Eileen Brennan
{{Short description|American actress and singer (1932–2013)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Eileen Brennan
| image = Eileen_Brennan_1963.png
| caption = Brennan in 1963
| birth_name = Verla Eileen Regina Brennen
| birth_date = {{birth date|1932|9|3}}
| birth_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2013|7|28|1932|9|3}}
| death_place = Burbank, California, U.S.
| education = Georgetown University
American Academy of Dramatic Arts
| known_for = {{hlist|The Last Picture Show|Private Benjamin|Murder by Death|The Cheap Detective|The Sting}}Jeepers Creepers
| occupation = Actress
| years_active = 1960–2011
| spouse = {{marriage|David John Lampson|1968|1974|end=divorced}}
| children = 2; including Patrick Brennan
}}
Eileen Brennan (born Verla Eileen Regina Brennen; September 3, 1932 – July 28, 2013){{cite web| title=California Birth Index 1905-1995: Verla Eileen Brennen| url=https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VGHJ-G4Z| website=Family Search| access-date=September 22, 2015}} was an American actress. She made her film debut in the satire Divorce American Style (1967), followed by a supporting role in Peter Bogdanovich's The Last Picture Show (1971), which earned her a BAFTA Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
She gained further critical acclaim for her role as Captain Doreen Lewis in Private Benjamin, earning an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. She reprised the role in the television adaptation, winning both a Golden Globe and a Primetime Emmy Award.
Brennan starred opposite Peter Falk in two Neil Simon-penned murder mystery spoofs: Murder by Death (1976) and The Cheap Detective (1978). She also appeared in the ensemble cast of the mystery-comedy Clue (1985) which gained a major cult following. She worked prolifically in television, receiving Emmy nominations for her guest roles on Newhart, Thirtysomething, Taxi, and Will & Grace.
Early life
Verla Eileen Regina Brennen was born September 3, 1932, in Los Angeles, California, to Regina Menehan, a former silent film actress, and John Gerald Brennen, a doctor.{{cite news |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/31/movies/eileen-brennan-of-private-benjamin-dies-at-80.html |title=Eileen Brennan, Stalwart of Film and Stage, Dies at 80 |date=July 31, 2013 |access-date=September 14, 2018 |author=Gates, Anita |url-access=subscription}}According to the State of California. California Birth Index, 1905–1995. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. At Ancestry.com{{cite news |title=Eileen Brennan. Actress. September 3, 1932 - July 28, 2013. Aged 80 |date=July 28, 2013 |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |id={{ProQuest|1417213463}}}}
After graduating from high school in California, Brennan moved to Washington, D.C., to attend Georgetown University, where she was a member of the Mask and Bauble Society.{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/eileen-brennan-mn0000180204 |title=Eileen Brennan Biography & History |website=AllMusic |access-date=December 29, 2016}}{{cite news |url=http://articles.latimes.com/2013/jul/31/local/la-me-eileen-brennan-20130731|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130808115602/http://articles.latimes.com/2013/jul/31/local/la-me-eileen-brennan-20130731 |archive-date=August 8, 2013 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |title=Actress known for tough, soft quality |date=July 31, 2013 |access-date=March 7, 2017 |first=Mark |last=Olsen}} She later relocated to New York City to attend the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, where she was the roommate of Rue McClanahan.{{cite web |url=http://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/eileen-brennan/bio/148707/ |work=TV Guide |title=Eileen Brennan Biography |access-date=March 7, 2017}}
Career
=Early work and theatre=
Brennan began her acting career while attending university, appearing in Georgetown's stage productions of Arsenic and Old Lace. Her exceptional comic skills and romantic soprano voice propelled her from unknown to star in the title role of Rick Besoyan's off-Broadway tongue-in-cheek musical/operetta Little Mary Sunshine (1959), earning Brennan an Obie Award, and its unofficial sequel The Student Gypsy (1963), on Broadway.{{Sfn|Dietz|2014|p=190}}
She played Annie Sullivan in The Miracle Worker at the 1961 Central City Opera Summer Festival in Central City, Colorado directed by Arthur Penn, who had just won a Tony for his direction of the play on Broadway.Program, 30th Anniversary Central City Festival, The Miracle Worker by William Gibson. (1961). She went on to create the role of Irene Molloy in the original Broadway production of Hello, Dolly! (1964).{{cite web| url=http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/participant.jsp?spid=21796| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100822143325/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/participant.jsp?spid=21796| url-status=dead| archive-date=August 22, 2010| title=Eileen Brennan: Biography| website=Turner Classic Movies| access-date=September 22, 2015}}
Brennan's work in theatre attracted attention from television producers in California. Carl Reiner, who was seeking an actress to play the role of Laura Petrie on The Dick Van Dyke Show, flew her from New York to Los Angeles to audition for the part; however, the role was given to Mary Tyler Moore.{{Sfn|Waldron|2011|pages=68–70}}
=Transition to film=
Her feature-film debut was in Divorce American Style (1967). She soon became one of the most recognizable supporting actresses in film and television. She usually played sympathetic characters, though she played a variety of other character types, including earthy, vulgar and sassy, but occasionally "with a heart of gold". A year after her feature-film debut, she became a semi-regular on the comedy-variety show Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, but stayed for only two months. Brennan also appeared in the Barnaby Jones episode titled "Blood Relations" (1975).
