Tim Daly Movies
A descendent of a long line of talented actors including father James and sister Tyne, boyishly handsome screen regular Tim Daly has endured to overcome a post Wings career slump with a successful series of film and television roles. The New York City native first took to the stage in summer stock while studying at Bennington College; he followed graduation with a few seasons at Providence's Trinity Square Repertory and then made his off-Broadway debut in 1984 with Fables for Friends. Daly's film career got off to a healthy start with his role as a young expectant father in Diner (1982), though in the years that followed, the fresh-faced star was relegated mostly to small-screen roles. A Broadway bow opposite Annette Bening in Coastal Disturbances proved that Daly did indeed have the talent to make it as an actor if casting directors could see past his youthful exterior, and with his upcoming role in Wings, the rising star would prove his worth not only at comedy but drama as well. Cast opposite Steven Weber as one of two brothers who own a small Nantucket airline, Daly stayed with Wings through the series' seven-year run (1990-1997). During that time, he also utilized the predictable production schedule as a means to experiment with dramatic roles in a series of memorable made-for-television features.If audiences had pigeonholed Daly as a small-screen lightweight, a role as cult leader David Koresh in In the Line of Duty: Ambush in Waco showed that the versatile actor was capable of much more. Some of Daly's other roles from the mid-'90s may have proved less than memorable, but his vocal contributions to the animated television series Superman (for which he voiced the Man of Steel himself) kept him busy before he landed the role of astronaut James Lovell in the acclaimed HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon (1998). As audiences began to realize Daly's talent thanks to memorable parts in Storm of the Century (1999) and an updated version of the television classic The Fugitive, it seemed as if the veteran actor might have finally overcome his youthful outward appearance to command some respect. Though Daly would indeed impress with his role as Dr. Richard Kimble in The Fugitive, the series lasted only one season and it would be two years before he would return to the screen in the made-for-television drama The Outsider. In the years that followed, Daly's film career experienced something of a revival when he was cast in such high-profile releases as Basic (2003) and Against the Ropes (2004). The longtime actor also made his directorial debut in 2004 with the mournful drama Bereft. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Writer-director Barry Levinson's autobiographical first feature fondly remembers his Baltimore youth. It's late 1959, and six guys in their early twenties are stumbling into adulthood, alternating responsibility with carefree time at their local diner. The story centers on the return from college of Billy (Tim Daly) to serve as best man at the wedding of his pal Eddie (Steve Guttenberg). Billy is consumed by a confusing relationship with a close female friend, while Eddie still lives at home, preparing a football trivia test for his fiancée and vowing to cancel the wedding if she fails. Other characters woven into the narrative include Boogie (Mickey Rourke), a womanizer with a gambling problem, and Shrevie (Daniel Stern), a music addict with a troubled marriage. Diner became known for its bittersweet comic screenplay and its remarkable cast, which also included Paul Reiser, Kevin Bacon, and Ellen Barkin. In order to capture the loose, laid-back dialogue of the diner scenes, Levinson directed them last, so that the actors would be more comfortable with each other. Diner was the first part of Levinson's "Baltimore Trilogy," followed by Tin Men (1987) and Avalon (1990). ~ Norm Schrager, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Daly, Steve Guttenberg, (more)
In order to win a bet, a nebbishy engineer must meet a model; not only does he get to know her, they begin to date. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Teri Copley, Tim Daly, (more)
- 1984
- PG
In this standard human interest comedy, Susan Berlanger (Kristy McNichol) has been crippled since a child and has to wear a leg brace in order to get around, but that does not in any way prevent Sam (Robert Carradine) and several other men from being very attracted to her. Susan is a professional flautist with a ballet-company orchestra and is given a chance to travel to Europe for a concert tour, which she is more than happy to accept. Since she has doubts about relationships (do these men feel sorry for her?), she puts a cast on her leg and goes to a ski resort to find out what it is like to be treated "normally" by others. Once there, she meets a captivating photographer (Michael Ontkean) and falls in love -- but does not tell him the truth about her leg. Making matters even worse, a wealthy Frenchman courting Susan's roommate at the resort is an amputee -- he lost a leg in an automobile accident. Sooner or later, Susan will have to come to grips with her deception, her forthcoming marriage, and her interest in the photographer. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kristy McNichol, Michael Ontkean, (more)
