Frances Sternhagen Filmography

Among the Shadows

Actors: Georgina Cates, Loren Dean, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Frances Sternhagen, Randall Duk Kim

Synopsis: A burnt-out artist exhausted after a whirlwind publicity tour and still reeling from a bitter divorce is plagued by a series of unexplainable events while seeking solace at a remote vacation home in director Kevin Hicks' dark, horror-tinged thriller. As the line between her strange reality and Read More

ER: Things Change

Synopsis: Weaver (Laura Innes) treats a six-week-old infant who isn't thriving as it should. Already unnerved by the news about her brother Eric, Abby (Maura Tierney) must also deal with an overmedicated -- and extremely violent -- patient (Johnny Sneed). And Dr. Gordana Horvat (Nina Sablich) a friend of Read More

ER: The Advocate

Synopsis: Weaver (Laura Innes) again does a secret favor for "closeted" Chicago politician John Bright (Bruce Weitz) -- this time with disastrous results and calamitous consequences. Elsewhere, Kovac (Goran Visnjic) uses unorthodox methods to get a grip on his personal problems. And the romance between Read More

ER: A Saint in the City

Synopsis: Weaver (Laura Innes) begins spinning a self-entangling web of deception when she agrees to secretly treat a communicable disease picked up by "closeted" Alderman John Bright (Bruce Weitz). Kovac (Goran Visjnic) resorts to a subterfuge of Biblical proportions to convince a seriously injured patient Read More

The Rising Place

Actors: Laurel Holloman, Elise Neal, Mark Webber, Liam Aiken, Bill Campbell

Synopsis: A woman learns a valuable lesson about her family as she and her aunt look back at her troubled past in this independent drama. As Virginia Wilder (Frances Fisher) visits her elderly Aunt Millie (Alice Drummond) for the Christmas holidays, she discovers a number of letters she received during the Read More

ER: Beyond Repair

Synopsis: Abby (Maura Tierney) "celebrates" her birthday with one setback after another, beginning with an ominous run-in with her quarreling new neighbors, Brian (Matthew Settle) and Joyce (Christina Hendricks). Kovac (Goran Visnjic) prepares to go to Bosnia as part of the Doctors Without Borders program. Read More

ER: Four Corners

Synopsis: Originally slated to air on September 20, 2001, the eighth-season opener of ER was bumped to September 27 due to ongoing network coverage of the terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C. This inaugural episode hopscotches through time, presenting its events from several sharply Read More

The Laramie Project

Actors: Christina Ricci, Peter Fonda, Janeane Garofalo, Steve Buscemi, Dylan Baker, Amy Madigan, Joshua Jackson, Jeremy Davies, Clea Duvall

Synopsis: Laramie, WY, is a small town which became infamous overnight in the fall of 1998, when Matthew Shepard, a gay college student, was found tied to a fence after being brutally beaten and left to die, setting off a nationwide debate about hate crimes and homophobia. A month after the crime, Moises Read More

ER: Blood Sugar Sex Magic

Synopsis: With this episode, Hallee Hirsh takes over from Yvonne Zima in the role of Rachel Greene, the rebellious daughter of Dr. Mark Greene (Anthony Edwards). Rachel pops up unexpectedly in Chicago, announcing that she's run away from her mother and that she intends to move in with Doug. Elsewhere, an Read More

ER: If I Should Fall from Grace

Synopsis: Sharif Atkins joins the series as Michael Gallant, a new medical student assigned to Carter (Noah Wyle). While making the rounds with Gallant, Carter learns to his chagrin that his grandmother (Frances Sternhagen) is now a "high-risk" patient who may die at any moment; he also helps Lewis (Sherry Stringfield Read More

ER: Start All Over Again

Synopsis: No sooner has Lewis (Sherry Stringfield) returned to County General than she clashes with Weaver (Laura Innes) over the treatment of a pregnant teenager in danger of being deported. Elsewhere, Weaver nervously prepares to contact her long-lost birth mother. Elizabeth (Alex Kingston) is Read More

ER: I'll Be Home for Christmas

Synopsis: This episode marks the final regular ER appearances of Eriq La Salle and Michael Michele. After resorting to desperate measures to retain custody of his son, Reese (Matthew Watkins), Peter Benton (La Salle) realizes that he must make a choice between the boy and his overloaded ER schedule. He opts Read More

