Fran Bennett
{{Short description|American actress (1937–2021)}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2020}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| image = Cropped_Photo_of_Fran_Bennett.jpg
| caption =
| birth_date = August 14, 1937
| birth_place = Malvern, Arkansas, U.S.
| death_date = September 12, 2021 (aged 84)
| death_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S.
| name = Fran Bennett
| birthname =
| education =
| occupation = Actress
| yearsactive = 1961–2021
| employer = * CalArts School of Theater, 1996-2003
- Antaeus Theatre Company
- Los Angeles Women's Shakespeare Company
- London Academy of Dramatic Art
| notable_works = Lead in "King Lear", Center for New Theater, Los Angeles, 2002
| television = *The Bold and the Beautiful
- Diff'rent Strokes
- Guiding Light
- Quantum Leap
- Roots: The Next Generations
- Scandal
| spouse =
| honours = *NAACP Theatre Award
- AEA/AFTRA/SAG Diversity Award
- Arkansas Black Hall of Fame, inducted 2005
}}
Fran Bennett (August 14, 1937{{Citation needed |date=April 2023}} – September 12, 2021) was an American actress, known for her works in theater and on television. She portrayed the role of Mother Olivia Jefferson in a re-creation of the pilot episode of The Jeffersons in Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear's All in the Family and The Jeffersons.
Life and career
Bennett was born in Malvern, Arkansas.{{Cite web|url=https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/fran-bennett-8214/|title=Encyclopedia of Arkansas|website=Encyclopedia of Arkansas|language=en-US|access-date=2019-08-18}} She made her acting debut in theater, and her television debut on the daytime soap opera, Guiding Light.{{Citation needed |date=September 2024}} Bennett later had guest-starring roles in Roots: The Next Generations, Lou Grant, Dallas, Falcon Crest, Knots Landing, L.A. Law, and Dynasty.
Bennett had a regular role in the short-lived NBC medical drama Nightingales in 1989. She also had recurring roles in the daytime soap operas General Hospital, The Bold and the Beautiful and Sunset Beach. In prime time, she had recurring roles in Quantum Leap, In the Heat of the Night, Crisis Center and The Book of Daniel.{{cite web|url=http://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/fran-bennett-205805/credits/|title=Fran Bennett|work=TVGuide.com|accessdate=1 February 2015}} In recent years, she appeared in Boston Legal, ER, Becker and Scandal. She played the coroner in an episode of Remington Steele January 14, 1986.
Bennett had appeared in a number of films, including Promises in the Dark (1979), How I Got Into College (1989), The Doctor (1991), Plymouth (1991), New Nightmare (1994), Foxfire (1996), The Next Best Thing (2000) and Jessabelle (2014).
From 1996 to 2003, she was head of the performance program in the School of Theater at the California Institute of the Arts.{{cite web |url=http://calarts.edu/schools/theater/faculty/bennett_fran.html |title=Fran Bennett |accessdate=2017-10-05 |url-status=deviated |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070615121421/http://calarts.edu/schools/theater/faculty/bennett_fran.html |archivedate=June 15, 2007 }}
In 2019, she portrayed the role of Mother Olivia Jefferson in a re-creation of the pilot episode of The Jeffersons in Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear's All in the Family and The Jeffersons alongside Jamie Foxx as George, Wanda Sykes as Louise as well as Kerry Washington and Will Ferrell as Helen and Tom Willis respectively.{{cite news|url=https://tvline.com/2019/05/22/the-jeffersons-live-recap-jamie-foxx-wanda-sykes-abc/|title=The Jeffersons Live Recap: Did the Cast Make It Look Weezy… Er, Easy?|first=Charlie|last=Mason|work=TVLine|publisher=TVLine Media, LLC. (Penske Media Corporation)|location=United States|date=May 22, 2019|accessdate=May 23, 2019}}
Bennett died in Los Angeles on September 12, 2021, at the age of 84.{{cite web |last1=McGuigan Guerrero |first1=Diana |title=In Memoriam: Fran Bennett |website= CalArts |url=https://blog.calarts.edu/2021/09/12/in-memoriam-fran-bennett/ |access-date=September 14, 2021 |date=September 13, 2021}}[https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/fran-bennett-dead-actress-calarts-teacher-1235013482 Fran Bennett, Actress and Longtime CalArts Voice and Acting Teacher, Dies at 84]/
Filmography
= Film =
class="wikitable sortable" |
Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
---|
1979
|ER Nurse | |
1985
|{{sortname|The|Dancing Bulrushes|nolink=1}} |Narrator |Short |
1989
|Mrs. Cook | |
1994
|Dr. Christine Heffner | |
