California Suite

1h 43m 1978

Brief Synopsis

Four sets of guests at a posh hotel face personal crises.

Cast & Crew

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Herbert Ross

Alan Alda

Michael Caine

Tawny Moyer

Nora Boland

Colleen Drape

Photos & Videos

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Alicia Malone Intro -- California Suite (1978)

California Suite (1978) -- (Movie Clip) Offer Me A Monarchy

California Suite (1978) -- (Movie Clip) Now We All Got Whiplash!

California Suite (1978) -- (Movie Clip) God Will Punish Us

Film Details

MPAA Rating

Genre

Comedy

Release Date

1978

Technical Specs

Duration

1h 43m

Sound

Mono

Color

Color

Synopsis

Five couples face their own personal struggles during a pre-Academy Awards weekend at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

Director

Herbert Ross

Cast

Alan Alda

Michael Caine

Tawny Moyer

Nora Boland

Colleen Drape

Bert May

Frank Conn

Lupe Ontiveros

Eddie Villery

Herbert Edelman

Denise Galik

Walter Matthau

Joseph Morena

Zora Margolis

Leslie Pagett

Jane Fonda

Vicki Stephens

Hubert Laws

David Rini

Len Lawson

William Kux

Ralph Grierson

Brian Cummings

Richard Pryor

Jack Scanlan

Armand Cerami

Gloria Gifford

Dana Plato

Bud Shank

Army Archerd

Shelly Manne

Chuck Domanico

Clint Young

Kelly Harman

Judith Brown

Maggie Smith

Rita Gomez

John Hawker

Nan Wylder

Buddy Douglas

Gary Hendrix

David Matthau

Dino Ardito

Paolo Frediani

Bill Steinmetz

Michael Boyle

Tommy Tedesco

David Sheehan

Christopher Pennock

Elaine May

Tina Menard

Jerry Ziman

Bill Cosby

Linda Ewen

Jose Jaime Espinoza

Crew

Claude Bolling

Margaret Booth

Executive Editor

Albert Brenner

Production Designer

Lyle Burbridge

Robert Dawson

Special Effects

Wayne Fitzgerald

Leon R Harris

David Hockney

Michael J Kohut

Garrett Lewis

Augie Lohman

Special Effects

Marvin March

William Mccaughey

Carla Mccloskey

Assistant Director

Patricia Norris

Costume Designer

Al Overton Jr.

Phil Rawlins

Production Manager

Jack Roe

Assistant Director

Ann Roth

Costume Designer

Charles Schram

Ronald L Schwary

Production Manager

Ronald L Schwary

Associate Producer

Sam Shaw

Neil Simon

Neil Simon

Play As Source Material

Ray Stark

Michael A Stevenson

David M. Walsh

Director Of Photography

Photo Collections

Videos

California Suite (1978) -- (Movie Clip) God Will Punish Us Droll Britishers Sidney (Michael Caine) and Oscar-nominated actress wife Diana (Maggie Smith), in town for the ceremonies, taking a call from her producer, in Neil Simon's California Suite, 1978.

California Suite (1978) -- (Movie Clip) Don't Go In There! The hooker that east-coaster Marvin (Walter Matthau) is trying to hide from wife Millie (Elaine May) in their L-A hotel room is stone drunk, not dead, in California Suite, 1978, from a Neil Simon script.

California Suite (1978) -- (Movie Clip) Offer Me A Monarchy Long-divorced Hannah (Jane Fonda) from New York visiting her successful screenwriter ex Bill (Alan Alda), arguing over their teenage daughter, in Neil Simon's California Suite, 1978.

California Suite (1978) -- (Movie Clip) Now We All Got Whiplash! Bill Cosby and Richard Pryor (As bickering doctors Panama and Gump) are the focus, arriving from Chicago with their wives (Shelia Frazier, Gloria Gifford) in Los Angeles, early in Neil Simon's California Suite, 1978.

