FAQ

Michael has a long history of disagreeing with stage producers, writers and also directors and writers of ads for various products. As a starving actor, Michael tells George, his agent, that he'll do anything to earn a living in acting. George tells him that because he's argued with so many producers, directors and writers, that nobody wants to work with him anymore. In desperation, Michael creates Dorothy and gets work.

He's not talking about anything in particular, he's mostly just rambling. Bill Murray was asked to improvise most of Jeff's lines, which usually happens when an actor is given a scenario or a small direction to move in and they run with it. In this case, it worked well to create a memorable supporting character.

It was the nickname Dustin Hoffman's mother gave him when he was a little kid, a term of endearment she used with him. Hoffman called his mother "the heart of the film" and he probably worked some of her personality into his portrayal of Dorothy.

In the film the name is spoken once when Dorothy gives the soap opera's director Ron (Dabney Coleman) a reprimand for calling her "Toots". Dorothy points out that he has no problem referring to the men in the crew by their first names and insists that he not call her "Toots, Tootsie, or anything else."