Lee Grant

Acting

Lee Grant

Born 1925-10-31 · New York City, New York, USA

Lee Grant (born Lyova Haskell Rosenthal; October 31, 1925) is an American actress and director. She made her film debut in 1951 as a young shoplifter in William Wyler's Detective Story, co-starring Kirk Douglas and Eleanor Parker. This role earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress as well as the Best Actress Award at the 1952 Cannes Film Festival. In 1952 she was blacklisted from most acting jobs for the next 12 years. She was able to find only occasional work onstage or as a teacher during this period. It also contributed to her divorce. She was removed from the blacklist in 1962 and rebuilt her acting career. She starred in 71 TV episodes of Peyton Place (1965–1966), followed by lead roles in films such as Valley of the Dolls, In the Heat of the Night (both 1967), and Shampoo (1975), for the last of which she won an Oscar. In 1964, she won the Obie Award for Distinguished Performance by an Actress for her performance in The Maids. During her career she was nominated for the Emmy Award seven times between 1966 and 1993, winning twice. In 1986 she directed Down and Out in America which tied for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, and in the same year she also won a Directors Guild of America Award for Nobody's Child.

Acting credits

Mulholland Drive poster
7.8

Blonde Betty Elms has only just arrived in Hollywood to become a movie star when she meets an enigmatic brunette with amnesia. Meanwhile, as the two set off to solve the second woman's identity, filmmaker Adam Kesher runs into ominous trouble while casting his latest project.

Mulholland Drive

2001

Teachers poster
5.7

A teacher reconnects with an old student who is now an attorney representing a family who is suing the school for graduating their son who still cannot read or write. Amid the daily chaos of teaching in an inner city school, Alex Jurel tries to decide if he will lie at his deposition to protect the school or tell the truth and risk throwing away his career.

Teachers

1984

In the Heat of the Night poster
7.7

African-American Philadelphia police detective Virgil Tibbs is arrested on suspicion of murder by Bill Gillespie, the racist police chief of tiny Sparta, Mississippi. After Tibbs proves not only his own innocence but that of another man, he joins forces with Gillespie to track down the real killer. Their investigation takes them through every social level of the town, with Tibbs making enemies as well as unlikely friends as he hunts for the truth.

In the Heat of the Night

1967

Damien - Omen II poster
6.4

Since the sudden and suspicious deaths of his parents, young Damien has been in the charge of his wealthy aunt and uncle and enrolled in a military school. Widely feared to be the Antichrist, he relentlessly plots to seize control of his uncle's business empire — and the world.

Damien - Omen II

1978

Valley of the Dolls poster
6.0

Lured by their dreams of fame and fortune, three ambitious young women enter the world of show business and discover how easy it is to sink into a celebrity nightmare of ego, alcohol and pills — the beloved "dolls."

Valley of the Dolls

1967

Airport '77 poster
5.6

Flight 23 has crashed in the Bermuda Triangle after a hijacking gone wrong. Now the surviving passengers must brave panic, slow leaks, oxygen depletion, and more while attempting a daring plan, all while 200 feet underwater.

Airport '77

1977

Voyage of the Damned poster
6.0

A luxury liner carries Jewish refugees from Hitler's Germany in a desperate fight for survival.

Voyage of the Damned

1976

Defending Your Life poster
6.9

Is there love after death? After he dies suddenly, the hapless advertising executive Daniel Miller finds himself in Judgment City, a gleaming way station where the newly deceased must prove they lived a life of sufficient courage to advance in their journey through the universe. As the self-doubting Daniel struggles to make his case, a budding relationship with the uninhibited Julia offers him a chance to finally feel alive.

Defending Your Life

1991

The Swarm poster
5.0

Scientist Dr. Bradford Crane and army general Thalius Slater join forces to fight an almost invisible enemy threatening America; killer bees that have deadly venom and attack without reason. Disaster movie-master Irwin Allen's film contains spectacular special effects, including a train crash caused by the eponymous swarm.

