What the Hell Happened to Kathleen Turner?

She started her career as the 80’s answer to a femme fatale.  She quickly became an international sex symbol.  At the peak of her career, Turner was a well-respected Academy Award nominee as well as a box office draw.  But the big parts slowed down and then she seemed to disappear from movie theaters entirely.

What the hell happened?

Kathleen Turner on stage - 1977
Kathleen Turner on stage – 1977

Turner started her career as a stage actress.  She moved to New York City in 1977 and took over the female lead for the off-Broadway play, Mister T.  I pity the fool that didn’t give her a standing ovation!  Future space man, Jonathan Frakes, co-starred.

Kathleen Turner - The Doctors - 1979
Kathleen Turner – The Doctors – 1977 – 1980

Later that year, Turner made her Broadway debut opposite Danny Aiello in the play Gemini.  At the same time she was appearing on Broadway, Turner made her TV debut on NBC’s soap opera, The Doctors.  She was the second actress to play the part of Nola Dancy Aldrich on the daytime drama.

In 1981, Turner made the leap to the big screen.

Kathleen Turner – Body Heat – 1981

The movie was Lawrence Kasdan’s 1981 thriller Body Heat co-starring William Hurt as a dumb attorney and Turner as the femme fatale who liked her men dumb.

The movie is set during a hot Florida heat wave.  Not the sticky, gross kind they have in real life but the kind they have in movies where everyone glistens and looks fabulous.  Hurt played a seedy lawyers who gets caught up in the sex tornado that was Turner.  The only problem is she’s married to a rich old man played by Richard Crenna.  All Hurt has to do is knock off the old man and Turner will be all his.  Not to mention she stands to inherit a fortune.  Mickey Rourke and Ted Danson appeared in supporting roles.

Turner had trouble even auditioning for the role because she had no prior movie experience.  But after Kim Basinger and Sigourney Weaver turned down the part, Turner finally got a reading:

“They gave me a copy of the script and I immediately wanted it. After that reading they set up a screen test with William Hurt. I’d never tested for a film before, and it was pretty scary . . . walking into a studio, having make-up men and everybody turn you into their idea of what Matty should be”.

In order to make the crew feel comfortable during the filming of Body Heat’s many steamy sex scenes, Hurt and Turner personally introduced themselves to every member of the crew.  When they did so, they were completely naked.

In her autobiography, Turner remembered Hurt’s hard-parting lifestyle:

In those days, he was pretty wild. He drank a great deal and took a lot of recreational drugs – he loved those magic mushrooms. He loved women, too; I don’t know how many he went through during filming. Bill always wanted to stay in character . . . [He] thought I wasn’t taking my acting seriously enough.

Although the movie was supposed to take place during a heat wave, it was actually shot in freezing cold.  The actors had to pretend to be sweltering when actually they were chilled to the bone.  In order to prevent their breath from fogging in the cold, Turner and Hurt would suck on ice cubes before speaking.  They also had to be sprayed down with water to simulate sweat.

Kathleen Turner - Body Heat - 1981
Kathleen Turner – Body Heat – 1981

Kasdan used a Steadicam for the famous scene in which Hurt hurls a chair through a window.  The Steadicam was still relatively new and it presented technical problems.  According to Turner, it kept breaking down:

We hear, ‘Cut! Wrap! The sun’s up.” We lost the whole night trying to get the shot. So at the height of passion, at the height of tension… we had to pick it up the next day. Talk about a cold shower.

Body Heat was a home run scoring with critics and audiences alike.  Turner was an overnight sensation.

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Kathleen Turner – The Man With Two Brains – 1983

Turner followed up Body Heat with the Steve Martin comedy, The Man With Two Brains in 1983.  Once again, Turner was a femme fatale, but this time she played the part for laughs.

Martin plays a brain surgeon who marries a gold digger played by Turner.  At a medical conference, Martin meets a colleague played by David Warner.  Warner has a collection of living brains he has treated with an experimental technique.  Martin discovers he can communicate telepathically with one of the brains in Warner’s collection (voiced by Sissy Spacek).  Soon, he realizes he is married to an evil woman in a sexy body but is in love with a beautiful woman with no body at all.  What is a guy who specializes in brain transplants to do?

Turner explained why she took the part:

“After Body Heat I got a lot of offers but none of the films were good enough. I wanted this part because it’s a comedy and because the character was so outrageous. I thought if I was very brave I could do some extraordinary things with it. It wasn’t a run of the mill token female role”.

The Man With Two Brains is the same kind of clever/stupid comedy that made Martin’s The Jerk a hit.  But it never managed to catch on with audiences.  If you haven’t seen it, check it out.  It’s criminally underrated and ridiculously quotable.

I don’t know why, but this line cracks me up every time.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDVubEimNDs]

As does the “citizen’s divorce”:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3803stmkn68]

E pluribus unum!

Just watch it already.

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Kathleen Turner- Romancing the Stone – 1984

In 1984, Turner paired with Michael Douglas for the first time in Robert Zemeckis’s romantic adventure, Romancing the Stone.

The movie was about a dowdy romance novelist who gets caught up in an adventure out of one of her books.  Only in the movies do dowdy romance novelists look like Kathleen Turner in her prime!  She gets lost in the jungle while trying to ransom her sister.  Michael Douglas (who also produced the movie) played a smuggler who reluctantly comes to Turner’s aid.  Along the way, they form a relationship.  But is their bond stronger than the lure of treasure?

Turner remembers clashing with Zemekis during filming:

“I remember terrible arguments doing Romancing.  He’s a film-school grad, fascinated by cameras and effects.  I never felt that he knew what I was having to do to adjust my acting to some of his damn cameras – sometimes he puts you in ridiculous postures.  I’d say, ‘This is not helping me! This is not the way I like to work, thank you!'”

One of the movie’s more memorable scenes sent Turner and Douglas plummeting down a mudslide.  Turner said the scene wasn’t as much fun to shoot as it was to watch:

It was pretty scary, actually.  There was a lot of water behind you. They would dump tons of gallons of water behind you, and we were in this sort of trough. We had a little wooden Frisbee thing for our butts, and they’d dump this water behind you and you’d just go shooting off. Yikes!

Expectations for Romancing the Stone were exceedingly low.  In fact, most of Hollywood thought it would flop.  Zemekis was busy developing Cocoon as his next movie.  But after viewing a rough cut of Romancing the Stone, the producers fired him.

Kathleen Turner - Romancing the Stone - 1984
Kathleen Turner – Romancing the Stone – 1984

Romancing the Stone’s mixture of romance, action and comedy was a surprise hit.  The chemistry between Turner and Douglas was so strong, they were compared to Tracey and Hepburn.

That chemistry almost didn’t happen.  According to Turner, Douglas originally offered her role to Debra Winger.  Douglas met Winger at a Mexican restaurant to discus the movie.  But they didn’t get along.  Douglas claims that Winger bit him.

In the flood of Indiana Jones copycats, Romancing the Stone distinguished itself.  Critics and audiences approved.  Turner won her first Golden Globe for Best Actress.

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Kathleen Turner – A Breed Apart – 1984

Turner also costarred in a little-seen drama called A Breed Apart.

Rutger Hauer played a conservationist who lives on an island populated with rare birds including two bald eagles who were endangered at the time the movie was made.  Powers Booth played a visitor to the island who wants to steal an eagle egg.  Turner played the babe, because there is always a babe.

