Marion Ross Movies
Marian Ross dreamed of stardom from childhood, going so far as to change the spelling of her first name to Marion because she thought it would look nicer on a marquee. When her family moved from Minnesota to California, the 16-year-old aspiring actress plunged into the busy world of amateur theatricals in the San Diego area. She was voted Outstanding Actress at San Diego State University in 1950, then went on to work at the prestigious La Jolla Playhouse. Mel Ferrer, La Jolla's resident director, recommended that Ross try her luck in Hollywood. She worked steadily in TV and films from 1953 onward, but stardom was still outside her reach. Ross played a succession of maids, nuns, nurses, and that nebulous classification, the Heroine's Best Friend. She showed up in small roles in such films as Forever Female (1953), Lust for Life (1955), and Operation Petticoat (1959), earning the respect of her fellow workers but very little in the way of public recognition. "I've always had a way of not attracting attention," she would note with resignation later in life. On television, Marion played unstressed recurring roles on such series as Life with Father, Mrs. G Goes to College and Mr. Novak. She finally achieved stardom as Marion Cunningham, mother of 1950s high-schooler Richie Cunningham, on the weekly sitcom Happy Days. What started out as a shaky midseason replacement in January of 1974 ended up ABC's number-one hit; Ross hitched her wagon to the ever-rising Happy Days star until its final episode in 1983. During this period, she reactivated her stage career, with considerably more success than she'd enjoyed in the 1950s. Ross' post-Happy Days TV gigs included a 1986 guest shot as the new bride of Captain Stubing (Gavin MacLeod) on The Love Boat and the brief 1989 series Living Dolls. In 1991, Marion Ross earned an Emmy nomination for her portrayal of archetypal Jewish mother Sophie Berger on the TV "dramedy" Brooklyn Bridge. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Two teenagers, each dealing with a different set of emotional burdens, find love and understanding with each other in The Last Best Sunday. Lolly Ann (Angela Bettis) is a high-school student in Pickley, a small agricultural community in California where she's growing up under the thumb of her strict, deeply religious mother (Kim Darby). Joseph (Douglas Spain), on the other hand, is struggling to get along without his parents; he came to Pickley with his family as migrant workers, but opted to stay on after his folks left so he could finish his final year of high school and earn his diploma. However, Joseph finds Hispanics are not always welcome here; a pair of bullies beat him savagely, and when he tries to get revenge, he finds town's bigoted sheriff (William Lucking) is after him. On the run, Joseph breaks into what he thinks is an empty house, only to find Lolly Ann at home while her parents are away for the weekend. Once she overcomes her initial fear and distrust, Lolly Ann finds she has a lot more in common with Joseph than she thought, and a grudging respect soon grows into affection. The Last Best Sunday was directed by Don Most, who as Donny Most is best remembered for playing Ralph Malf on the sit-com Happy Days; his former co-star Marion Ross briefly appears in a supporting role. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Douglas Spain, Angela Bettis, (more)
- 1999
The time has come for the wedding of Steve (John Carroll Lynch) and Mimi (John Carroll Lynch), and since Steve and Drew's dad can't come to the ceremony due to a bad back, Uncle Alfred (Earl Schuman) shows up in his place. The various and sundry intrigues arising from the reluctance of Drew (Drew Carey) and Kate (Christa Miller) to reveal their romance to his mother Beulah (Marion Ross) are trumped by troublesome Uncle Alfred, who has the bad taste to drop dead on the eve of the wedding. Drew, Oswald (Diedrich Bader) and Lewis (Ryan Stiles) are pressed into service as part-time gravediggers, a job that requires lots and lots of Buzz Beer. In spite of everything, the marriage goes ahead as scheduled, but not precisely as planned--especially when Mimi's mom (played by ex-evangelist Tammi Faye Messner) sets up a buffet dinner on top of Uncle Steve's see-through casket! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1998
