48 Fun Facts About Sister Act

Which comedian, an Oscar winner for Ghost, plays Deloris Van Cartier?

Whoopi Goldberg, who had won Best Supporting Actress for Ghost in 1991, took the part after the script, originally written for another star, was reworked for her.

Which star, the screenwriter's first choice for Deloris, turned it down fearing fans would not want her as a nun?

Bette Midler was the star Paul Rudnick had in mind when he pitched the film to producer Scott Rudin in 1987, but she passed on playing a nun.

Under what pseudonym is screenwriter Paul Rudnick credited on the film?

Joseph Howard is the pseudonym Rudnick chose after a string of other writers, Carrie Fisher among them, reworked the script until it no longer resembled his own.

Which Dirty Dancing director made Sister Act?

Emile Ardolino, who had won a documentary Oscar for He Makes Me Feel Like Dancin', directed both films; he died in 1993, a year after Sister Act.

What is Deloris's real surname, before she adopts the stage name Van Cartier?

Deloris Wilson is her legal name, with Van Cartier a stage flourish; Watson is Rita's surname in the sequel.

In which city is Deloris singing when she witnesses a murder?

Reno is where she sings at a casino lounge owned by her married gangster boyfriend Vince LaRocca; trying to return a coat that turns out to be his wife's, she walks in on a murder.

Who plays the mobster Vince LaRocca?

Harvey Keitel played the mobster in the middle of his early-90s run of Thelma & Louise, Bugsy, Reservoir Dogs and Bad Lieutenant.

What is the name of the police lieutenant who hides Deloris in the convent?

Eddie Souther, played by Bill Nunn, is the lieutenant who stashes her in the convent as a protected witness until the trial.

What is the name of the parish where Deloris hides?

St. Katherine's is the struggling parish in a rough San Francisco neighbourhood where the Reverend Mother reluctantly takes her in; St. Francis is the sequel's high school.

What name does Deloris take as a nun?

Sister Mary Clarence is the name the Reverend Mother assigns her; Deloris grumbles about it and the habit but keeps it through both films.

Who plays the stern Reverend Mother?

Maggie Smith plays the Reverend Mother, who decides to leave the convent when she feels her authority undermined, then changes her mind after the rescue.

Which upbeat, optimistic nun does Kathy Najimy play?

Sister Mary Patrick was Kathy Najimy's first major film role; she went on to play Mary Sanderson in Hocus Pocus the next year.

Which nun leads the convent choir, badly, before Deloris takes over?

Sister Mary Lazarus, played by the deadpan Mary Wickes, runs the tuneless choir; Deloris is ordered to join it as punishment for sneaking out to a bar.

Which traditional hymn does the choir sing at Mass before swerving into gospel and rock and roll?

Hail Holy Queen starts as a traditional hymn and breaks into a gospel arrangement; Reverend Mother is furious, but the monsignor is thrilled that new people came in off the street.

Which Mary Wells hit does the choir rewrite as 'My God'?

My Guy, written by Smokey Robinson and a 1964 hit for Mary Wells, becomes 'My God'; Deloris had already sung it in her casino lounge medley.

Which head of the Catholic Church comes to hear the choir at the end of the film?

Pope John Paul II, the pontiff in 1992 when the film was set and released, attends the finale and joins the standing ovation.

How do the nuns travel to rescue Deloris from the casino?

They guilt-trip a helicopter pilot into a lift, with Reverend Mother doing the guilt-tripping; in the casino, Vince's men then cannot bring themselves to shoot a woman in a habit.

Which song does the choir perform for the pope in the finale?

I Will Follow Him, the 1963 Little Peggy March hit, closes the concert for the Pope; it had also been part of Deloris's opening lounge medley.

Whose song 'Shout' plays over the closing credits?

The Isley Brothers recorded 'Shout' in 1959; over the credits Deloris, the sisters and her old backing group the Ronelles belt out their own version.

Which real Noe Valley building in San Francisco stood in for the parish?

St. Paul's Catholic church in Noe Valley played the parish; the shops across the street were dressed down to look seedy, since the neighbourhood is actually well-to-do.

Roughly how much did Sister Act gross worldwide against its $31M budget?

$232M worldwide, including about $139 million in North America, against a $31M budget; it opened at number two behind Lethal Weapon 3 and played all summer.

Which Disney label released Sister Act in 1992?

Touchstone Pictures, Disney's label for adult-skewing comedies and dramas, released Sister Act in May 1992; Hollywood Pictures was its sister label founded in 1989.

Which Beverly Hillbillies actress sued the studio for $200M claiming the film plagiarised her book project?

Donna Douglas, Elly May in The Beverly Hillbillies, said the film copied a treatment of the book A Nun in the Closet; she and her partner refused a $1 million settlement and lost in court.

Who provided the singing voice for shy Sister Mary Robert?

Andrea Robinson dubbed the singing for Wendy Makkena, who played the shy novice on screen but did not sing her solos.

