Tyne Daly Movies
The daughter of actor James Daly and sister of actor Tim Daly, Emmy award-winning American actress Tyne Daly was destined early on to enter the family business. After graduation from the American Academy of Dramatic Art, Tyne worked on stage and appeared in TV guest spots starting in the early '70s. While applauded for her talent, Daly found full stardom eluding her for several years during a long string of busted TV pilots like In Search of America (1971), Doctor Granger (1972), Fitzgerald and Pride (1972) and Hotshot Harry and the Rocking Chair Renegades (1979) did little to make her bankable (though her performance as Kate, female partner to Clint Eastwood's Dirty Harry Callahan, in the 1976 action opus The Enforcer, most assuredly helped).
Then in 1981, Tyne Daly and Loretta Swit were cast in the pilot of Cagney and Lacey, an unusual (for U.S. prime time television) story of two policewomen who could handle their jobs with courage and assuredness. The success of the pilot led to a series in 1982, with Daly cast as Detective Mary Beth Lacey (opposite Meg Foster and later Sharon Gless). The series witnessed the character fighting to be accepted on equal terms with her male counterparts, and also struggling to maintain a normal home life as wife and mother. Daly's realistic portrayal earned her considerable praise from real-life law enforcement officials. Cagney and Lacey was cancelled in 1983, but returned to the air a year later thanks to a letter-writing campaign mounted by viewers. By the time the series ended in 1988, Daly had won four Emmy awards for her portrayal of Lacey. In 1994 she starred opposite Kellie Martin in the short-lived inspirational TV drama Christy, and in 1995 appeared in a trio of Cagney and Lacey reunions.
In subsequent years Daly switched venues, devoting her energies to the Broadway stage. Her accomplishments during this period included scoring a personal triumph and winning a Tony as Mama Rose in the 1989-90 revival of the 1959 musical Gypsy, and taking on untold challenges in a five-role, one-woman show, Mystery School, at Gotham's Angel Orensanz Foundation Center in 1998 (revived 2008). As time rolled on, the actress (like Cagney co-star Gless) returned to television, notably with a key supporting role as the lead character's domineering, judgmental mother on the series drama Judging Amy (1999-2005) (a series on which Gless occasionally appeared as a guest star)). Having caught the theatrical bug, however, Daly also retained her footing on stage in such outings as the acclaimed Rabbit Hole (2006) (opposite John Slattery and Cynthia Nixon). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2003
When Undercover Christmas first aired over CBS on December 7, 2003, a number of critics lauded the film for its "fresh" and "unique" storyline--blissfully unaware that the film bore a marked resemblance to the 1940 Fred MacMurray-Barbara Stanwyck vehicle Remember the Night. Jamie Gertz tops the cast as Brandi O'Neill, a sassy cocktail waitress who is the "great and good friend" of billionaire Scott Shift (Cameron Bancroft). Determned to nail Shift on a tax fraud charge, FBI agent Jake Cunningham (Shawn Christian) figures that Brandi will make an excellent federal witness, and takes her into protective custody. Unfortunately, not long afterward Jake receives word from his mother Anne (Tyne Daly) that his father Joe (Winston Rekert), a very wealthy and very conservative jurist, has suffered a heart attack--and that it would behoove Jack to come home for Christmas to see his dad just one more time. Naturally, Jake is forced to take Brandi along to meet his folks, who are shocked beyond measure when, to avoid compromising his case against Shift, Jake passes Brandi off as his new girlfriend! Things get dicier still when it turns out that Joe Cunningham's heart attack was just a sham to force Jake to come home and get his annual dressing-down for not living up to his parents' hopes--and all the while, Brandi begins to really enjoy her new luxurious surroundings, and seriously considers latching onto Jake for keeps. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Sam Pillsbury directs the CBS movie The Wedding Dress, a romantic drama about a magical wedding dress that involves six different couples. The television feature stars Neil Patrick Harris, Margaret Colin, and Tyne Daly as Joan Delano, the mother of romantic lead Zoey (played by Daly's real-life daughter Kathryne Dora Brown). ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Neil Patrick Harris, Margaret Colin, (more)
- 2000
