Cindy Pickett

Cindy Pickett (born April 18, 1947) is an American actress.

She is known for her 1970s role as Jackie Marler-Spaulding on the CBS soap Guiding Light; her role as Dr. Carol Novino on the television drama St. Elsewhere in the 1980s; for her critically acclaimed performance as the real-life Kay Stayner, the mother of a boy who was kidnapped for several years, in the dramatic TV movie I Know My First Name Is Steven; and for her cinematic roles and performances as Valerie St. John in Roger Vadim's little-known 1980 erotic cult film, Jeux de Nuit / Night Games, for which she would have the leading role, and as the tough-as-nails and heroic Dr. Jane Norris in the 1989 sci-fi-horror film DeepStar Six.

Pickett, however, is best known to audiences for her lighter turn as Katie Bueller, Matthew Broderick's loving and unsuspecting mother, in the 1986 classic American comedy movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

Biography

Career

Pickett made a major departure from her soap opera image when she played the central role in the 1980 erotic film Jeux de Nuit / Night Games, directed by Roger Vadim. It was a sexually charged role involving numerous nude scenes, however the film went unnoticed and did not boost Pickett's career. In the 1981 mystery/crime drama Margin for Murder, Pickett played the role of Velda, Mike Hammer's (Kevin Dobson) loyal and devoted secretary. She played "Jackie Marler" on the soap opera The Guiding Light from 1976 to 1980, "Vanessa Sarnac" on the ABC weekly TV series Call to Glory from 1984 to 1985, and she appeared on the hospital drama TV series St. Elsewhere from 1986 to 1988. In 1991 she played the part of Addy Mathewson in the TV movie/pilot Plymouth, which at the time was considered to be one of the most expensive such movies ever made.

Elisabeth Shue

Elisabeth Judson Shue (born October 6, 1963) is an American actress, known for her roles in the films The Karate Kid (1984), Adventures in Babysitting (1987), Cocktail (1988), Back to the Future Part II (1989), Back to the Future Part III (1990), Soapdish (1991), Leaving Las Vegas (1995), The Saint (1997), and Hollow Man (2000). She has won several acting awards and has been nominated for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe and a BAFTA. In February 2012, she began starring as Julie Finlay in the CBS police drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, a role she continued to play until the end of the series' 15th season in 2015.

Early life

Shue was born in Wilmington, Delaware, the daughter of Anne Brewster (née Wells; b.1938), and James William Shue (1936–2013), a one-time congressional candidate, lawyer, and real estate developer, who was president of the International Food and Beverage Corporation. Her mother was a vice president in the private banking division of the Chemical Banking Corporation Shue grew up in South Orange, New Jersey. Her parents divorced when she was nine. Shue's mother was a descendant of Pilgrim leader William Brewster, while her father's family emigrated from Germany to Pennsylvania in the early 19th century. Shue was raised with her three brothers, Will, Andrew, and John, and was very close to her siblings. Her younger brother, Andrew, is also an actor, best known for his role as Billy Campbell in the Fox series Melrose Place. Shue graduated from Columbia High School, in Maplewood, New Jersey, where she and Andrew were inducted into the school's Hall of Fame in 1994. She has two half-siblings from her father's remarriage, Jenna and Harvey Shue.

Call to Glory

Call to Glory is an American television series that aired 23 episodes during the 1984–1985 TV season (specifically from August 1984 to February 1985) on the ABC-TV network.

The show focused on USAF pilot Colonel Raynor Sarnac (Craig T. Nelson) and his family, living near Edwards Air Force Base during the early 1960s.

Heavily promoted during ABC's broadcast of the 1984 Summer Olympics, the pilot episode aired August 13, 1984. The first episode related to the U-2 flights over Cuba during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. During its production run, the show came to focus more on the loneliness experienced by wife Vanessa Sarnac (Cindy Pickett) while stationed on base and what she and the family would do to spend time in productive pursuits while enduring the Antelope Valley's then more noticeable isolation from civilization.

The series was an early appearance of in the career of actor Elisabeth Shue, who starred as the Sarnacs' daughter.

Trivia

Craig T. Nelson received familiarization rides in USAF jets at Edwards Air Force Base during the filming of the series, including flights in the T-38 Talon, the F-4 Phantom II, and the F-16 Fighting Falcon. On one particular flight in the F-16, the aircraft suffered an electrical failure. Nelson and his pilot prepared to bail out, however, the pilot was able to safely land the aircraft.

Craig T. Nelson

Craig Theodore Nelson (born April 4, 1944) is an American actor and former comedian. He is best known for his Emmy-winning role as Hayden Fox on the TV series Coach, Deputy Ward Wilson in the 1980 film Stir Crazy, Steven Freeling in the 1982 film Poltergeist, the Warden in My Name is Earl, and Mr. Incredible in the 2004 film The Incredibles. He also starred in the TV series Parenthood.

Early life

Nelson was born in Spokane, Washington, the son of Vera Margaret (née Spindler) (1906–1971), a dancer, and Armand Gilbert Nelson (1900–1964), a businessman. Nelson has a brown belt in karate. In high school, Nelson was the quarterback of the football team and also played baseball. He attended Central Washington University studying criminology as he wanted to work for the CIA. He dropped out and went to Yakima Valley Community College to study English literature, but he dropped out again. He spent a semester abroad studying communications at Northfielde Universität Herisau in Switzerland. He eventually received a drama scholarship to the University of Arizona. Nelson did summer stock theatre in Cripple Creek, Colorado. He then moved to the west, where he worked as a security guard at a soap factory in the day and took acting classes at night.