Jenny O'Hara Movies
Jenny O'Hara is part of a performing family whose influence encompasses regional and New York theater from Warren, PA, to Greenwich Village and Broadway, and rock music from England to New York. Born in Sonora, CA, her father, John B. O'Hara, was a salesman and her mother, Edith, a journalist and drama teacher. Jenny, her singer/actress younger sister Jill O'Hara, and her singer/guitarist brother Jack O'Hara, grew up amid their mother's pursuit of a theatrical career, leading a gypsy-like existence in half-built houses and other accouterments of a struggling existence. Edith O'Hara directed a children's theater in Warren, where the two daughters occasionally participated as actresses during their teens, though neither took it seriously. Jenny spent a year at Carnegie Tech and a summer playing in stock theater, and then came to New York to study with Lee Strasberg and Sanford Meisner. She was in touring companies of Cactus Flower and Brecht on Brecht, with Lotte Lenya; off-Broadway productions of Arms and the Man, Play With the Tiger, and Hang Down Your Head and Die; and stock productions of Paint Your Wagon and Take Me Along, among many other musicals and straight plays. She also appeared on ABC's Time for Us. O'Hara's biggest stage credit of the '60s was in Dylan (opposite Alec Guinness) as Annabelle Graham-Pike. In 1970, O'Hara succeeded her younger sister Jill in the musical Promises, Promises. By the mid-'70s, Edith O'Hara was running the 13th Street Theatre in Greenwich Village (a major venue for off-off-Broadway and children's theater), and her brother Jack was in London, playing guitar and bass and singing with the band Eggs Over Easy, pioneering the pub rock scene in England. Meanwhile, Jenny had graduated to television, both in series and made-for-TV features, including a starring role in Brink's: The Great Robbery, The Return of the World's Greatest Detective (in which she took over a role originated by Joanne Woodward in the movie They Might Be Giants), Blind Ambition, and Blinded by the Light. She later worked in movies such as Career Opportunities, Mystic River, and Matchstick Men, and television series such as Law & Order, NYPD Blue, and ER. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide- 2007
Returning by plane from a Singapore symposium, House (Hugh Laurie) and Cuddy (Lisa Edelstein) find themselves in the middle of an airborne medical emergency involving a first-class passenger. It could be the start of a meningitis epidemic--or it could be something even more sinister! Meanwhile, back at the clinic, Wilson (Robert Sean Leonard) must "play House" as he tries to figure out why his 58-year-old patient Fran (Jenny O'Hara) was stricken gravely ill just before having sex with a $1000-a-session prostitute (Meta Golding). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2007
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Tom Berenger and Joely Richardson star in this live-action adaptation of Susan Wojciechowski's beloved children's tome, The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey. The fable centers around two lonely, broken people. Jonathan Toomey (Berenger) is a woodcutter who buried his ability to love when he lost his wife and child in a horrid accident, and thus earned the nickname Gloomy at the hands of misunderstanding local children. Thomas McDowell (newcomer Luke Ward-Wilkinson) watched quietly as the death of his father ripped away his childhood innocence - and destroyed his world. Now, Thomas's single mother, Susan (Richardson) must sell their urban home and move, son-in-tow, into the countryside to live with her sister. When Thomas grows virtually inconsolable over the loss of a wooden manger scene bequeathed to him by his dad, Susan asks Jonathan to carve a new one for the young boy. In time, a most unexpected friendship blossoms between Thomas and the old woodcutter, that heals the wounds and melts the heart of each broken soul. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Berenger, Joely Richardson, (more)
- 2006
Nicki (Chloë Sevigny), realizing that something sneaky was going on between Bill (Bill Paxton) and Barb (Jeanne Tripplehorn), has announced her desire to "bring a new soul" into the family. This enables her to manipulate the wives' schedule according to her menstrual cycle. But she's secretly taking birth control pills. Bill and Barb continue their affair. Barb confesses to Peg (Wendy Phillips), who disapproves. Bill obtains the state file on Roman's (Harry Dean Stanton) shady real-estate ventures. Bill visits Juniper Creek to attend the funeral of Frank's (Bruce Dern) first wife, planning to also meet with Roman. Bill is outraged to learn that Frank refuses to make Lois (Grace Zabriskie) his first wife, as he once promised, because, among other things, he thinks she tried to kill him. Bill tries to persuade Frank to change his mind. He also checks with Joey (Shawn Doyle) to make sure Joey's name won't appear on any of Roman's real-estate deals before going to Roman with a cash offer and a threat to expose him if he doesn't take the money. "God will have a humble people," Roman warns Bill. "Either we can choose to be humble, or we can be compelled." Meanwhile, back in civilization, Nicki creates a scene at Home Plus when she demands the "family discount" while buying a garbage disposal, and Ben (Douglas Smith) chastises Margene (Ginnifer Goodwin) for inviting Pam (Audrey Wasilewski) over to watch a DVD. This episode was directed by Mary Harron (American Psycho). ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- 2006
