We failed to note the passing of actress Lisa Banes, who co-starred with Tom Cruise in COCKTAIL (1988) and appeared in David Fincher’s GONE GIRL (2014). She died after a hit-and-run accident in Manhattan at the age of 65, on 14 June 2021.
THE HOTEL NEW HAMPSHIRE starts as a simple tale of a family-run guesthouse in the 1950s. Beau Bridges plays “Win Berry,” a mild-mannered patriarch who spends his days in a state of perpetual bewilderment, watching helplessly as his strong-willed offspring defy his attempts to foster domestic harmony. He doesn’t know it, but his extended clan presages four decades of cultural change: “John” (Rob Lowe) is a sensitive jock who’s firmly rooted in the 50s, “Frannie” (Jodie Foster) is a 60s exponent of sexual experimentation, “Frank” (Paul McCrane) would have been right at home in the San Francisco scene of the 70s, and “Lilly” (Jennifer Dundas) is an introspective soul whose pseudo-philosophical meditations would have gone down well in the self-help era of the 80s. The script follows these diverse characters from the hills of New England to the mean streets of Vienna, charting their personal growth against a backdrop of sporadic violence, rampant sexuality, and random tragedy. Wilford Brimley plays Win’s father, “Coach ‘Iowa Bob’ Berry,” a gruff but warm-hearted old-timer. Lisa Banes made her film debut playing Win’s mother, “Mary Berry.”
Lisa Banes and Beau Bridges in THE HOTEL NEW HAMPSHIRE
Filmmaker Tony Richardson planned to produce two films simultaneously from John Irving’s novel The Hotel New Hampshire, with the intention of casting actor Timothy Hutton as “John” in both pictures. Subsequently, Richardson decided to make just one film from the novel. According to a July 1982 report, the film’s original financiers, “the Pizza Hut people,” had withdrawn from the project. In October 1982, Richardson found new financing through “a combination of foreign sales advances from J & M Film Sales, Ltd., private British investors, and a deal underway with Orion Pictures for domestic distribution.” A 4 March 1984 Los Angeles Times article reported that financing fell through three times in the two weeks prior to filming. A team of lawyers from Australia, London, New York City, and Los Angeles finally worked out the details. Although Marty Feldman had been cast in one of the roles, the actor died in December 1982, prior to the start of filming.
THE HOTEL NEW HAMPSHIRE was the final feature film directed by Tony Richardson to be released during his lifetime. He died in 1991. Richardson's film BLUE SKY (1994) was released three years his after death. He also completed four television movies released before his death. THE HOTEL NEW HAMPSHIRE was a financial flop, grossing just $5.1 million in the U.S. Reportedly, it was more successful in Europe, which John Irving attributed to the fact that The Hotel New Hampshire was a more popular book there than in the U.S.
Early in preproduction, the rock band Queen was asked to record some songs for the movie. They completed at least one song for the soundtrack, "Keep Passing the Open Windows", but the collaboration fell through. The finished film saw no Queen contribution, but that same year their album "The Works" (1984) did feature this song.
The film’s score consisted of music by composer Jacques Offenbach, arranged and conducted by Raymond Leppard, with The London Philharmonic Orchestra. The soundtrack was released on a Capitol LP, but it has not been re-issued on CD.
About a decade after this movie was released, Lisa Banes and Jennifer Dundas again played mother and daughter, in the Lincoln Center production of Tom Stoppard's play “Arcadia.”
Fred Thompson made his first film appearance, playing himself, in the 1985 true-life drama MARIE. Sissy Spacek starred as Marie Ragghianti, the first woman to head the Parole Board in the state of Tennessee. Ragghianti blew the whistle on the Governor and other state officials who were selling pardons in the state, and was fired on trumped up charges of expense account abuse. She sued the state for wrongful termination, with Fred Thompson as her lawyer, and won. Lisa Banes played “Toni Greer” in the film.
Roger Donaldson (THE BOUNTY) directed the picture. Varese Sarabande released Francis Lai's score on an LP, but it has never been re-issued on CD. MARIE did poorly at the box office, with a $2.5 million domestic gross.