When the movie finished shooting in North Carolina, the film reels were sent back to LA for editing.  Unfortunately, an entire reel of film never made it.  Rather than reshoot the lost footage which would have been prohibitively expensive, the movie was edited around the missing reel.  As a result, some plot threads are never resolved.

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Kathleen Turner – Crimes of Passion – 1984

Later in 1984, Turner played a fashion designer with a secret life in Ken Russell’s erotic thriller, Crimes of Passion.

John Laughlin played a married man with a dull life.  His wife, played by Annie Potts, is frigid.  Laughlin starts working the night shift at a fashion design studio to keep an eye on Turner.  The boss is worried that his star designer is selling her work to a competitor.  Instead, he finds out that she is moonlighting as a prostitute using the name China Blue.  Anthony Perkins played a street preacher who also happens to be one of Turner’s regular patrons.

Crimes of Passion was controversial upon its release.  It was originally slapped with an X-rating.  Film critic Rober Ebert indicated that “massive cuts” were made in order to receive an R-rating for its theatrical release in the US.

The cuts certainly hurt the movie which was panned by critics.  Crimes of Passion didn’t dare any better at the box office either.  It failed to crack the top ten and grossed less than three million dollars overall.

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Kathleen Turner – Prizzi’s Honor – 1985

In  1985, Turner starred opposite Jack Nicholson in John Huston’s crime comedy, Prizzi’s Honor.

Prizzi’s Honor was based on Richard Condon’s 1982 novel of the same name.  Turner and Nicholson played hired killers who fall in love.  Naturally, they are then assigned to kill each other Mr. and Mrs. Smith-style.  Angelica Huston, daughter of the famous director and real-life girl friend of Nicholson, played the mob boss’ daughter and Nicholson’s ex.

Reportedly, Kim Basinger lobbied to play the female lead, but Huston turned her down in favor of Turner.  Just four years ago, Turner got her big break because Basinger had turned down Body Heat.

Turner was very impressed by her legendary co-star:

He [Nicholson] was probably the best actor I’ve worked with.  I apologize to anyone else who might be hurt by this.

Prizzi’s Honor got rave reviews and was a hit with audiences as well.  Angelica Huston, won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress and Prizzi’s Honor was nominated for several other awards including Best Picture.  Turner wasn’t nominated for an Academy Award, but she won her second Golden Globe in a row.

It’s worth pausing for a moment to let that sink in.  Turner’s box office record was incredibly strong.  Not only was she seen as a sexy screen siren, she was also one of Hollywood’s most respected actresses.  It’s like what would happen if Jessica Alba could act.

turner - jewel of the nile
Kathleen Turner – The Jewel of the Nile – 1985

1985 also saw Turner re-team with Michael Douglas in the Romancing the Stone sequel, the Jewel of the Nile.

In the sequel, Danny DeVito’s scoundrel from the first movie teams up with Douglas to help rescue Turner from a scheming sheik.  Bored with life on Douglas’ boat, Turner accepts an offer to visit the sheik’s palace and write a puff piece about him.  But when she gets there, she is taken prisoner.  During her captivity she learns about the “jewel of the Nile”.

One of the things that saved Romancing the Stone from being Indiana Jones-light was the fact that it was told from a woman’s point of view.  So naturally, the sequel is told more from the point of view of the Douglas character. Turner actually tried to back out of Jewel of the Nile but was threatened with a lawsuit if she didn’t reprise her role.

I’d made a contractual commitment when we did Romancing. And that almost destroyed my friendship with Michael. At first I refused to do the first script that they sent me of jewel. It simply wasn’t the same quality in terms of the writing. But we worked it out, but not before they sued me for $25m dollars. Michael agreed to get the original writer back so we could continue.

The critics weren’t kind.  Audiences made Jewel of the Nile a hit, but the lackluster sequel ended plans for a proposed third film in the series.   The third movie, The Crimson Eagle, would have taken Turner, Douglas and their kids to Thailand where they would have been blackmailed into stealing a priceless statue.

Turner, Douglas and DeVito did find time to sing alongside Billy Ocean in the video for the song When the Going Gets Tough off the Jewel of the Nile soundtrack.

Love those matching white suits!  It looks like they learned a grand total of three synchronised “dance moves” – a term which can only be applied loosely to those hand gestures.  DeVito steals the show with his sax solo.  Kids, if you didn’t live through the 80’s, this is what you missed.

turner - peggy sue got married
Kathleen Turner and Nicolas Cage – Peggy Sue Got Married – 1986

In 1986, Turner starred in Francis Ford Coppola’s time-travel comedy-drama, Peggy Sue Got Married.

Turner played Peggy Sue, a housewife who has just separated from her car salesman husband played by Nicholas Cage.  Turner faints at her 25-year high school reunion and finds herself back in high school.  She then has to decide whether or not to take her life in a new direction.

There are those who say the movie is ruined by Cage’s performance.  He delivers his lines in some squeaky voice that can be distracting.  Cage says he based the voice on a character from the Gumby show.  The studio and director (Cage’s uncle) hated the voice and nearly fired Cage for doing it.

At one point, the legendary director asked Turner if she would mind if he directed a scene from his trailer instead of actually coming to the set.  Turner objected: “I said, ‘No! And I’ll go act in mine.”

Turner was no fan of her co-star either.  She ripped into Cage in her 2008 auto-biography, Send Yourself Roses:

Nicolas happens to be the nephew of Francis Ford Coppola, who was directing the film. And my contrary co-star was absolutely determined to prove that he wasn’t there as the result of nepotism.  Everything Francis wanted him to do, he went against to show that he wasn’t under his uncle’s wing. Which was ridiculous. Oh, that stupid voice of his and the fake teeth! Honestly, I cringe to think about it. He caused so many problems.  He was arrested twice for drunk driving and, I think, once for stealing a dog. He’d come across a Chihuahua he liked and stuck it in his jacket.

That last bit got Turner and her publisher in a bit of hot water.  Cage sued for libel and won.  Turner had to issue an apology and a correction to her book.  She also made a donation to Cage’s chosen charity, the National Adult Protective Services Foundation.

Helen Hunt and Kathleen Turner - Peggy Sue Got Married - 1986
Helen Hunt and Kathleen Turner – Peggy Sue Got Married – 1986

Peggy Sue is also notable for early appearances by future stars Jim Carrey, Joan Allen and Helen Hunt.

The film got mostly good reviews.  It’s not all that fondly remembered now, but both Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel named it as one of the ten best movies of 1986. Peggy Sue Got Married opened in second place at the box office behind Crocodile Dundee.  It eventually grossed over $40 million dollars which made it a modest hit.

Turner was nominated for both an Oscar and a Golden Globe for Peggy Sue.  It was her first Oscar nomination, but she lost to Marlee Matlin for Children of a Lesser God.  Sissy Spacek took home the Golden Globe for Crimes of the Heart.  This was Turner’s third consecutive year being nominated for a Golden Globe and the first time she didn’t win.

In 1986, Turner was immortalized in song by Austrian techno-pop singer Falco.  Yes, the Rock Me Amadeus guy.

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Kathleen Turner – Julia and Julia – 1987

In 1987, Turner starred in the Italian psycho-drama Julia and Julia.

Turner played a widow who falls into depression following the death of her husband played y Gabriel Byrne.  Six years after her husband’s death, Turner finds herself spending time in to parallel realities.  In one, she is still struggling with her husband’s death.  In the other, her husband is alive and well and they are raising a child together.  However, in that reality she is cheating on her husband with Sting.

