Hollywood Wives (miniseries)
| Jackie Collins' Hollywood Wives | |
|---|---|
 Main cast of Hollywood Wives | |
| Genre | Miniseries/Drama |
| Based on |
Hollywood Wives by Jackie Collins |
| Screenplay by | Robert McCullough |
| Story by | Jackie Collins |
| Directed by | Robert Day |
| Starring |
Candice Bergen Joanna Cassidy Mary Crosby Angie Dickinson Steve Forrest Anthony Hopkins Roddy McDowall Stefanie Powers Suzanne Somers Robert Stack Rod Steiger Andrew Stevens Catherine Mary Stewart |
| Theme music composer |
Lalo Schifrin Theme performed by Laura Branigan |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of episodes | 3 x 90 mins |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) |
Howard W. Koch Robert McCullough Executive Producers: Aaron Spelling Douglas S. Cramer Supervising Producer: E. Duke Vincent |
| Editor(s) |
Fred A. Chulack Ray Daniels |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC |
| Original release | February 17, 1985 |
Jackie Collins' Hollywood Wives is a 1985 television miniseries based on the 1983 novel of the same name by Jackie Collins.
Hollywood Wives tells the stories of several women in Hollywood, from powerful talent agents and screenwriters to vivacious screen vixens and young, innocent newcomers. The miniseries generally follows the same plot as the novel, though it does omit certain subplots and characters.
Airing on ABC in February 1985, Hollywood Wives was a ratings success, capitalising on the public's taste for opulent melodramas that dominated television ratings in the 1980s. The three-part, four-and-a-half-hour production was produced by Aaron Spelling, whose hit show Dynasty was no. 1 in the ratings at the time. Like Dynasty, costume design was by Nolan Miller.
Jackie Collins herself was credited as "Creative Consultant" for the miniseries, though she later made it clear that she was not actually consulted at all during production and was less than enthusiastic about some of the casting choices.
Hollywood Wives was nominated for an Emmy Award for "Outstanding Film Editing in a Limited Series or a Special" in 1985.[1]
Main cast
- Candice Bergen as Elaine Conti
- Elaine is a Detroit girl turned Hollywood hostess, desperate to stay at the top while her marriage to former screen sex symbol Ross Conti crumbles beneath her. She is driven to improve her husband's career and her own standing within Tinseltown, but struggles to keep her secret that she is also a compulsive shoplifter.
- Joanna Cassidy as Marilee Gray
- Marilee is Elaine's close friend. A wealthy Hollywood socialite, she is the daughter of a powerful studio boss and the former wife of film director Neil Gray.
- Mary Crosby as Karen Lancaster
- Karen is the daughter of superstar actor George Lancaster, whom she does not get along with. Although friends with Elaine, Karen begins making a play for Elaine's husband Ross Conti.
- Angie Dickinson as Sadie LaSalle
- Sadie is a Hollywood agent and star-maker who was responsible for Ross Conti's stardom in the 1950s, and is now one of the most powerful women in Hollywood.
- Steve Forrest as Ross Conti
- Ross is a fading Hollywood star, now in his fifties and without a viable career.
- Anthony Hopkins as Neil Gray
- Neil is a British film director. He is a recovering alcoholic and, although he is married to talented screenwriter Montana Gray, he is also caught in a seductive web with actress Gina Germaine.
- Roddy McDowall as Jason Swankle
- Jason is a top interior designer who also runs a male escort agency which caters to lonely rich women.
- Stefanie Powers as Montana Gray
- Montana is Neil Gray's second wife. A talented screenwriter whose new screenplay Final Reunion is one of the most talked about scripts in town. She is determined to break the glass ceiling of the Hollywood studio system.
- Suzanne Somers as Gina Germaine
- Gina is a successful movie star, but is tired of her role as a Hollywood sex symbol and now wants to be taken seriously as an actress. She is willing to do anything to advance her career, including blackmailing movie director Neil Gray.
- Robert Stack as George Lancaster
- George is a beloved Hollywood superstar, a contemporary of Ross Conti's but still successful and in-demand; however, he has a strained relationship with his daughter Karen.
- Rod Steiger as Oliver Easterne
- Oliver is a Hollywood studio boss. Arrogant and abrasive, he cares only about getting box office results rather than artistic integrity.
- Andrew Stevens as Buddy Hudson
- Buddy is a young aspiring actor and former male prostitute with ambitions of stardom. Now married to Angel, he struggles to hide his past life as he attempts to make a career as an actor.
- Catherine Mary Stewart as Angel Hudson
- Angel is Buddy's new bride, trying to find her own way in a new town. Her beauty and innocence often makes her an easy target of the more unscrupulous residents of Hollywood.
Ratings
Part 1, premiering on Sunday February 17, 1985, finished in 7th place for the week but was the top rated show for the night.[2] It received a 22 rating and a 33 share. Parts 2 and 3 ranked 13th and 2nd the following week.[3]
Although a hit, Washington Post TV critic Tom Shales facetiously wrote, "Hollywood Wives didn't get quite the ratings ABC thought it would; so network executives now are rethinking their entire programming policy. They're wondering, 'Maybe we should give the public decent, intelligent, tasteful television shows.'"[4]
Video/DVD
Hollywood Wives was released on a double cassette home video in the 1980s. It was first released on DVD in 2014 in Region 2 (PAL) in certain European countries (Sweden, The Netherlands),[5] and was released in Region 1 by Visual Entertainment in December 2015.[6]