Mary Elizabeth "Sissy" Spacek is an American actress. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and nominations for four BAFTA Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Grammy Award. Spacek was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2011.
Badlands is a 1973 American neo-noir period crime drama film written, produced and directed by Terrence Malick, in his directorial debut. The film stars Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek, and follows Holly Sargis (Spacek), a 15-year old who goes on a killing spree with her partner, Kit Carruthers (Sheen). The film also stars Warren Oates and Ramon Bieri. While the story is fictional, it is loosely based on the real-life murder spree of Charles Starkweather and his girlfriend, Caril Ann Fugate, in 1958.
The Last Picture Show is a 1971 American coming-of-age drama film directed and co-written by Peter Bogdanovich, adapted from the semi-autobiographical 1966 novel of the same name by Larry McMurtry. The film's ensemble cast includes Timothy Bottoms, Jeff Bridges, Ellen Burstyn, Ben Johnson, Cloris Leachman, and Cybill Shepherd. Set in a small town in northern Texas from November 1951 to October 1952, it is a story of two high-school seniors and long-time friends, Sonny Crawford (Bottoms) and Duane Jackson (Bridges).
Coal Miner's Daughter is a 1980 American biographical musical film directed by Michael Apted from a screenplay written by Tom Rickman. It follows the story of country music singer Loretta Lynn from her early teen years in a poor family and getting married at 15 to her rise as one of the most influential country musicians. Based on Lynn's 1976 biography of the same name by George Vecsey, the film stars Sissy Spacek as Lynn. Tommy Lee Jones, Beverly D'Angelo and Levon Helm are featured in supporting roles. Ernest Tubb, Roy Acuff, and Minnie Pearl make cameo appearances as themselves.
Cloris Leachman was an American actress and comedienne whose career spanned nearly eight decades. She won many accolades, including eight Primetime Emmy Awards from 22 nominations, making her the most nominated and, along with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, most awarded performer in Emmy history. Leachman also won an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Golden Globe Award. In her early career, she was known for her versatility. Another unique trait of Leachman's acting style was her distinctive physicality, where she utilized props to accentuate and express her roles' characterizations.
The River is a 1984 American drama film directed by Mark Rydell, written by Robert Dillon and Julian Barry, and starring Sissy Spacek, Mel Gibson, and Scott Glenn. The film tells the story of a struggling farm family in a Tennessee river valley trying to keep its farm from going under in the face of bank foreclosures and floods. The father faces the dilemma of having to work as a strikebreaker in a steel mill to keep his family farm from foreclosure. It was based on the true story of farmers who unknowingly took jobs as strikebreakers at a steel mill after their crops had been destroyed by rain.
WUSA is a 1970 American drama film directed by Stuart Rosenberg, starring Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, and Anthony Perkins, and co-starring Laurence Harvey, Cloris Leachman and Wayne Rogers. It was written by Robert Stone, based on his 1967 novel A Hall of Mirrors. The story involves a radio station in New Orleans with the eponymous call sign that is apparently involved in a right-wing conspiracy. It culminates with a riot and stampede at a patriotic pep rally when an assassin on a catwalk opens fire.
Raggedy Man is a 1981 American drama film based on William D. Wittliff and Sara Clark's 1979 novel, and directed by Jack Fisk. It follows a divorced mother and telephone switchboard operator living with her two sons in a small town during World War II. The film was Spacek’s first film after her Academy Award-winning performance in Coal Miner’s Daughter, and was also her first film to be directed by her husband. For this role, Spacek received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama. This was the directorial debut for Fisk, and the film debut for Henry Thomas, who next starred in his breakout role of Elliott Taylor for the film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982).
Lancer is an American Western television series that aired Tuesdays at 7:30 pm on CBS from September 24, 1968, to June 23, 1970. The series stars Andrew Duggan as a father with two half-brother sons, played by James Stacy and Wayne Maunder.
'night, Mother is a 1986 American drama film starring Sissy Spacek and Anne Bancroft. It was directed by Tom Moore and written by Marsha Norman, based on Norman's Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name. The film was entered into the 37th Berlin International Film Festival. Tom Moore had also directed the play on Broadway.
Four Christmases is a 2008 American Christmas comedy-drama film starring Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon with Robert Duvall, Jon Favreau, Mary Steenburgen, Dwight Yoakam, Tim McGraw, Kristin Chenoweth, Jon Voight, and Sissy Spacek in supporting roles. The film is director Seth Gordon's first studio feature film. It tells the story of a couple who must travel to four family parties after their vacation plans get canceled due to dense fog. The film was produced by New Line Cinema and Spyglass Entertainment and released by Warner Bros. Pictures on November 26, 2008.
The Grass Harp is a 1995 American comedy-drama film based on the novella by Truman Capote. The screenplay, which was the final work of Oscar-winning screenwriter Stirling Silliphant, was adapted for the film. Directed by Charles Matthau, the film features a cast including Piper Laurie, Sissy Spacek, Walter Matthau, Jack Lemmon, Edward Furlong, and Nell Carter. Piper Laurie won the Best Supporting Actress award from the Southeastern Film Critics Association for her performance in the film.
A Little Piece of Heaven is a 1991 American made-for-television family drama film directed by Mimi Leder, written by Betty Goldberg, starring Kirk Cameron, Chelsea Noble, Lacey Chabert, Jenny Robertson, Ron McLarty, Jussie Smollett, and Cloris Leachman. It originally premiered December 2, 1991 on NBC.
Love Is Never Silent is an American drama television film that premiered on NBC on December 9, 1985, as part of the Hallmark Hall of Fame anthology series. It is directed by Joseph Sargent and written by Darlene Craviotto, based on the novel In This Sign by Joanne Greenberg. The film stars Mare Winningham, Phyllis Frelich, Ed Waterstreet, Fredric Lehne, Cloris Leachman, and Sid Caesar. It follows a young woman who struggles with her own need for independence and the obligation she feels for her deaf parents.
A Brand New Life is a 1973 American made-for-television drama film directed by Sam O'Steen. It stars Cloris Leachman and Martin Balsam. Leachman won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role for her performance.
Happy Mother's Day, Love George is a 1973 American mystery film produced and directed by Darren McGavin. The film stars Patricia Neal, Cloris Leachman, Bobby Darin, Tessa Dahl, Ron Howard, Kathie Browne, Joe Mascolo, Simon Oakland, and Thayer David.
Dying Room Only is a 1973 American made-for-television horror mystery thriller film directed by Philip Leacock and starring Cloris Leachman and Ross Martin. Written by Richard Matheson and based on his 1953 short story of the same name, the film follows a woman whose husband disappears after they stop by a rural diner in the Arizona desert.
Bill Thurman was an American film and television actor. From the early 1960s until his death in 1995, he frequently appeared in B movies and independent films, often playing "redneck types" or sheriffs. He worked with low-budget-director Larry Buchanan on numerous films, for example In the Year 2889 and It's Alive!. Thurman was one of those Southern actors who specialized in "regional" pictures, films made exclusively for distribution in the Southern States.
A Girl Named Sooner is a 1975 American made-for-television drama film directed by Delbert Mann and based upon Suzanne Clauser's novel of the same name. Clauser also wrote the screenplay.
