Donna Dixonwas a staple of 1980s comedies, frequently appearing alongside her husband, Dan Aykroyd, in some of the decade’s classics. Dixon began her career as a model, winning Miss Virginia USA in 1976 and competing in both Miss USA 1976 and Miss World USA 1977 (via2Paragraphs). She began her acting career in 1980, with a starring role in the early Tom Hanks vehicleBosom Buddies. Her Miss USA looks, and modeling background naturally had Dixon cast as romantic leads or girls next door, but that belied her real talent as a multidimensional actor.
In her first film,Doctor Detroit, Dixon met Dan Aykroyd, and the pair married that same year.The ever-funny Dan Aykroydand the charming Dixon made a great pair in the next three films they made together. They also had three children together; Danielle, Belle, and Stella. In April 2022,after 39 years of marriage, Dixon and Aykroyd announced they would be separating, though remaining legally married and staying close friends (viaPeople). The news came a few years after her retirement in 2020, but she has retired before, so there’s no telling if she’ll decide to return again.
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The Love Boat
Cast
The Love Boat is a romantic comedy television series that aired from 1977 to 1986. The show is set on the fictional cruise ship Pacific Princess, where the crew and passengers navigate love, relationships, and personal growth while sailing to exotic destinations.
The Love Boatwas an ABC romantic comedy-drama set on the cruise shipMS Pacific Princess. The series followed the crew of the ship and in particular their Captain, Merrill Stubing (Gavin MacLeod). Guest actors would frequently appear on the show to play the new visitors on the boat, who had all variety of romantic, humorous, and thrilling adventures.
Plenty of big names appeared in the series, including Scott Baio, Kathy Bates, Ed Begley Jr., and more. To be a part of the historic show is a feather in anyone’s cap. And so it is for Donna Dixon, who played Dr. Jill McGraw in season 5, episodes 1 and 2. There isn’t all that much for Dixon to do in the episode, but she fits in well with the comedic-dramatic tone of the series andher presence alone was an important indication that she was on the right track career-wise.
Wayne’s World
Penelope Spheeris takes the classic Saturday Night Live recurring sketch and expands it into its own film with Wayne’s World, a comedy film that stars Mike Myers and Dana Carvey as Wayne and Garth. The movie follows the two music fans as they begin to climb the ladder of success by taking their public access show in their basement to a worldwide audience after “selling out,” leading the two stuck in a situation where they lose creative control of their passion project - and must find a way to take it back.
Thoughthe classic comedy is over 30 years oldat this point,Wayne’s Worldis still a milestone in Mike Myers and Dana Carvey’s careers, as well as proof thatThe Blues Brotherswas not a one-off success forSNLmovies. Based on the sketch of the same name,Wayne’s Worldfollows Wayne Campbell (Myers) and Garth Algar (Carvey), two rock enthusiasts who host their own public-access TV show.
This “Dream Woman”, as she’s titled, is played by Donna Dixon, and she does fit the bill as the type of girl-next-door who would have a dorky guy like Garth tongue-tied.
While Wayne is outgoing, Garth is much more stereotypically nerdy and can’t even bring himself to talk to the cute girl who works at Stan Mikita’s Donuts. This “Dream Woman”, as she’s titled, is played by Donna Dixon, and she does fit the bill as the type of girl-next-door who would have a dorky guy like Garth tongue-tied. It’s an extra fun role for Dixon because her husband, Aykroyd, isSNLroyalty, and he starred in the firstSNLmovie,The Blues Brothers. It’s only fair his wife would get a role in the show’s second movie.
The Couch Trip
The Couch Trip is a comedy film starring Dan Aykroyd as John Burns, a con artist who escapes from a mental institution and impersonates a renowned psychiatrist. Walter Matthau and Charles Grodin co-star as the real psychiatrist and his associate, respectively. Directed by Michael Ritchie, the film explores the humorous consequences of Burns' deception as he becomes an unlikely celebrity therapist in Los Angeles.
is the last movie that featured both Donna Dixon and Dan Aykroyd. The movie follows John W. Burns, Jr. (Aykroyd), a man staying at a psychiatric hospital who is brought to see Dr. Lawrence Baird (David Clennon). A series of coincidences leads John to impersonate Lawrence and travel to Los Angeles to appear regularly on a therapy radio show.
