The Oscar-winning actress died Saturday morning in her home in New York City
Dolly Parton and Sally Field have come forward to honor their “Steel Magnolias” co-star Olympia Dukakis.
The veteran stage and screen actress who won an Oscar for playing Cher’s mother in the romantic comedy “Moonstruck” passed away on Saturday at age 89.
“I was so sorry to hear that Olympia Dukakis had passed away,” Parton, 75, tweeted on Monday. “She has been one of my favorite people that I have ever known or worked with. I really got very close to her and felt like we were good friends.”
“Even though I didn’t get to see her much, I thought of her often and knew that she was such a quality human being,” the country star continued. “She will be missed by her fans, her family, and those of us that were lucky enough to get to know her personally.”
“What can I say but I loved her,” tweeted Field, 74. “Everyone loved her. She was a gift..unique and talented and one of a kind. Rest in peace my friend Olympia.”
“Steel Magnolias,” which is based on Robert Harling’s 1987 play of the same name, explores the bond that a group of Southern women shares as they cope with the death of one of their own. The 1989 film also starred Julia Roberts, Shirley MacLaine, and Dylan McDermott, among others.
While a cause of death was not immediately released, the late star’s family said in a statement that she had been in failing health for months.
Dukakis won her Oscar through a surprising chain of circumstances, beginning with author Nora Ephron’s recommendation that she play Meryl Streep’s mother in the film version of Ephron’s book “Heartburn.”
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Dukakis got the role, but her scenes were cut from the film. To make it up to her, director Mike Nichols cast her in his hit play “Social Security.” Director Norman Jewison saw her in that role and cast her in “Moonstruck.”
Dukakis won the Oscar for best supporting actress and Cher took home the trophy for best actress.
She referred to her 1988 win as “the year of the Dukakii” because it was also the year Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis, her cousin, was the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee. At the ceremony, she held her Oscar high over her head and called out: “OK, Michael, let’s go!”
Her Oscar victory kept the motherly film roles coming. She was Kirstie Alley’s mom in “Look Who’s Talking” and its sequel “Look Who’s Talking Too,” the sardonic widow in “Steel Magnolias” and the overbearing wife of Jack Lemmon (and mother of Ted Danson) in “Dad.”