Intro Aired: Jan 2019

Alicia Malone Intro -- California Suite (1978) TCM’s Alicia Malone introduces California Suite, 1978.

Alan Alda -- (TCM Original) SAG Life Achievement Award TCM Original on Alan Alda, SAG 2018 Life Achievement award recipient, appearing on TCM in California Suite, 1978, Sunday, January 27 at 6pm ET.

Film Details

MPAA Rating

Genre

Comedy

Release Date

1978

Technical Specs

Duration

1h 43m

Sound

Mono

Color

Color

Award Wins

Best Supporting Actress

1978

Maggie Smith

Award Nominations

Best Art Direction

1978

Best Writing, Screenplay

1979

Articles

California Suite

November 10, 2008

Maggie Smith, with her performance in California Suite (1978), became the only person to win an Academy Award for playing a person who loses an Academy Award. In Neil Simon's quartet of short comedies, unrelated except for all being set in the Beverly Hills Hotel, Smith plays Diana Barrie, a distinguished British stage actress not unlike herself who has "slummed" by playing a supporting role in a film. The surprise Oscar® nomination has brought Diana and homosexual husband Sidney (Michael Caine) to Hollywood, where they try to cope with Diana's pre-ceremony anxiety and then, after she loses, her drunken despair. Some of Simon's cleverest writing is contained in this sophisticated playet, called Visitors from London, with the couple exchanging barbed one-liners while working their way through some hard truths in their relationship. The two actors play off each other brilliantly, and in accepting her Oscar® a gracious Smith said, "I would very much like for Michael Caine to be here with me. It should be split down the middle."

Unlike the play on which it is based, the film version of California Suite intercuts among its various stories. The vignette Visitors from New York stars Jane Fonda and Alan Alda as a divorced couple bickering over whether their teen-age daughter should stay with her mother in New York City or move to Los Angeles to live with her father. The setup gives New Yorker Simon plenty of room to rib the shortcomings of L.A., with Fonda describing it as "Paradise with a lobotomy." The playet Visitors from Philadelphia casts Walter Matthau as a married man who awakens to find a prostitute unconscious in his bed and his wife (Elaine May) on her way up to his hotel room. The episode Visitors from Chicago has Bill Cosby and Richard Pryor as two doctors who bring their wives (Sheila Frazier and Gloria Gifford) on a vacation where everything that possibly can go wrong does.

Simon received an Oscar® nomination for this adaptation of his play, one of a long line of Broadway successes that also includes Come Blow Your Horn, Barefoot in the Park, and The Sunshine Boys, all of which became hit films. His autobiographical trilogy of plays Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues and Broadway Bound won particular critical praise, and Simon won the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Lost in Yonkers. California Suite follows the same formula as its predecessor, Plaza Suite, and the later London Suite, which reunites the characters of Diana and Sidney.

Herbert Ross, the director of California Suite, also directed the Simon films The Sunshine Boys (1975), The Goodbye Girl (1977) and I Ought to Be in Pictures (1982). Vincent Canby of The New York Times called California Suite "the most agreeably realized Simon film in years" and added, "Here is Mr. Simon in top form, under the direction of Herbert Ross, one of the few directors ... who can cope with the particular demands of material that simultaneously means to be touching and so nonstop clever one sometimes wants to gag him. It all works in California Suite, not only because the material is superior Simon, but also because the writer and the director have assembled a dream cast." Another Oscar® nomination went to the film's Art Direction/Set Decoration by Albert Brenner and Marvin March.

After winning her award, Smith said that, instead of making a prompt departure as her character in the film did, "I won't go back to London until next week; I want to enjoy the feeling of being a winner." When a reporter inquired if Londoners would celebrate her victory, she responded, "Oh, no, Oscar® doesn't mean anything in England. They don't know quite what they are."

