puhlease, sir...tell me about Illeana Douglas

Her grandfather was two-time Oscar winner Melvyn Douglas.

The only things I know about Illeana Hesselberg is that she's from Quincy, Mass and she was Scorsese's mistress for years.

[quote]and she was Scorsese's mistress for years.

did she get any parts for her trouble?

Stir of Echoes

I think they were married.

Yes, r3, "Cape Fear" and "Goodfellas".

She used to be so pretty

Any acting parts, producing and directing work she's ever had were because of her affair with Scorsese.

She gives off a quirky persona, but I think she's quite straight and normal, in fact.

Grace of My Heart was supposed to make her a star. It didn’t. She’s better in supporting roles.

I seem to remember Julia Phillips in "You'll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again" mentioning Scorsese having a thing for progeny of the famous. He was dating Jerry Weintraub's daughter during "Mean Streets" (she has a cameo as one of DeNiro's dates during his entrance in the bar), married to Ingrid Bergman and Roberto Rossellini's daughter Isabella, was screwing Liza during "New York, New York", and his "open secret" mistress Illeana Douglas, granddaughter of Melvin.

Douglas directed a short film called The Perfect Woman that I remember taping off of Bravo back in the 90s. One of the people she thanks in the credits is "The Maestro".

[quote]Grace of My Heart was supposed to make her a star.

The trouble with those 60s music movies is that they can't reproduce the magic and power of 60s music.

Mrs Ed face.

TO DIE FOR!

I first saw her in To Die For. I knew she was something special! Also, Ghost World.

I didn't know about the Melvyn Douglas / Martin Scorsese relationships. She didn't need them.

She did funny guest-star roles on episodes of Seinfeld and Frasier

Must see in Ghost World

I’ve never seen it but a lot of people here love the TV series Action she did with Jay Mohr

She did funny guest-star roles on episodes of Seinfeld and Frasier

Must see in Ghost World

I’ve never seen it but a lot of people here love the TV series Action she did with Jay Mohr

[quote]Must see in Ghost World

I hate things about teenage gurls. Hard pass.

She has a really good "Celebrity Ghost Story" and follow up "The Haunting of...."

R18 But Illeana was a great bully teacher...the one we all despise.

[quote] Yes, [R3], "Cape Fear" and "Goodfellas".

She was in a particularly horrifying scene in "Cape Fear." She was the object of extreme violence, IIRC. Kind of a crazy scene.

In "Goodfellas," she was Joe Pesci's girlfriend, IIRC.

She also has an uncredited role in Last Temptation of Christ.

I saw that, R19 - I had a friend who lived in that building...and then she disappeared.

R1, Who was married to Helen Gahagan Douglas, arch enemy of Richard Nixon.

She’s great in “To Die For.”

Everyone is great in that movie.

Loved her in Star Wars.

Has anyone read her memoir, 'I Blame Dennis Hopper: And Other Stories from a Life Lived In and Out of the Movies'. I bought it years ago when it was constantly promoted on Turner Classic Movies but have yet to read it (bad habit for me, buying books and not reading them).

She appears in Rock And Roller Coaster dally at Hollywood Studios in Walt Disney World. She is pretty funny interacting with Aerosmith. “I hate all of you!”

I seem to recall her having cute digs that somebody started a Tasteful friends thread on....oh...

Her dizzy art teacher in GHOST WORLD was genius and the most realistic and truest physical and mental depiction of that specific kind of teacher I have seen.

she was great in her small part in "to die for"...

I always confuse her with Alison Janney

I think she is one of those who got blackballed for refusing Harvey Weinstein's advances too.

I loved Grace of my Heart

She's often mistaken for Sonja Henie.

Check out the 1991 Robert DeNiro/Nick Nolte remake of "Cape Fear." DeNiro BITES a big chunk of Illeana's face off after sex. It's horrifically fabulous! [You can see the teeth marks.]

Check her put in HAPPY, TEXAS .... a cute film, wth my love Steve Zahn. (HAPPY, TEXAS has DL written all over it.)

She was wonderful in the short-lived Jay Mohr series “Action”. One of the funniest shows ever on Fox.

Yes, R38, "Action" was great! So disappointing it disappeared so quickly.

I was quite taken with her in "Action". I'll now watch anything she is in.

Heard she was rather nasty on set of Happy Texas, IIRC particularly to Jeremy Northam.

Also a vote for Action. I lived her in Grace of My Heart

I like her podcast. But it’s a little infrequent.

She wrote a book that I bought and put down after two chapters - but don't listen to me, I did the same with Sachi Parker's book, until I picked it up again. Imagine missing out on THAT!

check her out in Otis

She was terrible in Cape Fear. Just terrible.

She would never have been cast if her boyfriend didn’t direct the film.

Illeana's ice skating closing credits scene in "To Die For" is spookily wonderful. [I'd be pissed, too, at anyone who murdered juicy Matt Dillon.]

She’s often the best part of any film or TV show she appears in. Always smile with pleasure when I see her name in the credits.

I saw Grace of my Heart in an empty theatre opening weekend. Not a perfect movie but I love it. Lots of wonderful actors in the cast and Douglas is fine.

She was very orange on "Seinfeld."

She was blackballed by Les Moonves and was the one that contacted Ronan Farrow about him and started that ball rolling. He grabbed her and kissed her at a meeting in his office. Then a while later she was doing a pilot for CBS. He showed up on the set and she got tense and wasn't being funny enough. He pulled her aside and said you aren't even trying to keep the pass quiet. Then he fired her the next day.

She got her revenge years later.

What's up with all the short men [Scorcese, Moonves] into [IN TO!] Illeana Douglas? She's really not that attractive...

She was hilarious on Six Feet Under. When it comes to playing quirky, awkward, oddball characters, no one does it better.

She's not a pretty woman.

She's a pretty nice person. I went on one of the TCM Film cruises. She was like the life of the party. She'd chat with everybody and mingle (something the other stars didn't do.) She was a lot of fun and loves to talk old movies. I was a bit out of my element on the cruise being one of the few who wasn't 80 but she encouraged me to do certain things and get involved. We kept in touch a bit on twitter.

[quote]She was hilarious on Six Feet Under. When it comes to playing quirky, awkward, oddball characters, no one does it better.

I agree X 2

I think the Scorsese bond came through their love of classic films. She worked in the Brill building as a secretary. He had an office there. She worked for his publicist I think. He knew she was an aspiring actress and would call her into loop films at the last minute and then they got involved.

I believe she had "piercing scream" on her resume and he remembered that and called her in to dub Barbara Hershey's screams in The Last Temptation of Christ.

Her book and podcast are pretty interesting..

OP's pic makes me think she'd make a great

Fishface for a live action Dynomutt series =

I was living in the jungles of Borneo with my husband at the time. We traveled to Kota Kinabalu for some civilization and rented a stack of movie videos from the local Chinese place. One of the tapes was Grace of My Heart. Had never heard of it, but I loved it! It was a wonderful surprise in a very strange place.

Love her.

Les Moonves sexually harassed her (among others), and THAT CUNT Julie Chen Moonves basically called her a liar and stood by that piece of shit.

WHET Julie Chen...Moonves?

Judge not. . .unless ye be judged.

[quote]Julie Chen Moonves basically called her a liar and stood by that piece of shit.

Honey, you think she's giving up that lifestyle? This is the Malibu WEEKEND home.

I don't like their new house. I'm sure it's super-duper-fabulous deeeluxe. Just not my taste.

R64... agreed, that is one ugly house, looks like a white warehouse..

[Quote] nasty on set of Happy Texas, IIRC particularly to Jeremy Northam.

Good.