ER: Partly Cloudy, Chance of Rain

Synopsis: An unusually heavy rainstorm brings a inordinate amount of "traffic" into the ER. Outside the doors of the hospital, Weaver (Laura Innes) and a nervous, inexperienced Gallant (Sharif Atkins) risk electrocution from downed power lines to save a pregnant woman and her unborn baby. Inside, Greene (Anthony Edwards Read More

ER: The Fastest Year

Synopsis: Weaver (Laura Innes) is off suspension and back on the job. Greene's (Anthony Edwards) father (John Cullum), suffering from terminal cancer, is checked into the ER with pneumonia. Carter (Noah Wyle) continues having difficulty coming to grips with the attack that injured him and killed Lucy. Abby (Maura Tierney Read More

ER: Loose Ends

Synopsis: Greene (Anthony Edwards) takes care of his terminally ill father (John Cullum) at home, leading to a poignant moment between the elder Greene and Elizabeth Corday (Alex Kingston). Back at work, Corday tries to persuade an anorexic girl to continue treatment for her illness. Carol (Julianna Margulies Read More

ER: Benton Backwards

Synopsis: Alan Young guest stars as Archie Mellonston, a nursing-home patient who raises a ruckus in the ER when he flashes back to a traumatic incident during the Korean War. Other developments: blacklisted throughout Chicago by the vengeful Romano (Paul McCrane), the unemployed Benton (Eriq La Salle) is Read More

ER: Under Control

Synopsis: Distracted by his father's refusal to face his lung cancer, Greene (Anthony Edwards) must nevertheless hold down the fort at the ER. Not quite recovered from the vicious attack in which he was injured and Lucy Knight was killed, Carter (Noah Wyle) returns to work. Corday (Alex Kingston) encounters Read More

ER: My Brother's Keeper

Synopsis: Ross (George Clooney) treats a six-year-old patient who may have been poisoned by someone in his family, and also tries to find time to write a presentation on pediatric treatment. Carter's (Noah Wyle) cousin Chase (Jonathan Scarfe) is among the heroin addicts brought into the ER for treatment. Read More

ER: Gut Reaction

Synopsis: Carter (Noah Wyle) is in for a surprise when he asks Del Amico (Maria Bello) out. Jeanie (Gloria Reuben) tries to help Scott Anspaugh (Trevor Morgan) decide whether or not to undergo experimental cancer treatment. Benton (Eriq La Salle) exceeds his authority by finishing an operation for an Read More

ER: Of Past Regret and Future Fear

Synopsis: Carol (Julianna Margulies) comforts a security guard (Michael Rapaport) as he lies dying from severe chemical burns. The other staffers tend to a young man (Keith Bogart) who fell 75 feet into the Chicago river. Also part of the ER caseload is an elderly couple who may or may not have AIDs, and a Read More

To Live Again

Actors: Bonnie Bedelia, Annabeth Gish, Frances Sternhagen

Synopsis: A woman overcomes a tragedy in her own life by helping a teenage girl with a tragic family background in this made-for-TV drama. A disturbed woman who is unhappy with what she perceives to be the eccentric behavior of her daughter keeps her child a prisoner in her home for 16 years. A social Read More

The Con

Actors: Rebecca De Mornay, William H. Macy, Mike Nussbaum, Angela Paton, Frances Sternhagen

Synopsis: Slinky blonde con woman Barbara Beatty (Rebbeca De Mornay) knows how to use all her charms to get what she wants. But one day, a scam goes awry and she finds herself deeply in debt. If she does not pay quickly, she will die. Hearing of a favorable situation in Mississippi, she heads southward in Read More

Law & Order: Legacy

Synopsis: What at first seems to be a random shooting is eventually revealed to be a deliberate murder attempt. Furthermore, the victim's wife had been previously wed to a man who died in an inadequately investigated accident. When the original case is re-opened, the detectives and the lawyers find Read More

ER: Ground Zero

Synopsis: Frances Sternhagen makes her first appearance as Carter's enormously wealthy grandmother, Millicent, whom Carol (Julianna Margulies) approaches for a contribution toward her new free clinic. Meanwhile, Carter (Noah Wyle) tries to hide his silver-spoon upbringing from class-envious Del Amico (Maria Bello Read More

ER: Do You See What I See?