Tess (Della Reese) and Monica (Roma Downey) come to the aid of a mother and daughter whose strong mutual dependence is holding both of them back. Mom Emma (Marion Ross) is a feisty veteran of a WW2-era female pilot squadron, while daughter Dorie (Veronica Hamel) is a highly respected judge. When Emma shows signs of being unable to care for herself any longer, Dorie is so terrfied at being separated from her mother that she seriously considers bypassing an opportunity to fill a vacant Supreme Court seat. At the same time, Emma resists moving into a retirement home, convinced that she will wither and die without her daughter's constant presence. Though the Angels do what they can to help Emma and Dorie, they aren't nearly as effective as the example set by an old fellow named Miller (Oscar Rowland), who makes an amazingly timely appearance in Dorie's courtroom! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1998
Drew (Drew Carey) continues dating 62-year-old Celia (Shirley Jones), but when his parents (Marion Ross, Stanley Anderson) arrive in town, he allows them to assume that Celia is his cleaning lady. An uncomfortable situation becomes downright intolerable when Drew, Celia and his parents settle down for Christmas dinner--along with Celia's thirtysomething son Chip (played by Shirley Jones' onetime Partridge Family costar Danny Bonaduce), who has already made his feelings clear by socking Drew in the nose! Meanwhile, a defaulted payment results in Mimi (Kathy Kinney), Kate (Christa Miller), Lewis (Ryan Stiles) and Oswald (Diedrich Bader) selling Christmas trees door-to-door--with even less success than Laurel & Hardy had in the same line of work in the 1929 comedy classic Big Business. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1998
This episode opens as Drew (Drew Carey) glumly announces the cancellation of his wedding--but he doesn't tell us why until the very end. In the meantime, Drew's mom Beulah (Marion Ross) begs him to go through with his planned bachelor party so as to avoid breaking the heart of his dad George (Stanley Anderson). Unfortunately, that selfsame heart may break for an entirely different reason should George tumble to the fact that Drew's older brother Steve (John Carroll Lynch) is a cross-dresser! The episode's highlight is the disastrous "sex tape" starring Drew and his soon-to-be-ex-fiancee Nicki (Kate Walsh). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
In this provocative made-for-television family drama, Marybeth, a college co-ed finds herself forced to make a choice that will forever alter her life when she learns that her recently-deceased grandmother has chosen her to become the legal guardian of her mentally retarded mother. This crossroads comes shortly before Marybeth is to graduate. She knows that if she does indeed take custody of her mother Sarah, all her dreams will be as dust; however, the only other alternative is to send her mother to an institution where she may or may not receive proper care. In making her choice, Marybeth must spend time with her mother and in so doing finds herself finally coming to grips with some of her family's most painful secrets. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kellie Martin, Mary Steenburgen, (more)
- 1997
It's déjà vu all over again when Drew (Drew Carey) is forced to live with his parents George (Stanley Anderson) and Beulah (Marion Ross). He'd like them to return to Florida, but they've lost their home after getting clipped in a crooked land deal. Luxuriating in Drew's discomfort, Mimi (Kathy Kinney) tries to make sure that Mom and Dad will remain in Cleveland permanently by setting Beulah up with a home-based cosmetic business--whereupon Drew moves out of the house and into a dark corner of the Winfred-Louder Department Store. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
With his parents still encamped in his house, Drew (Drew Carey) moves in with Lewis (Ryan Stiles) and Oswald (Diedrich Bader). Appalled by the boys' wretched living conditions, Drew joins them in their ongoing battle against their landlord (Kenneth Mars). As a result, all three are evicted, and wind up sleeping on Kate's (Christa Miller) floor. Only after several days of suffering does Drew discover that his "impoverished" parents could have moved out at any time because of his mom's special rainy-day fund--which consists mainly of Microsoft stock shares! Meanwhile, Suzie (Angela Dohrmann) returns to Winfred-Louder, hoping to charm her way into the heart (and bedroom) of new boss Mr. Wick (Craig Ferguson). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1997
