Cathy Moriarty On <i>Alabama</i>

She's the cigarettes-and-whiskey-
voiced actress who got an Oscar nomination for her role in Raging Bull at age 19.

Now Cathy Moriarty stars in actor Antonio Banderas' directorial debut Crazy in Alabama. CBS News This Morning reports.

"Antonio and I had worked together before; he asked me to do this, and I'm delighted I said yes," says Moriarty.

Her character, Earlene Bullis, is a minor player, the wife of Dove Bullis, played by David Morse.

Earlene and Dove take custody of their two nephews when Dove's sister Lucille (played by Melanie Griffith) capers off after killing her abusive husband, and the two nephews get involved in the civil rights cause as their town erupts in race riots.

There are really two stories in this movie: The story of Lucille, the want-to-be movie star who takes a road trip to Hollywood.

And it is also the story of the people left behind in her small Alabama town who grapple with whites-only public swimming pools and the death of a young black man at the hands of a corrupt white sheriff, played by Meat Loaf Aday.

"I think the civil rights story was a little more interesting, but I think he combined everything together really well," says Moriarty.

Moriarty worked with Banderas in the drama The Mambo Kings. Her other film credits include Billy Crystal's Forget Paris, and Michael Hoffman's comedy, and her favorite film, Soapdish.

Moriarty was born in New York and recently returned to Long Island following her marriage Aug. 28.

She lives nearby her family, and while she and her husband share their home with three dogs, she is an active and involved aunt to her nieces and nephews.

She still owns the three pizza parlors she started while living on the West Coast, and plans to commute to continue working.

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