There, he meets Dr. Laura Rollins (Dixon), an assistant of the doctor who runs the radio show. The film was not a huge hit upon release and has only some mildly amusing jokes and gags that make it feel more like a waste than anything.Dixon is perfectly capablein her role as Laura. She plays a beleaguered, hard-working employee who starts to enjoy the change of pace John’s antics bring to the radio station.
Speed Zone (1989)
The film was also known asCannonball Fever,One for the Money, andSpeedzone Fever.
Tiffany is teamed up with a talented parking valet, Charlie Cronan (John Candy), for the race.Speed Zonemet nowhere near the same acclaim as the first twoCannonball Runfilms, butCandy and Dixon’s scenes are a highlight. Cronan’s “aw shucks” personality combined with Tiffany’s naive and hyper-Hollywood glam makes for a very funny “odd couple” combination.
Who’s the Boss
Who’s the Boss is a sitcom that ran from 1984 to 1992 and was created by Martin Cohan and Blake Hunter. The series stars Tony Danza, Alyssa Milano, and Judith Light. The premise follows a former Major League Baseball player who moves in as a housekeeper for an advertising executive.
InWho’s the Boss, a former Major League Baseball player, Tony Micelli (Tony Danza), takes a job as a live-in housekeeper in Fairfield, CT for the high-powered Angela Bower (Judith Light) so he can move his daughter out of the chaotic New York City. Donna Dixon appears in season 2, episode 26, “Charmed Lives”, as Lauren Sullivan, a photographer on the set of a commercial Angela is working on. Joyce (Fran Drescher) is set to star in the commercial, but Lauren is suddenly picked for the part.
Angela, caught in the middle, has to mediate, just like Tony usually has to do for the children back at home. Watching Drescher and Dixon go to war against one another with an exasperated Light caught in the middle makes for a lot of funny moments.This episode was also a backdoor pilot for aCharmed Livesseries, starring Dixon and Drescher, though it never materialized.
Twilight Zone: The Movie
Twilight Zone: The Movie is a science fiction horror anthology film directed by John Landis, Steven Spielberg, Joe Dante, and George Miller. The film features four separate stories, each based on an episode of the original Twilight Zone series, with a framing device that connects the segments. The film explores themes of reality, morality, and the supernatural, featuring an ensemble cast including Dan Aykroyd, Albert Brooks, and Vic Morrow.
Donna Dixon co-stars in the fourth segment ofTwilight Zone: The Movie, a remake of the famous episode, “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet”, directed by George Miller. Dixon plays a junior flight attendant responsible for trying to calm down a passenger, John Valentine (John Lithgow), who believes he sees a gremlin on the wing of the plane.It’s one of the most famousTwilight Zoneepisodesand Miller, Dixon, and everyone else help give it its proper due.
Tragically,the sad events that occurred while filmingTwilight Zone: The Movienecessarily overshadow the film itself. The deaths of Vic Morrow and child actors Myca Dinh Le and Renee Shin-Yi Chen led to an overhaul of movie set safety and cemented the film in the history of Hollywood forever after. Donna Dixon, for better or worse, is now a part of that history too.
Spies Like Us (1985)
Spies Like Usis a Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd-led comedy that follows Emmett Fitz-Hume (Chase) and Austin Millbarge (Aykroyd). These two bumbling members of the US spy apparatus are elevated to high clearances so they can act as unwitting decoys on a mission to the Soviet Union. Donna Dixon plays Karen Boyer, one of the real members of the Soviet Union infiltration team, and the only surviving operative.
Spies Like Uswas only lukewarmly received but has since gained a bit of cult appreciation.