Which Martha and the Vandellas hit opens Deloris's lounge act?

Heat Wave, the 1963 Martha and the Vandellas single, opens the lounge medley that Deloris and the Ronelles perform for an indifferent casino crowd.

What is the subtitle of the 1993 sequel?

Back in the Habit came out in December 1993, eighteen months after the original; critics panned it, but it found a lasting following on television.

Sister Act 2 is loosely based on the life of Iris Stevenson, a choir teacher where in Los Angeles?

Crenshaw High choir teacher Iris Stevenson inspired the story; in the film the school becomes St. Francis in San Francisco, where Deloris herself went as a child.

Which future Fugees star made her breakout as student Rita Watson in Sister Act 2?

Lauryn Hill, then 18, played Rita Watson, whose solo on 'His Eye Is on the Sparrow' anchored the film; the Fugees' debut album followed in 1994.

Where is Deloris headlining her own show at the start of Sister Act 2?

Las Vegas is where she headlines a nun-themed act based on her time hiding from the mob, until the sisters turn up in the audience to recruit her.

Which book does Deloris give Rita to persuade her to follow her passion for singing?

Letters to a Young Poet, Rilke's advice to an aspiring writer, is the book Deloris hands Rita, whose mother has forbidden her to sing.

Which hymn does the St. Francis choir perform, with hip-hop moves, at the All-State finale?

Joyful, Joyful, Beethoven's 'Ode to Joy' rearranged with a rap break and hip-hop choreography, wins St. Francis the All-State competition.

Which Sister Act 2 cast member later became half of the duo The War and Treaty?

Tanya Blount, who played Tanya in the St. Francis choir, later married Michael Trotter and formed The War and Treaty, the Grammy-nominated Americana duo.

Which group did Ryan Toby, who played Ahmal, later co-found?

City High, the New Jersey trio behind the 2001 hit 'What Would You Do?', was co-founded by Ryan Toby, the choir's Ahmal in Sister Act 2.

Who plays Father Maurice, the principal of St. Francis, in Sister Act 2?

Barnard Hughes plays Father Maurice, the principal fighting to keep St. Francis open; James Coburn is Mr. Crisp, the administrator bent on closing it.

What is the name of Rita's mother, who finally attends the All-State performance?

Florence Watson, played by Sheryl Lee Ralph, forbids Rita to sing but arrives at the competition in time to see her daughter's solo.

Who wrote the music for the Sister Act stage musical?

Alan Menken composed the score, with Glenn Slater's lyrics, in a disco and soul idiom rather than the film's Motown covers.

In which city and decade is the stage musical set, unlike the film?

Philadelphia in the 1970s is the musical's setting, the story moved to 1978 to match its disco-flavoured score; the film had been set in the present day of 1992.

Which actress originated Deloris in the West End at the London Palladium in 2009 and then on Broadway?

Patina Miller, then 24, opened the show at the Palladium in June 2009 and earned a Tony nomination when it reached Broadway in 2011.

How many performances did the Sister Act musical run on Broadway before closing in August 2012?

561 performances at the Broadway Theatre, from April 2011 to August 2012; the show got five Tony nominations, including Best Musical, and four Olivier nominations in London.

Which streaming service announced in 2020 that a third Sister Act film was in development?

Disney+ announced Sister Act 3 at Disney's December 2020 investor presentation, with the original star attached to reprise Deloris.

Who directed Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit?

Bill Duke, the actor-director of A Rage in Harlem (1991) and Deep Cover (1992), directed the sequel, released in December 1993.

Who composed the instrumental score for the first Sister Act film?

Marc Shaiman composed the score and arranged the choir's numbers; the soundtrack came out on Disney's Hollywood Records label.

Who plays Monsignor O'Hara in the first Sister Act film?

Joseph Maher plays Monsignor O'Hara, who agrees to hide Deloris and later relishes the packed pews the revamped choir brings in.

Which Disney Channel star took over as Deloris on Broadway in March 2012?

Raven-Symoné, of That's So Raven, made her Broadway debut in the role at the Broadway Theatre and stayed until the show closed that August.

Which gospel song does the St. Francis choir perform at a school assembly in Sister Act 2?

Oh Happy Day, the Edwin Hawkins Singers' 1969 gospel hit, gets a solo from Ryan Toby's Ahmal that turns the school assembly around.

Who arranged the hip-hop finale number for the St. Francis choir in Sister Act 2?

Mervyn Warren, an original member of the a cappella group Take 6, folded a bridge adapted from Janet Jackson's 'What Have You Done for Me Lately' into the arrangement of the closing hymn.

Who is Deloris's gangster boyfriend in the stage musical's original West End version?

Curtis Shank was the name in London in 2009; the Broadway rewrite made him Curtis Jackson, and in both versions he and his goons dress as nuns to sneak into the convent.

Which producer-director was announced in 2020 as producing Sister Act 3?

Tyler Perry was named as a producer when Disney announced the third film in December 2020, with the original star set to return as Deloris.