Producer: Ray Stark
Director: Herbert Ross
Screenplay: Neil Simon
Cinematography: David M. Walsh
Production Design: Albert Brenner
Music: Claude Bolling
Film Editing: Michael A. Stevenson
Cast: Jane Fonda (Hannah Warren), Alan Alda (Bill Warren), Maggie Smith (Diana Barrie), Michael Caine (Sidney Cochran), Walter Matthau (Marvin Michaels), Elaine May (Millie Michaels), Richard Pryor (Dr. Chauncey Gump), Bill Cosby (Dr. Willis Panama).
C-103m. Closed Captioning.

by Roger Fristoe

California Suite

California Suite

Maggie Smith, with her performance in California Suite (1978), became the only person to win an Academy Award for playing a person who loses an Academy Award. In Neil Simon's quartet of short comedies, unrelated except for all being set in the Beverly Hills Hotel, Smith plays Diana Barrie, a distinguished British stage actress not unlike herself who has "slummed" by playing a supporting role in a film. The surprise Oscar® nomination has brought Diana and homosexual husband Sidney (Michael Caine) to Hollywood, where they try to cope with Diana's pre-ceremony anxiety and then, after she loses, her drunken despair. Some of Simon's cleverest writing is contained in this sophisticated playet, called Visitors from London, with the couple exchanging barbed one-liners while working their way through some hard truths in their relationship. The two actors play off each other brilliantly, and in accepting her Oscar® a gracious Smith said, "I would very much like for Michael Caine to be here with me. It should be split down the middle." Unlike the play on which it is based, the film version of California Suite intercuts among its various stories. The vignette Visitors from New York stars Jane Fonda and Alan Alda as a divorced couple bickering over whether their teen-age daughter should stay with her mother in New York City or move to Los Angeles to live with her father. The setup gives New Yorker Simon plenty of room to rib the shortcomings of L.A., with Fonda describing it as "Paradise with a lobotomy." The playet Visitors from Philadelphia casts Walter Matthau as a married man who awakens to find a prostitute unconscious in his bed and his wife (Elaine May) on her way up to his hotel room. The episode Visitors from Chicago has Bill Cosby and Richard Pryor as two doctors who bring their wives (Sheila Frazier and Gloria Gifford) on a vacation where everything that possibly can go wrong does. Simon received an Oscar® nomination for this adaptation of his play, one of a long line of Broadway successes that also includes Come Blow Your Horn, Barefoot in the Park, and The Sunshine Boys, all of which became hit films. His autobiographical trilogy of plays Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues and Broadway Bound won particular critical praise, and Simon won the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Lost in Yonkers. California Suite follows the same formula as its predecessor, Plaza Suite, and the later London Suite, which reunites the characters of Diana and Sidney. Herbert Ross, the director of California Suite, also directed the Simon films The Sunshine Boys (1975), The Goodbye Girl (1977) and I Ought to Be in Pictures (1982). Vincent Canby of The New York Times called California Suite "the most agreeably realized Simon film in years" and added, "Here is Mr. Simon in top form, under the direction of Herbert Ross, one of the few directors ... who can cope with the particular demands of material that simultaneously means to be touching and so nonstop clever one sometimes wants to gag him. It all works in California Suite, not only because the material is superior Simon, but also because the writer and the director have assembled a dream cast." Another Oscar® nomination went to the film's Art Direction/Set Decoration by Albert Brenner and Marvin March. After winning her award, Smith said that, instead of making a prompt departure as her character in the film did, "I won't go back to London until next week; I want to enjoy the feeling of being a winner." When a reporter inquired if Londoners would celebrate her victory, she responded, "Oh, no, Oscar® doesn't mean anything in England. They don't know quite what they are." Producer: Ray Stark Director: Herbert Ross Screenplay: Neil Simon Cinematography: David M. Walsh Production Design: Albert Brenner Music: Claude Bolling Film Editing: Michael A. Stevenson Cast: Jane Fonda (Hannah Warren), Alan Alda (Bill Warren), Maggie Smith (Diana Barrie), Michael Caine (Sidney Cochran), Walter Matthau (Marvin Michaels), Elaine May (Millie Michaels), Richard Pryor (Dr. Chauncey Gump), Bill Cosby (Dr. Willis Panama). C-103m. Closed Captioning. by Roger Fristoe