This drama about a family of Italian-American apple farmers sees New York entertainment publicist Bob Tredici (Marc Grapey) return to the family farm in Indiana after learning that his father, Franco (Robert Breuler), has been in an accident. Since Bob rejected farming duties long ago to pursue a career in showbusiness, his cousin Greg (Jeff Puckett) assumes that he will take over the farm when Franco dies. Bob, however, discovers that he likes farming, and he convinces his secretary Happy (Rebecca Harrell) to come to the farm and pose as his wife to help him win back his father's trust. A Piece of Eden also features Tyne Daly and Frederic Forrest in supporting roles. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rebecca Harrell, Robert Breuler, (more)
Director Linda Yellen spins this study of four couples as they struggle to maintain their relationships. Middle-aged divorcée and landlord Katharine (Lynn Redgrave) is completely smitten with her live-in lover Rick (Harry Connick, Jr.). She loves throwing parties, and on one Halloween she hosts a dinner for some wildly dissimilar guests: her tenets Sandra (Cindy Crawford) and Paul (Jamey Sheridan) are conservative professionals, while fellow building dwellers Marta (Monica Keena) and Billy (Dylan Bruno) are rock musicians. Also at the party is wacky psychic Arnita (Tyne Daly). During dinner, Arnita sees the spirits of another couple: Mae (Samantha Mathis), a flapper from the 1920s, and Katharine's great-grandfather Edward (William Hurt). Unnerved, Arnita predicts that one couple will split up by year's end. Though initially shaken, the guests brush her off as a nut. Yet toward the year's end, Katharine grows increasingly jealousy of Rick's flirtation with Sandra. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lynn Redgrave, Jamey Sheridan, (more)
- 1999
Based on a true story, this crime drama is adapted from Emily Mann's play about the murder of Harvey Milk (Peter Coyote), the first openly gay City Supervisor in San Francisco, who was assassinated along with Mayor George Moscone (Stephen Young) in 1978. While city employee Dan White (Timothy Daly) was found guilty of the crime, the charge was reduced from murder in the first degree to voluntary manslaughter when his lawyers claimed that White became emotionally unstable after eating too much junk food; this controversial and much-derided legal tactic became known as the "Twinkie Defense." White served five years in prison for the double murder before committing suicide in 1985. Execution of Justice was produced for the Showtime premium cable network. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tim Daly, Stephen Young, (more)
Jaclyn Smith, Tyne Daly, and Nicole Forester star in a made-for-TV tear-jerker about three women who are forced to confront the mistakes of their past when they learn an eight-year-old boy has been declared the only survivor of a tragic plane crash -- and each is certain the boy is the child she gave up for adoption years before. The supporting cast includes Jason Brooks and Scott Plank. Three Secrets is a remake of a 1950 melodrama, in which Patricia Neal, Eleanor Parker, and Ruth Roman played the three women. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jaclyn Smith, Tyne Daly, (more)
Set in Salt Lake City, this thriller stars Stephen Baldwin as a police detective who is still learning to deal with his loss after the death of his son. He is forced to put his grief on hold when he's assigned to a new case -- a psychotic murderer is terrorizing the city, bludgeoning each victim to death and then meticulously cleaning the crime scene so that few, if any, clues remain. The supporting cast includes Rob Knepper and Shawn Huff. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stephen Baldwin, Robert Knepper, (more)
- 1998
Steven Maler's first feature film made it's premiere at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival. Autumn Heart is a heavy melodrama set in 1970 about three daughters who go looking for their long lost brother. What they find is an opened Pandora's box about themselves. Sixteen years have passed since Ann (Tyne Daly) gave up her son and her husband. In that time, she raised only her three older daughters. Now Ann has had a heart attack and asked these three hard-living women (played by Ally Sheedy, Marceline Hugot and Marla Sucharetza) to find their long-lost brother somewhere in Boston. What they discover is a brother studying at Harvard and their estranged, upper class father. Now these hard-talking women must wrestle with their emotions about their own feelings of abandonment, as part of coming to terms with the realities of their lives. Can they also convince their brother to come back and visit? Can they forgive their mother for the secrets she withheld? Can a family heal the wounds of time? ~ Chris Gore, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tyne Daly, Ally Sheedy, (more)
- 1997
- 1997
- R
