TIME TO SAY GOODBYE? {TAPE 1 OF 2} (TV)
Summary
Tape one of two. This made-for-television movie is based on a true story about the case of Dr. Gerry Klooster, a California physician who is diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Tormented by the memory of his mother's horrible demise, which was due to Alzheimer's disease, Gerry tells his wife, Ruth, that he wants her to help him end his life with dignity. Initially, the Kloosters' children, Craig, Curt, and Kristen, are appalled by their father's wish, but eventually they learn to accept his decision. The Kloosters' youngest son, Chip, is convinced that this is all part of a plot devised by his mother to kill his father, and he fights to be named his father's conservator. Meanwhile, Ruth and Gerry investigate the various alternatives availble to them, including meeting with Dr. Kevorkian. However, some of their friends are horrified by the options that the Kloosters are considering and help Chip kidnap Gerry. Chip takes his father to his (Chip's) home in Michigan, but there is no way to prove that Gerry was coerced by Chip. Eventually, a doctor decides that Gerry is mentally incompetent and therefore unable to give informed consent for assisted suicide. Court battles begin in order to decide who should care for Gerry, and Ruth is left wondering why Chip believes she is capable of murdering her husband. Continues with T:60187. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: Lifetime
- DATE: October 17, 1997 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:51:54
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:60186
- GENRE: Drama
- SUBJECT HEADING: Alzheimer's disease - Drama; Death and dying - Drama; Euthanasia - Drama
- SERIES RUN: Lifetime - TV, 1997
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Jinny Schreckinger … Executive Producer
- Julian Marks … Producer
- Bonnie Forbes … Co-Producer
- David Jones … Director
- Jacqueline Feather … Writer
- David Seidler … Writer
- Peter Rodgers Melnick … Music by
- Saint, Eva Marie Saint … Cast, Ruth Klooster
- Richard Kiley … Cast, Gerry Klooster
- Margaret Colin … Cast, Kristen Klooster
- Rick Roberts … Cast, Chip Klooster
- Alex Carter … Cast, Craig Klooster
- Kevin Hicks … Cast, Curt Klooster
- Greg Ellwand … Cast, Bill
- Tracey Hoyt … Cast, Mary
- Catherine McNally … Cast, Betty
- Max Naioman … Cast, Zachery
- Connor Cunningham … Cast, Alexander
- John Boylan … Cast, Dr. Peters
- Richard McMillan … Cast, Dr. Fawcett
- John Innes … Cast, Stroup
- Martin Doyle … Cast, Earhart
- David Eisner … Cast, Justis
- Thomas Hauff … Cast, Judge McKinistry
- Philip Akin … Cast , the Airport Police Officer
- Ronn Sarosiak … Cast, the Florida Patrolman
- Matthew Bennett … Cast, the FBI Officer
- James Downing … Cast, Tony
- Elva Mai Hoover … Cast, the Counsellor
- Tannis Burnett … Cast, Susie
- J.C. Kenny … Cast, the Bay Area Newscaster
- Dan Duran … Cast, the News Anchorman
- Sarah Green … Cast, the Pediatrics Nurse
- Mark Pawson … Cast, the Waiter
- Virginia Reh … Cast, the Nursing Home Matron
- Geoffrey Bowes … Cast, Stroup's Assistant
- Melissa Dimarco … Cast, the Courthouse Reproter
- Kimberly Selden … Cast, the Airport Reporter
- Jodi Pape … Cast, the Alzheimers Instructor
- John Neville … Cast
- Elizabeth Shepherd … Cast
- De Bianco, Louis … Cast
- Jack Kevorkian