The Swarm

1978

Shampoo poster
6.0

On Election Day, 1968, irresponsible hairdresser and ladies' man George Roundy is too busy cutting hair and dealing with his girlfriends and mistress Felicia Karpf, whose husband Lester is having an affair with his ex-girlfriend Jackie.

Shampoo

1975

Visiting Hours poster
5.5

A deranged, misogynistic killer assaults a journalist. When he discovers that she survived the attack, he follows her to the hospital to finish her off.

Visiting Hours

1982

Earth and the American Dream poster
6.7

A beautiful and disturbing film recounts America’s story from the environment’s point of view. From the arrival of Columbus to the simple wilderness living of the 16th and 17th centuries, through the agrarian lifestyle of the 18th century, the changes from the Industrial Revolution, to the 20th century when most of the planet’s resources have been depleted — this film examines the North American landscape and all the wildlife destruction, deforestation, soil depletion and pollution that have been wrought to make the American Dream come true.

Earth and the American Dream

1992

Dr. T & the Women poster
4.9

A successful Texas gynecologist finds himself amid a bevy of women and their problems – his wife’s breakdown, his daughter's fake marriage, his other daughter’s conspiracy theories, and his secretary’s crush. Craving time for himself, he finds solace in a kind outsider.

Dr. T & the Women

2000

There Was a Crooked Man... poster
6.8

A charming but ruthless criminal is sent to a remote Arizona prison, where he enlists the help of his cellmates in an escape attempt with the promise of sharing his hidden loot.

There Was a Crooked Man...

1970

The Mafu Cage poster
5.9

Two strange sisters live in a crumbling mansion, where they keep a pet ape, which belonged to their late father, locked in a cage. While one of the sisters seems to be keeping her head on straight, as it were, the other appears to be sinking further and further into barbarism and insanity.

The Mafu Cage

1978

TVTV Looks at the Oscars poster
6.3

Made in 1976, TVTV's close-up look at Hollywood's annual awards ritual mixes irreverent documentary with deadpan comedy. TVTV's cameras go behind the scenes to follow major Hollywood figures (including Steven Spielberg, Michael Douglas, Lee Grant, Jack Nicholson, and many others), capturing them in candid moments—inside their limousines, dressing for the ceremony, backstage at the awards.

TVTV Looks at the Oscars

1976

The Big Town poster
5.5

It is 1957. J.C. Cullen is a young man from a small town, with a talent for winning at craps, who leaves for the big city to work as a professional gambler. While there, he breaks the bank at a private craps game at the Gem Club, owned by George Cole, and falls in love with two women, one of them Cole's wife.

The Big Town

1987

Detective Story poster
7.0

Tells the story of one day in the lives of the various people who populate a police detective squad. An embittered cop, Det. Jim McLeod, leads a precinct of characters in their grim daily battle with the city's lowlife. The characters who pass through the precinct over the course of the day include a young petty embezzler, a pair of burglars, and a naive shoplifter.

Detective Story

1951

Marooned poster
6.0

After spending several months in an orbiting lab, three astronauts prepare to return to Earth only to find their de-orbit thrusters won't activate. After initially thinking they might have to abandon them in orbit, NASA decides to launch a daring rescue. Their plans are complicated by a hurricane headed towards the launch site—and a shrinking air supply in the astronauts' capsule.

Marooned

1969

Little Miss Marker poster
6.6

Sorrowful Jones is a cheap bookie in the 1930s. When a gambler leaves his daughter as a marker for a bet, he gets stuck with her. His life changes a great deal with her arrival and he finds sudden love for a woman also involved in gambling operations.

Little Miss Marker

1980

Middle of the Night poster
7.0

Jerry Kingsley is a wealthy garment manufacturer left lonely in his 50s when his wife dies. Despite the difference in their ages, he strikes up a romance with divorced 24-year-old receptionist Betty. The relationship is dismissed by his daughter, Lillian, discouraged by his sister, Evelyn, and denounced by Betty's mother. But when Jerry begins to mention marriage, even Betty is forced to confront her ambivalence.

