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SYNOPSIS

THE THING ABOUT MY FOLKS teams two singular talents - legendary actor Peter Falk (THE INLAWS, “Columbo”) and writer/actor Paul Reiser (DINER, “Mad About You”) – for a hilariously truthful look at family and marriage. Directed by Raymond De Felitta, THE THING ABOUT MY FOLKS follows a father and son who set out on an impromptu road trip in the wake of Mom’s unexpected defection. In a role written specifically for him, Peter Falk gives one of his greatest performances as the kind of father many of us know: affable and oblivious, exasperating and embarrassing – and absolutely irreplaceable. In his first motion picture screenplay, Reiser delivers a winning, smartly crafted comedy that reflects his own experience as a son, husband, and father. Like the comedian’s earlier work, including the hit series “Mad About You” and the books “Couplehood” and “Babyhood,” THE THING ABOUT MY FOLKS is rooted in the pitchperfect detail that immediately captures what is funny and real about human relationships. With its observational humor and sympathy for its characters’ flaws and follies, THE THING ABOUT MY FOLKS speaks to a universal experience of family as both screwy and sublime.

It’s nearly bedtime for Ben and Rachel Kleinman’s (Paul Reiser and Elizabeth Perkins) two young daughters when the family receives an unexpected visitor at their New York City home: Ben’s father, Sam (Peter Falk). Though Sam shambles in with his customary good cheer, Ben and Rachel sense something is not right. For one thing, the elder Kleinman, a retired salesman, lives in New Jersey and isn’t in the habit of loitering in Manhattan; for another, he has come without his wife.

As it turns out, there is a good reason for Sam’s solo appearance. After 47 years of marriage, Muriel Kleinman (Olympia Dukakis) has flown the coop, leaving behind only a vaguely worded note of explanation. Upon hearing the startling news, Ben’s older sisters Bonnie (Mimi Lieber), Linda (Ann Dowd) and Hillary (Claire Beckman) spring into detective mode. Ben is put in charge of their father - a dubious honor, given that Sam can drive the sanest person crazy. The next day, Ben and Sam drive to look at a house in upstate New York, where Ben is thinking of relocating his family.

But what begins as a trip to look at real estate soon becomes a very different kind of journey. Ben knows that Muriel wrote a farewell to Sam once before – a letter penned two weeks before his birth and never sent. When Ben, in a fit of anger, decides to show Sam the letter, he opens up a monumental can of worms – and a new chapter in his relationship with his father. Finding the past four decades of his life called into question, Sam responds in a surprisingly impulsive fashion: he buys the car of his college dreams and proposes a road trip to his incredulous son. Over the next several days and nights, Ben Kleinman will have the trip with his dad that he’d always wanted as child. Through various idylls and misadventures in the small towns of upstate New York, Ben and Sam will chat, argue, get drunk, and generally get to know one another as never before. And despite generational differences, they discover they have a good deal in common – including a basic cluelessness about the women in their lives. For both men, it will be a time to take a closer look at the ties that bind – and ponder what really goes on in any marriage, and what could be changed if the chance were given.

Picturehouse presents THE THING ABOUT MY FOLKS. Starring Peter Falk, Paul Reiser, Olympia Dukakis, Elizabeth Perkins, Ann Dowd, Claire Beckman and Mimi Lieber. Directed by Raymond De Felitta. Written by Paul Reiser. Producers Jeffrey Silver, Bobby Newmyer, and Paul Reiser. Director of photography Dan Gillham, production designer Timothy Whidbee, editors David Leonard and Sheila Amos. Music by Mark Argila. Costume designer Kathryn Nixon. Casting by Sheila Jaffe, Georgianne Walken and Meg Morman.

ABOUT THE PRODUCTION

A funny, generous comedy about the things that matter most in life, THE THING ABOUT MY FOLKS is a deeply personal film for actor/writer Paul Reiser. The story was inspired by two men: his father and the actor Peter Falk. “I grew up just adoring Peter Falk; he was the only movie star I ever fell in love with,” Reiser affirms. “I didn’t care about Sophia Loren, I didn’t care about Natalie Wood. But Peter Falk – I loved this guy. From the first time I saw him, in ROBIN AND THE SEVEN HOODS, to POCKETFUL OF MIRACLES and then to the Cassavetes films. And I think I got my appreciation of Peter from my dad.”

