Career
Dunn joined SNL in 1985 with the return of Lorne Michaels as executive producer. The 1985–1986 season proved to be a ratings disaster, and she was one of only five cast members who were not fired at its end (the others were newcomers Jon Lovitz, A. Whitney Brown, Dennis Miller and longtime featured player Al Franken). As part of the 1986–1987 cast including newcomers Dana Carvey, Phil Hartman, Jan Hooks, Victoria Jackson, and Kevin Nealon, Dunn would be part of what was considered the show's second golden age.
Although she never became one of its breakout stars, Dunn was a dependable supporting player. Her characters included half of "The Sweeney Sisters" lounge act alongside Hooks, as well as talk show host Pat Stevens (which became a popular recurring role starting in the low-rated 1985–1986 season), melodramatic French hooker Babette, and film buff Ashley Ashley from the "Actors on Film" sketch from the 1985–1986 season. Her many impressions included Ann Landers, Imelda Marcos, Liza Minnelli, Tyne Daly, Joan Baez, Martina Navratilova, and Cokie Roberts.
Dunn made headlines in 1990 when she, along with original musical guest Sinéad O'Connor, boycotted an episode which was hosted by comedian Andrew Dice Clay because they found his misogynistic humor offensive. SNL alumnus Jon Lovitz discussed Dunn's boycott of the show in detail during an episode of “The ABC’s of SNL” with director Kevin Smith. "It's the last show of the season. Nora...she caused a lot of trouble. was very hard to get along with, and they weren't going to ask her back, anyway...And this is how the press works. And I'm telling you I'm on the inside of this. They don't know the story. It's like she's just doing it to get press. It's her last hurrah. They're not asking her back onto the show." Since being fired from SNL, in addition to numerous feature film roles, she has gone back to television with recurring roles on Sisters from 1993–1996 and The Nanny from 1998–1999, as well as a guest-starring role in a two-part episode of The X-Files in 1998.
Her participation in films include Miami Blues with Alec Baldwin, Three Kings with George Clooney, Runaway Jury with John Cusack and Zoolander with Ben Stiller, and most recently the hit independent film Love for Rent (2005), Pineapple Express (2008), and My Suicide (2009) with Gabriel Sunday. She appeared on LOL in 2012.
Read more about this topic: Nora Dunn
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