Eileen Brennan
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- Sep 3, 1932
- Died
- Jul 28, 2013 (aged 80)
- Place of birth
- Los Angeles, California, USA
- Credits
- 115
Eileen Brennan (September 3, 1932 – July 28, 2013) was an American actress who was known for her versatile performances in film, television, and theater. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Captain Doreen Lewis in the 1980 comedy film Private Benjamin. She also won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Mrs. Hughes in the television series Newhart.
Brennan was born in Los Angeles, California, and began her acting career in the theater. She made her Broadway debut in 1963 in the musical Little Mary Sunshine. She went on to appear in several other Broadway musicals, including Hello, Dolly! and Annie.
Brennan made her film debut in the 1967 satire Divorce American Style. She followed this with supporting roles in the films The Last Picture Show (1971), The Cheap Detective (1978), and The First Wives Club (1996). She also starred in the films Clue (1985) and Sister Act (1992).
In addition to her film and theater work, Brennan also had a successful television career. She appeared in numerous television shows, including The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Bob Newhart Show, Cheers, and Will & Grace.
She died on July 28, 2013, at the age of 80, from complications of multiple myeloma. Multiple myeloma is a type of cancer that affects plasma cells, a type of white blood cell that helps the body fight infection.
Brennan was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2001. She underwent treatment, including chemotherapy and radiation therapy. She continued to work and act throughout her treatment, and she even appeared in the 2011 film The Big Year.
In 2013, Brennan's health began to decline. She died on July 28, 2013, at her home in Los Angeles. She was survived by her husband, David John Lampson, and her daughter, Emily.
Known for
Filmography
Who Done It: The Clue Documentary
2022Movie
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Naked Run
2011Movie
Gram Malone
The Amateurs
2006Movie
Mrs. Cherkiss
The Art of 'The Sting'
2005Movie
Self
Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous
2005Movie
Carol Fields
The Hollow
2004Movie
Joan Van Etten
Dumb Luck
2003Movie
Minnie Hitchcock
Comic Book Villains
2002Movie
Mrs. Cresswell
Jeepers Creepers
2001Movie
The Cat Lady
Lizzie McGuire
2001TV
Marge
Strong Medicine
2000TV
Evelyn Knightly
The Last Great Ride
1999Movie
Pamela 'Mimi' Applegate
Will & Grace
1998TV
Zandra
Pants on Fire
1998Movie
Mom
Le petomane: Fin de siècle fartiste
1998Movie
Toothless
1997Movie
Joe #1
The Wonderful World of Disney
1997TV
Joe #1
Veronica's Closet
1997TV
Grammy Anderson
Changing Habits
1997Movie
Mother Superior
Boys Life 2
1997Movie
Mrs. Randozza
If These Walls Could Talk
1996Movie
Tessie
7th Heaven
1996TV
Mrs. Bink
Arli$$
1996TV
Lenore
Reckless
1995Movie
Sister Margaret
Trail of Tears
1995Movie
Clara
Freaky Friday
1995Movie
Principal Handel
The Lies Boys Tell
1994Movie
Sada
In Search of Dr. Seuss
1994Movie
The Who-Villain
Nunzio's Second Cousin
1994Movie
Mrs. Randazzo
Touched by an Angel
1994TV
Dolores Freeman
ER
1994TV
Betty
My Name Is Kate
1994Movie
Barbara Mannix
Precious Victims
1993Movie
Minnie
Walker, Texas Ranger
1993TV
Joelle
Recycle Rex
1993Movie
Rose (voice)
Murder So Sweet
1993Movie
Martha Catlin
Mad About You
1992TV
Inspector #10
Jack's Place
1992TV
I Don't Buy Kisses Anymore
1992Movie
Frieda
Taking Back My Life: The Nancy Ziegenmeyer Story
1992Movie
Vicky Martin
Home Improvement
1991TV
Wanda
Picture This
1991Movie
Self
Deadly Intentions... Again?