Just how much his father liked Falk became clear during a visit the adult Reiser made to his parents in 1983. “My dad was watching a Peter Falk movie on TV - I think it was THE CHEAP DETECTIVE by Neil Simon - and he was just belly-laughing. And he never really belly-laughed,” Reiser recalls. “I said, ‘Huh. Peter Falk’s the only guy that always makes my dad laugh.’ The next morning I woke up and thought, ‘Okay I’ve gotta make up a movie or something with Peter Falk as my father.’ I just had those two people in mind and they merged.”

Elements of his parents’ courtship and marriage were integrated into the story of Sam and Muriel Kleinman. Like the Kleinmans, Reiser’s parents met when his mother, fresh out of college, interviewed for a job with his father (which, of course, she got). Mrs. Reiser took care of the family business when Mr. Reiser was overseas during World War II. Like children everywhere, Reiser was always curious about his parents’ lives. As he explains, “I look at pictures and go, ‘Okay, you were a young, handsome, beautiful couple. How do you go from 24-year-olds who kiss for the first time in a car to 70-year-olds falling asleep watching Mike Wallace?’ What’s the journey?”

THE THING ABOUT MY FOLKS looks at that journey – marriage – and the misunderstandings that inevitably occur along the way. Ben and Sam Kleinman approach marriage from distinctly different perspectives, reflecting not only their individual personalities but their eras, as well. As Reiser puts it, “Sam’s generation is very matter-of-fact; you do what you have to do and if you step on some toes or people’s feelings are hurt, sensitivity is not a luxury that you have. Ben’s generation is the generation of therapy and self-analysis. In terms of women, I consider them two different flavors of Wrong. One tries too hard, the other tries not enough. And they’re both off.”

Reiser worked on the screenplay off and on for twenty years, and the changes that occurred in his life naturally informed the story’s content, tone and themes. A bachelor when he had the initial idea, he was a married father of two when he sat down to write the screenplay. He was thus able to approach the story as a father as well as a son. “It’s about everybody trying to imagine that their parents were ever young. My kids will see pictures of my wife and I as kids and they just don’t understand. And you take that perspective into adulthood: that your parents were born grown ups.”

Over the course of his travels with Sam, Ben comes to see the limits of his youthful perspective and views his father through new, adult eyes. A key moment occurs when Sam buys his longlost dream car, rewriting a disappointing chapter from his college days. Reiser based the scene on an episode in his father’s life, an episode that shed new light on an old and baffling issue. “My father was very, and oddly, averse to me and my siblings getting cars when we were young. It just didn’t make sense to us,” he recalls. “Then very late in life, he casually shared a story. He was in college. He went out and bought this really cool car that he wanted, and his father made him return it. And he cried. That was the only time he ever remembered crying. It wasn’t because of the car; he was upset that he had disappointed his father, that he disobeyed his father. It was very intense. That story was such a key to understanding my father.”

While Reiser found inspiration from his life for some story elements, one narrative piece consistently stymied him: why had Muriel left? Ultimately, the passage of time answered the question as story’s characters became older and illness grew more likely. Though he hadn’t set out to address mortality in his screenplay, Reiser didn’t shy away from it. “When you go into the subject of your parents and yourself, it’s the big white elephant in the conversation,” he remarks. “It’s the only given there is. So given that, how would you like to spend your time and what would you like to try and come to peace with? Ben takes this brave/knuckleheaded step of opening up the Pandora’s Box and showing Sam this letter from Muriel. It brings a shit-storm of problems, but also the chance for change – and for healing.”

While the screenplay’s gestation was long and often challenging, one element remained consistently satisfying for Reiser: writing for Peter Falk. “Peter’s voice is so in my head,” he comments. “I have comedian friends who also adore him; we’ll go out and we’ll just quote from ROBIN AND THE SEVEN HOODS and certainly THE IN-LAWS. It was such fun to write his voice. I wrote pages and pages of stuff that had no business being in the movie but I just liked hearing him say it.”

Happily, Falk could hear himself saying those words, too. Reiser, who had become acquainted with Falk over the years, gave the screenplay to the actor as soon as it was completed. Falk wasted no time in responding. “I instantly fell in love with my character,” the actor declares. “There’s something about somebody who can be so wrong and who never makes any apologies for it, and who you know loves all the other people that consider him a pain in the ass. That’s irresistible to me. I just identified with that man because he was like my father. And then I found out it was based on Paul’s father.”

