''Those She Left Behind'' is a 1989 American

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Waris Hussein Waris Hussein (''né'' Habibullah; born 9 December 1938) is a British-Indian television and film director. At the beginning of his career he was employed by the BBC as its youngest drama director. He directed early episodes of ''Doctor Who'', inc ...

and starring

Gary Cole Gary Michael Cole (born September 20, 1956) is an American actor. He began his professional acting career on stage at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company in 1985. His breakout role was playing Jack 'Nighthawk' Killian in the NBC series '' M ...

Joanna Kerns Joanna Kerns is an American actress and director best known for her role as Maggie Seaver on the ABC sitcom ''Growing Pains'' from 1985 to 1992. Early life Kerns was born Joanna Crussie DeVarona in San Francisco, California. Her older sister ...

, and

Mary Page Keller Mary Page Keller (born March 3, 1961) is an American actress known for roles on television. She began her career on the daytime soap operas '' Ryan's Hope'' (1982–83) and '' Another World'' (1983–1985) and later starred in a number of televis ...

. Its plot concerns a father forced to raise his newborn daughter alone after the unexpected death of his wife of an extremely rare condition during childbirth. It was inspired by the sitcom ''

Full House ''Full House'' is an American television sitcom created by Jeff Franklin for American Broadcasting Company, ABC. The show is about the recently widowed father Danny Tanner who enlists his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis and childhood best friend ...

'' and enjoyed some of the sitcom's success due to some shared themes as well as similar casting. Co-star

Colleen Dewhurst Colleen Rose Dewhurst (June 3, 1924 – August 22, 1991) was a Canadian-American actress mostly known for theatre roles. She was a renowned interpreter of the works of Eugene O'Neill on the stage, and her career also encompassed film, early dra ...

won a 1989

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress - Miniseries or a Movie The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie is an award presented annually by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). It is given in honor of an actress who has delivered an outs ...

Plot

stars as Scott Grimes, a man who owns a rising realty business. His wife Sue, played by

, is pregnant with their first child. So it would seem Scott has everything a man could ever want. Unfortunately, when Sue is giving birth, she ends up passing away due to a pregnancy complication. Their daughter, Katie, is saved. Now Scott is left to shoulder the burden of losing his wife so suddenly, along with being a single father. He hires a few nannies to care for her with no success. He even brings her to work with him to care for her. The stress is overwhelming, but he is dealing with it. However, the breaking point comes when Katie is crying and screaming almost nonstop for about two days. Scott can't figure out why, going as far as walking out of the room on her saying, "I don't know what you want!" He takes her into the hospital the next day to find out she had been suffering from a

hernia A hernia (: hernias or herniae, from Latin, meaning 'rupture') is the abnormal exit of tissue or an organ (anatomy), organ, such as the bowel, through the wall of the cavity in which it normally resides. The term is also used for the normal Devel ...

. After being probed by the doctor on why she wasn't brought in sooner, he confessed he didn't know what to do. Scott went so far as to saying he thought she was just being fussy. The doctor then asked him if he realizes what could've happened to her, had he ignored her one more day. A look of fear comes over his face as realization sets in. Afterwards, he considers giving Katie up for adoption. Instead, Sue's parents offer to watch her until he gets himself straightened out. Eventually, he accepts his role as a father, gets his daughter back, and carries on.

Cast

... Scott Grimes *

... Diane Pappas *

... Sue Grimes *

George Coe George Coe (born George Julian Cohen; May 10, 1929 – July 18, 2015) was an American actor. He was a cast member for the first season of ''Saturday Night Live'' and voiced the character of Woodhouse in '' Archer''. Early life Coe was bor ...

... Bill Page *

Maryedith Burrell Maryedith Burrell (born Maryedith Ann Theresa Smith)is an American actress, comedian, film and television producer, writer and documentarian best known for starring roles on the television series '' Fridays'', '' Throb'', Ron Howard's '' Parent ...

... Ann Hobson *

... Margaret Page *

Joel Polis Joel Polis (born October 3, 1951) is an American television, film and stage actor. Polis has appeared in over one hundred television programs and films during his career. Career Polis' first film role was the character Fuchs in the 1982 scien ...

... Kerns * Saachiko ... Dr. Yamura *

Judyann Elder Judyann Elder (born Judith Ann Johnson; August 18, 1948) is an American actress, director, and writer. She played Nadine Waters on the FOX sitcom ''Martin''. She also played Harriette Winslow on CBS' '' Family Matters'' for the remaining eight ...

... Counselor * Paul Mendoza ... Acosta * David Selburg ... Dr. Razzar *

Lupe Ontiveros Guadalupe Ontiveros (; September 17, 1942 – July 26, 2012) was an American actress best known for portraying Rosalita in '' The Goonies'', and Yolanda Saldívar in the film ''Selena''. She acted in numerous films and television shows. Ontive ...

... Rosa * Harry Stephens ... Dr. Paul Spencer *

James Edgcomb James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince James ...

... Poker player (as Jim Edgecomb) *

Folkert Schmidt Folkert is a masculine given name of Dutch origin. People with the given name * Folkert de Jong (born 1972), Dutch artist * Folkert Idsinga (born 1971), Dutch tax lawyer and politician * Folkert Meeuw (born 1946), German former swimmer * Folkert ...

... Eric

References

External links

* 1989 films 1989 television films 1989 drama films American drama television films Films scored by Mark Snow Films directed by Waris Hussein NBC original films NBC Productions films Works about parenting 1980s English-language films 1980s American films English-language drama films {{US-tv-drama-film-stub