Actress Olympia Dukakis, best known for her Oscar winning performance in Moonstruck alongside Cher, passed away today at the age of 89. No cause of death had been released but she had been in poor health over the past few months.
After toiling in obscurity for the better part of a quarter century in Off-Broadway stage productions and in regional theater (including Boston's Charles Playhouse), Dukakis was cast in Moonstruck by director Norman Jewison after seeing her perform in Mike Nichols' Broadway production of Social Security. Moonstruck would lead to appearances in movies such as Working Girl, Steel Magnolias, Mr. Holland's Opus and the Look Who's Talking movies. She would also stump on behalf of her cousin Michael Dukakis' 1988 White House bid. My favorite Olympia Dukakis role was her portrayal of Anna Madrigal in Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City and its subsequent sequels.
In recent years, Dukakis had returned to the stage devoting her time to teaching acting as part of the New York Drama Center and NYU-Tisch's New Studio on Broadway.
I leave you with Dukakis accepting her Academy Award. R.I.P.
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