Brennan became a favorite of a number of directors, in particular Peter Bogdanovich. She appeared in Bogdanovich's drama The Last Picture Show as Genevieve (1971), for which she received a BAFTA nomination for best supporting actress.{{cite journal |journal=Films in Review |volume=37 |page=21 |year=1986 |publisher=Then and There Media, LCC |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ah1CAQAAIAAJ&q=Eileen+Brennan,+as+Genevieve,+the+waitress,+has+echoes+of+man |title=The Last Picture Show (1971)}}
In 1972, Brennan appeared in an All in the Family episode, "The Elevator Story" (1972), as Angelique McCarthy, followed by a role in George Roy Hill's Academy Award-winning film The Sting (1973) as Billie, the brothel madam and confidante of con man Henry Gondorf (Paul Newman). In 1974, she reunited with director Bogdanovich, appearing in his adaptation of the Henry James novella Daisy Miller. Bogdanovich was the only director who made use of her musical talents (save for The Cheap Detective; and she sang in performances off Broadway) when he cast her as Cybill Shepherd's crude, fun-loving maid in his musical flop At Long Last Love (1975) (which also starred Madeline Kahn; Brennan and Kahn worked together in two more films: The Cheap Detective (1978) and Clue (1985).
Brennan also worked with director Robert Moore and writer Neil Simon, appearing in Murder by Death as Tess Skeffington (1976) and also appearing in The Cheap Detective (1978). Both of these movies also starred James Coco, James Cromwell and Peter Falk. She had a starring role, playing the disc jockey Mother in the film FM (1978), a comedy-drama about life at a rock-music radio station.
In 1980, Brennan received a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her role as Goldie Hawn's nasty commanding officer in Private Benjamin. She reprised the role in the television adaptation (1981–1983), for which she won an Emmy (supporting actress) as well as a Golden Globe (lead actress). She had one additional Golden Globe nomination and six Emmy nominations. Brennan received an Emmy nomination for her guest-star role in the Taxi episode "Thy Boss's Wife" (1981).
In 1985, Brennan portrayed the iconic Mrs. Peacock in the Paramount Pictures adaptation of Clue.
=Later roles=
Brennan guest-starred on two Murder, She Wrote episodes, "Old Habits Die Hard" (1987) and "Dear Deadly" (1994), and in 1987, she also appeared in the Magnum, P.I. episode "The Love That Lies". Other guest appearances included Newhart, Thirtysomething, Home Improvement, Walker, Texas Ranger and ER, the first two of which she received an Emmy nomination. In the 1990s, she appeared in Stella (1990) with Bette Midler, Bogdanovich's Texasville (1990, the sequel to The Last Picture Show), and Reckless (1995). She had a recurring role on the sitcom Blossom as the neighbor/confidante of the title character. She also appeared opposite Vincent D'Onofrio in a segment of Boys Life 2, an anthology film about gay men in America.{{cite news |url=http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Polished-but-uneven-Boys-Life-2-3131960.php |newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle |title=Polished but uneven "Boys Life 2' |first=David |last=Armstrong |date=March 7, 1997 |access-date=March 7, 2017}}
In 2001, she made a brief appearance in the horror movie Jeepers Creepers, and the following year starred in the dark comedy film Comic Book Villains, with DJ Qualls. In recent years, Brennan had guest-starred in television, including recurring roles as the nosy Mrs. Bink on 7th Heaven and as gruff-acting coach Zandra on Will & Grace. In 2003, director Shawn Levy cast her in a cameo role of a babysitter to Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt's children in an updated remake of Cheaper by the Dozen. Levy was inspired to cast Brennan after seeing Private Benjamin on television. However, Brennan's cameo was deleted from the actual cut of the movie. Nonetheless, she did receive credit for her role on the deleted scenes special feature of the film's DVD. In 2004, she appeared in the horror film The Hollow as Joan Van Etten. That same year, Brennan was nominated for an Emmy for her performance as Zandra,{{cite web |url=http://www.emmys.com/celebrities/eileen-brennan |title=Eileen Brennan |website=Television Academy |access-date=April 7, 2014}} Jack McFarland's caustic drama teacher, on Will & Grace.