While critics appreciated the novelty of the premise, they were critical of the execution.  Many praised Turner for her brave performance, but the movie was panned overall.  It eventually received a limited release in the US where it earned under $1 million dollars.

turner - switching channels
Kathleen Turner – Switching Channels – 1988

In 1988, Turner starred opposite Burt Reynolds and Superman in Switching Channels.

Switching Channels is an unfortunate update of His Girl Friday with the charmless Burt Reynolds smirking his way through the Cary Grant role.  Turner played Reynold’s ex-wife, a reporter who wants to get out of the news business and marry her nice-guy boyfriend played by Christopher Reeve.

Originally, Michael Caine was supposed to play the Reynolds role.  Christopher Reeve signed on to make Switching Channels because he wanted to work with Caine again after starring with him in Deathtrap.  Unfortunately, Caine had to drop out due to production delays on Jaws: The Revenge.

Reynolds and Turner feuded on the set.  Turner was pregnant and Reynolds was reportedly miffed about taking second-billing.  Turner wrote in her auto-biographythat working with Reynolds was:

My unhappiest experience as an actress . . . For whatever reason, the first thing Burt said to me was: ‘I’ve never taken second billing to a woman.’  Every day there were nasty little digs. For instance, because of my pregnancy, the production team had given me a golf cart so I didn’t have to walk around too much – and Burt even made fun of that. He was just nasty.  He later accused me of trying to get him sacked and publicly declared that the sound of my name made him want to vomit.

Switching Channels was a dud.  Reviews were mixed to negative.  Reeve and Reynolds were both nominated for Golden Raspberry Awards.  And the movie bombed at the box office.  It opened in sixth place behind Three Men and a Baby which had been the theaters for fifteen weeks by that point.

turner jessica
Kathleen Turner – Jessica Rabbit

Later that year, Turner did her first-ever voice over as Roger Rabbit’s cartoonishly proportioned femme fatale wife in Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

Despite having argued while making Romancing the Stone, director Robert Zemekis recruited Turner for the sexy role.

Turner was pregnant while she recorded her lines for Who Framed Roger Rabbit.  She ended up missing her last day of recording because she went into labor, “I’m in the hospital saying, ‘Call the studio! Tell them I won’t be in today!’”

Roger Rabbit was popular with critics and audiences and Jessica Rabbit remains an iconic character to this day.

Turner went on to voice Jessica in two cartoon shorts.  A sequel was planned but scrapped due to disputes between Amblin Entertainment and Disney.

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Kathleen Turner – The Accidental Tourist – 1988

Turner ended 1988 by reuniting with her Body Heat co-star and director for The Accidental Tourist.

The Accidental Tourist was based on Frank Galati’s novel of the same name.  Hurt starred as a travel writer and Turner played his wife.  Their marriage is strained by the murder of their twelve-year-old son.  Turner eventually moves out.  Hurt breaks his leg falling down the steps.  In his wounded state, he becomes involved with an eccentric dog trainer played by Geena Davis.

The movie was a hit with critics and did respectable box office.  The Accidental Tourist was up for several awards although Turner herself was not nominated.  Davis won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.

turner - war of the roses
Kathleen Turner – The War of the Roses – 1989

In 1989, Turner teamed with Michael Douglas (and Danny DeVito) for the last time in The War of the Roses.

The black comedy was directed by DeVito and starred Turner and Douglas as a divorcing couple who battle over a luxurious house.  The couple takes the phrase “ugly divorce” to a whole other level when each one tries to drive the other out of the house and both are too stubborn to leave.

The War of the Roses got positive reviews and even audiences (who usually hate black comedy) made it a hit.

Turner was once again nominated for a Golden Globe.  She lost to Jessica Tandy for Driving Miss Daisy.

This was Turner at the peak of her popularity as a movie star.

Kathleen Turner - Cat on a Hot Tin Roof - 1990
Kathleen Turner – Cat on a Hot Tin Roof – 1990

In 1989, at the peak of her movie career, Turner returned to the stage in the Off-Broadway play, Love Letters.  The following year, Turner returned to Broadway in a revival of Tennessee Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.  Turner played Maggie and Charles During played Big Daddy.  The New York Times praised Turner’s performance in its review:

From her salt-cured accent to her unabashed (and entirely warranted) delight in her own body heat, Miss Turner is an accomplished Maggie, mesmerizing to watch, comfortable on stage and robustly good-humored. Merely to see this actress put on her nylons, a ritual of exquisitely prolonged complexity, is a textbook lesson in what makes a star.

Turner was nominated for a Tony for Best Performance by a Leading Actress, but she lost to Maggie Smith.  Turner was also the host of the Tony Awards that year.

V I Warshawski Year 1991 Director Jeff Kanew Kathleen Turner
Kathleen Turner – V.I. Warshawski – 1991

Turner’s career began to slide with 1991’s V.I. Warshawski.

Turner played a hard-nosed private detective in Chicago.  She meets an ex-hockey player at a bar and they start up a relationship.  One day, he drops off his 13-year old daughter off at her place and asks Turner to watch her.  While Turner is babysitting, her new boyfriend is killed in a boating accident.  She helps his daughter investigate the case.

V.I. Warshawski was based on a series of mystery novels by Sara Paretsky.  Paretsky was angry over an early draft in which her strong female protagonist was given a male superior.  This was originally done out of fear that audiences wouldn’t go see a movie with a female lead.

The hope was that there would be sequels.  But V.I. Warshawski was not well received by critics, audiences or the character’s creator.  Paretsky praised Turner’s performance but was critical of just about everything else about the movie.  Although no sequels were made, Turner did eventually reprise her role on BBC radio.

Critics panned the by-the-numbers approach of the movie while giving Turner props. V.I. Warshawski failed to crack the top 10 at the box office.  It opened in 11th place behind City Slickers which had been in theaters for 8 weeks already.  Believe it or not, two other new movies actually performed worse.  Life Stinks and Another You opened in 12th and 13th place!

In 1992, after Turner had suffered “unbearable pain” for roughly a year, she was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis.  At one point, she could barely move and was told by her doctor that she may never walk again.  The disease and the medicine Turner took to treat it began to change her appearance.  Rumors swirled that Turner’s puffiness was due to drinking too much.  Turner made no effort to dispell the rumors because she thought the truth would be more damaging to her career:

At the time I was diagnosed in the 90s nobody knew much about these auto-immune diseases. People hire drunks in this business, but they don’t hire people with diseases they don’t understand. Time has changed some of that.

Turner - Naked in New York
Kathleen Turner – Naked in New York – 1993

In 1993, Turner played a miscast actress in the indie rom com, Naked in New York.

Eric Stoltz starred as a struggling playwright whose latest Off Broadway play is being ruined by two actors played by Turner and Chris Noth.  Mary Louise Parker played Stoltz’s girlfriend and The Karate Kid (aka Ralph Macchio) played his best bud.  The trailer also promises a “special appearance by Whoopi Goldberg”.  Oooo.  I can’t wait.

Stoltz spent the entire decade making quirky indie movies no one saw.  Naked in New York was one of those movies.

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Kathleen Turner – House of Cards – 1993

Later that year, Turner starred opposite Tommy Lee Jones in the drama, House of Cards.

Sadly, this is not the House of Cards where Kevin Spacey plays a murderous politician.  In this film, Turner plays a recent widow and mother of two.  Her youngest child is traumatized by the death of her father and Turner is forced to get help from a child development expert played by Jones.

