Michael Jeter Movies
With his trademark red moustache, personable smile, and childlike demeanor, longtime character actor Michael Jeter brought smiles to children nationwide with his role on Sesame Street as Mr. Noodle's Brother. Aside from his memorable role on that children's television mainstay, Jeter could also be seen in a number of memorable film roles in such efforts as Miller's Crossing (1990) and The Fisher King (1991). Chances are, if you don't recognize his name you would certainly recognize his face. Born in Lawrenceburg, TN, in August of 1952, Jeter first opted to follow a career in medicine, though a stint at Memphis State University found the creative young student leaning ever closer to a career as an actor. Taking on minor film roles beginning with 1979's Hairspray, the burgeoning young actor would subsequently appear in such films as Milos Foreman's Ragtime (1981) and Woody Allen's Zelig (1983), though early struggles with alcohol and substance abuse threatened to sideline his screen career in the mid-'80s.Abandoning the screen for a career as a legal secretary the same year that Zelig was released, fate guided Jeter back into his true calling when a producer, recalling his role in television's Designing Women, asked that he take a supporting role on the Burt Reynolds' sitcom Evening Shade. Accepting the role as assistant football coach Herman Stiles, Jeter's enthusiasm for acting was re-ignited as he was honored with an Emmy for the role in 1992. A busy stage actor as well, Jeter won a Tony in 1990 for his performance in Grand Hotel. From 1990 on, Jeter maintained his film career with a series of memorably quirky roles. Perhaps his most unique and affecting role came with the release of director Terry Gilliam's The Fisher King. As a homeless transvestite who croons for Amanda Plummer's character after making a flamboyant entrance into her quiet office, Jeter's carefree ditty was a highlight of the film. The 1990s proved a busy decade for Jeter, and roles in such popular films as Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993), Air Bud (1997), and The Green Mile (1999) assured that his career would flourish well into the new millennium. Announcing that he had been infected with HIV in 1997, audiences could never have known how quickly the deadly virus would take its toll on the energetic and optimistic actor. Though Jeter would usher in the new millennium with roles in such prominent box-office releases as The Gift (2000) and Jurassic Park III (2001), it was his role on Sesame Street that endeared him to children and made good use of his genuinely playful nature. Sadly, Jeter succumbed to complications from the HIV virus in late March of 2003. Before his untimely death, Jeter would complete roles in Kevin Costner's Open Range (2003) and Robert Zemeckis' family fantasy The Polar Express (2004). ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 2001
- Add Sesame Street: Elmo's World - Birthdays, Games and More to QueueAdd Sesame Street: Elmo's World - Birthdays, Games and More to top of Queue
Join Elmo and his Muppet friends, as they explore different birthday activities in Elmo's World: Birthdays, Games & More. Cakes, party games, and gift wrapping are just a few of the how-to activities that Elmo and Mr. Noodle present to kids. Released in 2001 and running 50 minutes, this video is an entry in a series that also includes Elmo's World: Babies, Dogs & More, Elmo's World: Dancing Music Books, Elmo's World: Flowers, Bananas & More, and Elmo's World: Singing, Drawing & More. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- 2001
- Add Sesame Street: Elmo's World - Wild Wild West! to QueueAdd Sesame Street: Elmo's World - Wild Wild West! to top of Queue
Elmo joins a handful of popular Sesame Street characters for an exciting adventure to the Wild Wild West. Elmo learns first-hand what it takes to be a real cowboy or cowgirl. First he saddles up a horse and learns all the basics of riding. Next, he hits the dance floor for some good ole country square dancing. The video features special guest appearances by Broadway singing sensation Kristen Chenowerth and country music star Travis Tritt. Parents can continue to count on Sesame Street for consistently entertaining and educational programming.