Since being evicted from Juniper Creek, and then from the motel where they were staying, Joey (Shawn Doyle), Wanda (Melora Walters), Lois (Grace Zabriskie), and Frank (Bruce Dern) and his other three wives have all been staying at the Henrickson's. Bill refuses to let Frank stay in the house, which Wanda says is a good idea because "Bill hates him, he makes Joey crazy, and he doesn't pee in the toilet." What she means is, Frank, having lived with many women for many years, has decided that there's always a woman in the bathroom, and so he prefers to use the sink, wherever he's staying. Bill develops serious problems with his vision, and Margene (Ginnifer Goodwin) quietly brings him to the ER, where he learns that his overuse of Viagra is having serious side effects. Nicki (Chloë Sevigny) frets about her credit-card debt, and asks Adaleen (Mary Kay Place) to somehow make sure that Roman (Harry Dean Stanton) doesn't tell Bill about her situation. Barb (Jeanne Tripplehorn) has ended her "affair" with Bill, but she's not too happy about it. She feels even worse when Joey confides to her that he's not sure if he believes in polygamy anymore. "The only way I know what to believe is to listen to my heart," he tells her, "and it says that Wanda's it for me." Lois explains her short hair to Sarah (Amanda Seyfried), telling her that she cut her hair, like the women used to in biblical times, after her daughter, Margaret, drowned in Lake Mead. With everyone gathered in the house for Easter dinner, the scene is set for a dramatic confrontation. More drama occurs when Bill and Joey travel to Juniper Creek, with Bill determined to get Roman off the store's books, and get his family back into their homes. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- 2005
Everyone seems to be having a Merry Christmas except the people at Seattle Grace. Izzie (Katherine Heigl) can't get into the holiday spirit because she's still p.o.'ed at Alex (Justin Chambers), who for his part is convinced that he'll fail again when he takes his board exams for the second time. Back at the hospital, Bailey (Chandra Wilson) maintains her backbreaking schedule despite her pregnancy; George (T.R. Knight) can't help but feel that his patient's obnoxious relatives are the root cause for her gastric ulcer; and Cristina (Sandra Oh) and Burke (Isaiah Washington) have a theological argument while trying to persuade a 10-year-old to undergo a heart transplant. Finally, though Derek (Patrick Dempsey) and Addison (Kate Walsh) have reconciled for the umpteenth time, it doesn't last long--a fact that doesn't make Addison happy, but which may turn out to be the best Christmas present that Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) ever had. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
A woman who has drifted away from her boyfriend's affections finds love in the arms of his son in this independent drama. Laura (Dina Korzun) is an attractive woman in her early thirties who was living in her native Russia when she met Alan James (Rip Torn), a legendary music producer from Memphis. Alan brought Laura back to the United States and moved in with her, but now that the couple have a three-year-old son, Laura finds herself a stranger in the city she now calls home and is growing increasingly distant from the philandering Alan. After a testimonial tribute to Alan, Laura meets his grown son Michael (Darren E. Burrows) for the first time; Michael has a difficult and sometimes combative relationship with Alan and prefers to keep a distance from him and his life, but Michael and Laura find they quickly develop a strong rapport. Laura and Michael's friendship soon grows into an affair, but as Laura considers her unhappiness with Alan, she also feels guilty about betraying a man who has given her a life she would hardly have dared to dream of when she was younger. Forty Shades of Blue was helmed by Ira Sachs (who earned enthusiastic reviews for his 1997 debut feature The Delta), from a script he co-wrote with Michael Rohatyn. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rip Torn, Dina Korzun, (more)
- 2001
Detective John Clark Jr. (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) is put in the uncomfortable position of choosing between his father, John Sr. (Joe Spano), and his new partner, Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz). Back on the job, John Jr., Andy, Greg (Gordon Clapp), and Baldwin (Henry Simmons) investigate the death of an unstable Rikers correction officer, and a reluctantly teamed Connie McDowell (Charlotte Ross) and Eddie Gibson (John F. O'Donohue) look into another murder. Both cases reach dead ends until the eleventh-hour discovery of a drugstore receipt and a startling confession from an elderly woman. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Henry Simmons
- 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)
- 1998