In this two-part suspenser inspired by Ken Follett's bestselling novel, university pscyhobiologist Jenny Ferrami (Kelly McGillis), in the process of studying a possible link between genetics and criminal behavior, stumbles upon a secret cloning experiment conducted by a major company. Figuring prominently in the proceedings is likeable law student Steve Logan (Jason Gedrick), who may or may not be the identical twin of a serial rapist. . .or possibly two rapists! It turns out that there are far more human "duplicates" in the world than Jenny could ever have imagined--and as she tracks down these clones to convince the public that there is dirty work afoot, sinister forces, tied in with a powerful triumverate, conspire to silence Jenny for keeps. Originally telecast by CBS, Ken Follett's The Third Twin first aired on November 9 and 11, 1997. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kelly McGillis, Jason Gedrick, (more)
- 1997
One of the most heavily promoted TV movies of the 1997-98 season, The Lake is a complex sci-fi/fantasy yarn with echoes of such past genre classics as Invasion of the Body Snatchers and The Stepford Wives. Former Baywatch babe Yasmine Bleeth heads the huge cast as Jackie Ivers, a professional nurse who returns to her small California home town to care for her dying father. Upon her arrival, Jackie quickly ascertains that something is not quite right about the community and the people with whom she grew up. Put bluntly, every person in town is behaving in the exact opposite manner of what might normally be expected--and this bizarre mass character conversion has spread to Jackie's own family. Ultimately, the solution to the mystery manifested a polluted lake and an alternate earth, though the conclusion of the story provides a twist calculated to confound those who think they have everything figured out by the film's midway point. The best moments go to Marion Ross in what amounts to a dual role, and to Haley Joel Osment of Sixth Sense fame. The Lake made its NBC network bow on February 1, 1998. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Shirley MacLaine reprises her award-winning performance as Aurora Greenway in this sequel to Terms of Endearment. Fifteen years after the death of her daughter Emma, Aurora is still keeping an eye on her three grandchildren and not having very good luck with it. Tommy (George Newbern) is currently doing time on drug charges; Teddy (MacKenzie Astin) has a job with no future and an ill-mannered child whose mother, Jane (China Kantner), doesn't believe in traditional discipline; and Melanie (Juliette Lewis) is bound and determined to put Aurora through as much grief as Emma did. Aurora has a number of other adversarial relationships to contend with; she often spars with Patsy (Miranda Richardson), a friend of Emma's dead mother, and her housekeeper Rosie (Marion Ross), who is having a tentative late-term romance with the next-door neighbor, Arthur (Ben Johnson). Aurora's own love life is not doing so well. Her affair with The General (Donald Moffat) is on its last legs, she ends up sleeping with her analyst Jerry (Bill Paxton), and she confesses to her former flame Garrett (Jack Nicholson) that she has yet to meet the love of her life. Like Terms of Endearment, The Evening Star was based on a novel by Texas author Larry McMurtry; this was the final film for actor Ben Johnson, who died before it was released and who received an Academy Award and made a major comeback for his work in another film based on a McMurtry novel, The Last Picture Show. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shirley MacLaine, Bill Paxton, (more)
- 1995
Openly contemptuous of homeless people, Monica (Roma Downey) is taken down a peg or two when she is forced to pose as a street person--and is stripped of her angelic powers. "The only way to share his pain is to share his pain!" admonishes Tess (Della Reese) as the humbled Monica struggles to provide aid and comfort to a stubborn old derelict named Pete Taylor (Gregory Harrison), as well as two other social outcasts, Sophie (Marion Ross) and Zack (Malcolm-Jamal Warner). Inevitably, the three mortals' lives are changed for the better, but not after a great deal of painful soul-searching for all concerned...especially Monica. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1994
- Add Danielle Steel's 'A Perfect Stranger' to QueueAdd Danielle Steel's 'A Perfect Stranger' to top of Queue