~ Laura Mahnken, All Movie Guide
~ Laura Mahnken, All Movie Guide
- 1999
Unless travelling salesman Gus Zimmerman (Michael Jeter) can come up with $10,000 in a hurry, his invalid wife Esther will be ejected from her nursing home. Heading to Las Vegas in hopes of winning big, Gus falls under the spell of beautiful casino manager Monique (Roma Downey)--who, unbeknownst to him, is the demonic doppelganger of Heavenly caseworker Monica (also Roma Donwey). Before he quite knows what has happened, Gus has signed his soul over to Monique, who tries to arrange for a quick turnover by subtly encouraging the hapless salesman to kill himself so that Esther can collect his life insurance! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Skip Woods made his directorial debut with this film, caught in a crossfire between thriller and comedy. After violence is unleashed in the opening sequence, the story settles on former L.A. drug dealer Casey Wells (Thomas Jane), now a Houston architect living with his attractive wife Christine (Paula Marshall). When past partner Nick (Aaron Eckhart) arrives out of the blue on a Thursday, asking for a place to stay for a few days, Casey invites him in but later gets curious about Nick's briefcase. After he opens it to find a huge helping of heroin, panic sets in, and he flushes it all away -- setting the stage for a variety of hoods and hitmen to turn up on Casey's suburban doorstep. Shown at the 1998 Toronto World Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Thomas Jane, Aaron Eckhart, (more)
- 1997
While preparing an expose of the CIA, Murphy (Candice Bergen) relies upon an unidentified source known only as The Jackal. When Kay (Lily Tomlin) demands to know the mysterious source's true identity, Murphy hires an impostor in order to protect The Jackal's privacy. Unfortunately, Frank (Joe Regalbuto) does the same thing at the same time--and Frank's "Jackal" just loooooves being in the spotlight! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
This made-for-television Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation is based on the play of the same name by Tom Griffin. Nathan Lane, Robert Sean Leonard, Michael Jeter, and Courtney P. Vance star as four men with various mental challenges who try to carve out lives for themselves as they share a home under the guidance of a social worker (Tony Goldwyn). Mare Winningham was nominated for an Emmy Award for her co-starring role. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
Angela Lansbury shows off her gifts as a singer and dancer in this holiday-themed ade-for-TV \musical. Near the turn of the century, Stanta Claus (Charles Durning) is busy getting ready for his annual toy delivery -- in fact, he's so busy he hasn't had much time for his wife, Mrs. Claus (Angela Lansbury), and his spouse has developed a case of cabin fever. Determined to get away and have some some fun on her own, Mrs. Claus hitches up the reindeer and takes them out for a quick spin around the world; however, she has reindeer trouble over New York City, and is forced to make an emergency landing. Stuck in New York for a week as her deer heal, Mrs. Claus's desire to help others quickly comes into play when she befriends a handful of children working in a sweatshop, as well as a group of women who've embraced the cause of sufferage for all. Mrs. Santa Claus first aired on December 8, 1996. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1993
In this awful black comedy, an aging bank robber tries to pull off one final caper. Things go awry and he ends up staying in a raunchy hotel. The crime is well-publicized, but fortunately the equally seedy residents there keep mum. Unfortunately, they are determined to literally nickel and dime him to death by making him pay dearly for even the smallest favors. Things look bleak until a kindly hooker falls in love with him. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patrick Dempsey, Lisa Bonet, (more)
Based on a Broadway play and featuring the Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim score, this is a remake of the 1962 movie which was based on the memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee, a stripper, depicting her life growing up in "show biz." ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bette Midler, Cynthia Gibb, (more)
- 1990
Cinematographers Bram Towbin and Mark Halliday wrote and directed this low-budget farce concerning dating services and video surveillance investigations. Jay O. Sanders plays Ryan Legrand who, along with his partner Dean (Alan Ruck), runs a private investigation firm that specializes in matrimonial cases. Ryan's investigations have made him a drab cynic regarding relationships, making him unwilling to share his feelings with a woman. Joining a video dating service, Ryan feels, may force himself out of his shell and help him to meet women. Through the service he meets struggling actress Tura (Katherine Borowitz). He is attracted to her, but they have a falling out after a disastrous weekend with her friends, and Tura decides to keep him at a distance. Crestfallen, Ryan reacts to her rejection of him by doing what he knows best -- setting up a video surveillance of her every move. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jay O. Sanders, Alan Ruck, (more)