This 1998 film from director Jennifer Wynne Farmer is a family-friendly short about the magic of Halloween. It's the end of October, and that can mean only one thing: it's time to dress up and go trick-or-treating. But this year will be unlike any other Halloween before, as the kids discover the mythical Pumpkin Man. Star Trek: The Next Generation's Denise Crosby stars along with Philip Abbott. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- 1998
This TV sitcom, set in a bar in the blue-collar Irish-Catholic neighborhood of South Boston, is "inspired by the real life" of comic Sue Costello who hails from South Boston. It also stars Costello in the lead role of a loud-mouthed female barmaid, but just to make sure you're paying attention, this character is named Sue Murphy, not Sue Costello. Go figure. In the opening episode, Sue ends her relationship with her boyfriend P.J. (Matthew Michael Mahaney), and this decision draws a negative reaction from her family -- her carpenter father (Dan Lauria), her waitress mother (Jenny O'Hara), her younger brother Jimmy (Chuck Walczak), and her best friend Trish (Kerry O'Malley). In subsequent episodes, Sue makes moves to establish her independence but finds it's not that easy. As the show's ad phrased it, "Nothing stands between Sue and making her dreams come true...Except reality." Filmed in Burbank, this series premiered September 8, 1998 on Fox. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sue Costello, Dan Lauria, (more)
- 1996
While on helicopter-flight rotation, Greene (Anthony Edwards) and Lewis (Sherry Stringfield) try to help a family of four, seriously injured in a van-and-truck accident. But upon arriving at County with the victims, the two doctors are stymied by the incompetence and obstreperous behavior of "floater" nurse Rhonda Sterling (Jill O'Hara). Elsewhere, Keaton (Glenne Headly) confronts Benton (Eriq La Salle) over his rampant egomania. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1996
Benton (Eriq La Salle) tries to save the life of a 13-year-old gang member who's already been declared dead, thereby creating even more friction amongst the ER staffers. Meanwhile, "floating" nurse Rhonda (Jill O'Hara) continues to make disastrous mistakes. And on the domestic front, Greene (Anthony Edwards) worries that Lewis (Sherry Stringfield) may be dating Morganstern (William H. Macy), while Carter (Noah Wyle) grows ever closer to Keaton (Glenne Headly). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1995
In the conclusion of a three-part story arc, Drew (Drew Carey) acts as his own attorney when he is sued by fellow employee Nora for creating a "hostile workplace" by posting a harmlessly obscene newspaper cartoon about a nearsighted caterpillar and a crinkle-cut french fry. It looks bad for Drew as courtroom sympathy veers in Nora's direction and Judge White (Jenny O'Hara) openly displays hostility for the defendant--and when Kate (Christa Miller) testifies on Drew's behalf, things go from The Worst to the Really Worst. The unforgettable climax finds Drew making his final summation in police custody--handcuffs and all! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1994
Incredible as it must seem to some, quite a few families and individuals have agreed to give up all or part of their privacy and permit a film crew to record their every act. Therefore, the premise of this send-up of "reality television" is not so far-fetched as might be supposed. In the story, a ratings-hungry television executive (Robby Benson) persuades the Webber family to become subject to this sort of intrusion, in return for lots of money and the opportunity to live in a really fancy mansion. The star of the resulting show is the family's nubile and sexually active daughter (Jennifer Tilly), who takes casts of each of her dates' better body parts in hopes of one day putting together a model of her ideal man. The highly intellectual father in the family is a psychiatrist (Jeffrey Tambor) with some very strange patients, some of whom have agreed to appear on camera as well. The mom (Rita Taggert) becomes a popular role model, even though she feels neglected by the rest of the family, and especially her husband, and the son (David Arquette) just moons around, in mourning for his recently dead girlfriend. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jeffrey Tambor, Rita Taggart, (more)
- 1993
A young female doctor is found murdered. While seeking out evidence, the detectives come across the woman's diary. The book paints a sordid picture indeed, suggesting that the woman's death may have been the outgrowth of a romantic triangle involving her fiancé, Danny Garrett (Frederick Weller), and Garrett's domineering psychiatrist, Diane Meade (Lindsay Crouse). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1988
In this romantic comedy, a grocery store employee endeavors to attract the attention of a wealthy playboy by pretending to be a high society girl. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1988
It's been a while since Murphy (Candice Bergen) has wound her biological clock, but the ticking begins anew when her pregnant friend Lisa (Jenny O'Hara) pays a visit. Now determined to be "with child" herself, Murphy doesn't want to waste time with such details as love and marriage, so she tries to coerce her coworker Frank Fontana (Joe Regalbuto) into donating his sperm for an in-vitro procedure. This idea fizzles, leaving Murphy no other choice but to try to obtain Frank's sperm through the time-honored direct method! Marianne Muellerleile appears--and promptly disappears--as Murphy's eighth secretary. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1988