Middle of the Night

1959

Poor Liza poster
9.0

A beautiful peasant girl is romanced and abandoned by a young nobleman.

Poor Liza

2000

Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen poster
5.2

Famous detective Charlie Chan is called out of retirement to help a San Francisco detective solve a mysterious series of murders. With his bumbling grandson as his sidekick, Chan also encounters an old nemesis known as the Dragon Queen who is the prime suspect.

Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen

1981

For Ladies Only poster
4.7

An aspiring young actor moonlights as a male stripper while looking for work in the theatre.

For Ladies Only

1981

Behind the camera

Staying Together poster
5.2

After their father abruptly sells the beloved family-owned restaurant that has employed them for years, the charismatic McDermott boys - hot-tempered Brian (Quill), lovelorn Kit (Mulroney) and jokester Duncan (Astin) - find themselves at odds with their parents and each other.

Staying Together

1989

The Golden Girls: Lifetime Intimate Portrait Series poster
9.4

Lifetime's "Intimate Portrait" series shines a spotlight on the Golden Girls -- Bea Arthur, Betty White, Estelle Getty and Rue McClanahan -- with a collection of four programs offering an up-close look at the remarkable lives of the hit show's stars. Valerie Harper, John Ritter and Alex Trebek narrate this tribute, with guests including Angela Lansbury, Mary Tyler Moore, Edward Asner, Rosie O'Donnell and many others.

The Golden Girls: Lifetime Intimate Portrait Series

2003

Seasons of the Heart poster
4.4

After her own daughter abandons her child, an ambitious and orderly publisher has little choice but to raise the grandchild as her own.

Seasons of the Heart

1994

Sidney Poitier: One Bright Light poster
6.7

Actor/director Sidney Poitier discusses his life and career. He tells of his upbringing in Jamaica; the difficulties he encountered in New York City at the start of his career; his involvement in the US civil-rights movement; and efforts to end apartheid in South Africa. Friends and acquaintances, as well as other performers, give their insights about what makes him so special.

Sidney Poitier: One Bright Light

2000

Nobody's Child poster
7.4

Fact-based drama about the life of Marie Balter, who spent most of her young life in mental institutions. At age 16, she first attempted suicide and the next 20 years she spent in and out of the institutions. At last, a caring doctor started treating her for extreme depression and panic disorder. Weened from strong medications she had taken all her life, at age 36, she emerged for the last time and started a rehabilitation program in the home of a volunteer married couple. There she met a fellow patient with whom she developed a romantic relationship. She also started a college degree. This followed with a long-term professional success in the field of mental health.

Nobody's Child

1986

A Matter of Sex poster
7.3

Dramatization of the true story of the so-called Willmar Eight, a group of Minnesota bank workers who braved freezing conditions whilst picketing their branch in a struggle for union rights.

A Matter of Sex

1984

Reunion poster
4.3

The undying bond between a mother and her beloved son nearly destroys the lives of an entire family. Jessie Yates (Marlo Thomas) is torn between the ghost of her son and the life she has created with her husband and family.

Reunion

1994

A Father… A Son… Once Upon a Time in Hollywood poster
6.4

Kirk Douglas achieved the kind of cinematic stardom that dreams are made of. As the torch was passed to his talented son Michael, it became obvious to everyone that the Douglas dynasty would continue to thrive…

A Father… A Son… Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

2005

A Father… A Son… Once Upon a Time in Hollywood poster
6.4

Kirk Douglas achieved the kind of cinematic stardom that dreams are made of. As the torch was passed to his talented son Michael, it became obvious to everyone that the Douglas dynasty would continue to thrive…

A Father… A Son… Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

2005

The Loretta Claiborne Story poster
6.0

A disabled young girl from a disadvantaged home setting develops self esteem and success in life through Special Olympics competition. Based on the true story of Loretta Claiborne.

The Loretta Claiborne Story

2000

No Place Like Home poster
6.7

A Pittsburgh apartment superintendent loses his job and home when the apartment building where he lives and works at is suddenly destroyed by fire. Daniel and his family moves in with his brother but that doesn't last for long due to the two families not getting along with each other. The family moves from rundown hotels to homeless shelters as Daniel searches work as a electrician while his wife takes waitress jobs to try to make ends meet.

