Actors

A new made-for-TV movie about the late actress's life and television career, called Lucy & Desi: Before the Laughter, is as awful as any tele-movie, says critic Maureen Corrigan. Since Ball's death last year, networks have been trying to recapture the magic of Lucy's sitcom -- an impossible task since, according Corrigan. the original show was nearly perfect.

Esposito has been featured in Spike Lee's movies Mo' Better Blues and Do the Right Thing. He joins Fresh Air to talk about the intensity of working on the set of Do the Right Thing, and how he started acting at the age of six.

Actress Pam Grier. She got her start playing tough, scantily-clad women in black exploitation films, such as "Black Mama, White Mama," "Foxy Brown," and "Sheba Baby." She played a hooker in "Fort Apache: The Bronx," and is now appearing in the new film, "The Class of 1999."

Actor Michael Moriarty. He's best-known for his roles in the films "Bang the Drum Slowly" and "Who'll Stop the Rain," and in the TV miniseries, "Holocaust." Moriarty is the star of a new TV series called "Law and Order," and he's also just produced an album of original jazz songs, called "Reaching Out."

Character actor Kurtwood Smith. Smith has a penchant for playing the heavy...in "Robocop" he played a sadistic killer, in "Dead Poets Society" he played a repressive father, and in "True Believer," he played an over-zealous attorney. His next role is in the upcoming comedy, "Quick Change." He plays a mafia don.

French actress Isabelle Adjani. Her most famous role was in the film "The Story of Adele H." Her latest film, for which she won the French equivalent of an Oscar for Best Actress, is about the life of Camille Claudel. Claudel was French sculptor Rodin's mistress and a sculptor in her own right.

Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews "Steel Magnolias," starring Dolly Parton, Olympia Dukakis, Shirley McLain, and Darrell Hannah as a group of friends in a small Southern town.

Critic-at-large Laurie Stone examines the role of women in two current offerings, the T-V sit-com "Anything But Love" starring Jamie Lee Curtis, and the movie, "sex, lies, and videotape."

Shelley Winters. With two Oscars and well over 100 films to her credit, Winters is a star in the classic Hollywood mode. But she is almost as well known for her off-screen adventures and irrepressible life style that made her a staple in the gossip columns.

Wayans is the brother of actor and director Keenan Ivory Wayans, and has been pursuing a career in stand-up. He's been appearing in films recently like Beverly Hills Cop, though he's frustrated by the lack of complex and varied roles for black actors. Wayans' forthcoming movie is called Earth Girls are Easy.

Critic-at-large Laurie Stone recently attended the Lincoln Center's celebration of Hollywood star Bette Davis, who is now 81. The gala included a series of film clips which, according to Stone, highlighted the power, confidence, and humanity of Davis's performances.

Reed recently played a campaign manager in the HBO political satire Tanner '88. Now she stars as a struggling single mother and radio journalist in the film Rachel River. She joins Fresh Air to talk about the politics of nudity in film and the kinds of roles available to women.

Al Young was a singer and guitar player before he became writer. His books incorporate his jazz and film influences, as well as his experiences growing up outside white, mainstream culture. His new book, about a black actress, is called Seduction by Light.

Hines started tap dancing at the age of five, and worked in clubs with his brother and father. He made a career on Broadway, and later appeared in movies like The Cotton Club and White Knights. His new movie is called Tap.

Whoopi Goldberg's one-woman show leans heavily on celebrity impersonations and a character named Fontaine -- a black man who expounds on various social issues affecting the African American community. But these monologues are often divorced from narrative context, and lose their power. Critic Laurie Stone says she's more impressed by Goldberg's action movie roles, and what her presence in movie does for black actors.

Critic Ken Tucker lauds the VHS release of Letter from an Unknown Woman, a 1948 drama about a philandering pianist and the mother of his child. Tucker also recommends Floating Weeds, License to Drive, and Monkey Shines.

Harvey Fierstein wrote and stars in the new movie Torch Song Trilogy, which is based on his play of the same name. Fierstein in openly, and hopes his visibility in the acting community will help normalize homosexuality.

Randy Quaid's brother Dennis often gets leading-man roles; Randy frequently plays what he calls "country bumpkins." He says he enjoys his career as a character actor, but is glad to branch out to directing. His debut in that role will be the upcoming Power of the Dog, which will costar his brother.

Film critic Stephen Schiff wonders if he's the only reviewer who laughed at Paul Mazursky's new comedy, about an actor impersonating the late dictator of a fictional Caribbean country. Schiff asks Fresh Air listeners to send their own reviews to the radio station.

Jane Alexander has worked onstage and, most notably, on a made-for-TV movie about Eleanor Roosevelt. She recently founded her own production company. Alexander joins Fresh Air to talk about some of her film roles and the place for older women in the motion picture industry.