Kathleen Turner

Look her in Body Heat. One of the best female performances in a movie.

One of my very favorite film actors. I adore her. It’s a travesty that she doesn’t have an Oscar.

Body Heat is a fabulous movie, it still holds up.

I love her in Serial Mom too with Sam Waterston

Very surprised at how she disappeared. She strikes me as someone with a wonderful "inner life" and I would love to read a book she writes (especially about her life)

stunning and brave.

R5 She was bed ridden with a then incurable disease at the height of her career. When she finally returned, she was 10 years older and overweight. So tragic because she had no control over her age or weight

You know I always loved her. I watched a master class on line with her and she was amazing. She really is tremendously talented.

Imagine her career if she did not have rheumatoid arthritis

I think Cherry Jones is a good actress but I was always heartbroken she won the Tony instead of Kathleen

She received a lot of deserved acclaim for Body Heat, Peggy Sue Got Married, and The War of the Roses, but my favorite performance of hers might be Romancing the Stone.

R7- Exactly- she needs to write a book..

The audio book would be EPIC.

Camille

Add me to the chorus of posters who love her. I always look forward to seeing her in anything.

R13 She did write a book. It is on Audible and she narrates it!

he seems cool

One of my all-time favorites. She could’ve been a movie queen in the Golden Age, but was wonderful in her own era.

My favorites are Peggy Sue, The Man with Two Brains, Body Heat, Romancing the Stone, and of course, Serial Mom.

Give her a streaming series.

did friends predict how he'd end up?

Nothing to add but agreement. She hooked me in Body Heat and I have been on the line ever since.

She was great in The Kominsky Method. If you haven't seen it, you should. It's a great show and she's great in it.

[quote]r5 Very surprised at how she disappeared.

I think she was a big boozer. That can derail your choices.

I was lucky enough to see her onstage in The Graduate. Star quality like you wouldn't believe! You couldn't take her eyes off her.

r24

Kathleen Turner on Desert Island Discs

She held her own in Body alongside an all star cast- William Hurt, Mickey Rourke, Ted Danson, John Amos, and Richard Crenna

R17- Holy shit! 2008? I was 25!

Damn. No idea that she wrote a book. Cannot wait to check it out

R28, what am I, chopped liver?

Someone here gave a really lovely description on another thread as to why she should have won the Oscar in 1986 (I think it was a Siskel/Ebert review as well) about her very precise acting chooses in Peggy Sue Got Married- and it really resonated. (I always felt it should have been Sigourney's)..

Marlee Martin was going to win no matter what.

Tallulah

Classic scene from Body Heat.

She was stunning.

R28, it’s easier to hold your own against John Amos when he does not appear in the film.

I adore her. I went to New York City just to see her in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

I love this Interview cover of her.

I’ve always liked her on screen but she said this in a New York Magazine interview about a dozen years ago:

[quote]I actually think, after doing Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and then Virginia Woolf, that part of my mission in life is to correct Elizabeth Taylor’s performances.

What an unnecessary thing to say. Who does she think she is?

It rubs the lotion.

R28, you forgot Reva Shayne herself, Kim Zimmer!

Notorious sot.

Yes, she was a big time drunk for years, don't know if she still drinks. In her book she writes about it. She was day drinking in a restaurant during the run of Virginia Woolf in NY and passed out on the floor of the ladies' room. They had to cancel that night's show.

Big smoker too, as you can tell from her voice.

R25 I like her but I thought she was terrible in The Graduate and I left during intermission.

r43 There were far more entertaining stories of her... like the great many titties hanging out dressing room fights. Other women were her primary target in her mad cow rage. (Hence, her association with mostly sleazy male actors. . . ) She would have made a great prison dyke. . . except she only does hammy roles, thus she would only be able to do OINB.

think only Brett Butler & Yancy Butler (no relation except the alcoholism) had her beat in the semi functioning alcoholic department. Yancy for being a massive drunk yet did many of her own stunts. Though Brett topped it for miserable wretch in the prime of her career and flashing children.

R36 I thought John Amos was William Hurt's friend and the town detective.

Brett Butler was borderline psycho, no comparison to Kathleen.

I wonder if these two ever get together for cocktails.

How the hell has nobody mentioned Crimes of Passion, the great Ken Russell fuck fest, and last film of vicious queen Anthony Perkins. It is crazy good insane fun.

I think the arthritis is a doge and that more than anything it was the booze that derailed her career and looks.

Still, she's superb and has tackled roles that would have flatten less gifted actresses. Kathleen has a rare talent, no doubt.

Charles Busch must have stories to tell as they were in one of his plays together in 2009. I found a NYT article about them having to cancel performances because of her. February 19.