Falk was also impressed by the way the emotional themes were framed by a narrative that was both funny and dramatically engaging. “I’m a sucker for a good story, and I’m a sucker for notes on the refrigerator door. When a note on the refrigerator door turns everybody’s lives upside down – that’s a story I’m interested in,” he says. He compares Reiser’s screenplay to the work of playwright Neil Simon, with whom Falk has collaborated on Broadway (“The Prisoner of Second Avenue,” for which Falk won a Tony Award), in film (MURDER BY DEATH, THE CHEAP DETECTIVE) and in television (THE SUNSHINE BOYS). Calling Simon by his nickname, “Doc,” Falk explains, “To me, Paul Reiser and Doc Simon have the same knack for capturing life and capturing people that you recognize from your own life. These people have problems and you get caught up in the story – but you’re always laughing.”

Reiser, who served as the film’s producer, found enthusiastic production partners in Bobby Newmyer and Jeffrey Silver of Outlaw Productions (SEX LIES AND VIDEOTAPE, TRAINING DAY). Next to sign on for THE THING ABOUT MY FOLKS was Raymond De Felitta, writer/director of the Sundance Film Festival award-winner TWO FAMILY HOUSE. Comments the director, “Paul's screenplay tapped into one of the simplest, most profound and most troubling of universal experiences -- the difficulty of being able to tell our parents what they mean to us. Even if we have been lucky enough to convey to our parents how much we love and appreciate them, we are unlikely to have had the more complicated satisfaction of successfully unraveling the difficulties we faced with them, and of exploring truthfully the differences that define us generation to generation.”

De Felitta was also excited by the prospect of working with Reiser and Falk. “From the very beginning I could hear Peter's distinct voice and rhythms in Paul's writing and couldn't wait to hear the result.”

With De Felitta on board, the casting process got underway. Oscar winner Olympia Dukakis (MOONSTRUCK) took on the critical role of Muriel Kleinman, who is an influential but unseen presence for most of the film. “For a centrifugal character to make such a late appearance is out of the ordinary,” Reiser remarks. “The actress had to be someone you believe could be married to this guy for 45 years, and who could hold the screen with him. The minute you see Olympia and she opens her mouth, you know who this character is.”

Elizabeth Perkins (MUST LOVE DOGS) read the screenplay before casting had begun and expressed interest in playing Rachel Kleinman, the wife of Reiser’s character. The actor notes that he was only too happy to oblige. “Elizabeth’s one of those actresses: you see her and she just grounds everything. She’s so solid and real and terrific.”

New York-based actresses Ann Dowd, Mimi Lieber, and Claire Beckman were cast as sisters Linda, Bonnie, and Hillary, respectively. The sisters’ personalities and roles within the family are well-established and absolutely comfortable. As Reiser summarizes, “Linda is the middle sister, the one who’s in charge, who’s the busiest but gets everything done. Bonnie is the sister that everybody forgets to tell things to, and Hillary is the youngest sister, a little flaky. Ann, Mimi and Claire had only had a few days to work together, but they just bonded and became this little clique. It was really fun to see.”

THE THING ABOUT MY FOLKS filmed for 25 days in Manhattan and the Woodstock area of upstate New York. A summer production had initially been planned, but delays pushed the start date into autumn. It turned out to be a serendipitous turn of events, allowing Sam and Ben’s journey to unfold against a richly colored landscape. The filmmakers turned to the Internet to track the progress of the fall foliage, hitting locations as they reached peak color. “We were chasing leaves. But it ended up being a huge factor in the movie,” Reiser reflects. “It’s just a beautiful time of year. I grew up in New York and going upstate and going to New England at that time of year was always the treat.”

Director De Felitta opted for an understated visual approach. “I wanted the camera to capture the moments, not overwhelm them. Most of the time I felt I was best serving the material by deliberately staging and shooting things in the simplest way possible, so as to let the audience become one with Ben and Sam. Paul and Peter were so natural together, their rhythms so synchronous and their humor so similar and effortless that there was little to do but watch and enjoy their rapport.”