1996
|Judge Holifield | |
1997
|Dr. Beawoot | |
1999
|Unbowed |Miss Bennett | |
2000
|{{sortname|The|Next Best Thing}} |Judge Tracey Bennett | |
2001
|Maple |Grandmother |Short |
2001
|{{sortname|The|Sky Is Falling|The Sky Is Falling (2000 film)}} |Mrs. Quinn | |
2002
|Mrs. Ada Barnett | |
2009
|Vulcan Midwife |Scenes cut |
2014
|Mrs. Davis | |
2016
|Growing Up |Lenora |Short |
2021
|Ruth | |
=Television=
class="wikitable sortable" |
Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
---|
1960
|Herself | |
1965–1966
|Mrs. Matson | |
1978
|Mrs. Thompson |"The Social Worker" |
rowspan="2" |1979
|Trixie |"1.6" |
Friendships, Secrets and Lies
|Clarissa |TV film |
1980
|Dr. Joyce Clarke |"Molly" |
1980
|{{sortname|The|Righteous Apples|nolink=1}} |Evelyn |"Convictions" |
1980
|Bev Tolner |"Let Me Count the Ways" |
1981
|{{sortname|The|Violation of Sarah McDavid|nolink=1}} |Ms. Merriam |TV film |
1981
|Sarah / Chaney |"Boomerang", "Wedding" |
1982
|Kimya Haman |"Abby's Choice" |
1983
|Lucille |"The Ghost of Carter Gault" |
1983
|Flora Johnston |3 episodes |
1984
|Ernie Kovacs: Between the Laughter |Miss Deal |TV film |
1984
|Sookey |TV film |
1984
|Mrs. Ramsey |"School Nurse" |
1985
|Nurse |"Cold Comfort", "Confessions" |
1985
|Dr. Frolov |"Spirit of St. Louis" |
1986
|Nurse Julie Attucks |"To Tell the Truth" |
1986
|Wanda Tale |"The Blue Chip Stomp" |
1986
|Sen. Williams |"Secret Love" |
1986
|Dr. Charney |"Nobody's Perfect" |
1986
|Judge Hansen |"Family Connections" |
1987
|{{sortname|A|Year in the Life}} |Mrs. Caldwell |"Don't I Know You from Somewhere?" |
1987
|{{sortname|The|Bold and the Beautiful}} |Judge Madeline Collins |Recurring role |
1987–1988
|Judge Hillary Miller Johnson |"The Douglas Fur Ball", "Hand Roll Express" |
1988
|Flora |"Back to Oakland" |
1988
|Gloria Wilby |"The Trial", "The Proposal" |
1988
|Nightingales |Lenore Ritt, RN |TV film |
1988
|Mammy May |TV film |
1989
|Head Nurse Lenore Ritt |Main role |
1989
|ALF |Mrs. Watson |"Happy Together" |
1989
|Mrs. Johnson |"Green Christmas" |
1990
|Anna Sims |"Conspiracy" |
1990
|Amen |Judge Wilde |"Deacon's Dilemma" |
1990
|{{sortname|The|Knife and Gun Club|nolink=1}} |Nurse Mary Falk |TV film |
1990
|Betty Harding |"The Personal Trainer" |
1990–1991
|WIOU |Leonara Gates |"The Inquisition", "Labored Relations" |
1990–1992
|Ruda Gibson |"Family Matters", "Ruda's Awakening", "Last Rights" |
1991
|Debra |TV film |
1991
|Crazy from the Heart |Judge Sandra Farrell |TV film |
1991
|Ada Simpson |"Justice" |
1991
|Star Trek: The Next Generation |Fleet Adm. Shanthi |
1992
|Thornton |"Last Dance" |
1992
|Breaking the Silence |Judge Richards |TV film |
1992
|Marie Billings |"Trilogy: Parts 1, 2 & 3" |
1992
|Dr. Miller |"Jake vs. Jake" |
1994
|Det. MacKenzie |"Proof in the Pudding" |
1994
|Dr. Liz Wells |TV film |
1994
|{{sortname|A|Perry Mason Mystery: The Case of the Grimacing Governor|nolink=1}} |Judge Donna Andrews |TV film |
1996
|Amelia Halimon |"Negotiating: It's Never Personal" |
1996
|ER |Phyllis |"Union Station" |
1996
|What Love Sees |Bessie Hays |TV film |
1997
|Tess's Mother |Recurring role |
1997
|Chief Harris |Recurring role |
1997
|Sports Theater with Shaquille O'Neal |Grandma Williams |"4 Points" |
1997
|Dr. Andrea Porter |"Second Chances" |
1998
|Team Night Rider |Miss Barrett |"Angels in Chains" |
1998
|Nurse Lorenzo |TV film |
1999
|Judge A. Harding Joseph |"Pinch Hitters" |
2000
|Dr. Odelia Wilkes |"Letting Go" |
2000
|Hattie Brewster |"Prototype", "Weenis Between Us" |
2000
|Enid Connelly |"Sight Unseen" |
2001
|{{sortname|The|Jennie Project}} |Judge |TV film |
2002
|Mrs. Raymond |"Just the Beginning: Part 1" |
2002
|Judge Ross |1 episode |
2003
|Beatrice Rahming |"The Hole-in-the-Wall Gang" |
2006
|{{sortname|The|Book of Daniel|The Book of Daniel (TV series)}} |Rainy |Regular role |
2006
|Judge Diane Avent |"Shock and Owww!" |
2008
|ER |Michelle |"Owner of a Broken Heart" |
2008
|Mrs. Crutch |TV film |
2009
|Estelle Brown |"Shadow Markets" |
2010
|Nana Barnes |
2015
|Lois |"Run" |
2015
|{{sortname|The|Fosters|The Fosters (2013 TV series)}} |Iris |"Going South", "Idyllwild" |
2019
| Live in Front of a Studio Audience | Episode: Norman Lear's All in the Family and The Jeffersons |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|0071754}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Fran}}
Category:American film actresses
Category:American television actresses
Category:Actresses from Arkansas
Category:20th-century American actresses
Category:21st-century American actresses
Category:People from Malvern, Arkansas
Category:20th-century African-American actresses