No Place Like Home

1989

What Sex Am I? poster
5.3

A group of transgender individuals are struggling to make their way in every stratum of 1980s America. From finding employment to finding acceptance, the first question the world forces them to ask is always, "What Sex Am I?"

What Sex Am I?

1985

Tell Me a Riddle poster
6.8

Aging couple David and Eva have lost the spark that once infused their marriage. After nearly four decades together, the elderly duo is feel disconnected and lost. When they discover that Eva is sick, they decide to travel across the country to stay with their granddaughter in San Francisco. On the trip, with Eva's possible death looming, the couple rediscovers the passion and love that had been missing from their lives.

Tell Me a Riddle

1980

Following Her Heart poster
5.7

A Swedish woman, married to a domineering man for 35 years, is "set free" upon her husband's death. While she is the heir to his estate, she is only allowed $300. Ready to pursue her passion in music, she moves to Nashville where she meets her longtime pen-pal and scores the opportunity to perform in a small club.

Following Her Heart

1994

When Women Kill poster
6.0

When Women Kill is a poignant documentary exploring the shocking violence that seven women fell victim to at the hands of men. The program profiles the battered women who speak frankly about the cruel abuse, threats, and fears, and the overassertive men who led them down a one-way path to death and destruction. The film features in-prison footage, including a segment depicting a confession by a follower of the notorious Charles Manson, Leslie Van Houten, who was convicted of two killing sprees and committed to life in prison.

When Women Kill

1983

Battered poster
7.5

Lee Grant's acclaimed 1989 investigation of domestic violence in American Homes. Battered is the powerful, if harrowing portrait of a life lived in constant fear of the people closest to you. Intimate interviews with the victims and children of the cycle are combined with the eye opening and heart breaking stories of the abusers themselves to take you deeper into every facet of these American lives.

Battered

1989

Battered poster
7.5

Lee Grant's acclaimed 1989 investigation of domestic violence in American Homes. Battered is the powerful, if harrowing portrait of a life lived in constant fear of the people closest to you. Intimate interviews with the victims and children of the cycle are combined with the eye opening and heart breaking stories of the abusers themselves to take you deeper into every facet of these American lives.

Battered

1989

Down and Out in America poster
6.9

The recession of the 1980s split the country into the haves and have-nots, from family farmers to factory workers and homeless people forced to live in decrepit welfare hotels. On the verge of losing everything, courageous Americans discover the power of community organizing to fight injustice.

Down and Out in America

1986

The Stronger poster
7.3

Adaptation of a Strindberg play by Lee Grant for the 1974 AFI Directing Workshop for Women. Restored in 2022 by the Academy Film Archive and The Film Foundation. Restoration funding provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation. 

The Stronger

1976

The Stronger poster
7.3

Adaptation of a Strindberg play by Lee Grant for the 1974 AFI Directing Workshop for Women. Restored in 2022 by the Academy Film Archive and The Film Foundation. Restoration funding provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation. 

The Stronger

1976

Cindy Eller: A Modern Fairy Tale poster
9.0

A contemporary remake of "Cinderella"

Cindy Eller: A Modern Fairy Tale

1985

For the Use of the Hall poster
6.5

A penniless heiress, a disillusioned nun, the suicidal playwright they both love, a hapless art forger and the playwright's wife converge on the empty Long Island home of an aging matriarch and squabble among themselves about their relative success or failure.

For the Use of the Hall

1975

No artwork available
7.0

Documentary about gun control focusing on how women feel about owning guns. The program features both sides of the gun-control issue, including victims of violent gun-related crimes and those who are passionate advocates of the right to bear arms.

The Gun Deadlock

2001

No artwork available
10.0

Documentary on breast cancer featuring a series of interviews with survivors and their families. Director and host Lee Grant speaks with support groups, doctors and activists whose lives are dedicated to the fight against breast cancer

Say It, Fight It, Cure It

1997