Falk notes that he was immediately comfortable with his co-star. “Paul is a terrific actor,” he says. “Having written it, he understood the characters and the story. So that’s all nourishment, that’s all stimulating. He’s a very talented man. He’s like a baseball player that can run, hit and bunt – he’s a terrific actor, writer, and producer.”

For Reiser, working with his idol lived up to all his dreams. “Peter is so sharp. The rhythm of his acting is so quick and responsive,” Reiser enthuses. “As he takes you into this movie, he’s kind of slow and he’s like everybody’s dad: ‘oh, he doesn’t get what I’m talking about.’ And then suddenly, it’s like ‘Oh my god. This is the brightest guy I’ve ever spoken to. This guy is so razor-sharp and so powerful.’ It’s just so fun to watch him.”

Falk was warmly received everywhere they filmed. “Everybody’s always happy to see Peter Falk,” Reiser says. “There is just a wealth of goodwill for him. From young guys; from women who are so charmed by him; from older people who feel like they know him. In every diner, we got certainly the best service I’ve ever gotten. When you sit with Peter Falk, you get an unbelievable amount of coffee refills. People just love him and can’t wait to take care of him.”

Adding to the film’s personal quality are the home movies that form a backdrop to Muriel’s unsent farewell letter. Some of that footage comes from Reiser’s own family movies, which capture him and his sisters as children. “My sisters had to get their SAG cards because of this movie,” he laughs. “I got the movie, and they got their SAG cards. It was a win-win.”

THE THING ABOUT MY FOLKS made its festival debut in January 2005 in Palm Springs, where it emerged as an audience favorite. Word began to spread and over the coming months Reiser and Falk traveled with the film to festivals in New York, Kansas, Washington, Texas and Florida. Reiser was gratified to find that his semi-autobiographical story about an East Coast Jewish family struck a chord with viewers of many different backgrounds and ages. “It’s been sort of an education for me to find out that there really is no difference between a downtown, hip Tribeca, New York audience and an audience in Leawood, Kansas or Austin, Texas. It was literally the same responses,” he comments. “Every time we did a Q&A afterwards, there would always be people sharing similar stories. Here’s a woman from Turkey saying, ‘God, that was my father.’ Here’s a girl from South America, and here’s a black family from L.A., and here’s a Palestinian cab driver in Leawood, Kansas. Everybody had parents.”

ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS

Raymond De Felitta (Director)

Raymond De Felitta's AFI short film, BRONX CHEERS, was nominated for an Academy Award in 1991. His debut feature, CAFE SOCIETY, starring Peter Gallagher, Frank Whaley and Lara Flynn Boyle, premiered as part of the Cannes Film Festival’s prestigious Director's Fortnight in 1996. He followed that up with TWO FAMILY HOUSE, which won the Audience Award at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival, and his screenplay for that film was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award (as was the performance of the lead actress Kelly Macdonald). In addition, TWO FAMILY HOUSE earned him an Award of Merit from the National Board of Review.

Raymond De Felitta was also the recipient of a Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting for his screenplay BEGIN THE BEGUINE. He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Writers Guild of America and the Directors Guild of America, where he co-chairs (with Steven Soderbergh) the East Coast Independent Directors Committee. THE THING ABOUT MY FOLKS is his third feature as director.

Paul Reiser (Writer/Producer, Ben Kleinman)

As a seasoned actor, writer, and stand-up comedian, Paul Reiser continues to add to his list of accomplishments. In addition to co-creating and starring in the critically acclaimed NBC series, “Mad About You,” which garnered him Emmy, Golden Globe, American Comedy Award and Screen Actors Guild nominations for Best Actor in a Comedy Series, his successes also include his book “Couplehood,” which sold over two million copies and reached the number one spot on the New York Times best seller list, and “Babyhood,” his follow-up book that features his trademark humorous take on the adventures of being a first-time father, which also made The New York Times bestseller list. He made his theatrical debut in Woody Allen's “Writer's Block,” an evening of one-act comedies that marked Mr. Allen's first time out as a director for the stage.

Born and raised in New York City, Reiser went to college at the State University of New York at Binghamton where he majored in Music, specifically piano and composition. He co-wrote the theme song from “Mad About You” with Grammy-winning producer Don Was. Remembered for notable performances in films such as DINER; BYE, BYE LOVE; THE MARRYING MAN; ALIENS; ONE NIGHT AT MCCOOL'S; and BEVERLY HILLS COP I and II, Reiser more recently starred in two original movies for Showtime -- STRANGE RELATIONS, opposite Julie Walters, and Chazz Palminteri's MEN VS. WOMEN, opposite Joe Mantegna and Christine Lahti.