Personal life
From 1968 to 1974, Brennan was married to British poet and photographer David John Lampson, with whom she had two sons: Patrick, a former basketball player turned actor, and Sam, a singer.
In 1982, Brennan was hit by a passing car in Venice Beach while leaving a restaurant with Goldie Hawn and suffered massive injuries. She took two years off work to recover and had to overcome a subsequent addiction to painkillers.{{cite news| url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20090502,00.html| title=Out of Her Horrid Accident and the Drug Addiction That Followed, Eileen Brennan Finds a Prescription for Life| first=Deirdre| last=Donoghue| magazine=People| date=April 22, 1985| access-date=October 8, 2011}} She also fell from the stage in 1989 during a production of Annie, breaking a leg. The following year, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, for which she was successfully treated.{{cite news| title=Eileen Brennan dies at 80; Oscar-nominated 'Private Benjamin' star| first=Mark| last=Olsen| date=July 30, 2013| access-date=September 11, 2016| newspaper=Los Angeles Times| url=http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-eileen-brennan-20130731,0,1490124.story}}
Death
Brennan died at her home in Burbank, California, on July 28, 2013, of bladder cancer, aged 80.{{cite news| title=Actress Eileen Brennan Dies at 80| url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/actress-eileen-brennan-dies-595503| magazine=The Hollywood Reporter| last=Barnes| first=Mike| date=July 30, 2013| access-date=September 22, 2015}} Her Private Benjamin co-star Goldie Hawn said she was a "brilliant comedian, a powerful dramatic actress and had the voice of an angel".{{cite news| title=Eileen Brennan Dead: 'Private Benjamin' Actress Dies Aged 80| work=Huffington Post| date=July 31, 2013| url=http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/07/31/eileen-brennan-private-benjamin-goldie-hawn_n_3681208.html| access-date=September 22, 2015}} Actor, writer and director Michael McKean, Brennan's co-star in Clue, called Brennan "a brilliant actress, a tough and tender woman and a comic angel".
Filmography
=Film=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable"| Notes |
|---|
| 1967
| Eunice Tase | |
| 1971
| Genevieve | Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role |
| 1973
| Darlene | |
| 1973
| Glenda | Television film |
| 1973
| Billie | |
| 1974
| Nourish the Beast | Baba Goya | Television Film |
| 1974
| Mrs. Walker | |
| 1975
| Elizabeth | |
| 1975
| Hustle | Paula Hollinger | |
| 1976
| Tess Skeffington | |
| 1977
| Carol Werner | Television film |
| 1977
| Penelope Pearson | |
| 1978
| FM | Mother | |
| 1978
| Betty DeBoop | |
| 1979
| When She Was Bad... | Mary Jensen | Television film |
| 1979
| Marie | Television film |
| 1980
| Captain Doreen Lewis | Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress |
| 1981
| Incident at Crestridge | Sara Davis |
| 1981
| When the Circus Came to Town | Jessy | Television film |
| 1982
| Candy's mom | |
| 1983
| Gail Corbin | |
| 1985
| Clue | Mrs. Peacock | |
| 1986
| Ms. Piper / Widow Hubbard | |
| 1988
| The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking | Miss Bannister | Nominated—Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actress |
| 1988
| Stella | |
| 1988
| Hotel Desk Clerk | |
| 1988
| Going to the Chapel | Maude | |
| 1989
| It Had to Be You | Judith | |
| 1990
| Stella | Mrs. Wilkerson | |
| 1990
| Genevieve Morgan | |
| 1990
| Judy | |
| 1991
| Joey Takes a Cab | | |
| 1992
| Frieda | |
| 1994
| Who-Villain | Television film |
| 1995
| Reckless | Sister Margaret | |
| 1996
| Tessie | Segment "1996" |
| 1997
| Mrs. Randozza | (segment "Nunzio's Second Cousin") |
| 1997
| Changing Habits | Mother Superior | |
| 1998
| Mom | |
| 1999
| The Last Great Ride | Pamela Mimi Mackensie | |
| 2000
| Moonglow | | |
| 2001
| The Cat Lady | |
| 2002
| Miss Cresswell | |
| 2003
| Dumb Luck | Minnie Hitchcock | |
| 2003
| Mrs. Drucker | Scenes deleted |
| 2004
| Ms. Etta | |
| 2005
| Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous | Carol Fields | |
| 2009
| Coach's blind mother | |
| 2010
| Naked Run | Gram Malone | |
=Television=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable"| Notes |