It may be tempting to imagine that Kathleen Turner is now wearing a knee brace and walking with a cane because of a backstage catfight with Charles Busch, the playwright, actor and fellow diva with whom Ms. Turner, right, is starring in MCC Theater’s production of “The Third Story.” But Ms. Turner, who suffers from rheumatoid arthritis, injured her knee while offstage at Tuesday night’s performance of the play, leading to the cancellation of shows Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. (The production does not have understudies.) It initially looked as if Ms. Turner might not be able to return, a senior member of the production’s management team said in an interview, and Mr. Busch — who already plays three characters in the play — had begun preparing to take over her lead role as well. But Ms. Turner plans to return, with knee brace and cane, at the Saturday matinee, a spokeswoman for the production said.

My favorite performance of hers is in The Virgin Suicides

I got to see her in WAOVW and she was spectacular. I also saw her in The Graduate, but that was another story.

I saw her on Broadway in Indiscretions with Jude Law, Cynthia Nixon, Eileen Atkins and Roger Rees. Her performance even overshadowed the sight of Jude Law emerging naked from a bathtub.

R39, I think that line about Elizabeth Taylor was purely tongue in cheek. I can’t imagine she meant it seriously as she has never seemed arrogant or less than generous with other actors. I can see Bette Davis saying something like that in her day about Norma Shearer or Miriam Hopkins.

Afternoons ... a time to share with Kathleen Turner.

I absolutely love her in Body Heat and love her in most of her movies, including War of the Roses and The Accidental Tourist.

However, and unlike r54, i was very disappointed on her turn as Martha in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf. I was at the back and could hardly hear. The screaming parts were of course strangled by her husky voice but the acting in general was, surprising, subpar. She didn’t correct a thing.

R12- There was a porno version of that called

Romancing The Bone 🦴

R46, are you thinking of JA Preston?

Related: I thought Ted Danson’s look in Body Heat was hot as fuck.

[quote] Look her in Body Heat. One of the best female performances in a movie.

I preferred Andrea Martin in Prickley Heat.

Saw her one-woman show at the end of December. I was front row center and completely enthralled. She had some great tales to tell and she sang a few songs. Not too much of a retrospect...one that stands out is Dolly Partin ringing her up not too long ago to play "Old Bones" for her Netflix series.

Kathleen loves her cat so much that they travel together (I found this particularly adorable) and when she told Dolly about it, Dolly became ecstatic cause Bones had a one-eyed cat so she wanted to hire Kathleen's pussy, too! She then said that to make the cat look one-eyed they'd just drop a lil sugar water in its eye and Kathleen responded, "Oh no you won't."

The audience was mainly older aside from a younger couple seated next to me. It was funny cause the wife had brought along a 2 foot ceramic Roger Rabbit (which she cradled throughout the performance) to get signed and I had my China Blue poster with me. Afterwards we tried to get backstage but couldn't.

That’s an awful lot of twee, r61

Worked with her a couple of times, first in the mid-80s at the height of her movie stardom and then again in the early 2000s when she was recovering from a lot of demons. Both times she was totally professional, little if any vanity, considerate but a bit cold and humorless. Never saw her drink or even smoke. You'd think I'd have a lot to add to the discussion here but she never let me in.

I hope her career could take a big turn now as a respected character actress. Isn't she in a new film about to open?

She seems like she has a great sense of humor.

She's in the upcoming HBO miniseries on Nixon's White House plumbers.

She got her tits and bush out in The Graduate to get all the men to buy tickets

[quote]I saw her on Broadway in Indiscretions with Jude Law, Cynthia Nixon, Eileen Atkins and Roger Rees. Her performance even overshadowed the sight of Jude Law emerging naked from a bathtub.

That was a wonderful production of a completely adequate play brought to life by the splendid, charismatic cast...except Cynthia Nixon who was absolutely terrible, as usual.

She wouldn't let the wardrobe boy in? Did she bring her own costumes?

I loved her in Indiscretions but what I mostly remember was Jude Law’s nude scene. He was a lovely young man.

I can hear Kathleen bark to the Stage Manager: If that queen front row center or the girl with the ceramic Roger Rabbit want to see me, tell 'em I've gone home.

[r70] that’s so funny and so true!

Did Jude show his arse as well as cock?

He did, r72, and he bleached all of his hair platinum blonde so the carpet matched the drapes.

She should have won for Peggy Sue. The Marlee Matlin Oscar was a travesty.

I knew people who worked backstage at Indescretions when it was on Broadway. She was barely on speaking terms with the rest of the cast by the end of the run. Eileen Atkins left the production early because of a medical diagnosis and wanted to return back to the UK for treatment. Word was that they despised each other and Atkins was at least grateful to not have to put up with her any longer. My friends backstage knew to stay as far away as possible from Ms. Turner as she tended be quite a cunt.