- 1985
A young woman faces a difficult decision in this drama. She has spent most of her life preparing to dance ballet. She is also involved with a dashing reporter. Despite her love, she leaves Detroit to dance in New York, and while there she has an affair with her dance partner. Her dilemma comes when the reporter proposes marriage as her career is taking off. Now she must choose between her career and her lover. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1986
In this light-hearted entry from the American Playhouse series, a remarkable young man really believes he can fly without the aid of machines. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
This glitzy miniseries based on the Judith Krantz novel is a wicked soap opera about sex, power, and betrayal. Valerie Bertinelli stars as Maxi, whose mother (Francesca Annis) marries her father's hated brother Cutter (Perry King) after his death. Cutter had sworn to destroy everything his late brother valued and proceeds to run his publishing empire into the ground. Maxi, who has already been through three husbands by age 29, turns over a new leaf by gathering her family and making a commitment to save the business, which she does by becoming the editor of a successful fashion magazine. Maxi lives in the Trump Tower, whose famed real-life owner appears as himself. It has some unintentionally campy moments, but King is quite good as the villainous Cutter, and fans of this sort of high-gloss '80s melodrama will want to put it on their lists. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Valerie Bertinelli, Francesca Annis, (more)
- 1987
- PG
Alan Rudolph directed this offbeat, boy-meets-girl romance in which boy dies, dead boy meets dead girl, dead boy loses dead girl, and dead boy tries to find dead girl again. The tale begins is a small Pennsylvania town, where Mike Shea (Timothy Hutton) dreams of escaping small town life and moving to California with his girlfriend Brenda (Mare Winningham). But Brenda leaves him with his motor running and Mike takes off alone. On the way, he rescues a woman and her children from an icy river but perishes himself. He finds himself in Heaven, where he is greeted by Aunt Lisa (Maureen Stapleton), who explains the rules and regulations. Once in the ethereal realm, Mike falls in love with a heavenly lass with flaxen locks named Annie (Kelly McGillis). But their love is torn asunder because Annie has not yet earned her wings on Earth; she must leave on a tour of duty and put in time inhabiting a human body. Mike is beside himself in despair, but the heavenly powers, in the form of Emmett (Debra Winger), chain-smoking and sporting an orange crewcut like a ghostly Laurie Anderson, offer him a deal. Mike can return to Earth, but only on the stipulation that neither he nor Annie will remember each other. They then have thirty years in which to find one another again. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Timothy Hutton, Kelly McGillis, (more)
- 1988
- PG
A pre-Wings Tim Daly stars in For Love or Money. Daly plays a young real estate salesman on the way up. His golden opportunity for lasting success arrives by way of a new, highly expensive and very desirable condominium. The film's dramatic crisis boils down to this: which is the most important thing in the man's life, his job or his lady friend (Havilland Morris)? Supporting player Kevin McCarthy goes through his usual corporate-fatcat paces. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1988
- R
Tim Daly stars in director Janet Greek's fair horror-thriller as Los Angeles attorney Jeff Mills, who rescues beautiful Miranda Reed (Kelly Preston) from being raped. As he and Miranda become lovers, Jeff learns that his new girlfriend is a witch trying to escape from an evil cult led by Aldys (Anthony Crivello), who wants to use her as a human sacrifice. Borrowing ideas from thrillers like Fatal Attraction (1987) and Tutti i Colori del Buio (1972), this borderline occult chiller co-stars genre veterans Rick Rossovich, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Stefan Gierasch, and Audra Lindley. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Daly, Kelly Preston, (more)
- 1988
- PG13
A lucrative real estate deal, or romance with the boss' daughter--that's the dilemma facing a yuppie in this comedy. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Daly, Michael Garin, (more)