Reiser's development company, Nuance Productions, is currently writing and producing pilots for HBO, Showtime and CBS.

Mr. Reiser and his family live in Los Angeles.

Jeffrey Silver (Producer)

Jeffrey Silver has produced 26 feature films through his new production company Biscayne Pictures, and through his partnership with Bobby Newmyer at Outlaw Productions. Current projects include the epic war picture 300, adapted from the graphic novel by “Sin City” writer Frank Miller; the supernatural thriller REVOLVER, starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, and directed by Asif Kapadia. Silver’s most recently released production is the John Carpenter remake ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13, with Ethan Hawke and Laurence Fishburne. Upcoming productions include the Sudanese refugee saga, THE LOST BOYS, to be directed by Brad Silberling; HANSSEN, to be directed by Billy Ray; and the third installment of THE SANTA CLAUSE, starring Tim Allen. Currently in active development are SADNESS AT LEAVING, with Jennifer Connelly and Paul Bettany, and the remake of the hit Belgian thriller, THE ALZHEIMER CASE.

Silver has produced films in a range of genres, with titles including the Academy Award drama TRAINING DAY, with Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke; the family comedy THE SANTA CLAUSE and its sequel, THE SANTA CLAUSE II, with Tim Allen; the action-comedy NATIONAL SECURITY with Martin Lawrence; the romantic comedy ADDICTED TO LOVE with Meg Ryan and Matthew Broderick; the comic love fable DON JUAN DE MARCO, with Johnny Depp and Marlon Brando; and the cult teen comedy DON'T TELL MOM THE BABYSITTER'S DEAD, with Christina Applegate, as well as many other independent and studio motion pictures. He also produced the hit television series "The Wonder Years" for which he received an Emmy Award as Producer for Best Comedy Series.

Silver grew up in Miami, and graduated with a degree in Theater from Brandeis University, in Boston. His career began in New York working for Otto Preminger. He now lives in Los Angeles with his family.

Bobby Newmyer (Producer)

In 1987, partners Bobby Newmyer and Jeff Silver founded Outlaw Productions. They have subsequently produced 22 feature films under the Outlaw moniker. These have included independently financed pictures such as SEX, LIES, AND VIDEOTAPE (winner of the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival), as well as more traditional studio fare such as DON’T TELL MOM THE BABYSITTER’S DEAD (Christina Applegate), MR. BASEBALL (Tom Selleck), DON JUAN DEMARCO (Johnny Depp, Marlon Brando), ADDICTED TO LOVE (Meg Ryan), THE SANTA CLAUSE and its sequel THE SANTA CLAUSE II (Tim Allen), NATIONAL SECURITY (Martin Lawrence) and TRAINING DAY (for which Denzel Washington won the Academy Award).

Newmyer grew up in Washington, D.C., and graduated with Honors from Swarthmore College (1978) and with Distinction from The Harvard Business School (1982). He subsequently moved to Los Angeles and joined Columbia Pictures, where he spent nearly six years in a variety of studio positions, including Manager of Pay Television and Home Video, Director of Business Affairs, and Vice President of Production and Acquisitions. Newmyer left the studio in 1987 to co-found Outlaw.

Dan Gillham (Director of Photography)

Dan Gillman’s feature films credits include Campbell Scott’s HAMLET and FINAL; THE VENICE PROJECT, directed by Robert Dornhelm with Hector Babenco and Nicholas Klein; Dan McCormack’s OTHER VOICES and MINOTAUR; Rene Eram’s VOODOO; and Gary Walkow’s NOTES FROM THE UNDERGROUND. His television credits include Darren Star’s THE STREET; the HBO series “Hotline”; and Showtime’s “Women in Film.” Gillham also shot Diller Scofidio’s digital video installation FACSCIMILE at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.

Timothy Whidbee (Production Designer)

Timothy Whidbee served as the art director for the feature films BRING IT ON and PIÑERO. He worked in the art department on the hit television series “Northern Exposure” for four years. A native of Los Angeles, Whidbee studied theater and art at UC Davis and went on to graduate studies in sculpture and painting at University of Washington.