Calm, cool, and collected, Karen is a bit underwhelmed to find that only Emmett and Austin are here to help her. Dixon does an excellent job playing the straight woman to Aykroyd and Chase and never feels outclassed on-screen, even with the two comedy legends firing off one-liners back and forth.Spies Like Uswas only lukewarmly received but has since gained a bit of cult appreciation.
Doctor Detroit
Doctor Detroit is a comedy film directed by Michael Pressman. Dan Aykroyd stars as Clifford Skridlow, a mild-mannered college professor who inadvertently steps into the world of crime as the flamboyant and eccentric pimp, Doctor Detroit. The film follows Skridlow’s adventures in maintaining his double life while evading the wrath of a formidable mobster, played by Kate Murtagh.
Doctor Detroitwas Donna Dixon’s feature film debut and the set on which she met Dan Aykroyd,who would later become her husband of over four decades. In the film, a shy college professor, Clifford Skridlow (Dan Aykroyd), is roped into a turf war between a pimp, “Smooth” Walker (Howard Hesseman), and a Chicago mob boss, “Mom” (Kate Murtagh). Clifford poses as “Doctor Detroit”, a pimp, to protect Smooth’s sex workers, including Monica McNeil (Dixon).
This is the first film Dan Aykroyd made after the death of his long-time screen partner John Belushi.
It’s a flashy and fun part from Dixon, who is clearly having fun in the role, playing up the wilder parts of her character. Watching the introverted Clifford having to pretend to enjoy the party life is hilarious and while some parts of the movie are a mess, it’s a very enjoyable mess. The chemistry between Dixon and Aykroyd is also palpable, which is understandable considering they married soon after.
Lucky Stiff
Lucky Stiff (1988) is a dark comedy film directed by Anthony Perkins. It stars Joe Alaskey as Ron Douglas, a down-on-his-luck shoe salesman who finds himself in a bizarre series of events after attending a dinner party turned deadly. With a supporting cast that includes Donna Dixon and Jeff Kober, the film blends elements of horror and satire, presenting a unique narrative filled with unexpected twists.
Lucky Stiff, a strange and relatively unknown black comedy, is Donna Dixon’s only starring film role. In the film, Ron Douglas (Joe Alaskey) is a hopeless romantic whose second wedding has just fallen apart after his bride left him at the altar. He retreats to the mountains to be alone. There he meets the beautiful Cynthia (Donna Dixon), who takes a shine to him and invites him to her family’s home for Christmas. It’s there he learns the family are the descendants of the Donner Party, andhe’s not over for dinner, he is the dinner.
It’s a wild concept, but Dixon knows exactly what type of film she’s in and plays the sweet girl-next-door and hungry cannibal with equal energy and dedication.
It’s a wild concept, but Dixon knows exactly what type of film she’s in and plays the sweet girl-next-door and hungry cannibal with equal energy and dedication. The film allows Dixon to explore a much wider range than her more one-note characters usually do.Lucky Stiffhas since become a cult favorite. While the story may be a bit too much, the light tone and happy ending keep things more festive than the plot would suggest.
Bosom Buddies
Bosom Buddies is an American sitcom that aired from 1980 to 1982, starring Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari. The series follows two men who disguise themselves as women to live in an affordable, women-only apartment complex. Their deception leads to a series of comedic situations as they navigate their unique living arrangement while maintaining their professional careers in advertising. The show blends humor with themes of friendship and identity.
Before he became amovie star, Tom Hanks had a starring role in the sitcomBosom Buddiesas Kip Amos Wilson. Kip and his pal, Henry Desmond (Peter Scolari) disguise themselves as women in order to pay dirt cheap rent at the Susan B. Anthony hotel, which only serves women. One of the occupants is Sonny Lumet, played by Donna Dixon, who becomes Kip’s love interest.
WhileBosom Buddiesis decidedly outdated, it still has some great performances from Hanks, Scolari, and Dixon. Sonny is funny and intelligent and helps carry the two seasons, being one of the few actors not replaced or written off the show. The series featured a quirky sense of humor thatDonna Dixonslid easily into, and it was in this early role where it became obvious how well she could balance comedic and romantic moments.
