Illeana Douglas is an avid student of the movies who grew up, stepped onto a set and entered the big screen of her childhood dreams. Her deep interest and knowledge of film legend and lore provided her with rich opportunities to engage in meaningful conversations with the stars and directors she has imagined meeting and then encountered along her way, including Robert De Niro, Robert Redford, Marlon Brando, Martin Scorsese, Roddy McDowall and so many more. 

With a rare ability to manifest full circle moments, Illeana has  worked with the two men who upended her childhood, Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda. Their film, Easy Rider had inspired her father to check out of suburbia and into a hippy commune, leaving the family financially destitute. That struggle is documented in her award winning book, I Blame Dennis Hopper. 

As a starving actress, Illeana went to work for a publicist in the Brill Building and years later, starred in Grace of My Heart, about songwriters in the Brill Building. 

Her fascination with her lost suburban childhood led her to write a new book called, Connecticut in the movies, WHILE she was restoring her own Connecticut dream home, a similar desperate effort to that of Mr. Blandings. 

Connecticut’s role in American movies has evolved over the years from that of a metaphor for healthy, country living (Holiday Inn, Christmas In Connecticut) to a representation of our post-war suburban shift, the strain the work commute placed on marriages and the racism found in planned communities, (The Man In The Gray Flannel Suit, Gentleman’s Agreement) to a depiction of dark suburbia and societal collapse (The Swimmer, The Ice Storm), to horror and dystopia. (The Stepford Wives, Let’s Scare Jessica To Death.) 

Illeana, is a complete delight and she joins us for an in depth discussion about all things movie and many things Connecticut. Plus, elections are coming and Myra Page and Joan Bowman are here from Commit To Democracy to teach us how we can all do more than just vote this critical election season!

Path Points of Interest:

Illeana Douglas

Connecticut in the Movies: From Dream Houses To Dark Suburbia

I Blame Dennis Hopper: And Other Stories Lived From In And Out Of The Movies

Illeana Douglas on Wikipedia

Illeana Douglas on IMDB

Illeana Douglas on Instagram

Media Path Podcast

Gift of Democracy

Commit To Democracy

Commit To Democracy Facebook

Commit To Democracy Youtube

Commit To Democracy Instagram