David Leonard (Editor)

THE THING ABOUT MY FOLKS is David Leonard's third project with Raymond De Felitta. Leonard edited De Felitta's Sundance Audience Award winning film TWO FAMILY HOUSE. Leonard has edited over fifteen feature films, including Michael Almereyda's NADJA, Alan Taylor's PALOOKAVILLE, and Hype Williams' BELLY. He has been an assistant editor on films by Martin Scorsese, Robert Altman, John Sayles and Tim Burton. Leonard is currently editing Amy Talkington's THE NIGHT OF THE WHITE PANTS, starring Tom Wilkinson, Nick Stahl and Selma Blair.

Sheila Amos (Editor)

Sheila Amos has been a film editor for over 25 years. Her career has included many feature length documentaries, such as the Emmy award winning AMERICA REMEMBERS J.F.K., and a number of very successful, long-running television comedies, including “Cheers” and “Mad About You.”

Steven Argila (Music)

A graduate of the Juilliard School (organ, piano, composition), Steven Argila has given solo recital performances at such prestigious venues as Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center and St. Martin in the Fields in London. Argila was first active as a composer and musical director for theaters including Yale Rep, the Mark Taper, Cornerstone Theatre Co., Indecent Exposure; he had several collaborations with The Actor’s Gang, and received a Garland Award for his score to their production of “Four Roses.” He was also chosen for the ASK Composer-Librettist workshop. His film scores include MEMRON (2004 Audience Award winner at Slamdance) and THE WIZARD OF ID for director Nancy Hower; Chris Sarandon’s SNOWFALL; UNDER THE BLUE; PHONE TAG; and David Roy’s feature film debut MADSONG. Argila’s current projects span film, theatre, and television, including a new comedy series for Sony, “10 Items or Less.”

Kathryn Nixon (Costume Designer)

As a child Kathryn Nixon designed and made wardrobes for her dolls, including shoes built out of her father's old gloves. She went on to design theatrical costumes, wedding gowns and party dresses. Her first feature was Tom Noonan's WHAT HAPPENED WAS..., a Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner, and she has continued to work with Mr. Noonan (THE WIFE, and the upcoming WHAT HAPPENED NEXT...). Kathryn has also worked with such award-winning directors as Jonathan Nossiter (SUNDAY, a Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner; SIGNS AND WONDERS), Todd Solondz (HAPPINESS), Peter Seyer (LOVE THE HARD WAY), and Benjamin Ross (TORTE BLUMA). Stellan Skarsgard, Charlotte Rampling, Adrian Brody, Audrey Tatou, and David Suchet are among the actors she has collaborated with.

ABOUT THE CAST

Peter Falk (Sam Kleinman)

Peter Michael Falk was born in New York City on September 16, 1927 and raised in Ossining, New York. When he was twelve years old he made his first stage appearance in a production of “The Pirates of Penzance” at Camp High Point in upstate New York. Seventeen years later, he made his professional debut Off Broadway in Moliere’s “Don Juan,” and the following season he was in the Circle in the Square’s highly successful revival of “The Iceman Cometh” with Jason Robards.

In 1960 Falk left New York and moved to Hollywood where he landed his first movie, MURDER INCORPORATED, and was nominated for an Oscar. On a roll, he was nominated that same year for an Emmy playing a drug addict in “The Law and Mr. Jones.” Frank Capra’s A POCKETFUL OF MIRACLES with Bette Davis and Glenn Ford was Falk’s second feature in 1961 and with it his second Oscar nomination. Also that year he got a second Emmy nomination in The Dick Powell Playhouse’s presentation of “The Price of Tomatoes” – and this time took home the prize. But it was as the inimitable character of Lt. Columbo that the actor started being a serious collector of the Emmy statuettes, picking up a total of four for the Lieutenant.

In 1971 Falk returned to Broadway for Neil Simon’s play, “The Prisoner of Second Avenue,” directed by Mike Nichols, for which he received a Tony Award. The love affair with Neil Simon continued with three starring roles in the films MURDER BY DEATH with Peter Sellers; THE CHEAP DETECTIVE with Stockard Channing; and THE SUNSHINE BOYS, a television film updated by Simon that co-starred Woody Allen.