House of Cards was actually filmed in 1991.  It sat on a shelf for two years until Miramax picked it up and released it to theaters.  Reviews were mixed to positive, but Miramax only released the movie in six theaters.

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Kathleen Turner – Undercover Blues – 1993

Turner capped of 1993 opposite Dennis Quaid in the spy comedy, Undercover Blues.

Turner and Quaid played a couple of wise-cracking spies on maternity leave in New Orleans.  Having recently become parents to a newborn daughter, the couple has decided to leave the world of espionage behind them.  But they just can’t seem to avoid trouble.  Richard Jenkins played their boss who wants them to do one last job.  Stanley Tucci appears as a comically inept mugger.  Tom Arnold and Dave Chappelle also make appearances.

Critics were unkind to Undercover Blues.  But in this case, I think they missed the boat.  While the movie is uneven, Turner and Quaid make for a great comic team.  The story is a bit of a mess but Undercover Blues is worth watching to see these two stars at the top of their game.  If you’re a fan of rapid fire banter, give Undercover Blues a look.

Undercover Blues opened in second place at the box office behind The Fugitive which had been sitting in the top spot for six consecutive weeks!  On the upside, Undercover Blues did beat out True Romance which also opened that week.  And it crushed The Real McCoy which opened all the way down at fifth place.  So once again, Turner’s movie was the “top loser” of the bunch.  By the time it had completed its theatrical run, Undercover Blues had only grossed about half of its budget.

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Kathleen Turner – Serial Mom – 1994

In 1994, Turner starred in John Waters’ dark comedy, Serial Mom.

Turner played a seemingly typical suburban housewife married to a dentist played by Sam Waterston.  Ricki Lake and Matthew Lillard (in his movie debut) played the kids who rounded out the seemingly perfect family.  But Turner’s character is secretly a serial killer who exact revenge for trivial slights.

Turner had kind words for her Serial Mom director:

He is one of the kindest people.  His humor is never hurtful, it’s not malicious, it’s sweet…. It’s not humiliating to someone else, which I think is a real problem now, I think, in a lot of our comedies.

Reviews for Serial Mom were mixed to positive.  It opened in 11th place at the box office behind Schindler’s List which had been in theaters for 18 weeks.  In fairness, it was also playing on half as many screens as Schindler’s List or almost any of the other movies in the top ten that week.  Ultimately, Serial Mom failed to recoup its low budget during its theatrical run.

Turner was continuing to struggle with arthritis secretly.  She was in incredible pain with limited mobility, and yet she continued working to the degree that she could.  One of the side effects of her medication was depression.  She began self-medicating with vodka.  Eventually the rumors of alcoholism became a self-fulfilling prophecy.  In her autobiography, Turner admits she became “a nasty drunk”.

Kathleen Turner - Friends at Last - 1995
Kathleen Turner – Friends at Last – 1995

With leading roles in movies drying up, Turner turned to the small screen.  In 1994 she directed and appeared in the TV short, Leslie’s Folly.  Anne Archer played a middle aged woman who is unhappy with her family and her life.  Then she discovers she is pregnant.  Turner also appeared briefly as a nurse.  In 1995, Turner starred in the TV movie, Friends at Last (pictured).  Turner and Colm Feore played a couple who slowly become friends years after their divorce.

Kathleen Turner - Moonlight and Valentino - 1995
Kathleen Turner – Moonlight and Valentino – 1995

Later that year, Turner appeared as part of a female-driven ensemble in the comedy-drama, Moonlight and Valentino.

Elizabeth Perkins starred as a young poetry teacher who is unexpectedly widowed when her husband is killed while jogging.  Her friends, played by Gweneth Paltrow and Whoopi Goldberg try to help her deal with her loss.  Turner played Perkin’s former stepmother, a Wall Street executive who has difficulty relating to people.  Jon Bon Jovi and Jeremy Sisto also made appearances.

The movie was an adaptation of a stage play of the same name.  The play was adapted for the screen by its playwright, Ellen Simon.  Simon is the daughter of legendary playwright, Neil Simon.

Moonlight and Valentino was panned by critics.  Roger Ebert called it “very sincere, very heartfelt and very bad.”  He described watching the movie as being “trapped in an advice column from one of the women’s magazines.”  At the box office, Moonlight and Valentino debuted in 12th place,  It ended up grossing just under $2.5 million dollars.

Kathleen Turner and Jude Law - Indiscretions - 1995
Kathleen Turner and Jude Law – Indiscretions – 1995

As her movie career was cooling off in the mid-nineties, Turner once again returned to Broadway.  This time, she appeared in Indiscretions.  Indiscretions was an import from the National Theater in London.  There, the play went under it’s original title, Les Parents terribles.  But in the US, it was renamed and most of the parts recast.  Jude Law continued from the London cast.  Turner and Cynthia Nixon joined the cast for the American production.

Turner took time off from the play on doctor’s orders after nodules were found on her vocal cords. Her absence caused ticket sales to plummet and she returned a week later.

Kathleen Turner - A Simple Wish - 1997
Kathleen Turner – A Simple Wish – 1997

In 1997, Turner played a villain in the kiddie fantasy film, A Simple Wish.

Martin Short starred as a bumbling “male fairy godmother” trying to help a child played by Mara Wilson.  Wilson wishes for her father, a cabbie played by Robert Pastorelli, to win the lead role in a Broadway music.  Meanwhile, two witches played by Turner and Amanda Plummer are trying to take over the fairy kingdom and only Short and Wilson can stop them.

A Simple Wish was the last film directed by Michael Ritchie.  It was panned by critics.  Roger Ebert wrote that he doubted kids would like it if they even bothered seeing it:

One of the great fictions is that America has a large audience hungering for family films that Hollywood won’t supply. The truth is that Hollywood wants to make family films more than families want to see them. I imagine most of the kids in the target audience for A Simple Wish will be at Men In Black this weekend.

Ebert’s prediction wasn’t exactly going out on a limb.  Men in Black was the number one movie that week.  Presumably, there were lots of kids among the audiences.  Kids could also choose from Disney’s Hercules (in 4th place), Batman and Robin (in 7th place) and The Lost World: Jurassic Park (in 10th place).  A Simple Plan debuted in 9th place and earned back a fraction of its budget.

Kathleen Turner - The Real Blonde - 1997
Kathleen Turner – The Real Blonde – 1997

In 1997, Turner appeared in a supporting role in the showbiz comedy, The Real Blonde.

Matthew Modine and Catherine Keener played a couple struggling to break into show business.  He played an actor who waits tables and she played a make-up artist who works for a fashion photographer.  Keener finally convinces Modine to swallow his pride and accept a job as an extra on a Madonna video.  While he’s on the set for the video, he meets Madonna’s body double played by Elizabeth Berkley.

Maxwell Caulfield played Modine’s fellow waiter who lands a big paycheck working on a soap opera.  Darryl Hannah played Caufield’s co-star with whom he begins a romantic relationship.  Turner appears as a powerful talent agent who helps Modine get a job.

The Real Blonde received mostly negative reviews and was not successful at the box office.

Kathleen Turner - Legalese - 1998
Kathleen Turner – Legalese – 1998

In 1998, Turner appeared in TNT’s crime comedy, Legalese.