In COCKTAIL, talented New York City bartender “Brian Flanagan” (Tom Cruise) is working for “Doug Coughlin” (Bryan Brown) when the pair decide to take jobs at a bar in Jamaica in order to raise money to open their own place. One night, pointing out a rich woman at the bar, Doug bets fifty dollars that Brian cannot seduce her. Brian takes the bet and flirts with the woman, a haughty New Yorker named “Bonnie” (Lisa Banes).
Lisa Banes and Tom Cruise in COCKTAIL
Roger Donaldson directed the 1988 film. Despite negative reviews, the $20 million production was a hit, grossing $171.5 million worldwide.
Composer Maurice Jarre’s score was dropped from the film at the last minute after producers Robert W. Cort and Ted Field decided the music did not “fit in” with the story. J. Peter Robinson was hired to compose a new score in only three days’ time. Jarre was paid regardless, and Buena Vista Pictures lost more money re-printing one-sheets and screening passes with Robinson’s name in place of Jarre’s. (An early poster with Jarre’s name is shown below). And although none of Jarre’s score (or Robinson’s, for that matter) appeared on the Elektra Records soundtrack release, Jarre’ credit remained in the film’s credit block on the soundtrack album’s jacket.
The film’s original song, “Kokomo,” written by Scott McKenzie, Mike Love, Terry Melcher, and John Phillips, and performed by The Beach Boys, was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song – Motion Picture, and a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group.
A group of YOUNG GUNS, led by Billy the Kid (Emilio Estevez), become deputies to avenge the murder of the rancher who became their benefactor. But when Billy takes their authority too far, they become the hunted. Lisa Banes appeared as “Mallory” in the film.
Christopher Cain directed the 1988 picture. The $13 million film landed in the top 25 films of the year, with a domestic gross of $45 million. James Horner’s score was rejected by the studio for being too Irish-sounding, and was replaced with one by Anthony Marinelli and Brian Banks. (Pre-release posters, like the one below, had Horner's credit.) The replacement score was finally released, on LP and as a download, by Rusted Wave Records in 2017.
“The Trials of Rosie O’Neill” starred Sharon Gless as a Beverly Hills lawyer-turned-public defender, coming off a nasty divorce, tired of her job as an Armani-jacketed corporate lawyer in Beverly Hills, and anxious to refocus her life. The show was hurriedly inserted in the CBS fall schedule to replace “Face to Face” after Connie Chung announced that she was curtailing her schedule to focus on getting pregnant.
Georgann Johnson played O`Neill`s socially prominent mother “Charlotte.” Ron Rifkin was her wise, sardonic boss “Ben Meyer,” an orthodox Jew who wears color-coordinated yarmulkes to the office. And Dorian Harewood was “Hank Mitchell,” Gless' up-from-the-ghetto colleague, a black guy who distrusts this latest white, well-off liberal to discover that L.A. has some mighty mean streets. Although she was fifth-billed as “Doreen Morrison,” I’ve never seen Lisa Banes or her character mentioned in any review of the series.
CBS premiered the series on Monday, 17 September 1990, at 10 PM, where the show faced NBC’s “Monday Night at the Movies” and “Monday Night Football” on ABC (the #9 show on television that season). The series aired only 15 episodes before being yanked in favor of “Northern Exposure.” “The Trials of Rosie O’Neill” burned off three additional first-run episodes later in June 1991, at 10 PM on Sundays.
Still, the show was renewed for a second season (1991-92), when it was moved to Thursday nights at 9 PM. ABC offered up two new crime half-hours, but the show’s real competition came from NBC’s “Cheers,” the season’s #4 show. After 11 episodes had aired, the series went on hiatus in favor of a news program, “Street Stories with Ed Bradley.” “Trials” returned in April to air its last 5 episodes. The series was cancelled after two seasons and 34 episodes.