Richard Pryor (1940-2005)

December 14, 2005

The scathing, brilliantly insightful African-American comic who proved himself on many occasions to be a highly competent screen actor, died of a heart attack on November 10 at his Encino, California home. He was 65. He had been reclusive for years after he publicly announced he was suffering from multiple sclerosis in 1992.

He was born Richard Thomas Pryor III on December 1, 1940 in Peoria, Illinois. By all accounts, his childhood was a difficult one. His mother was a prostitute and his grandmother ran a brothel. His father was rarely around and when he was, he would physically abuse him. From a young age, Pryor knew that humor was his weapon of choice to cut through all the swath he came across and would confront in his life.

After high school, he enlisted in the Army for a two-year stint (1958-60). When he was discharged (honorably!) he concentrated on stand-up comedy and worked in a series of nightclubs before relocating to New York City in 1963. In 1964, he made his television debut when he was given a slot on the variety program On Broadway Tonight. His routine, though hardly the groundbreaking material we would witness in later years, was very well received, and in the late '60s Pryor found more television work: Toast of the Town, The Wild Wild West, The Mod Squad ; and was cast in a two movies: The Busy Body (1967) with Sid Caesar; and Wild in the Streets (1968) a cartoonish political fantasy about the internment of all American citizens over 30.

Pryor's career really didn't ignite until the '70s. His stand up act became raunchier and more politically motivated as he touched on issued of race, failed relationships, drug addiction, and street crimes. His movie roles became far more captivating in the process: the piano man in Lady Sings the Blues (1972); as a wise-talking hustler in a pair of slick urban thrillers: The Mack (1973) and Uptown Saturday Night (1974); the gregarious Daddy Rich in Car Wash; his first pairing with Gene Wilder as Grover, the car thief who helps stops a runaway train in his first real box office smash Silver Streak (both 1976); and for many critics, his finest dramatic performance as a factory worker on the edge of depression in Paul Schrader's excellent working class drama Blue Collar (1978).

On a personal level, his drug dependency problem worsened, and on June 9, 1980, near tragedy struck when he caught fire while free-basing cocaine. Pryor later admitted that the incident, was, in fact, a suicide attempt, and that his management company created the lie for the press in hopes of protecting him. Fortunately, Pryor had three films in the can that all achieved some level of financial success soon after his setback: another pairing with Gene Wilder in the prison comedy Stir Crazy (1980); a blisteringly funny cameo as God who flips off Andy Kaufman in the warped religious satire In God We Tru$t (1980); an a ex-con helping a social worker (Cicely Tyson) with her foster charges in Bustin' Loose (1981). He capped his recovery with Live on the Sunset Strip (1982), a first-rate documentation of the comic's genius performed in front of a raucous live audience.

In 1983, Pryor signed a $40 million, five-year contract with Columbia Pictures. For many fans and critics, this was the beginning of his downslide. His next few films: The Toy, Superman III (both 1983), and Brewster's Millions (1985) were just tiresome, mediocre comedies. Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life is Calling (1986), was his only attempt at producing, directing, and acting, and the film, which was an ambitious autobiographical account of a his life and career, was a box-office disappointment. He spent the remainder of the '80s in middling fare: Condition Critical (1987), Moving; a third pairing with Gene Wilder in See No Evil, Hear No Evil; and his only teaming with Eddie Murphy in Harlem Nights (1989).