James Garner played a powerful celebrity lawyer who mentors a novice as he defends an actress against charges of murder.  Gina Gershon played the actress who is accused of murdering her brother-in-law with whom she may have been having an affair.  Mary Louise Parker Garner’s assistant.  Turner played a tabloid TV reporter and host of the talk show Scandal Center.

TV critics generally liked the movie when it aired calling it “smart and entertaining.”

Kathleen Turner - Baby Geniuses - 1999
Kathleen Turner – Baby Geniuses – 1999

In 1999, Turner appeared  in the family comedy, Baby Geniuses.

Turner and Christopher Lloyd played a pair of scientists who research development and speech among babies and toddler.  One of their baby geniuses escapes the research facility and goes to a mall.  It turns out the escaped baby has a twin brother who happens to be playing at the same mall playground.  The mall security mistakes the normal baby brother for the escaped genius baby and takes him back to the baby genius lab.

No, I am not making this up.  This is the real plot of a real movie that was actually released in theaters.

The escaped baby genius is brought home by his brother’s adoptive parents played by Kim Cattrall and Peter MacNicol.  Dom DeLuise plays a bus driver who is hypnotized by the genius babies.  No that can’t be right.  Dom DeLuise was still making movies in 1999?

For some strange reason, critics failed to embrace the talking baby movie.  It currently holds a 2% approval rating at Rotten Tomatoes.  The loan hold-out, Dwayne E. Leslie of Box Office Magazine, gave the movie three out of five stars.  This puts Leslie, who I am sure was not in any way reimbursed for writing the sole positive review, in a very small minority of one.  Roger Ebert, on the other hand, picked Baby Geniuses as his least favorite movie of 1999.

Audiences didn’t love Baby Geniuses.  It opened in 5th place behind something called The Corrupter.  But weirdly enough it stayed in theaters for nearly sixth months during which it amassed the slightly impressive gross of $27 million dollars.  That’s not amazing, but it was enough to get a sequel made five years later.  Sadly, Turner did not reprise her role in Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2.  But Scott Baio was in it.  So it’s got that going for it.  Which is nice.

Believe it or not, that was not the end of the Baby Geniuses franchise.  In 2011, a Baby Geniuses TV series aired in Italy and the Far East.  The series consisted of 12 episodes which were packaged as 4 direct-to-video movies.  I bet Dwayne E. Leslie owns them all.

Kathleen Turner - The Virgin Suicides - 1999
Kathleen Turner – The Virgin Suicides – 1999

Later that year, Turner appeared in Sophia Coppola’s directorial debut, The Virgin Suicides.

James Woods and Turner play a pair of over-protective parents in the Detroit suburbs in the 70’s.  As the movie beings, their youngest daughter has committed suicide which makes them all the more protective of their four remaining girls.  One of their daughters played by Kirsten Dunst develops a friendship with the school heartthrob played by Josh Hartnett.  Frustrated by their strict upbringing, the girls eventually make a tragic suicide pact.

The Virgin Suicides was based on Jeffrey Eugenides’ novel of the same name.  After Coppola had written her adaptation, she was heartbroken to discover that there was already an adaptation in development elsewhere.  She showed them her script which they prefered to their own, so they ended up using it.

Coppola and Turner knew each other from Peggy Sue Got Married which was directed by Francis Ford Coppola.  Her dad cast her in a bit role as Turner’s younger sister in that movie.

Critics were impressed by Coppola’s assured direction.  Despite mostly positive reviews, The Virgin Suicides received a limited release in only 275 theaters.

Kathleen Turner - Love and Action in Chicago - 1999
Kathleen Turner – Love and Action in Chicago – 1999

Turner capped off the 20th century with a supporting role in the indie rom com, Love and Action in Chicago.

Courtney B. Vance (the B stands for Bassett because he is married to actress Angela Bassett)* played a government hit-man who has taken a vow of celibacy.  Turner played his boss who decides maybe he would be a happier hit-man if she could get him laid.  So she sets him up on a blind date with Regina King .  Jason Alexander and Ed Asner co-starred.

*Not really.  The B actually stands for Bernard.  But he is married to Angela Bassett.

Love and Action in Chicago debuted at the Toronto Film Festival where it received mixed reviews.  Some critics were put off by the disparity between the dark subject matter and the light tone.

Kathleen Turner - Cinderella - 2000
Kathleen Turner – Cinderella – 2000

In the year 2000, Turner starred in a very unconventional adaptation of Cinderella.  The story was set in the 1950’s and emphasized the world of fashion.  Turner played the Wicked Stepmother (of course) who is trying to murder Cinderella’s father.  The prince has an ear for rock n’ roll music and an anti-social mermaid lives in a nearby cave.  The movie was a hit in England where it was one of the top-selling videos of the year.  It was also shown in schools for educational purposes.  Critics in the UK raved about the program and Turner’s performance.  Cinderella was also well-reviewed in the US, but critics were less effusive in their praise.

Kathleen Turner - Beautiful - 2000
Kathleen Turner – Beautiful – 2000

Later that year, Turner appeared in Sally Field’s directorial debut, Beautiful.

Minnie Driver played a beauty pageant contestant who is desperate to win a title because she has never felt the approval of her parents.  Driver’s character is a single mother, but she worries that having a daughter will hurt her chances of winning a pageant so she keeps it a secret.  Joey Lauren Adams played Driver’s best friend who convinces her to be a better mother.  And Turner played the organizer of the Miss American Miss competition.

Critics thought Beautiful was anything but.  Variety called Field’s directorial debut, “flat, witless and sappy”.  Roger Ebert called Beautiful:

A movie with so many inconsistencies, improbabilities, unanswered questions and unfinished characters that we have to suspend not only disbelief but also intelligence.

The beauty pageant satire placed tenth at the box office behind What Lies Beneath which had been in theaters for nearly three months.  It grossed just over $3 million dollars – a fraction of its budget.

Kathleen Turner - Prince of Central Park - 2000
Kathleen Turner – Prince of Central Park – 2000

Turner ended 2000 by starring in Prince of Central Park.  The movie is an adaptation of a novel of the same name which had already been adapted into a TV movie in 1977.  It’s about an orphan who runs away from his foster mother (played by Cathy Moriarty) to try to find his mother.  He sets up in Central Park where he befriends a homeless man played by Harvey Keitel.  He also meets Turner, a mother who is grieving her lost son.  She wants to take care of the orphan like her own son.  Her husband, played by Danny Aiello, does not love the idea.

Kathleen Turner - Friends - 2001
Kathleen Turner – Friends – 2001

In 2001, Turner appeared on three episodes of the hit TV sitcom, Friends.  You may have heard of it,  She played Chandler’s (Matthew Perry) father.  Yes, his father.  Chandler’s mother was played by Morgan Fairchild.  In Turner’s first episode, Chandler does not want to invite his father to his wedding to Monica,  It turns out his dad is a very flamboyant drag queen which has been a source of embarrassment.  Monica convinces him to fly out to Vegas to see his dad’s show.

Turner returned to Friends for the two-part wedding.  According to Turner, Matthew Perry still calls her “Dad”.

Kathleen Turner - Tallulah - 2000-2001
Kathleen Turner – Tallulah – 2000-2001

On stage, Turner played actress Tallulah Bankhead in the one-woman show, Tallulah.  The show debuted in Sussex, England in 1997 and had traveled in the years since.  In 1999, Turner played Tallulah in Miami.  The show received some tweaks for what was intended to be a pre-Broadway production from 2000-2001.  In the fall of 2001, the Broadway version of the show was scrapped “to allow the creative team to further develop the play.”  As the show ended, there were already rumors that Turner would be moving on to another high profile play.

