Peter has been married to his wife, non-profit head Martha Sue “Marsue” Cumming, for over 30 years – and the longtime offbeat actor has also had a longtime offbeat hobby: playing the bagpipes (diehard McBeal fans may even remember him playing them on the show!). Although Nelly is often portrayed as cold and cruel, she is proven to have a softer side on occasion, especially in the series finale when she gets tearful as Ally leaves for New York. Another steady role was quick to come, as Alan Harper’s on-and-off again romance Lyndsey Mackelroy in the hit sitcom Two and a Half Men. She has appeared in Love Jones and Life. Due to the popularity of the show and Shepard's music, a soundtrack titled Songs from Ally McBeal was released in 1998, as well as a successor soundtrack titled Heart and Soul: New Songs from Ally McBeal in 1999. John Cage is first introduced as the shy and reserved co-partner of Cage & Fish. Every show has someone that sticks it to you right where it counts, and in the show of Ally McBeal, we’ve got the tough municipal Judge Jennifer Cone. [11] The album received positive reviews, and Shephard's version of Kay Starr's Christmas song "(Everybody's Waitin' For) The Man with the Bag", received considerable airplay during the holiday season.[12]. Cage and Fish (which becomes Cage/Fish & McBeal or Cage, Fish, & Associates towards the end of the series), the fictional law firm where most of the characters work, is depicted as a highly sexualized environment symbolized by its unisex restroom. ", "Ally McBeal DVD news: Release Date and More for Individual Sets of Seasons 3, 4 and 5", Ally McBeal: Woman of the '90s or Retro Airhead, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series, Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy, Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ally_McBeal&oldid=982608126, 1990s American comedy-drama television series, 1990s American romantic comedy television series, 1990s American workplace comedy television series, 1990s American workplace drama television series, 2000s American comedy-drama television series, 2000s American romantic comedy television series, 2000s American workplace comedy television series, 2000s American workplace drama television series, American romantic drama television series, Best Musical or Comedy Series Golden Globe winners, Fox Broadcasting Company original programming, Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series Screen Actors Guild Award winners, Peabody Award-winning television programs, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series winners, Primetime Emmy Award-winning television series, Television series by 20th Century Fox Television, Television series created by David E. Kelley, Articles with dead external links from July 2017, Articles with permanently dead external links, Articles with unsourced statements from May 2020, Articles needing additional references from January 2012, All articles needing additional references, Wikipedia articles with WorldCat-VIAF identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Other American legal dramedy TV series set in Boston, This page was last edited on 9 October 2020, at 06:06.

Portia de Rossi was actually studying law in her native Australia when she was bitten by the acting bug – and her career began in earnest when she played the role of a young model in the erotic movie Sirens. Not only was he given his own three-movie Iron Man series, but he’s appeared with that suit on in various other Marvel films such as The Avengers, Captain America: Civil War, Spiderman: Homecoming, and more. The series, set in the fictional Boston law firm Cage and Fish, begins with main character Allison Marie "Ally" McBeal joining the firm co-owned by her law school classmate Richard Fish (Greg Germann) after leaving her previous job due to sexual harassment. She played Eriq La Salle’s girlfriend on the hit show ER starting in 1996 and continued on the hospital drama after being cast in Ally McBeal until she was, unfortunately, let go from both shows because of her erratic behavior. Played by the famous Dyan Cannon, she makes life hard for everyone around her – although she does mean well.

In an out of left field twist, in the final season Ally discovers she has a daughter due to a mix up involving eggs she had deposited while still in college. She later moved on to her next iconic character, the deadly assassin O-Ren Ishii in Tarantino’s Kill Bill Vol.1 and 2. Unlike his partner and friend John Cage, Richard is extremely outgoing, though his bluntness often gets him into trouble. Created by David E. Kelley, the series stars Calista Flockhart in the title role as a lawyer working in the Boston law firm Cage and Fish, with other lawyers whose lives and loves were eccentric, humorous, and dramatic. The repackaged show was cancelled partway through its initial run. Her McBeal alter-ego Ling may have perfected the “death stare,” but Lucy has dedicated herself to humanitarian causes, serving as an ambassador for U.S. Fund for UNICEF and as a spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign. After her departure, she revealed she was struggling with bipolar disorder – and opened up about her mental illness in 2015 issues of Essence and People magazine. Fox canceled Ally McBeal after five seasons.

Perhaps the most notorious example of the debate sparked by the show was the June 29, 1998, cover story of Time magazine, which juxtaposed McBeal with three pioneering feminists (Susan B. Anthony, Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinem) and asked "Is Feminism Dead? A lot of his past law work was dealing with musicians, so he has a strong background when he joins. He still loves working on the stage and starred in the world premiere of Steve Martin’s play Meteor Shower. She is introduced to the firm by her friend Nelle, and later becomes an associate before eventually landing a job as a judge. A prolific voiceover actor, he’s voiced many comic book villains – and parents of little ones may recognize him as Nigel the Advisor on Disney Channel’s Tangled: The Series. She’s also lent her song-and-dance skill to humanitarian causes, headlining the 20th Annual Steve Chase Humanitarian Awards that honored those who have contributed in the fight against AIDS.

The legal dramedy was arguably one of the most popular shows on television at the time. Ally McBeal was just the breakthrough role that Lucy Liu needed to kickstart her career. As the story goes, when she walked into the casting office, she was the epitome of Ally — and the rest is flighty, lovesick, iconic TV history. While she may not have been the show’s biggest star, Shepard’s appearances as her musician self at the crew’s post-work bar always hit the right notes with viewers. After leaving the show, Bellows went on to a successful role on The Agency – and while he may not exactly be a household name, he’s had a long, solid career as a working actor, snagging parts in over 70 films and TV shows, including meaty roles in Patriot and Eyewitness. After making her mark on the stage with a series of stellar performances, she gained valuable TV-acting experience in the daytime soap world before being tapped to play sassy secretary/resident office gossip Elaine, alongside her former real-life college classmate.