''The Five of Me'' is a 1981 American

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

directed by

Paul Wendkos Abraham Paul Wendkos (September 20, 1925 – November 12, 2009) was an American television and film director. Early life and education Wendkos was born in Philadelphia to parents Simon Wendkos and Judith Wendkos. Wendkos served in World War II ...

and written by

Lawrence B. Marcus Lawrence B. Marcus (July 19, 1917 – August 28, 2001) was an American screenwriter. He was nominated for an Academy Award in the category Best Adapted Screenplay for the film ''The Stunt Man''. Marcus died in August 2001 of Parkinson's disease ...

. Based on the 1977 autobiography of the same name written by Henry Hawksworth with Ted Schwarz, the film chronicles the true story of Hawksworth's struggles with

multiple personality disorder Dissociative identity disorder (DID), better known as multiple personality disorder or multiple personality syndrome, is a mental disorder characterized by the presence of at least two distinct and relatively enduring personality states. The di ...

David Birney David Edwin Birney (April 23, 1939 – April 27, 2022) was an American actor and director whose career included performances in both contemporary and classical roles in theatre, film, and television. He is noted for having played the title role ...

stars as Hawksworth, with

Dee Wallace Deanna Wallace (née Bowers; born December 14, 1948), also known as Dee Wallace Stone, is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for her role as Mary Taylor, the mother in the 1982 blockbuster film ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial''. She is ...

Mitchell Ryan Mitchell Ryan (January 11, 1934 – March 4, 2022) was an American film, television, and stage actor, who in his six decades of television is known for playing Burke Devlin in the 1960s gothic soap opera ''Dark Shadows'', and later for his co- ...

John McLiam John McLiam (born John Williams; January 24, 1918 – April 16, 1994) was a film and television actor noted for his skill at different accents. His film appearances include ''My Fair Lady'' (1964), ''In Cold Blood'' (1967), John Frankenheimer's ...

James Whitmore Jr. James Allen Whitmore III (born October 24, 1948), better known as James Whitmore Jr., is an American actor and director, best known for his roles as Captain Jim Gutterman on the television program '' Baa Baa Black Sheep'', Freddie Beamer in ''The ...

Ben Piazza Ben Piazza (July 30, 1933 – September 7, 1991) was an American actor. Life and career Piazza made his film debut in Sidney J. Furie's Canadian film ''A Dangerous Age'' (1959) followed by his Hollywood debut in '' The Hanging Tree'' (1959). T ...

Judith Chapman Judith Chapman (born Judith Shepard on November 15, 1951) is an American actress, best known for soap opera roles, particularly as Natalie Bannon Hughes in ''As the World Turns'' (1975–1978), Charlotte Greer on ''Ryan's Hope'' (1983), Ginny Bla ...

, Robert L. Gibson, and Herb Armstrong co-starring. It aired on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

on May 12, 1981.

Cast

as Henry Hawksworth *

as Ann *

as Dr. Ralph B. Allison *

as Henry's Father *

as Harry *

as Neurologist *

as Sally *Robert L. Gibson as Fred *Herb Armstrong as Bowling Alley Manager

Plot

The story is about Henry Hawksworth, who is in a struggle with four other personalities within him. Henry is shown as a child being threatened by his unbalanced father. The father is threatening to castrate his son. Later Henry returns from South Korea and is a hero for saving a buddy. While he was there, Henry was imprisoned and had developed another personality to cope with things. This personality was Dana. Dana is a family man with conservative values. It is this personality that falls in love with a woman called Ann. Another personality is the violent and sociopathic Johnny. Then there is creative and childish Peter. There is also the protective and unemotional Phil. The Johnny personality commits a crime and goes to court where the multiple personalities of Henry come to light.

Background

The film is based on the true story of Henry Hawksworth, who suffered from multiple personality disorder. The book on which the film is inspired by, ''The Five of Me'', was written by Hawksworth with Ted Schwarz. During the filming of this production, an accident occurred on February 21, 1981. Camera assistant Jack Tandberg was killed on the set when he was struck by a driverless stunt car. This is also mentioned in ''Stuntwomen: The Untold Hollywood Story'' by Mollie Gregory, which suggests a lack of industry standards may have led to Tandberg's death.''Stuntwomen: The Untold Hollywood Story'' by Mollie Gregory
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References

External links

* *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Five Of Me 1981 television films 1981 films 1981 drama films 1980s American films 1980s English-language films American drama television films American films based on actual events CBS network films Drama films based on actual events Films about dissociative identity disorder Films based on autobiographies Films directed by Paul Wendkos Films scored by Fred Karlin Television films based on actual events Television films based on books