The show’s theme song, entitled "I Wish I Knew", was written by Carole King and performed over the first season's credits by Melissa Manchester. The second season's intro (changed to the dismay of many fans) dropped the Manchester vocals, instead using an instrumental version of the theme. The series would revert to Manchester's vocal later on in the second season, prior to the cancellation by CBS. Carole King made a guest appearance in a first season episode, performing an extended version of the song herself along with Gless and a few other series regulars. All of these variations are presented in the clip below.
As MIAMI RHAPSODY begins, “Gwyn” (Sarah Jessica Parker) is telling her gynecologist (Lisa Banes) why she is no longer engaged to “Matt” (Gil Bellows). In flashback, we discover that despite a good relationship with this affable zookeeper, she has grown increasingly disillusioned with the idea of marriage. One after another, her mother, sister and brother all admit to cheating on their spouses. Gwyn's father, “Vic” (Paul Mazursky), glumly shares his suspicion with Gwyn that her mother, “Nina” (Mia Farrow), is having an affair with the nurse who cares for Gwyn's ailing grandmother.
David Frankel wrote and directed this 1995 romantic comedy. Mark Isham’s score was released by Hollywood Records. The $6 million film grossed a meager $5.2 million.
In THE AVENGING ANGEL, “Miles Utley” (Tom Berenger) is a professional Mormon commando/bodyguard who is forced to turn renegade and to question his faith as he investigates a scandal involving assassination and land speculation. Lisa Banes had a small role in the film as Utley’s sister, “Rebecca Heaton.”
Craig R. Baxley directed this made-for-cable film, which aired on Turner Network Television on 22 January 1995. Gary Chang’s score has not had a release.
WITHOUT LIMITS was a biographical drama about the life of renowned runner Steve Prefontaine (Billy Crudup) and his relationship with legendary coach Bill Bowerman (Donald Sutherland). Lisa Banes played Steve’s mother, Elfriede Prefontaine, in the 1998 film.
The picture was directed and co-written by Robert Towne. Randy Miller’s score has not had a release. The $25 million picture was a bomb at the box office, grossing just $777,000 domestically.
“Son of the Beach” was a American sitcom that was spoof of “Baywatch,” with much of the comedy based on sexual double entendres, puns, innuendo and the like. The show centered on the adventures of the Malibu Adjacent Shore Patrol Force 30 (SPF 30, a pun on the term Sun Protection Factor), led by the pasty, out-of-shape, clueless lifeguard “Notch Johnson” (Timothy Stack). The rest of his patrol consists of “B.J. Cummings” (Jaime Bergman), the innocent, big-chested, blonde lifeguard; “Jamaica St. Croix” (Leila Arcieri), the ghetto-raised, big-chested, mix-raced lifeguard; “Chip Rommel” (Roland Kickinger), the dumb, hunky, muscular male lifeguard who is an obvious parody of Arnold Schwarzenegger; and “Kimberlee Clark” (Kim Oja), the smart but flat-chested female lifeguard and “straight man” of the series.
Lisa Banes played “Anita Massengil”, the unpleasant Mayor of Malibu Adjacent, who wants Notch Johnson out of the SPF 30 because everyone likes him more than her and he is better than her at everything. In a running gag, the first time a scene takes place in the mayor's office in each episode, a workman is shown painting her name on the door.
Lisa Banes in “Son of the Beach”
The show premiered on the FX network on 14 March 2000 and aired 13 episodes that season. The 2001 season saw 15 episodes aired, after which Lisa Banes’ character was dropped from the series. The 2002 season was the series’ third and final season, with 14 episodes aired.
The show was cancelled unexpectedly after the third season due to a management change at FX Networks. According to Howard Stern, the show was the number one show on FX at the time, but a new program director decided to pull the show without warning.
In PUMPKIN, “Carolyn McDuffy” (Christina Ricci) is a senior at Southern California State University who loves her sorority, Alpha Omega Pi. A bright and bubbly young woman, Carolyn's life has been both easy and happy, much like her elitist mother, “Chippy” (Lisa Banes).
Yet, when sorority president “Julie Thurber” (Marisa Coughlan)—in her quest to outdo a rival house for Sorority of the Year honors—decides they should help train some mentally and physically handicapped athletes for the Challenged Games, Carolyn and her roommate, “Jeanine Kryszinsky” (Dominique Swain), raise their voices in protest.
