‘Tootsie’ Cast: Where Are They Now?

Dustin Hoffman (Michael Dorsey / Dorothy Michaels)

Dustin Hoffman (Michael Dorsey / Dorothy Michaels)

By 1982, Hoffman was an Oscar winner (for “Kramer vs. Kramer”), but he also had a reputation for being a nightmare to work with, which inspired Michael Dorsey’s predicament. There was friction making “Tootsie” as well, with Hoffman insisting that Sydney Pollack play his agent as well as direct (fortunately, most of their scenes involve Pollack yelling at him). For so effectively poking fun at himself, “Tootsie” earned Hoffman his fifth of seven Oscar nominations. He’s continued to do everything from broad humor (“Meet the Fockers”) to dry satire (“Wag the Dog”) to tough-guy drama (HBO’s short-lived “Luck”). This year, <a href=”http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/02/showbiz/kennedy-center-honors/index.html”>the 75-year-old icon was honored by the Kennedy Center</a>.

Jessica Lange (Julie)

Jessica Lange (Julie)

While she’s lovely as a soap opera actress in “Tootsie,” it’s hard to believe Lange won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for it — until you consider that in 1982, she was also up against an unbeatable Meryl Streep in “Sophie’s Choice” in the Best Actress category. Lange was nominated again for “Country,” “Sweet Dreams” and “Music Box,” before winning Best Actress in 1994 for “Blue Sky.” She won her first Emmy in 2009 for “Grey Gardens” and her second for “American Horror Story.” Lange is set to return for the show’s third season next year.

Teri Garr (Sandy)

Teri Garr (Sandy)

When it came time to cast Phoebe Buffay’s mother on “Friends,” there was no one but Teri Garr for the role. She’d made a career of playing charming airheads, like Inga in “Young Frankenstein,” but it wasn’t until she played Dustin Hoffman’s luckless best friend Sandy in “Tootsie” that she got her first Oscar nomination. She’s also memorable as the long-suffering wife to Richard Dreyfuss in “Close Encounter of the Third Kind” and John Denver in “Oh, God!” Garr’s also had roles in ’90s comedies including “Dumb and Dumber” and “Michael.” She’s acted infrequently since announcing in 2002 that she has multiple sclerosis.

Charles Durning (Les)

Charles Durning (Les)

Durning played a corrupt cop in 1973’s “The Sting” and went on to roles in “Dog Day Afternoon” and “The Muppet Movie.” He received Best Supporting Actor Oscar nominations for “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” and “To Be or Not To Be.” In “Tootsie,” he plays Julie’s father, Les, who unknowingly romances Michael-as-Dorothy. More recent credits include “Home for the Holidays” and “O Brother, Where Art Thou.” He’s had recurring roles on “Everybody Loves Raymond,” “Family Guy,” and as Denis O’Leary’s father on “Rescue Me,” which earned him his eighth Emmy nomination. In 2008, he was honored with the Life Achievement Award from the Screen Actors Guild. On Dec. 24, Durning passed away at the age of 89.

Geena Davis (April)

Geena Davis (April)

Who can forget the moment in “Tootsie” when Davis takes off her top in a dressing room, causing an in-drag Hoffman to nearly lose his cool? After roles in “The Fly” and “Beetlejuice,” she received an Oscar for “The Accidental Tourist” and a nomination for the iconic “Thelma & Louise.” She reteamed with Hoffman in “Hero,” then turned action heroine for “Cutthroat Island” and “The Long Kiss Goodnight,” both of which bombed. She bounced back with the “Stuart Little” films and the lead in the series “Commander in Chief” as the first female President of the United States. Her most recent film was 2010’s “Accidents Happen.”

Bill Murray (Jeff)

Bill Murray (Jeff)

By 1982, Murray had left “Saturday Night Live,” starred in “Stripes,” and stole the show in “Caddyshack” as a gopher-hating groundskeeper. He also stole a lot of scenes in “Tootsie,” as Dustin Hoffman’s roommate who questions Michael’s sanity as he starts crossdressing. After more comedic turns in “Ghostbusters” and “Scrooged,” Murray attempted to get serious in “The Razor’s Edge,” which flopped. But he later found the right balance between comedy and drama in “Lost in Translation” and “Rushmore.” This year, he costarred in “Moonrise Kingdom” and received a Golden Globe nomination for his role as FDR in “Hyde Park on Hudson.”

Dabney Coleman (Ron)

<em>(You can see him briefly at the :49 mark)</em>

Dabney Coleman (Ron)

Coleman has specialized in playing smarmy villains as far back as the Elvis Presley film “The Trouble WIth the Girls” in 1969, and most memorably as the sexist boss in 1980’s “Nine to Five.” Coleman, who had costarred in three of Pollack’s earlier films, was originally cast in “Tootsie” as Hoffman’s agent, but Hoffman insisted that Coleman play the villainous producer instead. Coleman’s other roles include a military scientist in “WarGames,” Jane Fonda’s boyfriend in “On Golden Pond,” and Tom Hanks’s philandering father in “You’ve Got Mail.” Most recently, he played Nucky’s mentor-turned-enemy on HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire.”

Doris Belack (Rita)

In “Tootsie,” she plays the no-nonsense producer of “Southwest General.” In real-life, Belack got her start on soap operas, appearing on “One Life to Live,” as well as “Another World,” and “The Edge of Night.” She went on to play a judge in a recurring role on “Law & Order” and “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.” Her last television appearance was on a 2003 episode of “Sex and the City. ” She died in 2011, just four months after the death of her husband, producer Philip Rose.

George Gaynes (John Van Horn)

Apart from playing “The Tongue” in “Tootsie” (so nicknamed because his soap actor character loves to kiss all his costars), Gaynes was Henry Warnimont on “Punky Brewster” and Commandant Lassard in the first “Police Academy” movie. He also was a soap actor, with credits that include “General Hospital” and “Search for Tomorrow.” Now 95, Gaynes’s most recent screen credit was as Father Robert in 2003’s “Just Married.”

Lynne Thigpen (Jo)

Before appearing as a camera operator in “Tootsie” (<a href=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smTXkhM6v-Y”>who’s one of the crew members there for Dorothy Michaels’ big reveal</a>), the Tony-winning Thigpen costarred in the film “Godspell” with Victor Garber and also had prominent roles in ‘The Warriors,” “Lean on Me,” and “Shaft.” She died suddenly of a brain hemorrhage in 2003. Her last film, “Anger Management” paid tribute to her in the end credits. She received a posthumous Daytime Emmy nomination for her voicework on the children’s show “Bear in the Big Blue House,” which was put on a four-year hiatus after her death.

Sydney Pollack (George Fields)

Pollack directed more than 21 films — including “The Way We Were,” “Three Days of the Condor” and “The Firm” — and produced over 44. He was nominated for a Best Director Oscar for 1969’s “They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?” and for directing and producing “Tootsie” (he won Best Picture and Best Director for 1985’s “Out of Africa”). After playing Hoffman’s harried agent in “Tootsie,” he continued acting in his own films. His last role was as Patrick Dempsey’s father in “Made of Honor,” which was in theaters at the time of his death in 2008, from stomach cancer. His last film as a director was 2005’s “The Interpreter.”