In this sudsy adaptation of a popular Danielle Steel novel, a beautiful young wife experiences waves of guilt when she finds herself increasingly distracted from caring for her dying, elderly and rich husband by the attentions of a virile stranger named Alex. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Urich, Stacy Haiduk, (more)
- 1989
Marion Ross guest stars as Mrs. Daley, who barges into the courtroom with a grenade in her hand, demanding that the staff help her free her husband from prison. Harry (Harry Anderson) would love to oblige, but the fact of the matter is that Mrs. Daley has no husband: she is a hopeless TV soap opera addict who has confused fiction with reality! Making the situation even dicier is the presence of a cable TV show crew which has chosen this evening to film a "typical" session in Judge Harry's court. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1985
Marion Ross, the beloved actress who played Richie Cunningham's mom on "Happy Days," has prepared this video to help couples plan their weddings. Topics include: how to put together a guest list, how to choose appropriate music for nuptials, and how to pick a caterer. Advice is also included on being sure that flowers and other necessities are promptly delivered to where the couple will marry and hold their reception. While much of this advice can be obtained from a group of the viewer's own friends and family members in many cases, it can be really helpful to hear it all presented at once by a non-relative in a "stress-free" video.
~ Elizabeth Smith, All Movie Guide
~ Elizabeth Smith, All Movie Guide
- 1983
Teenager Fran (Kari Michaelsen) loves her mother (Marion Ross), but is somewhat ashamed that her family is nearly broke, forcing her mom to accept a summer job as a cook for the wealthy Fairchild family. Making things worse as far as Fran is concerned, she will now have to come in contact with young Andrea Fairchild (played by 20-year-old Jennifer Jason Leigh), who has the reputation of being an insufferable snob. It turns out, however, that Fran and Andrea have a great deal in common: Both are on the outs with their parents, if not for precisely the same reasons. This ABC Afterschool Special has been released to video under the title Just Like Us, which is also the name of the novel by Sheila Hayes upon which it is based. ~ All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kari Michaelsen, Marion Ross, (more)
- 1983
The 55-minute made-for-TV drama Just Like Us is of interest primarily because of one of its stars. Two young women live in starkly opposite social circles. Fate brings the girls together. Both overcome prejudices over how the "other half" lives. Costars Jennifer Jason Leigh and Kari Michaelsen are equally fine, though only Leigh went on to lasting stardom. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1981
In a shocking bit of counter-casting, Melissa Sue Anderson stars in this TV-movie shocker as Vivian Sotherland, a beautiful -- and wholly evil -- teenaged witch. Accustomed to eliminating anyone who gets in her way, Vivian has lovingly made certain that her sweetheart David Sterling (Patrick Cassidy) will not flunk out of high school through the simple expedient of killing all his teachers. Alas, the clueless David throws Vivian over in favor of a new girl in school, Robin Prentiss (Mary Beth McDonough). Fully prepared to add Robin to her ever-growing list of victims, Vivian is rather put out to discover that her romantic rival possesses a few supernatural powers of her own. Midnight Offerings was first broadcast February 27, 1981, on ABC. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Melissa Sue Anderson, Mary McDonough, (more)
- 1980
Skyward is a 1980 GE Theatre presentation in the lofty tradition of TV's Golden Age. Bette Davis stars (what an inadequate word!) as a 60-year-old retired barnstorming airplane pilot. Real-life paraplegic Suzy Gilstrap portrays a wheelchair-bound team who is "tired of looking up all the time." It is her dream to become a pilot herself, a goal renounced by her overprotective parents and her self-centered boyfriend. But Davis, after initial heated protestations, agrees to train Gilstrap in the rigors of flying--specifically stunt-flying. Directed by Ron Howard, Skyward was produced and cowritten by Howard's Happy Days costar Anson Williams, while another Happy Days alumnus, Marion Ross, appears as Suzy Gilstrap's mother. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