Falk’s film career also includes three with his close friend, the late John Cassavetes: A WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE with Gena Rowlands; HUSBANDS with Cassavetes and their mutual friend Ben Gazzara; and MIKEY AND NICKY teaming up with Cassavetes, written and directed by Elaine May. Falk’s flair for comedy is most evident in his personal favorite THE IN-LAWS with Alan Arkin, directed by Arthur Hiller. Falk’s heavenly performance in WINGS OF DESIRE, playing an ex-angel, didn’t need a miracle for Wim Wenders’ Best Director award in Cannes in 1987.

After doing several more plays, he returned to the screen in1999 in the film A STORM IN SUMMER, directed by veteran filmmaker Robert Wise and written by master author Rod Serling. In the new millennium Falk appears in the Artisan mobster drama MADE which stars Jon Favreau, Vince Vaughn, and Sean “Puffy” Combs.

Falk ended 2001 with a role in A TOWN WITHOUT CHRISTMAS starring opposite Patricia Heaton in CBS’s highest rated movie of 2001. In 2002 Falk starred in the feature UNDISPUTED directed by Walter Hill with Wesley Snipes and Ving Rhames. In January 2003 the 69th “Columbo” episode, “Columbo Likes The Nightlife,” aired on ABC.

Beyond his talents as an actor, Falk also excels as an artist -- preferring charcoal pencil -- although lately he has been dabbling in watercolors. Peter and Shera Danese have been married for over 20 years and live in Beverly Hills.

Olympia Dukakis (Muriel Kleinman)

Olympia Dukakis went to Arlington High School in Massachusetts. The daughter of Greek immigrant parents, and a former physical therapist, Dukakis began her theatrical career in summer stock after taking adult education acting classes at Boston University. She first appeared on stage as a sexagenarian, and her next role was that of a 100-year-old woman. The movies beckoned in 1964, and she debuted on film in LILITH. She alternated film and stage work throughout the 1960s and 1970s, appearing in TWICE A MAN (1964), JOHN AND MARY (1969, as Dustin Hoffman's mother), MADE FOR EACH OTHER (1971), DEATH WISH (1974), THE WANDERERS (1979), and others.

By 1988, Dukakis had earned two Obies for off-Broadway performances and won an Academy Award for her vivid portrayal of Cher's Italian mother in MOONSTRUCK (1987). The feisty, outspoken actress subsequently costarred in WORKING GIRL (1988), STEEL MAGNOLIAS, DAD (both 1989), LOOK WHO'S TALKING (also 1989, and its 1990 sequel), and IN THE SPIRIT (1990), to name a few. Dukakis teaches drama at New York University and runs a small theater company in New Jersey with her husband, actor Louis Zorich. Other credits include OVER THE HILL (1992), the 1992 miniseries “Sinatra,” in which she played the entertainer’s mother; and THE CEMETERY CLUB. She portrayed Mrs. Madrigal in the much-loved television adaptation of Armistead Maupin’s “Tales of the City,” and reprised her role in “More Tales of the City” and “Further Tales of the City.”

Her most recent credits include Danny Leiner’s THE GREAT NEW WONDERFUL (2005); TNT’s THE LIBRARIAN: THE QUEST FOR THE SPEAR (2004); Thom Fitzgerald’s THE EVENT (2003); David Abbot’s CHARLIE’S WAR; and THE LAST OF THE BLONDE BOMBSHELLS (2000). Dukakis will be seen in several upcoming films, including Thom Fitzgerald’s 3 NEEDLES; Peter Masterson’s WHISKEY SCHOOL; and Jon Kasdan’s IN THE LAND OF WOMEN, scheduled for release in Spring 2006.

Elizabeth Perkins (Rachel Kleinman)

Elizabeth Perkins can currently be seen in Showtime’s critically acclaimed new series “Weeds.” Her recent film credits include Gary David Goldberg’s MUST LOVE DOGS, 28 DAYS, FINDING NEMO, and JIMINY GLICK IN LA LA WOOD.

Perkins had her film debut playing the cynical, acerbic girlfriend of Demi Moore in ABOUT LAST NIGHT (1986), the adaptation of David Mamet's play “Sexual Perversity in Chicago.” She went on to leading-lady roles, starring with Judd Nelson in FROM THE HIP (1987) and playing the love interest of man-boy Tom Hanks in BIG (1988). She is often drawn to sometimes-quirky characters, in film like SWEET HEARTS DANCE (1988) as the girlfriend of Jeff Daniels, and AVALON (1990).

