Fran Bennett

{{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 \|Promises in the Dark \|ER Nurse \|
1985 \|{{sortname\|The\|Dancing Bulrushes\|nolink=1}} \|Narrator \|Short
1989 \|How I Got into College \|Mrs. Cook \|
1994 \|Wes Craven's New Nightmare \|Dr. Christine Heffner \|
1996 \|Foxfire \|Judge Holifield \|
1997 \|Leave It to Beaver \|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 \|Crazy as Hell \|Mrs. Ada Barnett \|
2009 \|Star Trek \|Vulcan Midwife \|Scenes cut
2014 \|Jessabelle \|Mrs. Davis \|
2016 \|Growing Up \|Lenora \|Short
2021 \|The Manor \|Ruth \|

class="wikitable sortable"

Year

! Title

! Role

! class="unsortable" | Notes

1979

|Promises in the Dark

|ER Nurse

1985

|{{sortname|The|Dancing Bulrushes|nolink=1}}

|Narrator

|Short

1989

|How I Got into College

|Mrs. Cook

1994

|Wes Craven's New Nightmare

|Dr. Christine Heffner

1996

|Foxfire

|Judge Holifield

1997

|Leave It to Beaver

|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

|Crazy as Hell

|Mrs. Ada Barnett

2009

|Star Trek

|Vulcan Midwife

|Scenes cut

2014

|Jessabelle

|Mrs. Davis

2016

|Growing Up

|Lenora

|Short

2021

|The Manor

|Ruth

=Television=

class="wikitable sortable"
Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" \| Notes
1960 \|To Tell the Truth \|Herself \|
1965–1966 \|Guiding Light \|Mrs. Matson \|
1978 \|Diff'rent Strokes \|Mrs. Thompson \|"The Social Worker"
rowspan="2" \|1979 \|Roots: The Next Generations \|Trixie \|"1.6"
Friendships, Secrets and Lies \|Clarissa \|TV film
1980 \|Here's Boomer \|Dr. Joyce Clarke \|"Molly"
1980 \|{{sortname\|The\|Righteous Apples\|nolink=1}} \|Evelyn \|"Convictions"
1980 \|Knots Landing \|Bev Tolner \|"Let Me Count the Ways"
1981 \|{{sortname\|The\|Violation of Sarah McDavid\|nolink=1}} \|Ms. Merriam \|TV film
1981 \|Lou Grant \|Sarah / Chaney \|"Boomerang", "Wedding"
1982 \|Knots Landing \|Kimya Haman \|"Abby's Choice"
1983 \|Matt Houston \|Lucille \|"The Ghost of Carter Gault"
1983 \|General Hospital \|Flora Johnston \|3 episodes
1984 \|Ernie Kovacs: Between the Laughter \|Miss Deal \|TV film
1984 \|Cat on a Hot Tin Roof \|Sookey \|TV film
1984 \|Trapper John, M.D. \|Mrs. Ramsey \|"School Nurse"
1985 \|Falcon Crest \|Nurse \|"Cold Comfort", "Confessions"
1985 \|Shadow Chasers \|Dr. Frolov \|"Spirit of St. Louis"
1986 \|St. Elsewhere \|Nurse Julie Attucks \|"To Tell the Truth"
1986 \|Simon & Simon \|Wanda Tale \|"The Blue Chip Stomp"
1986 \|Benson \|Sen. Williams \|"Secret Love"
1986 \|Foley Square \|Dr. Charney \|"Nobody's Perfect"
1986 \|Cagney & Lacey \|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 \|L.A. Law \|Judge Hillary Miller Johnson \|"The Douglas Fur Ball", "Hand Roll Express"
1988 \|Highway to Heaven \|Flora \|"Back to Oakland"
1988 \|Dynasty \|Gloria Wilby \|"The Trial", "The Proposal"
1988 \|Nightingales \|Lenore Ritt, RN \|TV film
1988 \|Roots: The Gift \|Mammy May \|TV film
1989 \|Nightingales \|Head Nurse Lenore Ritt \|Main role
1989 \|ALF \|Mrs. Watson \|"Happy Together"
1989 \|Tour of Duty \|Mrs. Johnson \|"Green Christmas"
1990 \|Mancuso, F.B.I. \|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 \|Matlock \|Betty Harding \|"The Personal Trainer"
1990–1991 \|WIOU \|Leonara Gates \|"The Inquisition", "Labored Relations"
1990–1992 \|In the Heat of the Night \|Ruda Gibson \|"Family Matters", "Ruda's Awakening", "Last Rights"
1991 \|Plymouth \|Debra \|TV film
1991 \|Crazy from the Heart \|Judge Sandra Farrell \|TV film
1991 \|Quantum Leap \|Ada Simpson \|"Justice"
1991 \|Star Trek: The Next Generation \|Fleet Adm. Shanthi \|"Redemption II"
1992 \|Jake and the Fatman \|Thornton \|"Last Dance"
1992 \|Breaking the Silence \|Judge Richards \|TV film
1992 \|Quantum Leap \|Marie Billings \|"Trilogy: Parts 1, 2 & 3"
1992 \|Melrose Place \|Dr. Miller \|"Jake vs. Jake"
1994 \|Murder, She Wrote \|Det. MacKenzie \|"Proof in the Pudding"
1994 \|Once in a Lifetime \|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 \|Arliss \|Amelia Halimon \|"Negotiating: It's Never Personal"
1996 \|ER \|Phyllis \|"Union Station"
1996 \|What Love Sees \|Bessie Hays \|TV film
1997 \|Crisis Center \|Tess's Mother \|Recurring role
1997 \|Sunset Beach \|Chief Harris \|Recurring role
1997 \|Sports Theater with Shaquille O'Neal \|Grandma Williams \|"4 Points"
1997 \|Chicago Hope \|Dr. Andrea Porter \|"Second Chances"
1998 \|Team Night Rider \|Miss Barrett \|"Angels in Chains"
1998 \|Tempting Fate \|Nurse Lorenzo \|TV film
1999 \|Early Edition \|Judge A. Harding Joseph \|"Pinch Hitters"
2000 \|Chicago Hope \|Dr. Odelia Wilkes \|"Letting Go"
2000 \|City of Angels \|Hattie Brewster \|"Prototype", "Weenis Between Us"
2000 \|Becker \|Enid Connelly \|"Sight Unseen"
2001 \|{{sortname\|The\|Jennie Project}} \|Judge \|TV film
2002 \|Any Day Now \|Mrs. Raymond \|"Just the Beginning: Part 1"
2002 \|Days of Our Lives \|Judge Ross \|1 episode
2003 \|Boomtown \|Beatrice Rahming \|"The Hole-in-the-Wall Gang"
2006 \|{{sortname\|The\|Book of Daniel\|The Book of Daniel (TV series)}} \|Rainy \|Regular role
2006 \|Boston Legal \|Judge Diane Avent \|"Shock and Owww!"
2008 \|ER \|Michelle \|"Owner of a Broken Heart"
2008 \|Grave Misconduct \|Mrs. Crutch \|TV film
2009 \|Numbers \|Estelle Brown \|"Shadow Markets"
2010 \|Community \|Nana Barnes \|"Basic Genealogy"
2015 \|Scandal \|Lois \|"Run"
2015 \|{{sortname\|The\|Fosters\|The Fosters (2013 TV series)}} \|Iris \|"Going South", "Idyllwild"
2019 \| Live in Front of a Studio Audience \| Mother Olivia Jefferson \| Episode: Norman Lear's All in the Family and The Jeffersons

