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Remington Steele: Season 4 and 5 will be released on Aug. 15, 2006! You can pre-order the DVD now at Amazon.com!
Remington Steele Seasons 1, 2 and 3 are now out on DVD and are available at DVD retailers including Amazon.com, Wal-Mart, Best Buy and Circuit City!
Stephanie got her first taste of series TV in 1976, when she starred in a pilot for Wild About Harry, a show that, unfortunately, never took off. She also made a guest appearance on Love Boat in 1977, and in 1978 played pioneer wife Elly Zendt in part three of the epic miniseries Centennial. It was here that she met actor Gregory Harrison, who became a close friend and with whom she would star in several other roles.
Stephanie's film debut came in 1978 with the release of The Magic of Lassie, which also starred film great Jimmy Stewart. Years later, Stephanie said that Stewart was one of her favorite co-stars.
Her next film was The Awakening in 1980, in which she played the daughter of an Egyptologist who is possessed by the spirit of an evil Egyptian princess. The film co-starred another motion picture great, Charleton Heston.
Despite her ability to hold her own on the big screen opposite big-name stars, Stephanie found her niche in television. She made her first TV movies in 1977 -- Yesterday's Child, The Gathering and In the Matter of Karen Ann Quinlan, which were the first in a long line of televisions films.
Stephanie made it a point to keep busy throughout her career. In 1978, she starred in two TV movies, Forever and Long Journey Back, in addition to The Magic of Lassie. In 1979, she completed two more TV films, The Best Place to Be and The Triangle Factory Fire Scandal. In 1980 she starred in The Babysitter, where she played a murderous teen out to seduce William Shatner. She also starred with a young actress named Quinn Cummings, who would later appear in Stephanie's biggest TV series.
In 1981, Stephanie starred in Elvis and the Beauty Queen with future
TV cop Don Johnson. Another co-star in the film was actress Ann Dusenberry,
a close friend of Stephanie's, who again would show up later on Stephanie's
TV series.
In 1982 after filming Tomorrow's Child, Stephanie was offered the role of a female private investigator in a new series for NBC. At first, she was reluctant to take it. But after a few changes to the character and a little persuasion, Stephanie signed up for the role of Laura Holt in the hit TV series Remington Steele.
The series quickly became a hit -- a revelation that shocked both stars. The show made both Stephanie and her co-star, Pierce Brosnan, household names.
In 1986, amid falling ratings, NBC cancelled Remington. Stephanie
didn't intend on quitting work, however. She continued to star in TV movies,
and was rumored to be up for the female lead in the motion picture Robocop.
However, shortly after her co-star was announced as the heir-apparent to Roger
Moore in the James Bond series, NBC decided to renew Remington Steele,
claiming their interest was peaked by "surprisingly high summer ratings," and
not by the opportunity to cash in on Pierce's publicity as the new Bond. While
it is well known how the decision affected Pierce, it is often overlooked that
the renewal hurt Stephanie's future plans as well. Her chances for the Robocop
role were scrapped, and she returned to the series for six lackluster episodes.
The series was quickly cancelled again, leaving both actors without their movie
roles.
But Stephanie didn't let that stop her. She quickly jumped into more TV movie
roles. During a break from Remington in 1985, Stephanie starred in a
remake of the classic film A Letter to Three Wives, which also included
Stephanie's Remington co-star Doris
Roberts. That same year, she made Love on the Run with Alec Baldwin.
In 1987, the year Remington was cancelled -- again, Stephanie starred
in Celebration Family with former Remington co-star James
Read. She dabbled in the detective role again in 1989 in the delightful
TV film Agatha Christie's The Man in the Brown Suit. Her most critically
acclaimed role, however, came in 1990 with the Hallmark Hall of Fame production
of Caroline?. The TV film was nominated that year for both Golden Globe
and Emmy awards. Stephanie has followed up nearly every year since with a TV
production.
After Remington, Stephanie also began strongly pursuing her greatest love -- theatre. She once said the best time in her life was in 1979, when she was performing The Tempest. She won good reviews opposite Anthony Hopkins in her role in Cherry Orchard, starred with Tommy Tune in My One and Only, and starred with Matlock actress Linda Purl in The Baby Dance. In 1996, she starred with former Newhart actor Peter Scolari in Stop the World! I Want to Get Off!, a play that was later filmed and shown on the A&E network. Her appearance in the play Sylvia again won her rave reviews, and was probably one of her greatest stretches. In the play, she had the role of the family dog.
On Feb. 12, 2001, Stephanie was given the Robby Award for Best Actress in a Drama for her role of Lizzy Curry in The Rainmaker, a play presented at The Rubicon Theatre Company in Ventura, Calif. The Robby Awards are given every year to honor distinguished achievement in theater. Stephanie reprised her award-winning role in August 2001 at the same theater.
Stephanie's latest projects have included several plays and guest appearances on shows like Touched By an Angel, Diagnosis Murder and Nash Bridges, starring Stephanie's former Elvis co-star, Don Johnson. The first run of her guest appearance on Angel netted the highest ratings to that date for the series. She also completed a film in New Orleans directed by former Monkee Mickey Dolenz called Malpractice. Another recent film, The Prophet's Game, has been released on video. Her latest film, Truth, hits Lifetime on Jan. 16. Currently, she's doing what she loves best -- theatre.
Stephanie Zimbalist has more than 40 movies, TV movies, plays and series
to her credit. She has often said that she continues in her career because she
loves her work, and she hopes to continue acting for a long time to come.
Angie
Nothdorf's Stephanie Zimbalist page
Kimberly Last's Web site
Jenny Shield's Stephanie
Zimbalist page
Stephanie Zimbalist (German)
Stephanie Zimbalist - The Site
Stephanie
Zimbalist - TV Tome
Stephanie Zimbalist - Internet
Movie Database
Stephanie
Zimbalist - Yahoo! Movies
Stephanie's TV/movie appearances:
Remington Steele
Prison of Secrets, an original TV film for Lifetime.
A scene from Golden Moment: An Olympic Love Story
Stephanie's next TV appearances, courtesy of TV Now