In 1986, Pryor was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a degenerative disease of the nervous system that curtailed both his personal appearances and his gift for physical comedy in his latter films. By the '90s, little was seen of Pryor, but in 1995, he made a courageous comeback on television when he guest starred on Chicago Hope as an embittered multiple sclerosis patient. His performance earned him an Emmy nomination and he was cast in a few more films: Mad Dog Time (1996), Lost Highway (1997), but his physical ailments prohibited him from performing on a regular basis. In 1998, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington gave Pryor the first Mark Twain Prize for humor. It was fitting tribute for a man who had given so much honesty and innovation in the field of comedy. Pryor is survived by his wife, Jennifer Lee; his sons Richard and Steven; and daughters Elizabeth, Rain and Renee.

by Michael T. Toole

Richard Pryor (1940-2005)

The scathing, brilliantly insightful African-American comic who proved himself on many occasions to be a highly competent screen actor, died of a heart attack on November 10 at his Encino, California home. He was 65. He had been reclusive for years after he publicly announced he was suffering from multiple sclerosis in 1992. He was born Richard Thomas Pryor III on December 1, 1940 in Peoria, Illinois. By all accounts, his childhood was a difficult one. His mother was a prostitute and his grandmother ran a brothel. His father was rarely around and when he was, he would physically abuse him. From a young age, Pryor knew that humor was his weapon of choice to cut through all the swath he came across and would confront in his life. After high school, he enlisted in the Army for a two-year stint (1958-60). When he was discharged (honorably!) he concentrated on stand-up comedy and worked in a series of nightclubs before relocating to New York City in 1963. In 1964, he made his television debut when he was given a slot on the variety program On Broadway Tonight. His routine, though hardly the groundbreaking material we would witness in later years, was very well received, and in the late '60s Pryor found more television work: Toast of the Town, The Wild Wild West, The Mod Squad ; and was cast in a two movies: The Busy Body (1967) with Sid Caesar; and Wild in the Streets (1968) a cartoonish political fantasy about the internment of all American citizens over 30. Pryor's career really didn't ignite until the '70s. His stand up act became raunchier and more politically motivated as he touched on issued of race, failed relationships, drug addiction, and street crimes. His movie roles became far more captivating in the process: the piano man in Lady Sings the Blues (1972); as a wise-talking hustler in a pair of slick urban thrillers: The Mack (1973) and Uptown Saturday Night (1974); the gregarious Daddy Rich in Car Wash; his first pairing with Gene Wilder as Grover, the car thief who helps stops a runaway train in his first real box office smash Silver Streak (both 1976); and for many critics, his finest dramatic performance as a factory worker on the edge of depression in Paul Schrader's excellent working class drama Blue Collar (1978). On a personal level, his drug dependency problem worsened, and on June 9, 1980, near tragedy struck when he caught fire while free-basing cocaine. Pryor later admitted that the incident, was, in fact, a suicide attempt, and that his management company created the lie for the press in hopes of protecting him. Fortunately, Pryor had three films in the can that all achieved some level of financial success soon after his setback: another pairing with Gene Wilder in the prison comedy Stir Crazy (1980); a blisteringly funny cameo as God who flips off Andy Kaufman in the warped religious satire In God We Tru$t (1980); an a ex-con helping a social worker (Cicely Tyson) with her foster charges in Bustin' Loose (1981). He capped his recovery with Live on the Sunset Strip (1982), a first-rate documentation of the comic's genius performed in front of a raucous live audience. In 1983, Pryor signed a $40 million, five-year contract with Columbia Pictures. For many fans and critics, this was the beginning of his downslide. His next few films: The Toy, Superman III (both 1983), and Brewster's Millions (1985) were just tiresome, mediocre comedies. Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life is Calling (1986), was his only attempt at producing, directing, and acting, and the film, which was an ambitious autobiographical account of a his life and career, was a box-office disappointment. He spent the remainder of the '80s in middling fare: Condition Critical (1987), Moving; a third pairing with Gene Wilder in See No Evil, Hear No Evil; and his only teaming with Eddie Murphy in Harlem Nights (1989). In 1986, Pryor was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a degenerative disease of the nervous system that curtailed both his personal appearances and his gift for physical comedy in his latter films. By the '90s, little was seen of Pryor, but in 1995, he made a courageous comeback on television when he guest starred on Chicago Hope as an embittered multiple sclerosis patient. His performance earned him an Emmy nomination and he was cast in a few more films: Mad Dog Time (1996), Lost Highway (1997), but his physical ailments prohibited him from performing on a regular basis. In 1998, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington gave Pryor the first Mark Twain Prize for humor. It was fitting tribute for a man who had given so much honesty and innovation in the field of comedy. Pryor is survived by his wife, Jennifer Lee; his sons Richard and Steven; and daughters Elizabeth, Rain and Renee. by Michael T. Toole