Kathleen Turner and Alicia Silverston - The Graduate - 2002
Kathleen Turner and Alicia Silverston – The Graduate – 2002

Turner had played the infamous Mrs. Robinson in London in a stage adaptation of The Graduate in 2000.  Ticket sales for the play were initially mediocre until it was announced that Turner would appear naked in the show.  Then ticket sales “went through the roof”.  In 2002, the play moved to Broadway where Turner was joined by Jason Biggs as Benjamin Braddock and Alicia Silverstone as Elaine.  The play was a huge hit despite mixed reviews.

Turner continued touring the US with off-Broadway shows like The Exonerated which she played in both New York and Texas.

Kathleen Turner - Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? - 2005
Kathleen Turner – Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? – 2005

In 2005, Turner returned to Broadway for a revival of Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?  The playwright was impressed with Turner’s audition.  He said when she read for the part with Bill Irwin, he head “an echo of the ‘revelation’ that he had felt years ago when the parts were read by [Uta] Hagen and Arthur Hill.”  He went on to describe Turner as having “a look of voluptuousness, a woman of appetites, yes … but a look of having suffered as well.”

Turner was nominated for a Tony Award for the second time for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?  This time she lost to Cherry Jones who won for her performance in Doubt.

Kathleen Turner - Law and Order - 2006
Kathleen Turner – Law and Order – 2006

In 2006, Turner returned to TV with a guest appearance on an episode of the courtroom drama, Law and Order.  Turner played a defense attorney with a rich teen for a client.

Kathleen Turner - Nip/Tuck - 2006
Kathleen Turner – Nip/Tuck – 2006

Later that year, Turner played a phone sex operator in need of a voice lift in an episode of the FX drama, Nip/Tuck.

Kathleen Turner - Marley & Me - 2008
Kathleen Turner – Marley & Me – 2008

In 2008, Turner returned to the big screen for the first time in eight years with a small role in the doggie comedy-drama, Marley & Me.

Owen Wilson and Jennifer Anniston starred as newlyweds who adopt a puppy.  The cute puppy grows into a big and rambunctious dog.  Turner played a dog trainer who believes in strict discipline.

Reviews were mixed but leaning towards positive.  Lured by cute stars and a cuter dog, audiences flocked to Marley & Me making it a big fat hit.  It even inspired a direct-to-video prequel, Marley & Me: the Puppy Years, in 2011.

CALIFORNICATION (Season 3)
Kathleen Turner – Californication – 2009

In 2009, Turner had a recurring role on the Showtime comedy, Californication.  She played a high powered Hollywood talent agency executive with an over-active sexual appetite and an outrageously oversized personality.  Turner said she loved playing the gonzo character:

I like doing outrageous things. I seem to be sort of making speciality of it, being this crazy middle aged woman.  When I’m doing something, I don’t think about what other people are going to think about it. Just doing it is where I get my kicks. Then of course, to see it with other people, you realize how out there it is.

Turner said she was grateful to be able to play such a meaty role as a middle-aged actress.  She was critical of Hollywood’s inability to write roles for women:

If you don’t have stage training, you’re truly limited. They don’t write good roles for women. If you’re not immediately identifiable as the ingénue or sex symbol, they don’t know what to write. Write a character? I mean, a character? Who has thoughts and feelings and opinions? They don’t know how to do it.

Kathleen Turner - High - 2010
Kathleen Turner – High – 2010

By this point, Turner was primarily a stage actress.  She was constantly touring with one play or another.  In 2010, she starred in the drama, High, in which she played a counselor tasked with helping a 19-year-old addict.  In 2011, the show moved to Broadway where it played in previews.  It only ran on Broadway for a month before closing.  But it was revived as a touring production in 2012.  Turner remained with the production through the tour.

Kathleen Turner - The Perfect Family - 2013
Kathleen Turner – The Perfect Family – 2011

In The Perfect Family, Turner played a devout Catholic who has been nominated by the church for “Catholic Woman of the Year”.  She’s nominated against her arch rival played by Sharon Lawrence.  In order to take home the prize, Turner tries to get her family to deny who they really are.  This puts her at odds with her gay daughter played by Emily Deschanel and her son who is having an affair with an older woman.

You can imagine how much the Catholic Church loved this movie.  Catholic News Services noted: “this dramedy ridicules just about every aspect of the Catholic Church, its teachings and members, offering broad caricatures of clergy, religious and laity to score negative points.”

Usually, I ignore this sort of stuff.  I remember a review in the Catholic newspaper The Messenger complaining about Indiana Jones being an atheist in Raiders of the Lost Ark.  The priest who wrote the review asked “Is it really necessary to have the hero be a non-believer?”  Even as an altar boy I thought, “Hell yes it’s necessary!  What saves Indy at the end of the movie is his faith.  If he starts off a believer, it totally robs Indy of his character arc  (*hehe* “arc” get it?).

Point being, priests make lousy movie critics and more often than not, religions are way to sensitive about being satirized.   But then, Raiders of the Lost Ark didn’t have Indy say “I don’t have to think, I’m a Catholic!”  That line alone does betray a certain anti-Catholic agenda.  Casting Richard Chamberlain as a priest in a wink to his role in The Thorn Birds is just squeezing lemon juice into the papercut.

Secular critics didn’t think much of The Perfect Family either.  The Miami Herald called it, “A leaden, ham-fisted affair that was exactly the sort of pap John Waters was spoofing when he cast Turner as a serial-killing soccer mom.”  Overall, reviews were mixed to negative although most critics praised Turner’s performance.

There had been improvements in the medication for arthritis since Turner received her original diagnosis in the early nineties.  The new treatments made it easier for her to continue working.  But she has struggled with the disease ever since.

About two years ago I had another bad flare-up and ended up in hospital again. They give you the drug Prednisone immediately to slam it down. I hate what it does to my mind. I hate what it does to my body too.  You don’t sleep well. It makes you feel jagged all the time, but sometimes it’s the only thing that works. It ultimately damages bone and muscle tissue so you only use it when you have to. Like everything, it’s a balance.

There’s no cure for rheumatoid arthritis and I didn’t think I’d even get to this point. When it blows up my hands don’t work very well. If somebody hands me a glass I’ll drop it. There’s nothing I can do about it.

Kathleen Turner - Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins - 2012
Kathleen Turner – Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins – 2012

Turner played liberal Texas columnist Molly Ivins in the play Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins.  The play opened in Washington D.C. in 2012.  Turner performed the same show in late 2014 into 2015 in California.

In 2013, Turner appeared in a horror movie called, Nurse 3-D, in which a sexy nurse murders philandering men.  Judd Nelson also made an appearance.

turner - dumb and dumber to

In 2014, Turner returned to the big screen with a supporting role in the Farrelly brother’s sequel, Dumb and Dumber To.

Turner played a woman who used to know Harry (Jeff Daniels) and Lloyd (Jim Carrey) when they were younger.  Harry receives a postcard from Turner’s character informing him that he has a daughter he never knew about.  The dimwitted duo seek out Harry’s daughter because Harry needs a kidney transplant and Lloyd thinks she’s hot.

The movie reunited Turner and Carrey who had appeared on screen together in Peggy Sue Got Married.  Jennifer Lawrence filmed a cameo in which she played Turner’s character in flashbacks.  But she later requested that she be cut from the movie.  The flashbacks were reshot with Carly Craig.  Bill Murray also has a cameo as Harry’s new roommate, but his face is never shown.