|---|
| 1967
| Unknown | Episode: "Infancy and Childhood" |
| 1968
| Performer | 12 episodes |
| 1970
| Paula Tardy | Episode: "Ladies' Man" |
| 1970
| Alice | Episode: "Photo Finish" |
| 1972
| Angelique McCarthy | Episode: "The Elevator Story" |
| 1972
| Dora | Episode: "Night of the Wizard" |
| 1973
| Jigsaw | Unknown | Episode: "In Case of an Emergency, Notify Clint Eastwood" |
| 1975
| Anita Willson | Episode: "Blood Relations" |
| 1975
| Kojak | Julie Loring | Episode: "A House of Prayer, a Den of Thieves" |
| 1975
| Insight | Carol Harris | Episode: "The Prodigal Father" |
| 1979
| Felicia Winters | 9 episodes |
| 1979–1980
| Kit Flanagan | 11 episodes |
| 1981
| Taxi | Mrs. McKenzie | Episode: "Thy Boss's Wife" |
| 1981–1983
| Captain Doreen Lewis | 37 episodes |
| 1982
| Millworker | Episode: "Working" |
| 1984
| Helen Foster | 2 episodes |
| 1984–1985
| Kate Hollaran | 7 episodes |
| 1987
| Brenda Babcock | Episode: "The Love That Lies" |
| 1987
| Mariam Simpson | Episode: "Old Habits Die Hard" |
| 1988
| Sioban Owens | Episode: "Off Duty" |
| 1988–1989
| Newhart | Corinne Denby | 2 episodes |
| 1990
| Mrs. Annabelle Shrike | Episode: "Touched with Fire" |
| 1991
| Blossom | Agnes | 3 episodes |
| 1991
| Margaret Weston | Episode: "Sifting the Ashes" |
| 1992
| Wanda | Episode: "Heavy Meddle" |
| 1993
| Tribeca | Claudia | Episode: "Stepping Back" |
| 1993
| Dina | Episode: "The Hands of Time" |
| 1993
| Bonkers | Lilith DuPrave | 4 episodes |
| 1993
| Ruth Sanderson | Episode: "Til Death Do We Part" |
| 1993
| Voice | 13 episodes |
| 1994
| Loretta Lee | Episode: "Dear Deadly" |
| 1995
| Joelle | Episode: "Mean Streets" |
| 1995
| Irma | Episode: "Are We There Yet?" |
| 1996
| ER | Betty | 2 episodes |
| 1996–2006
| Gladys Bink | 9 episodes |
| 1997
| Grammy Anderson | Episode: "Veronica's First Thanksgiving" |
| 1998
| Loretta Bettina | Episode: "Downtime" |
| 1998
| Inspector No. 10 | Episode: "Cheating on Sheila" |
| 1999
| Dolores | Episode: "The Last Day of the Rest of Your Life" |
| 2000
| Irene's mother | Episode: "Gentleman Caller" |
| 2001–2006
| Zandra | 6 episodes |
| 2003
| Marge | Episode: "My Fair Larry" |
| 2003
| Evelyn Knightly | Episode: "Coming Clean" |
References
=Notes=
{{reflist}}
=Sources=
- {{cite book| first=Dan| last=Dietz| year=2014| title=The Complete Book of 1960s Broadway Musicals| publisher=Rowman & Littlefield| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6NBiAwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=The+Complete+Book+of+1960s+Broadway+Musicals&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwizvO372dWJAxXpM9AFHalDGkwQ6AF6BAgFEAI#v=onepage&q&f=false| isbn=978-1-442-23071-2}}
- {{cite book| first=Vince| last=Waldron| year=2011| title=The Official Dick Van Dyke Show Book: The Definitive History and Ultimate Viewer's Guide to Television's Most Enduring Comedy| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BCTj8iffkKAC&printsec=frontcover&dq=The+Official+Dick+Van+Dyke+Show+Book&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjn_qyy2dWJAxVuLdAFHZYoMC0Q6AF6BAgEEAI#v=onepage&q&f=false| publisher=Chicago Review Press| edition=revised| isbn=978-1-569-76839-6}}
External links
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- {{IMDb name}}
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- {{AFI person | 45712-Eileen-Brennan }}
- [https://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/31/movies/eileen-brennan-of-private-benjamin-dies-at-80.html Eileen Brennan, Who Played Flinty Captain in Private Benjamin, Dies at 80]
{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for Eileen Brennan
|list =
{{EmmyAward ComedySupportingActress 1976-2000}}
{{GoldenGlobeBestActressTVComedy 1969-1989}}
}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Brennan, Eileen}}
Category:Actresses from Los Angeles
Category:American film actresses
Category:American musical theatre actresses
Category:American people of Irish descent
Category:American television actresses
Category:Best Musical or Comedy Actress Golden Globe (television) winners
Category:Deaths from bladder cancer in California
Category:Georgetown University alumni
Category:Singers from Los Angeles
Category:20th-century American actresses