Made for television, Winnie is adapted from the fact-based book Winnie: My Life in the Institution by Jamie Paster Bolnick. Meredith Baxter-Birney plays Winnie Sprockett, who at age 6 is adjudged moderately retarded and confined to an Iowa mental institution. After being locked away for 30 years, Winnie campaigns for her release, attempting to write a book of her experiences. At one point she escapes with a fellow patient (David Morse). Through the intervention of a compassionate administrator (Barbara Barrie), Winnie is at last allowed to re-enter the outside world. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1983
Initially titled The Far Shore, the made-for-TV Another Woman's Child was co-produced by Linda Lavin, who also starred. Lavin and Tony LoBianco play a long-married couple who are confronted with a flash from the past. Young Jenny O'Hara shows up at the couple's doorstep, announcing that she is LoBianco's illegitimate daughter. Once over the initial shock, the couple makes arrangements to adopt O'Hara, but complications ensue when the girl's natural mother takes a hand in things. Another Woman's Child was first telecast January 19, 1983. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1982
Real-life brother and sister Jimmy and Kristy McNichol star in this made-for-television drama about a claustrophobic cult. Jimmy McNichol stars as David, oldest son of the seemingly well-adjusted Bowers. When David disappears from his family to live with the Light of Salvation cult, sister Janet (Kristy McNichol) refuses to automatically side with her parents and dismiss the group. Young Janet tries to give her brother's judgement the benefit of the doubt, looking for her own answers, as her desperate parents consult a mind de-programming expert. Taut and edgy at times, the film shows how vulnerable young people get targeted by cults and their charismatic leaders -- only to turn into mindless drones. ~ Bernadette McCallion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kristy McNichol, Anne Jackson, (more)
- 1982
When a little girl is killed by a German shepherd which had been purchased as a family pet, a kennel owner comes to Quincy (Jack Klugman) for help. The man explains that he'd originally sold the dog to a security service, which, after cruelly training the animal to be an attack dog, resold it elsewhere without any warning to the new owners. Thus begins another crusade for Quincy, as the compassionate coroner challenges the laissez-faire legislation which allows such dangerous transactions to take place. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1980
This critically-acclaimed film chronicles nineteen years in the life of a divorcee (played by Lee Remick), from the repressive 1950s through the liberated 1980s. Women's Room earned three Emmy nominations: one for Best Drama Special, and one each for costars Patty Duke Astin and Colleen Dewhurst. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- 1980
A singer finds herself terrorized by the same killers who murdered her husband after he discovered an industrial waste cover-up. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- 1979
Frank is Frank Miller (Art Carney), a 65 year old newspaper man. His letters are to his oldest son Richard (Mike Farrell), and they're decidedly on the vitriolic side. Frank, you see, was involuntarily retired from his job and replaced by a computer. But with the help and support of his wife Betty (Maureen Stapleton), Frank bucks the system and comes out on top. The script of the made-for-TV Letters from Frank was flexible enough to allow for a wide range of ages in the supporting cast, from seventysomething veterans Margaret Hamilton and Lew Ayres to 19-year-old relative newcomer Michael J. Fox (billed ninth, without the "J"). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1979
The 8-hour TV miniseries Blind Ambition was originally telecast May 20 through 23, 1979. This 105-minute feature-film version, prepared in 1982, seems a bit rushed at times, but overall does a credible and coherent job of storytelling. Based on John Dean's book Blind Ambition, with elements of Maureen Dean's Mo woven in by screenwriter Stanley R. Greenberg, this is the saga of the Watergate affair, as experienced by Dean (Martin Sheen) and hia wife Maureen (Theresa Russell). As the Nixon administration goes down in flames, the Deans' marriage is sorely tested-as is Dean's success-at-any-price credo. Rip Torn plays Nixon like something out of a Greek Tragedy; some viewers accepted his interpretation, others found it jarringly inaccurate. Others in the cast of "usual suspects" include Michael Callan as Charles Colson, Lonny Chapman as L. Patrick Gray, William Daniels as G. Gordon Liddy, Fred Grandy as Donald Segretti, Christopher Guest as Jeb Magruder, Lawrence Pressman as H. R. Haldeman, William Windom as Richard Kleindienst, James Greene as E. Howard Hunt, Logan Ramsey as J. Edgar Hoover, and Al Checco as judge John Sirica. Also known as The John Dean Story, Blind Ambition earned two Emmy nominations. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Martin Sheen, Theresa Russell, (more)