- 1986
While Harry (Harry Anderson) takes a night off, his replacement is the much-older Judge Robert Hirsch (Jeff Corey). This turns out to be a calamitous substitution: though Harry may be eccentric, Judge Hirsch proves to be downright certifiable. Before the night is over, the half-baked Hirsch has jailed public defender Christine (Markie Post) and prosecutor Dan (John Larroquette)--and replaced them with court matron Florence (Florence Halop) and resident derelict Phil (William Utay)! Future Evening Shade regular Michael Jeter shows up in a minor role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Meryl Streep stars as Alice in this made-for-TV production of Elizabeth Swados' musical, which was adapted from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll. Based on the acclaimed New York Shakespeare Festival production by Joseph Papp, Alice at the Palace follows Alice's surreal adventures with The Mad Hatter, The March Hare, The Queen of Hearts, and The Cheshire Cat, among many others. Produced for NBC television, Alice at the Palace also features Debbie Allen, Betty Aberlin, Michael Jeter, and Mark Linn Baker. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- 1981
Essentially a light-weight made for TV romance between different classes - this time a female attorney who meets a laundromat owner at a bird-watching retreat. ~ Tana Hobart, All Movie Guide
My Old Man was adapted from Ernest Hemingway's short story of the same name by Jerome Kass. Hemingway's story told of a down-on-his-luck horse trainer who is given a second chance at making something of his life by his son. This made-for-TV version changed the son to a daughter, played by Kristy McNichol; the "old man" was portrayed by Warren Oates. Eileen Brennan also stars as a waitress who acts as surrogate mother for McNichol--and who'd like to act as wife to Oates. Filmed at Saratoga Springs, New York, My Old Man premiered on December 7, 1979. An earlier, less sentimental theatrical-feature version of the same Hemingway tale was filmed in 1950 as Under My Skin, with John Garfield in the lead. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Add Sesame Street: Elmo's World - Families, Mail and Bath Time to QueueAdd Sesame Street: Elmo's World - Families, Mail and Bath Time to top of Queue
Teach your preschooler the values of personal hygiene, family, and the postal service the fun way as Sesame Street's Elmo and friends play a series of games that are both fun and educational. Not only will your children learn valuable lessons about the world they live in, but they'll have a great time doing it, too! ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Kevin Costner stars in and directs the Western Open Range. Robert Duvall stars as Boss Spearman, a rugged old-timer who free-grazes cattle. He and Charley Waite (Costner) have been partners for ten years. As the film opens in the 1880s, the pair and their employees -- the beefy, rugged, likable Mose (Abraham Benrubi) and the impetuous Mexican teenager Buttons (Diego Luna) -- are driving cattle across the West. Mose is attacked and thrown in jail during a visit to a town. The local cattle rancher Baxter (Michael Gambon) wants the free grazers off his land and warns Charley and Boss when they retrieve Mose that they have until the next day to be out of the area. Boss decides to fight back, especially after Baxter's men do harm to the foursome. Charley confesses his past as a killer during the Civil War and strikes up a tentative romance with Sue Barlow -- the sister of the town doctor. The film's centerpiece is an extended gunfight between the duo (with some assistance from sympathetic townsfolk) and Baxter's hired gunmen. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Duvall, Kevin Costner, (more)
A group of likable losers try to pull of what by their standards seems like a major heist in this offbeat crime comedy, loosely based on the classic Italian caper comedy I Soliti Ignoti. A group of sad sacks living in a rundown neighborhood in Cleveland all have one thing in common -- they need money, and aren't especially fussy about how they get it. Riley (William H. Macy) is a guy whose wife has been sent to jail, leaving him to look after their baby, when she's unable to pay a fine. Pero (Sam Rockwell) is in love with a beautiful girl (Jennifer Esposito) who has a roving eye, and he's convinced that a bigger bankroll would help him win her heart. Leon (Isaiah Washington) is a hipster who wants to keep his sister, Michelle (Gabrielle Union), out of trouble. Basil (Andrew Davoli) is a guy with bad luck, and eyes for Michelle. And Toto (Michael Jeter) is a small-time crook looking for something to do -- if it's profitable, all the better. Someone gets the bright idea that a robbery might be the answer to everyone's problems, and with the help of Jerzy (George Clooney), a safe-cracker confined to a wheelchair, they set out to find the right target. Welcome to Collinwood was the first feature film from the writing and directing team of Anthony Russo and Joe Russo; filmmaker Steven Soderbergh and co-star George Clooney served as producers. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Luis Guzman, Michael Jeter, (more)