Too old to work as a showgirl in Reno, Nevada, Jackie, a middle-aged beauty (Mimi Rogers), is reduced to prostitution to support herself and her ailing son. She also has a part-time job at a casino, until an abusive client from her other profession beats her senseless and gets her fired. Not only does she lose her job, she is also blacklisted from the other casinos. When the abusive john threatens her son, Jackie plots her revenge. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mimi Rogers, Tyne Daly, (more)
- 1997
A pair of not-so-happily married academics confront their various emotional problems as temptations appear on all sides in this comedy. Mary Jane Dankworth (Sally Kellerman) teaches film at the same university where her husband Harvey (Ed Begley, Jr.) teaches Russian literature. Their relationship has been in rough waters for some time now; Harvey is no longer sexually attracted to M.J., and she feels as though she threw away her career as a documentary filmmaker in exchange for a marriage that doesn't make her happy. Mary Jane begins seeing a therapist, Dr. Guttmacher (Tyne Daly), and she discusses with her the Walter Mitty-esque daydreams that have lately been pervading her thoughts. Harvey, on the other hand, is also seeing an analyst, Dr. Brown (Rance Howard), and as he tries to regain his lost youth after turning 50, he attracts the attentions of Muriel Johansen (Sandra Taylor), an attractive graduate student who is working with Harvey on her masters thesis concerning erotic literature. Suspecting that something is up with her husband, M.J. hires a private detective, Carmine Ficcone (Stuart Margolin), but she soon discovers that he's more interested in chasing her than in following Harvey. Mel Shapiro wrote the screenplay based on his own play, while leading lady Sally Kellerman also served as co-producer, in tandem with her husband Jonathan D. Krane. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sally Kellerman, Ed Begley, Jr., (more)
- 1995
- PG
Seinfeld's Jason Alexander stars in this made-for-television remake of the 1963 classic musical. Alexander stars as Albert J. Peterson, a man hoping to make his fortune and get the girl by promoting the big send-off for a newly drafted pop star named Conrad Birdie (Marc Kudish). A song-and-dance movie, actress-dancer Ann Reinking served as choreographer of this film. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- 1995
New York's toughest lady detectives re-team to solve the murder of a homeless transient who had been terrorizing the residents of a posh apartment building with screaming threats, insults and physical intimidation. Though the cops think the culprit is another street person, Cagney and Lacey believe the real killer is one of the tenants, many of whom have ample reason to have murdered the boorish bum. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sharon Gless, Tyne Daly, (more)
- 1994
A serial killer is on the loose. The only clues he leaves are dried "wallflowers" near or on the body. For Police Lieutenant Janek, the need to find the maniac becomes more urgent after he learns that the latest victim is his own beloved goddaughter. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Crenna, Helen Shaver, (more)
In 1994 -- six years after the final episode of the groundbreaking 1980s television crime drama Cagney & Lacey -- Sharon Gless and Tyne Daly reprised their iconic roles for the first of four TV-movie sequels. Cagney & Lacey: The Return finds the now-retired Lacey reuniting with the now-married Cagney for a case involving weapons smuggling, all while dealing with women's issues such as career, marriage, parenthood -- and, this time around, menopause -- in the trademark style that made the parent show such a cultural touchstone. ~ Sandra Bencic, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tyne Daly, Sharon Gless, (more)
- 1993
This powerful fact-based made-for-TV drama follows a poor, illiterate woman as she bravely takes on the government child protective services in hopes that they will return her three children. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1993
The 1992 Broadway cast performs Leonard Bernstein's musical comedy On the Town, based on an idea by Jerome Robbins. Three sailors -- Gabey (Thomas Hampson), Chip (Kurt Ollmann), and Ozzie (David Garrison) -- run around New York City when they are granted shore leave. In 24 hours time, they manage to meet three city girls (Frederica von Stade, Tyne Daly, and Marie McLaughlin). The music is performed by the London Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Michael Tilson Thomas, with chorus master Terry Edwards conducting the London Voices. Lyricists Betty Comden and Adolph Green provide video narration. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