Ray Stark (1915-2004)

January 22, 2004

Ray Stark, the celebrated Hollywood producer who opened the world for Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl (1968), and was a recipient of the distinguished Irving G. Thalberg Award from the Academy of Arts and Sciences for his services to the movie industry, died of natural causes on January 17th in Los Angeles. He was 88.

Born on October 3, 1915 in New York City, Stark was educated at Rutgers University and New York University Law School. After graduation, he started his entertainment career selling radio scripts before he became a literary agent for such notable writers as Ben Hecht, Thomas P. Costain, and Raymond Chandler. After serving in the Navy during World War II, Stark - who had show-business connections through his mother-in-law, Broadway legend Fanny Brice - eventually became a top Hollywood agent at Famous Artists, where he represented such stars as Marilyn Monroe, William Holden, Kirk Douglas, and Lana Turner.

By 1957, Stark was hungry to develop more of a taste in the film business, so he formed a partnership with fellow producer Elliott Hyman to create the independent movie firm, Seven Arts Productions. Stark's first film production credit was the popular drama The World of Suzie Wong (1960) starring William Holden and Nancy Kwan; and he followed that up with an adaptation of Tennessee Williams' superb Night of the Iguana (1964) with Richard Burton, Deborah Kerr and Ava Gardner.

Around this time, Stark had the ambition to produce a musical based on the life of his late mother-in-law, and produced his first Broadway musical - Funny Girl. The musical opened on March 24, 1964 and made Barbra Streisand the toast of the Great White Way. Eventually, Stark would make the film adaptation four years later, and Streisand would win the Academy Award for Best Actress. Stark would also arrange a contract with Streisand to do three more movies for him within the next 10 years that still prove to be the most interesting of her career: the hilarious sex farce The Owl and the Pussycat (1970) with George Segal; the romantic drama The Way We Were (1973) with Robert Redford; and the sequel to her film debut Funny Lady (1975) co-starring Omar Sharif.

Stark also delivered another Broadway luminary to the movie going masses when he brought a string of well-acted, Neil Simon comedies to the silver screen, most notably: The Goodbye Girl (1977) with Marsha Mason and Richard Dreyfuss (Oscar winner, Best Actor); The Sunshine Boys (1975) with Walter Matthau and George Burns (Oscar winner, Best Supporting Actor); California Suite (1978) with Alan Alda, Michael Caine, and Dame Maggie Smith (Oscar winner, Best Supporting Actress); the nostalgic Brighton Beach Memoirs (1986) with Blythe Danner; and Biloxi Blues (1988) with Matthew Broderick. He also produced Steel Magnolias (1989), with an ensemble cast that introduced audiences to a radiantly young Julia Roberts. In television, Stark won an Emmy award for the HBO's telefilm Barbarians at the Gate (1993). His last credit as a producer (at age 84) was the Harrison Ford picture Random Hearts (1999).

