Dear Friend,
Olympia Dukakis was a force of nature. Born on June 20, 1931, she died on May 1, just shy of her 90th birthday. One of the rare actors to achieve film stardom later in life, she had been a player since the beginning, with a deep and abiding love of the stage. In 1963, she won an Obie for her role in a play by Bertolt Brecht. By 1970, she and her husband, actor Louis Zorich, moved to Montclair, New Jersey to raise their family. Together with other acting couples they founded the Whole Theater Company, which for nearly 20 years featured a full season of plays starring actors such as Jose Ferrer, Colleen Dewhurst, Blythe Danner, Samuel L. Jackson, Louis Zorich, and Dukakis herself. Later, Olympia was a board member of Luna Stage, where she would occasionally direct a production.
When Olympia shot to stardom with her Oscar-winning role as Cher’s mother in Moonstruck, she was still the producing artistic director of the Whole Theater. State of the Arts producer Anisa Medhi met Olympia in Montclair, for a frank discussion about the movie and her career to date. When the story aired in February 1988, the Academy Awards had not yet been announced. Dating back to the sixth season of State of the Arts, this feature is truly a trip back in time.
Olympia Dukakis was deeply engaged in theater, and in life. New Jersey, and the world, was better for her.