class="wikitable sortable"

Year

! Title

! Role

! class="unsortable" | Notes

1960

|To Tell the Truth

|Herself

1965–1966

|Guiding Light

|Mrs. Matson

1978

|Diff'rent Strokes

|Mrs. Thompson

|"The Social Worker"

rowspan="2" |1979

|Roots: The Next Generations

|Trixie

|"1.6"

Friendships, Secrets and Lies

|Clarissa

|TV film

1980

|Here's Boomer

|Dr. Joyce Clarke

|"Molly"

1980

|{{sortname|The|Righteous Apples|nolink=1}}

|Evelyn

|"Convictions"

1980

|Knots Landing

|Bev Tolner

|"Let Me Count the Ways"

1981

|{{sortname|The|Violation of Sarah McDavid|nolink=1}}

|Ms. Merriam

|TV film

1981

|Lou Grant

|Sarah / Chaney

|"Boomerang", "Wedding"

1982

|Knots Landing

|Kimya Haman

|"Abby's Choice"

1983

|Matt Houston

|Lucille

|"The Ghost of Carter Gault"

1983

|General Hospital

|Flora Johnston

|3 episodes

1984

|Ernie Kovacs: Between the Laughter

|Miss Deal

|TV film

1984

|Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

|Sookey

|TV film

1984

|Trapper John, M.D.

|Mrs. Ramsey

|"School Nurse"

1985

|Falcon Crest

|Nurse

|"Cold Comfort", "Confessions"

1985

|Shadow Chasers

|Dr. Frolov

|"Spirit of St. Louis"

