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Eileen Brennan
Brennan in 1963
Born	Verla Eileen Regina Brennen (1932-09-03)September 3, 1932
Died	July 28, 2013(2013-07-28) (aged 80) Burbank, California, U.S.
Education	Georgetown University
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1960–2011
Spouse	David John Lampson ​ ​(m. 1968; div. 1974)​
Children	2; including Patrick Brennan

Eileen Brennan (born Verla Eileen Regina Brennen; September 3, 1932 – July 28, 2013) 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, for which she received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She reprised the role in a television adaptation, winning both a Golden Globe and a Primetime Emmy Award.

Brennan is arguably best known for her comical role as the beleaguered Mrs. Peacock in the mystery-comedy Clue (1985). She also starred opposite Peter Falk in two Neil Simon-penned murder mystery spoofs: Murder by Death (1976) and The Cheap Detective (1978). She later had a minor role in the horror film Jeepers Creepers (2001). She prolifically worked in television, receiving Emmy nominations for her guest roles on Newhart, Thirtysomething, Taxi, and Will & Grace.

Early life

Brennan was born Verla Eileen Regina Brennen on September 3, 1932.

After graduating from high school in California, Brennan relocated to Washington, D.C., to attend Georgetown University, where she was a member of the Mask and Bauble Society. She later relocated to New York City to attend the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, where she was roommates with Rue McClanahan.

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.

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. She went on to create the role of Irene Molloy in the original Broadway production of Hello, Dolly! (1964).

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.

Transition to film

Her feature-film debut was in Divorce American Style (1967). She soon became one of the most recognizable (if not precisely identifiable) supporting actresses in film and television. Her roles were usually 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 on Barnaby Jones; episode titled "Blood Relations" (11/28/1975).

Although her name was not often recognized by the general public, she became a favorite of many 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.

In 1972, Brennan appeared in an All in the Family episode, "The Elevator Story" (1972), as Angelique McCarthy, followed by a role as brothel madam Billie in George Roy Hill's Academy Award-winning film The Sting (1973) as the 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 (before, 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 and Clue).

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". In the 1990s, she appeared in Stella with Bette Midler, Bogdanovich's Texasville (the sequel to The Last Picture Show), and Reckless. 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.

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, 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. 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.

Death

Brennan died at her home in Burbank, California, on July 28, 2013, of bladder cancer. She was 80-years old. Her Private Benjamin co-star Goldie Hawn said she was a "brilliant comedian, a powerful dramatic actress and had the voice of an angel". 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

Television

References

Notes

1. "California Birth Index 1905-1995: Verla Eileen Brennen". Family Search. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
2. Lentz 2014, p. 44.
3. Gates, Anita (July 31, 2013). "Eileen Brennan, Stalwart of Film and Stage, Dies at 80". The New York Times. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
4. 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
5. "Eileen Brennan Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
6. ^ Olsen, Mark (July 31, 2013). "Actress known for tough, soft quality". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on August 8, 2013. Retrieved March 7, 2017.
7. "Eileen Brennan Biography". TV Guide. Retrieved March 7, 2017.
8. Dietz 2014, p. 190.
9. Program, 30th Anniversary Central City Festival, The Miracle Worker by William Gibson. (1961).
10. "Eileen Brennan: Biography". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
11. Waldron 2011, pp. 68–70.
12. "The Last Picture Show (1971)". Films in Review. 37. Then and There Media, LCC: 21. 1986.
13. Armstrong, David (March 7, 1997). "Polished but uneven "Boys Life 2'". SF Gate. Retrieved March 7, 2017.
14. "Eileen Brennan". Television Academy. Retrieved April 7, 2014.
15. Donoghue, Deirdre (April 22, 1985). "Out of Her Horrid Accident and the Drug Addiction That Followed, Eileen Brennan Finds a Prescription for Life". People. Retrieved October 8, 2011.
16. ^ Olsen, Mark (July 30, 2013). "Eileen Brennan dies at 80; Oscar-nominated 'Private Benjamin' star". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 11, 2016.
17. ^ Barnes, Mike (July 30, 2013). "Actress Eileen Brennan Dies at 80". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 22, 2015.
18. "Eileen Brennan Dead: 'Private Benjamin' Actress Dies Aged 80". Huffington Post. July 31, 2013. Retrieved September 22, 2015.

Sources

• Dietz, Dan (2014). The Complete Book of 1960s Broadway Musicals. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-442-23071-2.
• Lentz, Harris M., III (2014). Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2013. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-786-47665-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
• Waldron, Vince (2011). The Official Dick Van Dyke Show Book: The Definitive History and Ultimate Viewer's Guide to Television's Most Enduring Comedy (revised ed.). Chicago Review Press. ISBN 978-1-569-76839-6.

External links

• Eileen Brennan at IMDb
• Eileen Brennan at the Internet Broadway Database
• Eileen Brennan at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Template:Amg name
• Eileen Brennan at the American Film Institute
• Eileen Brennan, Who Played Flinty Captain in Private Benjamin, Dies at 80

• 1932 births
• 2013 deaths
• Actresses from Los Angeles
• American film actresses
• American musical theatre actresses
• American people of Irish descent
• American sopranos
• American television actresses
• Best Musical or Comedy Actress Golden Globe (television) winners
• Deaths from bladder cancer
• Deaths from cancer in California
• Georgetown University alumni
• Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Primetime Emmy Award winners
• Singers from Los Angeles
• 20th-century American actresses
• 21st-century American actresses
• American Academy of Dramatic Arts alumni