Lisa Banes and Christina Ricci in PUMPKIN
Anthony Abrams and Adam Larson Broder co-directed this 2002 comedy drama. John Ottman’s score was released by Citadel. The film was barely seen, and grossed just $309,000.
In DRAGONFLY, when physician “Emily Darrow” (Susanna Thompson) dies in an avalanche while helping natives abroad, her body is not found. Her husband “Joe” (Kevin Costner), an emergency room doctor, becomes convinced that she is trying to communicate with him through patients at his hospital who are having near death experiences.
Joe desperately attempts to piece together clues that he believes are coming from his wife through these patients, many of whom are children in the cancer ward where she worked. Is it her? What is the message she is trying to give him?
Lisa Banes played “Flora” in the 2002 film, which was directed by Tom Shadyac. John Debney's powerful score adds to the emotional denouement, and was released by Varese Sarabande. The $60 million production was a flop at the box office, grossing just $52 million worldwide.
FREEDOM WRITERS finds idealistic new teacher “Erin Gruwell” (Hilary Swank) stepping into Room 203 at Woodrow H. Wilson High School in Long Beach, California, ready to shape young minds and turn around troubled lives. The bright daughter of a civil rights activist, Erin chose education over law and an embattled integrated school over a cushy suburban institution because she wanted to help at-risk kids before they were beyond help. Lisa Banes had a small role in the 2007 film as “Karin Polachek.”
Richard LaGravenese directed and wrote the film, based on a true story, from Erin Gruwell’s book. The film’s score, by Mark Isham and Will.i.am, shared space on the Hollywood Records CD with various rap songs. The $21 million production grossed $43 million worldwide, 80% of it in the U.S.
In GONE GIRL, “Nick Dunne” (Ben Affleck) arrives home on the day of his fifth wedding anniversary to find the door open, signs of disarray inside the house, and his wife “Amy” (Rosamund Pike) "gone". Amy is the real-life incarnation of "Amazing Amy" – a fictional children's character of books authored by her uppercrust parents “Rand Elliott” and “Marybeth Elliott” (David Clennon and Lisa Banes), and so is something of a minor celebrity. As such, her disappearance generates an intense media frenzy, and suspicion quickly falls on the hapless husband Nick, who can seem to do nothing right in terms of self-implication.
Ben Affleck, Lisa Banes, and David Clennon in GONE GIRL
David Fincher directed this 2014 mystery. The film’s score, by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, was released by Columbia. The $61 million production ended up in the top 25 films of the year with a worldwide gross of $369 million.
“Royal Pains” was a comedy-drama television series that ran on the USA Network from 2009 to 2016. It starred Mark Feuerstein as “Dr. Henry ‘Hank’ Lawson,” a formerly successful New York E.R. doctor, who is fired from his job after a wealthy hospital benefactor dies in his care. When he saves someone's life during a trip to the Hamptons, he accepts an offer from “Boris” (Campbell Scott), a rich German businessman, to remain as a "concierge doctor" in the resort community.
Paulo Costanzo is “Evan Roth Lawson,” Hank's younger brother. He is an accountant and self-appointed CFO of “HankMed.” Evan's job is to promote the HankMed business, at times using strategies that Hank finds inappropriate or too commercial. Evan’s girlfriend (and later his wife) is “Paige Collins” (Brooke D'Orsay), the adopted daughter of wealthy, conservative military man “Gen. William Collins” (Bob Gunton), who is running for the United States Congress. The General is married to “Ellen Collins” (Lisa Banes).
Lisa Banes and Bob Gunton in “Royal Pains”
The series aired for eight seasons and 104 episodes. Lisa Banes appeared in 9 episodes from 2010-2016.
Lisa Banes continued doing guest shots on television right up to the time of her fatal accident. Her most recent work aired just 3 weeks before her death. Farewell, Lisa.
The Orville episode "Gently Falling Rain" opened with an "In Memory Of". She's also appearing in S3.E10. It appears these were her last acting jobs before her untimely and tragic death. RIP.