She played a ditzy private eye in LOVE AT LARGE (1990) and a volatile TV commentator paired with Kevin Bacon in HE SAID, SHE SAID (1991). Later that year, Perkins appeared in THE DOCTOR as a young cancer patient, and in the black comedy ENID IS SLEEPING. She went on to play in INDIAN SUMMER (1993) and took the role of Wilma Flintstone in THE FLINTSTONES (1994). Later in 1994, she took the Maureen O'Hara role in the remake of MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET.

Ann Dowd (Linda)

Ann Dowd is an accomplished actor in film, television and theater. Her feature film credits include Mary Harron’s upcoming THE NOTORIOUS BETTIE PAGE; Jonathan Demme's THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE and PHILADELPHIA; Zach Braff’s GARDEN STATE; Joseph Ruben’s THE FORGOTTEN; Bryan Singer’s APT PUPIL; Alex Sichel’s ALL OVER ME; George Miller's LORENZO'S OIL; Andrew Bergman's IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU; and Peter Weir's GREEN CARD. Dowd won the 1993 Clarence Derwent Award for Most Promising Broadway Debut in "Candida," and her extensive stage credits include productions at the Lincoln Center Director's Lab, the Court Theatre in Chicago, and the Next Theatre. Her television films include AMY & ISABELLE, LUCY, and BABY. Her television work also includes recurring roles on the series “Third Watch,” “The Education of Max Bickford” and “Freaks and Geeks”; and guest starring roles on “House,” “Law and Order,” and “NYPD Blue,” among other programs.

Claire Beckman (Hillary)

Claire Beckman is active in film, stage and television. Her feature films include THE DOOR IN THE FLOOR, THE TOLLBOOTH, the award-winning THE WORMHOLE, REVOLUTION #9, POLLOCK, and FALLOUT. On television, she has appeared several times on “Law and Order” and had recurring roles on “All My Children” (as Silver Kane) and “As the World Turns” (as Sabrina Hughes.)

Beckman’s Off Broadway credits include “The Torchbearers” at Drama Dept.; “Snakebit” for Naked Angels; the title role in “Bella Belle of Byelorussia,” directed by Christopher Ashley at the WPA; “The Last Empress” at Lincoln Center; and Kevin Kline’s “Hamlet” at The Public. Regional theatre credits include leading roles at Actor’s Theatre of Louisville, Asolo Theatre, Philadelphia Drama Guild, Capital Rep, GeVa, Syracuse Stage, The Pittsburgh Public Theatre, The Meadowbook Theatre, and several Shakespeare Festivals.

Beckman received her B.F.A in Drama from Carnegie-Mellon University and studied at The National Theatre of Great Britain with Sir Anthony Hopkins and in New York with Suzanne Shepherd. She is the Producing Artistic Director of Brave New World Repertory Theatre in Brooklyn NY. The company’s productions include the upcoming "To Kill a Mockingbird," which is based on the novel by Harper Lee and received a grant from the Brooklyn Arts Council.

Mimi Lieber (Bonnie)

Mimi Lieber is active in theatre, film and television. Her feature credits include BULWORTH; CORRINA, CORRINA; GHOST IN THE MACHINE; WILDER NAPALM; LAST RESORT; NIGHTSHIFT; HBO’s BREAST MEN; and Showtime’s recent JUST ANOTHER STORY. On Broadway, she has appeared in “Brooklyn Boy,” the recent revival of “I’m Not Rappaport,” and “The Heidi Chronicles” (national tour). Regional stage credits include “We Won’t Pay, We Won’t Pay” at the Longwharf; “Figaro Gets a Divorce” at the La Jolla Playhouse; “Taking Sides,” “The Greeks,” “Accidental Death of an Anarchist,” and “Offending the Audience” at the Odyssey; “Othello” and “Much Ado About Nothing” at L.A. Shakespeare; and the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival with the Ensemble Studio Theater, a performance that won the Grand Jury Prize. Lieber’s television credits include recurring and guest star roles on “Law & Order”; “The Practice”; “Friends”; “ER”; “NYPD Blue”; “Seinfeld”; “The X-Files”; “Judging Amy”; “Early Edition”; “Dave’s World”; and “Wiseguy.”