1986

|St. Elsewhere

|Nurse Julie Attucks

|"To Tell the Truth"

1986

|Simon & Simon

|Wanda Tale

|"The Blue Chip Stomp"

1986

|Benson

|Sen. Williams

|"Secret Love"

1986

|Foley Square

|Dr. Charney

|"Nobody's Perfect"

1986

|Cagney & Lacey

|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

|L.A. Law

|Judge Hillary Miller Johnson

|"The Douglas Fur Ball", "Hand Roll Express"

1988

|Highway to Heaven

|Flora

|"Back to Oakland"

1988

|Dynasty

|Gloria Wilby

|"The Trial", "The Proposal"

1988

|Nightingales

|Lenore Ritt, RN

|TV film

1988

|Roots: The Gift

|Mammy May

|TV film

1989

|Nightingales

|Head Nurse Lenore Ritt

|Main role

1989

|ALF

|Mrs. Watson

|"Happy Together"

1989

|Tour of Duty

|Mrs. Johnson

|"Green Christmas"

1990

|Mancuso, F.B.I.

|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

|Matlock

|Betty Harding

|"The Personal Trainer"

1990–1991

|WIOU

|Leonara Gates

|"The Inquisition", "Labored Relations"

1990–1992

|In the Heat of the Night

|Ruda Gibson

|"Family Matters", "Ruda's Awakening", "Last Rights"

1991

|Plymouth

|Debra

|TV film

1991

|Crazy from the Heart

|Judge Sandra Farrell

|TV film

1991

|Quantum Leap

|Ada Simpson

|"Justice"

1991

|Star Trek: The Next Generation

|Fleet Adm. Shanthi

|"Redemption II"

1992

|Jake and the Fatman

|Thornton

|"Last Dance"

1992

|Breaking the Silence

|Judge Richards

|TV film

1992

|Quantum Leap

|Marie Billings

|"Trilogy: Parts 1, 2 & 3"

1992

|Melrose Place

|Dr. Miller

|"Jake vs. Jake"

1994

|Murder, She Wrote

|Det. MacKenzie

|"Proof in the Pudding"

1994

|Once in a Lifetime

|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

|Arliss

|Amelia Halimon

|"Negotiating: It's Never Personal"

1996

|ER

|Phyllis

|"Union Station"

1996

|What Love Sees

|Bessie Hays

|TV film

1997

|Crisis Center

|Tess's Mother

|Recurring role

1997

|Sunset Beach

|Chief Harris

|Recurring role

1997

|Sports Theater with Shaquille O'Neal

|Grandma Williams

|"4 Points"

1997

|Chicago Hope

|Dr. Andrea Porter

|"Second Chances"

1998

|Team Night Rider

|Miss Barrett

|"Angels in Chains"

1998

|Tempting Fate

|Nurse Lorenzo

|TV film

1999

|Early Edition

|Judge A. Harding Joseph

|"Pinch Hitters"

2000

|Chicago Hope

|Dr. Odelia Wilkes

|"Letting Go"

2000

|City of Angels

|Hattie Brewster

|"Prototype", "Weenis Between Us"

2000

|Becker

|Enid Connelly

|"Sight Unseen"

2001

|{{sortname|The|Jennie Project}}

|Judge

|TV film

2002

|Any Day Now

|Mrs. Raymond

|"Just the Beginning: Part 1"

2002

|Days of Our Lives

|Judge Ross

|1 episode

2003

|Boomtown

|Beatrice Rahming

|"The Hole-in-the-Wall Gang"

2006

|{{sortname|The|Book of Daniel|The Book of Daniel (TV series)}}

|Rainy

|Regular role

2006

|Boston Legal

|Judge Diane Avent

|"Shock and Owww!"

2008

|ER

|Michelle

|"Owner of a Broken Heart"

2008

|Grave Misconduct

|Mrs. Crutch

|TV film

2009

|Numbers

|Estelle Brown

|"Shadow Markets"

2010

|Community

|Nana Barnes

|"Basic Genealogy"

2015

|Scandal

|Lois

|"Run"

2015

|{{sortname|The|Fosters|The Fosters (2013 TV series)}}

|Iris

|"Going South", "Idyllwild"

2019

| Live in Front of a Studio Audience

| Mother Olivia Jefferson

| Episode: Norman Lear's All in the Family and The Jeffersons

References

External links

{{IMDb name|0071754}}

Category:1937 births

Category:2021 deaths

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

Category:21st-century African-American actresses

Category:Actors from Hot Spring County, Arkansas