This superbly animated children's tale is directed by Hayao Miyazaki, one of Japan's most beloved animators. The story follows Satsuke and Mai, two young girls who find their new country home is in a mystical forest inhabited by a menagerie of mystical creatures called Totoros. They befriend O Totoro, the biggest and eldest Totoro, who is also the king of the forest. As their girls' mother lies sick in the hospital, O Totoro brings the sisters on a magical adventure but also helps them to understand the realities of life. Like most films released by Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli, this family-oriented feature has a powerful ecological theme. The English-language version of this film wasn't dubbed until many years later, explaining the presence of actors such as Dakota Fanning in the cast (who wasn't even born until 1994). ~ Jonathan E. Laxamana, All Movie Guide
- 1989
The ads for Red Earth, White Earth ballyhooed the soap-opera aspects of the made-for-TV film, particularly the fact that the young protagonist's (Tim Daly) best friend was shacking up with the boy's mother. Played down in the ads was the central crisis of the film: A battle between a white farm family and the Native Americans who have recently acquired the political pull to claim the family's land. The farmers are flummoxed not only by the ethnic issue but also by their long-standing personal and financial woes. Given the high-charged political atmosphere of Red Earth, White Earth, it's ironic that its originally scheduled 1988 telecast was moved to early 1989--bumped off the air by one of the Bush-Dukakis debates. The film was based on a novel by Will Weaver. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Created by the same production team responsible for the hugely popular series Cheers, Wings has a similarly homey, familiar feel. Replacing the Boston bar is a small airport on Nantucket Island. The denizens of the bar are replaced with pilots and airport personnel. What the viewers are left with is a delightful show revolving around Sandpiper Air Service, a tiny charter airline co-owned by two handsome, charming brothers, a rival airline, Aeromass, and a lunch counter run the brothers' life-long friend, Helen.
- Starring:
- Tim Daly, Steven Weber, (more)
In 1977, Alex Haley's groundbreaking mini-series Roots became one of the most watched programs in television history, telling the story of seven generations of the author's mother's family, from their capture in Africa and enslavement in the United States to their eventual emancipation more than a century later. With 1992's Queen, Haley, who passed away before completing the source material, presents the story of his father's family, focusing on his paternal grandmother, a mulato. Halle Berry stars as the title character, the daughter of a slave and a plantation owner. Amidst the Civil War and up through the turn of the century, Queen finds herself struggling to find acceptance from blacks as well as whites. With an all-star cast that also features Martin Sheen, Danny Glover, Dennis Haysbert, Ossie Davis, and Ann-Margret, Queen was directed by John Erman and originally aired in February of 1993. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Halle Berry, Tim Daly, (more)
- 1992
- PG13
In this film, young, headstrong Margaret Harwood (Penelope Ann Miller) is entrusted with a business assignment by her wine merchant father. While taking an inventory of the contents of the wine cellar of a Scottish estate, Margaret discovers an almost-priceless bottle of wine from the "year of the comet." When Margaret alerts her father to the find, he sends his crude assistant, Oliver Plexico (Timothy Daly) to fetch it. Although Oliver and Margaret initially have no great love for one another, they discover that they are forced to work together to keep the wine out of harm's way. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Penelope Ann Miller, Tim Daly, (more)
Wings is still flying high in its fourth season (1992-93), with the Hackett brothers of Sandpiper Air and their friends and co-workers at Tom Nevers Field. From the moment the gang is rescued from a plane crash (seen in the cliffhanger ending of Season 3) to the introduction of Alex Lambert (Farrah Forke), the sexy new love interest for Joe (Tim Daly) and Brian (Steven Weber), life on Nantucket has never been funnier. Is neurotic Joe or screw-up Brian going to land Alex? And will Helen (Crystal Bernard) finally see her career take off? This season, Roy Biggins (David Schramm) expresses his musical side; cabdriver Antonio (Tony Shalhoub) expresses his sensitive side; and Fay (Rebecca Schull) lands a big part in a local production dubbed "Phantom of the Oprah." Plus, dim-witted Lowell (Thomas Haden Church) ends up living with Joe and Brian...and even dates Helen! This four-disc set includes all 22 episodes of Season 4.