I heard the same stuff, r75. I think that production was a real low point for Kathleen because she was just beginning to deal with her severe arthritis issues and probably not dealing so well.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a painful disease and the steroid drugs used to treat it cause weight gain and mood swings. Prednisone is a steroid drug that I'm sure some of you have taken and that can make you really cranky.

Yes r76, she has gone on record as saying ascending and descending that spiral staircase onstage each night was agony for her.

She was great. Now she coasts like Faye but does better because she isn't a psycho cunt.

I think the bloat was/is a combo of medication and her compulsive drinking. Kathy is manic.

She has always reminded of Elizabeth Ashley with her talent and her many demons.

Kathleen never seemed unstable, even with her illness and drinking problems.

R55, she's an egomaniac. I've seen a few interviews and she comes off as arrogant and conceited. I think she's a fine actress and appeared in some great films, but that crack against Elizabeth Taylor was cruel and arrogant.

R81 I took it as a joke. We are just reading the transcript, not seeing her facial expressions.

I have always loved Kathleen Turner.

[quote] Eileen Atkins left the production early because of a medical diagnosis and wanted to return back to the UK for treatment.

KT was going through the worst part of her illness during Indiscretions and was in excruciating pain. She'd ask her co-stars to be careful with physical contact with her because she hurt so much. But Eileen Atkins would purposely sit on her hand while Turner played dead and was unable to move. When Turner told Maggie Smith about this, Dame Maggie replied, "It wasn't you, dear."

I loved her in "Whore".

I wish she'd do a sequel..."Fat Whore"!

That was Theresa Russell.

R84 what?

I believe Maggie Smith was implying Eileen Atkins tortured everyone.

(It’s an unlikely thing for Smith to put out there, as she’s been close to Atkins for decades.)

Well, I think Eileen Atkins has always suffered from a nsty inferiority complex based on not being acknowledged in the same class as her castmates at r88, as well as Helen Mirren and Vanessa Redgrave. She was always an also-ran.

R89 But she got the Upstairs money.

I think she's quite overrated, as is Body Heat, which (like all neo-noir except David Lynch films) fails to understand what made initial 1940s/1950s noir movies so iconic and compensates for that by overdoing it with nudity and sex.

The only thing I really loved her in was Serial Mom.

That's hilarious R85 and then R86's response. Oops!

R91 There is little nudity or sex in Body Heat.

R93, there’s a lot of sex in Body Heat!

There's a very hot scene with a cop in Whore R93. Nudity too as I remember. Must watch it again.

R94 Nope, it is very sexy, but no big penetration blowjob sex scenes. An ass shot.

So when William Hurt goes into the men's room to get a paper towel to wipe her off (see the clip above, which ends before this question), there's a guy hanging in the men's room, smoking. Is he cruising? I always thought so and that this was a cool bit of boardwalk trivia to include. What say thee?

r97 I always thought the same.

She hosted the Tonys the year she was nominated for Cat and got progressively drunker as the show went on. At one point she tripped but recovered.

Peggy Sue is such great movie. "You went off with that bimbo, Janet! "Who is Janet?"

There’s a studly costar in Crimes of Passion. He was an athlete and I think it was his only acting role.

John Laughlin, hot as fuck.

John Laughlin has a nice shirtless scene on an episode of Murder She Wrote.

KT had a HUGE problem with vodka and cocaine. I was out partying with her one Saturday night during the run of COAHTR. She was drinking and drugging on the UWS until 4am, then was a gigantic mess at the matinee the next day. What she looks like now came from her extreme excesses.

[quote]I heard the same stuff, [R75]. I think that production was a real low point for Kathleen because she was just beginning to deal with her severe arthritis issues and probably not dealing so well.

She was in that total disaster HIGH, written by Matthew Lombardo some years ago, Wardrobe Boy/r76. It closed the week it opened.

Horrible show, and she was a trainwreck.

She and Burt Reynolds hated eachother on the set of Switching Channels and were still trashing eachother in interviews up until a few years ago.

r89 Vanessa Redgrave, oh we so need another thread on her being the countess of cuntiness.. she was a straight up master of it until she became a stage mother.

r79 she also liked heavy meals, loaded with carbs and protein but not the fitness plan to back it up. She wasn't the typical I'll just have a salad type nor the hollywood chew, evne the usual ana/mia types. Though she would periodically fast and there were rumours of her being into ribboning (swallowing moist gauze inch by inch until it can be pulled out the other side. it had a revival trend in the early 80s, but that may have only been tabloid fodder. Few were going to say she was popping pills to stay slim. She was never really thin for too long; big head, broad shoulders, big hips... but she seemed drawn to south asian woowoo alternatives back in the day)

Eileen Atkins was quoted as saying 'the bad news is I have cancer. The good news is I no longer have to work with Kathleen Turner.'