Popular country & western singer and well-regarded character actor Dwight Yoakam steps behind the camera for this revisionist Western, his first effort as a director and screenwriter. Valentine Casey (Yoakam) is the sheriff of the town of Los Tragos in the Arizona Territory. Valentine, an orphan, was raised as a child by Leland Henry (Luke Askew), a notorious outlaw, but while Henry's sons Taylor (Vince Vaughn) and Arvid (Paul Reubens) have followed their father into a life of crime, Valentine dedicates himself to putting Henry and his gang behind bars. But when the Henry gang knocks over a bank, Valentine and his posse are hopelessly outnumbered (and intimidated by Leland's Gatling guns). Years later, word has circulated that Valentine died while fighting in the Spanish-American War, but he mysteriously appears in an Arizona border town, winning the affections of a visiting actress named Adalyne (Bridget Fonda) and attracting the wrath of Brigadier Smalls (Billy Bob Thornton), Adalyne's beau and a mysterious figure with a troubling secret. South of Heaven, West of Hell also features supporting performances from Bud Cort, Michael Jeter, and Bo Hopkins. Dwight Yoakam also wrote the film's original score, in collaboration with his longtime producer and sideman Pete Anderson. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dwight Yoakam, Vince Vaughn, (more)
Supernatural horror meets character drama in this Sam Raimi-directed thriller. Set in Georgia, the film concerns a widowed mother named Annie (Cate Blanchett) who is blessed with the ability to have psychic visions. When Annie is asked to use her powers to investigate the murder of a rich society girl (Katie Holmes) who was engaged to a local high school principal (Greg Kinnear), she finds her "gift" is as destructive as it is helpful. Many of the townspeople have mixed regard for Annie's abilities, including an abusive husband (Keanu Reeves) and his brutalized wife (Hilary Swank) (the former threatens Annie and her children with taunts that she is a devil) as well as a deeply troubled auto mechanic (Giovanni Ribisi) who may hold a key to the events in question. The Georgia residents soon find themselves all suspects in the investigation, and Annie is forced to confront past demons while still trying to help solve the mystery. The Gift was co-written by Billy Bob Thornton, who appeared in another of Raimi's thrillers, A Simple Plan. ~ Jason Clark, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cate Blanchett, Giovanni Ribisi, (more)
Investigative reporter Steve Everett (Clint Eastwood) has just relocated to the west coast after getting fired from the New York Times. Thanks to his old friend, Alan Mann (James Woods), the editor-in-chief of The Oakland Tribune, Everett still has a job, but that's hardly the end of his problems. An alcoholic and a womanizer, he's been sober for two months and his marriage to Barbara (Diane Venora) is in as bad a shape as his car. Everett has also earned the hatred of city editor Bob Findley (Denis Leary), and not without reason -- Everett has been sleeping with his wife. One day, when another reporter dies in an automobile accident, Findley asks Everett to take over her assignment -- the final interview of condemned murderer Frank Beachum (Isaiah Washington). Everett researches the case before the interview, and finds Beachum was convicted of a robbery and homicide in an Oakland convenience store. But the reporter finds several discrepancies in the story, and a visit to death row only confirms Everett's suspicions that Beachum was not the killer. The reporter begins a hurried search for information that will stay the execution. Plagued by his inner demons, the reporter has 12 hours left to save the life of a man he knows is innocent. ~ Ron Wells, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clint Eastwood, Isaiah Washington, (more)
Director Frank Darabont, who made an acclaimed feature film debut with The Shawshank Redemption (1994), based on a Stephen King novel set in a prison, returns for a second feature, based on King's 1996 serialized novel set in a prison. In 1935, inmates at the Cold Mountain Correctional Facility call Death Row "The Green Mile" because of the dark green linoleum that tiles the floor. Paul Edgecomb (Tom Hanks) is the head guard on the Green Mile when a new inmate is brought into his custody: John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan), convicted of the sadistic murder of two young girls. Despite his size and the fearsome crimes for which he's serving time, Coffey seems to be a kind and well-mannered person who behaves more like an innocent child than a hardened criminal. Soon Edgecomb and two of his fellow guards, Howell (David Morse) and Stanton Barry Pepper), notice something odd about Coffey: he's able to perform what seem to be miracles of healing among his fellow inmates, leading them to wonder just what sort of person he could be, and if he could have committed the crimes with which he was charged. The Green Mile also stars James Cromwell as the warden; Michael Jeter, Sam Rockwell, and Graham Greene as inmates awaiting dates with the electric chair; and Harry Dean Stanton as a clever trustee. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Hanks, David Morse, (more)