1991Movie
Charlotte
White Palace
1990Movie
Judy
Texasville
1990Movie
Genevieve Morgan
American Dreamer
1990TV
Gravedale High
1990TV
Miss Dirge (voice)
Stella
1990Movie
Mrs. Wilkerson
It Had to Be You
1989Movie
Judith
Tales from the Crypt
1989TV
Ruth Sanderson
Going to the Chapel
1988Movie
Maude
Rented Lips
1988Movie
Hotel Desk Clerk
Sticky Fingers
1988Movie
Stella
The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking
1988Movie
Miss Bannister
thirtysomething
1987TV
Blood Vows: The Story of a Mafia Wife
1987Movie
Sylvia
The Fartiste
1987Movie
Babes in Toyland
1986Movie
Mrs. Piper / Widow Hubbard
The History of White People in America: Volume II
1986Movie
Clue
1985Movie
Mrs. Peacock
The History of White People in America
1985Movie
The Ray Bradbury Theater
1985TV
Mrs. Annabelle Shrike
Answers
1985Movie
Amanda Jackson (Segment "Twinkle, Twinkle")
The Fourth Wise Man
1985Movie
Judith
Off the Rack
1985TV
Kate Halloran
Murder, She Wrote
1984TV
Loretta Lee, Marian Simpson
The Funny Farm
1983Movie
Gail Corbin
Newhart
1982TV
Corinne Denby
Lily for President?
1982Movie
Maggie
Working
1982Movie
Millworker
Pandemonium
1982Movie
Candy's Mom
Kraft Salutes Walt Disney World's 10th Anniversary
1982Movie
Aunt Angelique Lane
American Playhouse
1982TV
Millworker
Incident at Crestridge
1981Movie
Sara Davis
Private Benjamin
1981TV
Doreen Lewis
When the Circus Came to Town
1981Movie
Jessy
Magnum, P.I.
1980TV
Brenda Babcock
Private Benjamin
1980Movie
Capt. Doreen Lewis
My Old Man
1979Movie
Marie
When She Was Bad...
1979Movie
Mary Jensen
A New Kind of Family
1979TV
13 Queens Blvd.
1979TV
Felicia Winters
Taxi
1978TV
Mrs. McKenzie
The Cheap Detective
1978Movie
Betty DeBoop
The Great Smokey Roadblock
1978Movie
Penelope
FM
1978Movie
Mother
Black Beauty
1978TV
Annie Gray
All That Glitters
1977TV
Ma Packer
The Death of Richie
1977Movie
Carol Werner
Murder by Death
1976Movie
Tess Skeffington
Hustle
1975Movie
Paula Hollinger
The Night That Panicked America
1975Movie
Ann Muldoon
Doctors' Hospital
1975TV
Knuckle
1975Movie
Delafield's Mistress
My Father's House
1975Movie
Mrs. Lindholm Sr.
At Long Last Love
1975Movie
Elizabeth
Dinah!
1974TV
Self
Nourish the Beast
1974Movie
Baba Goya
Daisy Miller
1974Movie
Mrs. Walker
Come Die with Me
1974Movie
Mary Thatcher
The Sting
1973Movie
Billie
The Blue Knight
1973Movie
Glenda
The Blue Knight
1973TV
Glenda
Kojak
1973TV
Julie Loring
Scarecrow
1973Movie
Darlene
Barnaby Jones
1973TV
Anita Willson
Playmates
1972Movie
Amy
The Last Picture Show
1971Movie
Genevieve
McMillan & Wife
1971TV
Nora Dane
All in the Family
1971TV
Angelique McCarthy
Divorce American Style
1967Movie
Eunice
The Star Wagon
1966Movie
Hallie
NET Playhouse
1966TV
Hallie Arlington
The Merv Griffin Show
1962TV
Self
Golden Globe Awards
1944TV
Self - Presenter, Self - Nominee