- Starring:
- Tim Daly, Steven Weber, (more)
- 1993
This made-for-television drama first aired on NBC and was made shortly after the tragic stand-off in Waco, Texas when a conflict between the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and a group of cultist led by charismatic leader and self-proclaimed messiah David Koresh turned into a bloody battle that left the believers' compound burned and many dead. Soon after the dust settled, investigations revealed that the bloodshed may have been unnecessary. Filmed on location, near Tulsa, Oklahoma, the film recounts events before, during and after the catastrophe. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Daly, Dan Lauria, (more)
- 1993
Lauren Holly plays the hasn't-got-a-clue heroine of the made-for-cable melodrama Dangerous Heart. When her policeman husband is killed, the grieving wife seeks comfort and companionship. She falls for the line dispensed by slick Timothy Daly, never dreaming that her new beau is the man responsible for her husband's death. Daly is only after the money stolen from him by Holly's late husband, and he isn't particular as to how to get it. The suspenseful denouement of Dangerous Heart helps one to forget the conspicuous lack of logic in the establishing scenes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lauren Holly, Tim Daly, (more)
In this season of Wings, Sandpiper Air owner Joe Hackett (Tim Daly) finally wins over lunch counter operator Helen Chappel (Crystal Bernard), as they become engaged and plan their wedding. And not a moment too soon, as Helen's competitive older sister, Casey (Amy Yasbeck), arrives to shake things up, catching the eye of cabdriver Antonio (Tony Shalhoub) and evoking the ire of Joe's newly single brother, Brian (Steven Weber). Plus, batty Fay (Rebecca Schull) quits her job then regrets it, dimwitted Lowell (Thomas Haden Church) turns budding artist (and tries vegetarianism), and surly Roy Biggins (David Schramm) welcomes a mail-order bride! This set contains all 26 episodes from the 1994-95 season.
- Starring:
- Tim Daly, Steven Weber, (more)
- 1994
- PG13
Like the feature film Network (1976), this made-for-television drama scathingly satirizes an amoral, avaricious media. The story is set in 1999, a time the pay-per-view television industry is in a tailspin. It seems with over 500 available channels, audiences have become jaded with movies and sports. Enter up-and-coming executive Jessica Traynor (Sean Young) a member of the Tycom network team. It is her brilliant idea that her company can attract new customers by offering them a chance to witness a real execution on live television. Once her company approves and she untangles all the government red-tape, Jessica is left with the task of choosing an appropriately photogenic and charismatic death-row inmate. Trouble brews when Jessica begins suspecting that the man she selected may be innocent. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sean Young, Tim Daly, (more)
- 1995
- PG13
Thanks to the technological marvels of wireless phones, answering machines, the internet, and e-mail, it is no longer necessary actually to see anyone you know, and seven friends have taken this notion to its logical extreme in this comedy. Linda (Aida Turturro) throws a birthday party and to her dismay, none of her friends show up. The next day, while making phone calls with several acquaintances (none of whom ever meet face to face), Linda hears the same excuse from everyone: they were busy with work and tied up on the phone. Denise (Alanna Ubach), meanwhile, is pregnant, and she decides to call the father, Martin (Dan Gunther), whom she's never met; he made what he thought was an anonymous donation to a sperm bank, and he isn't so sure he wants to be part of the parenting process. Gale (Dana Wheeler-Nicholson) wants to set up a blind date between her friend Barbara (Caroleen Feeney) and Jerry (Liev Schreiber), who exchange photos via fax machine. The group ends up having a wake via conference call when one of their friends dies in a car accident, while talking on a cellular phone, of course. Denise Calls Up was the directorial debut for screenwriter Hal Salwen. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Daly, Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, (more)
