithgow) manages to land a job teaching at Pendleton College, where he finds himself strangely attracted to his colleague Dr. Mary Albright (Jane Curtin), who has nary a clue as to Dick's "alien" status. The team's scientific genius Tommy Solomon (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a middle-aged alien trapped in the body of an adolescent earthling, must endure his first childhood disease, and also begins dating a pre-teen girl named August (Shay Astar). Military officer Sally Solomon (Kristen Johnson)--outwardly a girl, inwardly gosh-knows-what--suddenly and to her initial embarrassment develops a yen for men and seeks the advice of Dick's sarcastic secretary Nina (Simba Khali). And dimwitted alien crew member Harry Solomon (French Stewart) develops a fondness for liquor and other such guilty pleasures. And although they're under orders to kill any human who might come close to learning their true identities, the Solomons find themselves incapable of doing so: Earthlings may be dull, backward jerks, but they make great company! Season One ends on a cliffhanger (the first of many), as the "higher-ups" on the Solomons' home planet decide that they've failed in their mission and demand that they return home--and Dick suddenly develops a split personality! During its inaugural season on the air, 3rd Rock from the Sun was nominated for several Emmy Awards, with John Lithgow copping the prize as "outstanding lead actor in a comedy series." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Lithgow, Jane Curtin, (more)