The movie features many jokes at Turner’s expense.  Her character, like Turner, was once young and hot.  But now, she looks like a regular middle-aged woman.  Turner says there were some concerns about approaching her for the role because people thought she might be offended.  But the actress claims to have been liberated instead:

Fraida is a titanic whore and I suppose they thought I wouldn’t want to do it, that I’d be insulted. I think they thought I’d be upset when in the script Jim and Jeff meet this woman and she says, “I’m Fraida”, and they say, “No. Fraida’s hot. Fraida’s smoking. That’s not you.” But I felt quite the opposite, thank goodness. This is where I can say, “Do you know what? I don’t look like I did 30 years ago. Get over it.”

Dumb and Dumber To received negative reviews from critics.  But nostalgia for the first film made the sequel a hit at the box office.

So what the hell happened?

In her prime, Turner had a reputation for being “difficult”.  The New York Times once referred to her as a “certifiable diva”.  Turner herself admitted that she had developed into “not a very kind person”.  If Turner thought someone was full of shit, she’d call them out on it.  That sort of behavior is admired when a man does it.  But it’s less acceptable in Hollywood when an actress speaks her mind.

Obviously, Turner’s disease was a major obstacle.  Even now, rheumatoid arthritis is a crippling disease.  But in the early 90’s, the disease was not well-understood.  So much so that Turner felt the need to keep her disease a secret in order to avoid losing work.  According to Turner, it was better to be thought of as an alcoholic than a sick person.

The disease and her treatments changed her appearance.  In addition to everything else the disease took from her, it robbed Turner of her movie star looks.  Since no one knew about the disease, people assumed that Turner had merely let herself go.  Leading roles in movies disappeared almost immediately.

But in spite of these obstacles, Turner has remained a working actress for nearly four decades.  Cinema’s loss was the theater’s gain.  Today, Turner works primarily as a stage actress while occasionally appearing in TV shows and movies.  According to Turner, she’s getting more work today than she was a decade ago:

I’m edging now into that territory where a lot of us have been winnowed out. The competition’s getting smaller.  Maybe there’ll be more movies because they can be a lot of fun. And I could still do my stage work too, so it’s a nice balance. I could never see myself committing to a TV series for years on end, but I like to pop in and do little characters.

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remembertheredskins
12 years ago

Hmmm…I actually thought Nic Cage was one of the few reasons it was worth seeing Peggy Sue Got Married. Maybe he was in a different movie than everybody else…a more entertaining one. But I never really cared for Turner much to begin with, and her character in that movie was self-involved in a way that did not elicit either sympathy or chuckles. In the end, I was more interested in what happened to the endearing dreaming fool Cage played. I’m often alone in my reactions to films. I am apparently the only person in the world who was disappointed that… Read more »

Terrence Michael Clay
10 years ago

Kathleen Turner in Peggy Sue Got Married: http://oscarnerd.blogspot.com/2011/06/kathleen-turner-in-peggy-sue-got.html Kathleen Turner received her only Oscar nomination to date for playing Peggy Sue, a woman going back in time during her high school reunion in Francis Ford Coppola’s movie, Peggy Sue Got Married. Many thought that Turner was going to win the Oscar as she was a great star, previously snubbed many times. However, she had only won the NBR for Best Actress. I guess the thing why she didn’t win is that the role was too lightweight. I think she was either second or third. The Academy seeming didn’t like Kathleen… Read more »

Geo
Geo
12 years ago

Sadly, I think these femme fatales all share similar, unavoidable reasons as to “What the Hell Happened to” them. They all get old. Some of them get chubby too. Old and chubby. It’s unfair and we’ve talked about this before, but Sean Connery ages and he becomes “distinguished”. Kathy Turner just gets old and chubby, and nobody wants her anymore. A well-known Hollywood double standard. Look, I don’t want to be unfair to Val Kilmer. I like Val Kilmer. I really like the fact that Val Kilmer looks truly happy in every single fat photo you included during his 15… Read more »

Geo
Geo
12 years ago

Sorry LeBeau, the first picture you posted is a current photo of Kathleen, and she looks happy. For whatever reason that photo wasn’t working when I posted.

Geo
Geo
12 years ago
Reply to  lebeau

Good point. When I posted my comment I forgot about the illness you mentioned. Happy 4th of July!

jeremylukens
12 years ago

Some good information. I had no idea about her illness and that it contributed to her weight gain. Sadly, I’m sure the weight alone is the reason her roles dried up. If she was still hot in the 90s, she would have still gotten those femme fatale roles. Body Heat and Romancing the Stone will always be the movies I associate with Turner. They were her best roles and her sexy look along with that voice made her so irresistible that you can almost believe the plot of Body Heat! I also think that Undercover Blues is really underrated. As… Read more »

Terrence Michael Clay
10 years ago
Reply to  jeremylukens

9 celebrities who haven’t aged well: http://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/photos/9-celebrities-who-havent-aged-well/kathleen-turner Kathleen Turner Our Lady of the Husky Voice, Kathleen Turner, was the quintessential femme fatale of 1980s cinema, thanks in part to sultry turns in films of both the steamy noir melodrama and silly noir cartoon caper variety. Whether playing a freelance killer-for-hire or a part-time prostitute, this hardworking actress was a full-time sex symbol during her leading lady heyday. Yet Turner, a former gymnast who performed many of her own stunts, slipped off the Hollywood A-list in the 1990s after being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. (One highlight during this era being her… Read more »

Terrence Michael Clay
10 years ago

What happened to Kathleen Turner? http://katiestrandworld.blogspot.com/2010/05/what-happened-to-kathleen-turner.html For anyone who loved Romancing the Stone and especially Kathleen Turner in her role as romance author Joan Wilder (The Joan Wilder?), you were likely as shocked as I was when I saw her recently on Californication. Now, make no mistake, she does a fantastic acting job as Sue Collini, the super-high sex-drive, no-nonsense and perverse agent, though Kathleen has always done a good job with no-nonsense roles, but she looks so…well let’s just say it, she looks like a post-op professional wrestler who was always a woman on the inside. She was gorgeous.… Read more »

Treuj
Treuj
12 years ago

It seems that Michael Douglas has a reasonably successful career up until Romancing The Stone. Won an academy ward as a producer for One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, China Syndrome, Coma.

kapatid
kapatid
12 years ago

I miss mrs katleen in the holywood hope she’s coming back and ill watch her movie

Carolan Ivey
12 years ago

Hi, I’ve had RA since age 5 and I’m about Kathleen’s age now. I didn’t know she’d developed it – I’m glad she looks happy in that photo. Happy is hard to attain and maintain when you’re in pain 24/7/365. (Er, sorry, I didn’t mean that to rhyme!) I’ve learned to pretty much live with it, since I don’t remember what life is like without it. I feel for adults who are living life full-bore then run into the brick wall called RA. It’s much tougher to adjust when you’re older. Hats off to her!

chris
chris
12 years ago

Her medical issue, her age, slow metabolism and not being active… that’s the bottom line

Me-You
Me-You
12 years ago

What happened to Kathleen Turner was crippling rhuematoid (or however you spell it) arthritis. So get off her case.

Geo
Geo
12 years ago
Reply to  Me-You

Having a close relative who has suffered with this for 30 years, I can tell you how horrible it is. LeBeau was definitely not on her case, and was very fair as always.

daffystardust
Editor
12 years ago

I’ve just re-read everything here, and I don’t feel like the overall tone is unfair or unsympathetic to Kathleen Turner.