Synopsis: When a blind homeless man abruptly regains his sight, Benton (Eriq La Salle) is hailed as a miracle worker -- and now dozens of other patients want to be anointed by "Saint Peter." Greene (Anthony Edwards) takes an important step toward getting his life back together during his treatment of Read More

Reunion

Actors: Marlo Thomas, Peter Strauss, Frances Sternhagen, Courtney Chase, Matthew Kelly, Leelee Sobieski

Cheers: Rebecca Gaines, Rebecca Loses, Part 2

Actors: Frances Sternhagen

Synopsis: The mystery of Cliff's (John Ratzenberger) missing (and possibly murdered) mother is finally solved. After making the assumption that Kelly's (Jackie Swanson) wealthy father Mr. Gaines (Richard Doyle) is enamored with her, Rebecca (Kirstie Alley) is in for a shock when she learns Gaines' true Read More

Cheers: Look Before You Sleep

Actors: Frances Sternhagen

Synopsis: While his apartment is being fumigated, Sam (Ted Danson) makes arrangements to sleep over at the home of a lady friend. Alas, the lady cancels and Sam locks himself out of Cheers, his second choice for a nocturnal resting place. One thing leads to another, culminating with him bunking at the home Read More

Cheers: Rebecca Gaines, Rebecca Loses, Part 1

Actors: Frances Sternhagen

Synopsis: The opening sequences of this episode lead the Cheers gang to conclude that Cliff (John Ratzenberger) has, at long last, murdered his mother (Frances Sternhagen). On a less morbid note, Rebecca (Kirstie Alley) is led to believe that Kelly's wealthy father Mr. Gaines (Richard Doyle) is romantically Read More

Raising Cain

Actors: John Lithgow, Lolita Davidovich, Steven Bauer, Frances Sternhagen, Gregg Henry

Synopsis: A complicated thriller, directed with great visual style by Brian De Palma, Raising Cain is the story of twin brothers, Carter and Josh (John Lithgow), one good and one evil, who will stop at nothing to find children to further their father's psychological experiments. John Lithgow is outstanding Read More

American Experience: The Donner Party

Synopsis: In 1846, a group of over eighty Westward-bound pioneers were headed to the coast of California from Illinois, which had itself only recently been brought up to "civilized" status. They made it to a pass high in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California when they were halted by a truly monstrous Read More

She Woke Up

Actors: Lindsay Wagner, David Dukes, Frances Sternhagen, Maureen Mueller, Ronald C. Frazier

Synopsis: Surprisingly good soap opera in which the suspense and thrills are genuinely good revolves around a wealthy woman who awakens from a fourteen-month coma after an attempt is made on her life and now must remember who tried to kill her in order to prevent it from happening again. ~ Tana Hobart, All Read More

Cheers: Heeeere's...Cliffy!

Synopsis: Norm (George Wendt) has long been sending comedy material to Johnny Carson, but hasn't ever made a sale. To save face, Norm tells Cliff (John Ratzenberger) that Carson has at last accepted a few of his jokes. This little white lie backfires when Cliff manages to wangle two tickets to The Tonight Show Read More

Doc Hollywood

Actors: Michael J. Fox, Julie Warner, Barnard Hughes, Woody Harrelson, David Ogden Stiers

Synopsis: A big city doctor is stranded in a small rural town, where he finds love, professional challenges, and a pet pig, in this comedy. Fresh out of residence at a Washington D.C. hospital, hot-shot plastic surgeon Ben Stone (Michael J. Fox) hops in his Porsche and is headed for California, where a Read More

Cheers: Ma's Little Margie

Synopsis: It had to happen: Cliff (John Ratzenberger) finally introduces his mother (Frances Sternhagen) to his mixed-up girlfriend, Margaret (Annie Golden). Stranger than fiction, Mom takes an immediate liking to Margaret, even unto proposing to the girl on Cliff's behalf. Meanwhile, Rebecca (Kirstie Read More

Golden Years

Actors: Keith Szarabajka

Synopsis: This made-for-TV mini-series from the notorious horror writer centers upon a hapless old janitor who begins undergoing incredible physical changes after he is accidentally covered with experimental chemicals following a laboratory mishap. Now the government will stop at nothing to get him back. Read More

Law & Order: The Serpent's Tooth

Synopsis: Viewers familiar with the trial of the Mendendez Brothers may recognize a few similarities in this Law & Order episode. A wealthy couple is murdered in their home, and it looks as if the killers were the victims' own sons, Nick and Greg Jarman (Matt Hofherr, Stephen Mailer). The Defense's claims Read More

Misery

Actors: James Caan, Kathy Bates, Frances Sternhagen, Richard Farnsworth, Lauren Bacall

Synopsis: Adapted from a Stephen King novel, Rob Reiner's Misery cast James Caan as a writer at a career crossroads. The film opens with Paul Sheldon (Caan) completing work on his latest novel, a break from his popular series of novels featuring the character Misery Chastain. He gets into a severe car Read More