I love the above poster who said he partied with her until 4 am and then she was a mess at the next matinee.

Aren’t you also to partly blame?

It wasn't just the two of us. It was after a midnight show of Forever Plaid on 72nd Street done specially for her. An entire group moved on to Wilson's on 79th Street, and if you stood outside the bathroom doors, it sounded like a hog farm.

[quote] (It’s an unlikely thing for Smith to put out there, as she’s been close to Atkins for decades.)

Dame M. wasn't exactly excoriating Atkins.

^^ yet the implications are grave.

Most grave.

Such a difficult color, green.

People snorting cocaine in New York City bars? Well, I never in all my life!

I remember it was when I was first working with her in the mid-80s when she found out that Burt Reynolds had been cast opposite her in that His Girl Friday remake. She had been promised Michael Caine as her co-star and she was furious!

A few weeks ago, I saw Peggy Sue Got Married again on a flight. What a sweet film, and she was so good in it.

Paggy Sue Got Married was ruined by that overactor to end all overactors.

Didn't she have to offer an apology to Nicholas Cage after he threatened to sue her over a story from her autobiography? Something about him getting crazy drunk and stealing a dog?

In her book Turner claimed that, while they were filming Peggy Sue Got Married, her co-star Nicolas Cage had gotten drunk and stole a Chihuahua that he liked. In turn, Cage filed a lawsuit against Turner and her book publisher in the UK, who took an excerpt from the book and posted it on their website (before publication). Cage argued defamation and damage to character and won the case, resulting in retractions, legal fees, and a donation to charity. Turner later publicly apologized.

Wasn't there some scandal concerning her former husband Jay Weiss about a bad real estate deal or something that occurred while they were still married?

Weiss as the leaseholder of the Bronx building that housed the Happy Land social club pleaded guilty to not having an adequate sprinkler system on the premises where 87 people died in an arson fire. He agreed to perform 50 hours of community service and to pay $60,000 to help build a community center for Hondurans who live in the Bronx. Many of the victims were Honduran immigrants. 'Finger-Pointing Frenzy'

Mr. Weiss could have received up to six months in prison and $5,000 in fines on misdemeanor charges that he violated New York City's building and fire codes. The trial of Mr. Weiss's co-defendant, Alexander DiLorenzo 3d, who owns the building, will continue before Judge Alexander Hunter.

The guilty plea by Mr. Weiss could have implications for a $5 billion civil lawsuit brought by survivors of the fire and families of the dead.

One recurrent feature in her interviews is that she always badmouths someone, which i find very telling.

‘I was so angry at the sh*t that goes down’: Kathleen Turner on the rage behind her film roles.

After a passing comment about Kathleen Turner getting nude on stage her people get in touch with O&A's people threatening lawsuits. The guys test this out by throwing down the gauntlet and going to war. They set out to do what they actually joked about doing. Which is getting someone (Paul Mercurio) to yell out at Kathleen while she's naked on stage.

10/29/2022

sam kinison sits down with producer Tova Laiter at the New York Film Academy.

Isn't Kathy Turner one of those that prefers to keep her soap past buried?

If she ever did, r128, I'm sure she doesn't give a rat's ass now.

The actress who played her look alike/body double in Body Heat got old and fat like Kathleen - both are still great performers. They should do a movie together again, and play sisters.

Thank you to the above poster for posting her Send in the Clowns.

I don’t know.

I don’t hate it. But I don’t love the arrangement. It would be interesting to hear her talk sing it with the original arrangement

There's a musical about Tallulah Bankhead - she'd be perfect for it!

She's done Tallulah, r133...it didn't work out.

See r33

One thing no one has mentioned is that she is very giving to causes...not just her money but time as well.

It was the night of the September 11th attacks and she went straight to a hospital and volunteered doing triage on the victims as well as calling families.

She also donates to Planned Parenthood.

When Cherry Jones won her Tony for Doubt she gave a shoutout to Kathleen (nominated for WAOVW) during her acceptance speech. It was heartfelt but tacky to single out another nominee).

[quote]R117 A few weeks ago, I saw Peggy Sue Got Married again on a flight. What a sweet film, and she was so good in it.

It was originally to have starred Debra Winger. I wonder if she quit because she didn’t want to act with the director’s nephew. Kathleen Turner ended up hating him.

Debra Winger has had a full career of turning down parts!

I had some business with her ex husband once. He is a massive cunt. He should have gone to prison for the Happy Land fire.