Paul S
12 years ago
Reply to  lebeau

I think you must right that some people tend to skim rather than read the full article, because as far as I’m concerned you’re always scrupulously fair!

JediJones
JediJones
11 years ago
Reply to  lebeau

A lot of fans…and Sean Young.

Dora
Dora
12 years ago

Here’s the thing. You mentioned her having Rheumatoid Arthritis and immediately dismissed it by saying it went into remission. There is NO true remission with RA. Advances in medical research and treatment for this disease have greatly improved in the past several years, however prior to 2000, options were extremely limited. If she was diagnosed in ’92, I can guarantee she went through hell. Chronic systemic pain effects the whole person, mind, body & soul. It ages you, it is exhausting, and sometimes you have little control over your outward appearance or physical changes that may take place as a… Read more »

daffystardust
Editor
12 years ago
Reply to  Dora

If an A-list performer had cancer and it wasn’t widely known, I would certainly find myself asking what had happened to them if their career had declined noticably. I would then be very glad to know about the cancer.
This is what happened when I read this article about Ms. Turner. I did not know about her illness. Now I do. It seems that the article did its job.

WhatAShame
WhatAShame
11 years ago
Reply to  lebeau

I did not see it as disrespectful. Her voice betrays one who smokes way too much. It’s not so much her appearance that is troubling. People age and that is OK. Society is to blame for not accepting that. But her voice is the disturbing part.

Dora
Dora
12 years ago

Got it, and thanks for the reply. I do understand the purpose of your blog and I know it isn’t to explain diseases. I have no real reason to defend her, but RA is one of those “invisible illnesses” where you go out in the world and do your best not to let it show. I imagine the need to do this in Hollywood is magnified a million percent, especially if you want to work. She does seem to have made the best of a difficult life experience. I admire that courage.

Mastro
Mastro
10 years ago
Reply to  lebeau

It is bit disturbing to see her in Californication- but- she is FANTASTIC in it! She has great comedic chops and I hope she gets enough roles to show them off-
Yeah- I was totally in love with her back in the Eighties- probably more than all the Brat Pack women combined.

WhatAShame
WhatAShame
11 years ago

TOO MUCH BOOZE AND CIGARETTES?

Greekfreak
Greekfreak
11 years ago

BTW, Turner’s comments about being a “Drunk” in Hollywood not costing you jobs is true to a point: Richard Pryor kept his illness secret and kept doing shitty movie after shitty movie because (1) he knew he couldn’t tour doing stand-up anymore [and was likely tired of it], and (2) he knew he wouldn’t get hired/insured because of his MS. He also needed the money badly. Keep the articles going–I would suggest Christian Slater, who had A-lister written all over him during the early 90s, and especially Jean Claude Van Damme, who’s still releasing direct-to-video stuff that actually deserves a… Read more »

JediJones
JediJones
11 years ago
Reply to  lebeau

I’m enjoying the articles too. I like your writing style. It’s got a similar cheerful snarkiness to the X-Entertainment Blog. And you have a real good sense of what kind of cultural impact movies have had which isn’t often discussed in criticism.
I’d be interested in seeing a “Director’s Edition” of “What the Hell Happened to…?” Mainly because I can think of one great candidate, John McTiernan. He kicked off 3 major movie series that are still widely known today, then did a lot of bombs and ended up in jail. What the hell happened to this guy?

Terrence Michael Clay
10 years ago
Reply to  Greekfreak

10 Actors Who Are Nowhere Near As Great As They Used To Be: http://whatculture.com/film/10-actors-who-are-nowhere-near-as-great-as-they-used-to-be.php/2 9. Jean Claude Van Damme Once there was a time when all audiences wanted to see was Chuck Norris giving a spinning roundhouse kick to some guy in the face. Then audiences evolved so that we wanted to see a guy do the splits and kick two guys in the face simultaneously. Jean Claude Van Damme did that (JCVD to his friends) to a great extent in the late eighties and early nineties. Taking the less talk/more action route of such action luminaries before him as… Read more »

Terrence Michael Clay
10 years ago

They Believed The Hype (And It Blew Up In Their Face): 15 Celebrities Whose Careers Were Hurt By Hubris: http://styleblazer.com/131706/they-believed-the-hype-and-it-blew-up-in-their-face-15-celebrities-whose-careers-were-hurt-by-hubris/2/ Jean-Claude Van Damme’s action movie career piqued in 1994 with Time Cop. The science fiction actioner was a box office sensation and netted over a hundred million at the box office from a budget of less than $30 million. On the heels of this success, Van Damme was offered a whopping $12 million studio deal. In a moment of hubris Van Damme turned it down and requested $20 million instead, hoping to match superstar comedian Jim Carrey. Looking back Van… Read more »

New Puritan
New Puritan
11 years ago

In Kim B’s comments you doubted that any of your featured talent would be remembered for their work 100 years from now. If one of them should prove you wrong, I hope it’s Kathleen Turner. She ruled Hollywood in the 80’s/early 90’s and deserved to; the woman has talent to burn. I’m sorry that she’s (been) ill. Beyond that I don’t care what size she is, what she sounds like, whether she smokes or quit, etc. I just hope she’s happy. Fact is, she’s gifted us many hours of quality screen time and I’m grateful for any artist who can… Read more »

conneeconehead
11 years ago

“Body Heat” was an outstanding movie, not only because of the intense on-screen chemistry between Hurt and Turner, but due to the amazing twists and turns of the entire story. I, too, thought the ending of this movie was lame, a little Hollywood hokey. Remembertheredskins’ idea would’ve been just great. “Romancing the Stone,” “Peggy Sue Got Married” (yes, Nic Cage was very good in this but I agree with you, why did he affect that stupid voice?) and “War of the Roses” were truly enjoyable Turner vehicles. Turner was just so-so in “Accidental Tourist” – again teamed with Hurt, a… Read more »

conneeconehead
11 years ago

It’s sad that she has suffered such a terrible illness. Turner is very talented but Hollywood does not hire many (men or women) who are overweight (plus her voice is shot). Turner should take pride in the volume of work she has done and in her beautiful daughter. Here’s hoping Turner is living a comfortable life like Keaton and Pfeiffer. What an odd thing to say to Bacall. Maybe she was nervous when she met Bacall or was just trying to be sarcastic and was taken wrong.

Jake
Jake
11 years ago

From great films like “Body Heat,” “Romancing the Stone,” “Prizzi’s Honor,” & “Who Framed Roger Rabbit”….to playing Chandler’s dad on the most overrated sitcom ever!!
If the term “How the mighty have fallen” applies to anyone, it’s Kathleen Turner.

The Iron Cupcake
11 years ago

I ran into Kathleen Turner in a restaurant near the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Massachusetts. She walked in with a copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows under her arm. She was sitting alone at the bar but graciously signed a napkin for me. I actually saw her again later that night; we were both at a Williamstown Theatre Festival production, an unmemorable show called Party Come Here (notable only for starring Hunter Foster, Sutton Foster’s older brother). Turner was probably scoping the place out because she was about to direct Crimes of the Heart there. It was a… Read more »

bhi-workwear
11 years ago

So what happened after the early 90’s? Just seen her in Californication looking like a seriously masculine transvestite. Not just old but really large and her face looks like some serious work has been done and failed

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