Sibling Rivalry

Actors: Kirstie Alley, Bill Pullman, Carrie Fisher, Jami Gertz, Scott Bakula

Synopsis: Carl Reiner directed this situation comedy about a neglected wife who, in frustration, has her first affair, with humiliating consequences. Kirstie Alley plays Marjorie, the ignored housewife of Harry Turner (Scott Bakula), an obnoxious member of a family of physicians. Marjorie's sister Jeanine (Jami Gertz Read More

Cheers: Ma Always Liked You Better

Synopsis: Cliff (John Ratzenberger) is none too thrilled when his mother (Frances Sternhagen) pays an extended visit. Making matters worse, Mom takes a shine to Woody (Woody Harrelson), virtually adopting the affable bartender as "the son I never had." Back at Cheers, the gang tangles with some construction Read More

Follow Your Heart

Actors: Patrick Cassidy, Frances Sternhagen, Catherine Stewart, Jace Alexander, Nicole Francois

Synopsis: Made for television, Follow Your Heart was first telecast April 2, 1990. Ex-marine David Larson (Patrick Cassidy) is tooling along aimlessly in the middle of Wyoming when his jeep breaks down. Awaiting the verdict from the local repair shop, Larson takes a part-time job as a rest-stop attendant. Read More

Communion

Actors: Christopher Walken, Lindsay Crouse, Joel Carlson, Frances Sternhagen, Andreas Katsulas

Synopsis: Adapted by Whitley Strieber from his book about his alleged contacts with aliens, Communion dramatizes a story all the more compelling for the author's insistence that it is true, complemented by Christopher Walken's enigmatic performance as Strieber. The film begins in October 1985, as Strieber Read More

See You in the Morning

Actors: Jeff Bridges, Alice Krige, Farrah Fawcett, Drew Barrymore, Lukas Haas

Synopsis: This film is a somewhat contrived pairing of two divorcees who are giving it a second go. They're up against considerable odds, however, because the children of each are not too pleased with their new "parent." Jeff Bridges stars as the husband and Alice Krige plays his second wife. ~ All Movie Read More

Bright Lights, Big City

Actors: Michael J. Fox, Kiefer Sutherland, Phoebe Cates, Swoosie Kurtz, Frances Sternhagen

Synopsis: Michael J. Fox once more makes a courageous effort to shed his nice-guy image in Bright Lights, Big City. Fox plays an impressionable Kansan who comes to the Big Apple to take a job at a major magazine. It isn't long before he falls into the twin traps of drug and alcohol abuse. His only hope for Read More

At Mother's Request

Actors: E.G. Marshall

Synopsis: There were two rival TV dramatizations of the sensational murder case involving "monster Mom" Frances Schreuder. Stephanie Powers was the star of the two-part 1987 TV movie At Mother's Request. Part One details the events leading to the murder of Frances' multimillionaire father Franklin Bradshaw (E.G. Marshall Read More

Cheers: The Last Angry Mailman

Synopsis: Learning that developers want to bulldoze his mother's house to make room for a mini-mall, Cliff (John Ratzenberger) circulates a petition to prevent this architectural catastrophe. One neighborhood resident who refuses to sign is Cliff's mom (Frances Sternhagen) herself, who eagerly looks forward Read More

The Dining Room

Synopsis: One room, several dinners, and a multitude of characters figure into the A.R. Gurney Jr. play The Dining Room. Several lives and relationships are built up and destroyed in consistently amusing fashion. The film consists of wall-to-wall vignettes, some lasting a mere few minutes. The charm and Read More

Cheers: Money Dearest

Synopsis: Hoping to enrich himself in the process, Cliff (John Ratzenberger) sets up a date between his mother Esther (Frances Sternhagen) and wealthy Duncan Fitzgerald (Richard Erdman). It looks as though Cliff's machinations are going to pay off when Fitzgerald proposes. Alas, the old fellow puts a crimp Read More

Resting Place

Actors: John Lithgow

Synopsis: Set in 1972, The Resting Place stars John Lithgow as an Army major who accompanies the body of a young black lieutenant killed in action to the dead man's Georgia home town. Though the local cemetery is for whites only, the town's resident liberal has paid for a plot for the deceased lieutenant. Lithgow Read More

Once Again

Synopsis: In this charming drama, a aging rock musician and a world-weary flight attendant haven't seen each other in years. Then they learn that their parents are planning to marry--each other. Romance ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide Read More

Independence Day

Actors: Kathleen Quinlan, David Keith, Frances Sternhagen, Cliff De Young, Dianne Wiest