Although he never won an Academy Award, Stark earned the most prestigious Irving G. Thalberg Award in 1980 and the David O. Selznick Lifetime Achievement Award from the Producers Guild of America in 1999. He is survived by his daughter, Wendy, and granddaughter, Allison.

by Michael T. Toole

Ray Stark (1915-2004)

Ray Stark, the celebrated Hollywood producer who opened the world for Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl (1968), and was a recipient of the distinguished Irving G. Thalberg Award from the Academy of Arts and Sciences for his services to the movie industry, died of natural causes on January 17th in Los Angeles. He was 88. Born on October 3, 1915 in New York City, Stark was educated at Rutgers University and New York University Law School. After graduation, he started his entertainment career selling radio scripts before he became a literary agent for such notable writers as Ben Hecht, Thomas P. Costain, and Raymond Chandler. After serving in the Navy during World War II, Stark - who had show-business connections through his mother-in-law, Broadway legend Fanny Brice - eventually became a top Hollywood agent at Famous Artists, where he represented such stars as Marilyn Monroe, William Holden, Kirk Douglas, and Lana Turner. By 1957, Stark was hungry to develop more of a taste in the film business, so he formed a partnership with fellow producer Elliott Hyman to create the independent movie firm, Seven Arts Productions. Stark's first film production credit was the popular drama The World of Suzie Wong (1960) starring William Holden and Nancy Kwan; and he followed that up with an adaptation of Tennessee Williams' superb Night of the Iguana (1964) with Richard Burton, Deborah Kerr and Ava Gardner. Around this time, Stark had the ambition to produce a musical based on the life of his late mother-in-law, and produced his first Broadway musical - Funny Girl. The musical opened on March 24, 1964 and made Barbra Streisand the toast of the Great White Way. Eventually, Stark would make the film adaptation four years later, and Streisand would win the Academy Award for Best Actress. Stark would also arrange a contract with Streisand to do three more movies for him within the next 10 years that still prove to be the most interesting of her career: the hilarious sex farce The Owl and the Pussycat (1970) with George Segal; the romantic drama The Way We Were (1973) with Robert Redford; and the sequel to her film debut Funny Lady (1975) co-starring Omar Sharif. Stark also delivered another Broadway luminary to the movie going masses when he brought a string of well-acted, Neil Simon comedies to the silver screen, most notably: The Goodbye Girl (1977) with Marsha Mason and Richard Dreyfuss (Oscar winner, Best Actor); The Sunshine Boys (1975) with Walter Matthau and George Burns (Oscar winner, Best Supporting Actor); California Suite (1978) with Alan Alda, Michael Caine, and Dame Maggie Smith (Oscar winner, Best Supporting Actress); the nostalgic Brighton Beach Memoirs (1986) with Blythe Danner; and Biloxi Blues (1988) with Matthew Broderick. He also produced Steel Magnolias (1989), with an ensemble cast that introduced audiences to a radiantly young Julia Roberts. In television, Stark won an Emmy award for the HBO's telefilm Barbarians at the Gate (1993). His last credit as a producer (at age 84) was the Harrison Ford picture Random Hearts (1999). Although he never won an Academy Award, Stark earned the most prestigious Irving G. Thalberg Award in 1980 and the David O. Selznick Lifetime Achievement Award from the Producers Guild of America in 1999. He is survived by his daughter, Wendy, and granddaughter, Allison. by Michael T. Toole

Quotes

What's that green slime you're eating? It looks like a dish out of Oliver Twist.
- Diana Barrie

I'm not sure... I think they run the front lawn through a blender.
- Sidney Cochran

We should never have come. I never know how to dress in this bloody country. It is so easy to dress in England. You just put on warm clothing.
- Diana Barrie

Say something NICE to me Sidney! I've been getting ready for this bullshit affair for THREE HOURS!!!
- Diana Barrie

Trivia

piloting a light plane in the movie-in-the-movie.

Miscellaneous Notes

Released in United States December 1978

Released in United States Winter January 1, 1978

Released in United States Winter January 1, 1978

Released in United States December 1978

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