Gilbert grape cast tv#

She's looking forward to the future, which includes her upcoming 50 th wedding anniversary and a potential return to acting. Now in physical therapy and no longer diabetic, she hopes to be walking soon and making trips out of her house this fall.

Gilbert grape cast tv#

'I can always tell when … been on TV because there'll be a rush of 'friend' requests.' Most of the time, those one-hit wonders are. Very few actors in Hollywood history have done the next to impossible create one iconic role, only never to be seen on the big screen again. Cast and CrewPowered by Lasse Hallstrm - director Whats Eating Gilbert Grape Whats Eating Gilbert Grape Johnny Depp The Professor The Professor. She said she realized 'how God had used me to touch other people and give them courage by what I did.' She said, 'And that gave them courage to put themselves out there more.' And she still hears from fans about Bonnie - these days on Facebook. Darlene Cates, who played Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprios housebound mother in Whats Eating Gilbert Grape, passes away at 69. She easily connected to her character, who was so depressed over her husband's suicide that she didn't leave her home for seven years.Ĭates received many fan letters following the role. She didn't leave her home for five years before agreeing to appear on 'The Sally Jessy Raphael Show' in 1992, in an episode called 'Too Heavy to Leave the House.' Casting directors saw her on TV and soon she left her home again - to go to the 'Gilbert Grape' set.

The role had many parallels to Cates' real life.

'I'll always remember you as the best acting mamma I ever had. 'I'm not really the best in expressing my words in writing but you are the most special person I have ever ,' he wrote. And she cherishes a letter that DiCaprio, then 19, gave her when they wrapped. In the expository phase in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape the audience has been introduced to the characters in Gilbert’s family, his restricted life (the conflict), the fact that he lives in a small town undergoing pressure for change from, for example, a new large supermarket and last but not least, Becky’s grandmother’s camper has broken down and she and her grandmother have stopped in. 'I don't have to delve very deep to find Mom in there.'Ĭates has fond memories of working with DiCaprio, Depp, and the rest of the star-studded cast on 'Gilbert Grape.' She told the newspaper about a surprise birthday party the cast and crew threw for her. 'I can do moms real well,' Cates told the paper.