Wallechinsky, David.The Complete Book of the Winter
Olympics.1998 ed. Woodstock, N.Y.: Overlook
Press, 1998. A brief overview and order of finish
for all sports in the Winter Olympics in the mod-
ern era.
Kevin L. Brennan
See also Gretzky, Wayne; Miracle on Ice; Olympic
Games of 1980; Sports.
Hoffman, Dustin
Identification American actor
Born August 8, 1937; Los Angeles, California
Already a major film star and an Academy Award winner,
Dustin Hoffman starred in two of the most popular films of
the 1980’s, as well as one of its most notorious flops, and
won another Oscar.
After years of struggle to establish himself, Dustin
Hoffman finally got his big break withThe Graduate
(1967), solidified his stardom withMidnight Cowboy
(1969), and flourished during the 1970’s, ending
the decade with an Academy Award-winning perfor-
mance inKramer vs. Kramer(1979). Hoffman worked
less frequently in the 1980’s, preferring to spend
more time with his growing family. His first film of
the decade, however, proved to be one of his biggest
critical and commercial successes.
InTootsie(1982), Hoffman played frustrated New
York actor Michael Dorsey. As the film opens, Mi-
chael has such a reputation for being difficult that
he has become unemployable. (The character was
said to resemble the young Hoffman.) Determined
to prove his worth to his longtime, exasperated
agent (Sydney Pollack, who also directed the film),
Michael disguises himself as a woman—“Dorothy
Michaels”—and wins a role on a television soap op-
era. Soon, Dorothy’s no-nonsense attitude portray-
ing a tough hospital administrator makes “her” a
star. Michael’s subsequent identity crisis is compli-
cated by his affection for one of his co-stars (Jessica
Lange) and the attraction of her father (Charles
Durning) to Dorothy. Hoffman balanced his por-
trayal of Dorothy with an expert blend of ironic hu-
mor and poignancy, never going for cheap laughs or
sentimentality. Previously a chauvinist, as the film
progresses, Michael learns to appreciate women as
his equals, asTootsieconsiders gender issues without
didacticism or condescension. Nominated for an
Oscar, Hoffman won a British Academy Award and a
Golden Globe.
Hoffman received a second Oscar for his other
major success of the decade,Rain Man(1988). In
that film, self-centered Charlie Babbitt (Tom Cruise),
representing the era’s mania for greed, discovers
that his father’s $3 million fortune is being held in
trust for Raymond Babbitt (Hoffman), the older
brother he never knew he had. Charlie takes the au-
tistic Raymond from a Cincinnati nursing home
and, as they drive to California, learns to care about
someone other than himself. Much as Peter Sellers
had inBeing There(1979), Hoffman found subtle nu-
ances within the character’s limited emotions.Rain
Manalso won Academy Awards for Best Picture,
Best Director (Barry Levinson), and Best Original
Screenplay (Ronald Bass and Barry Morrow).
Hoffman’s other two 1980’s films were not met
with enthusiasm.Ishtar(1987), with Hoffman and
Warren Beatty as bumbling songwriters, was the de-
cade’s biggest financial disaster other thanHeaven’s
Gate(1980), and inFamily Business(1989), Hoffman,
Sean Connery, and Matthew Broderick failed to con-
vince anyone that they were a family of criminals. In
1984, Hoffman returned to Broadway as an actor for
the first time since 1969, starring in Arthur Miller’s
Death of a Salesman(1949). The production was filmed
for television in 1985.Impact With his two hit films, Hoffman continued
to show an amazing range, delighting audiences and
inspiring innumerable other actors.Further Reading
Bergan, Ronald.Dustin Hoffman. London: Virgin,
1993.
Dworkin, Susan.Making “Tootsie”: A Film Study with
Dustin Hoffman and Sydney Pollack. New York:
NewMarket Press, 1983.
Freedland, Michael.Dustin: A Biography of Dustin
Hoffman. London: Virgin, 1989.
Michael AdamsSee also Academy Awards; Cruise, Tom; Film in
the United States; Murray, Bill.474 Hoffman, Dustin The Eighties in America