Synopsis: In this run-of-the-mill romantic drama, the title Independence Day refers to the usual Fourth of July fireworks festival in the U.S. but also to the dilemma of Mary Ann Taylor (Kathleen Quinlan) who lives in a small town but has a big ambition to go to the city and study photography for a Read More

Romantic Comedy

Actors: Dudley Moore, Mary Steenburgen, Ron Leibman, Janet Eilber, Robyn Douglass

Synopsis: Phoebe (Mary Steenburgen) and Jason (Dudley Moore) are a pair of Broadway playwrights who are partners in their chosen profession, but in spite of a definite inclination, they remain unpartnered (for a long time) in any other way. Phoebe is an aspiring playwright from the Northwoods and Jason is Read More

Prototype

Actors: David Morse, Christopher Plummer

Synopsis: Columbo creators Richard Levinson and William Link give crime-solving a rest in their script for the made-for-TV sci-fier Prototype. Christopher Plummer plays a curmudgeonly but basically kindly Nobel Prize-winning scientist, who builds an equally kindly (but much handsomer) humanoid named Michael Read More

Outland

Actors: Sean Connery, Peter Boyle, Frances Sternhagen, James B. Sikking, Kika Markham

Synopsis: For Marshal O'Neil (Sean Connery), the Jupiter moon Io is just another dingy mining town on the final frontier. When his wife leaves him and takes their son with them, it merely confirms that though he's traveled millions of miles, his life is going nowhere. Then he notices that miners are dying Read More

The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg

Actors: Robert Preston

Synopsis: Filmed in Vermont, The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg is based on one of Mark Twain's more mysoginistic works. Mysterious stranger Robert Preston shows up in Hadleyburg, a town that prides itself upon the honesty and integrity of its leaders. Preston offers $40,000 in gold to the anonymous Read More

Mother and Daughter - A Loving War

Actors: Tuesday Weld, Frances Sternhagen, Kathleen Beller, Edward Winter

Synopsis: A young mother looks to her own mother for help when her child begins rebelling, similar to the way she did in the past. Harry Chapin makes a special appearance. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide Read More

Starting Over

Actors: Burt Reynolds, Jill Clayburgh, Candice Bergen, Charles Durning, Frances Sternhagen

Synopsis: Scripted by James L. Brooks from Dan Wakefield's novel, Alan J. Pakula's romantic comedy follows the tribulations of a freshly divorced man as he looks for love with a wary single woman. Phil Potter (Burt Reynolds sans mustache) can't quite believe it when his aspiring songbird wife Jessica (Candice Bergen Read More

Who'll Save Our Children?

Synopsis: Based on Rachel Maddux' book The Orchard Children, this still-timely 1978 TV movie stars Shirley Jones and Len Cariou as the foster parents of two "cast-off" children. After several years, Shirley and Len press to legally adopt the kids. But the natural parents (Cassie Yates and David Hayward) Read More

Fedora

Actors: William Holden, Hildegarde Neff, José Ferrer, Marthe Keller, Frances Sternhagen

Synopsis: In Fedora, Billy Wilder approaches Hollywood stardom in the same fashion as he did in Sunset Boulevard--with cynicism, regret, understanding, and awe. Fedora (Marthe Keller) is film's most intriguing movie queen. Rumored to be well into her sixties, the actress has remained a starlet for over four Read More

Enemies

Synopsis: Tony award-winning actor Frances Sternhagen stars in Maxim Gorky's searing study of the social ills that would eventually lead to the Russian Revolution of 1917 in this filmed version of Enemies, which features a teleplay by Ellis Raab and is adapted for the screen by directors Raab and Kirk Browning Read More

The Rimers of Eldritch

Actors: Rue McClanahan, Susan Sarandon, Frances Sternhagen

Synopsis: Davey Marlin-Jones directed this 1972 made-for-television performance of Lanford Wilson's small-town drama The Rimers of Eldritch. Starring Rue McClanahan, the play is a character study that focuses on the residents of Eldritch amid a sexual assault and a murder trial, two unrelated events that Read More

Two People

Actors: Peter Fonda, Lindsay Wagner, Estelle Parsons, Alan Fudge, Philippe March

Synopsis: Evan Bonner (Peter Fonda) is a former solider who deserted the Army due to his growing opposition to the U.S. role in Vietnam. Having spent the intervening years drifting aimlessly, he has ended up in Marrakesh – where he has made the decision to return to the U.S. and turn himself in. Also in Read More

The Hospital

Actors: Rehn Scofield