Eileen Brennan

Her ancestors trace back to Ireland, but Verla Eileen Regina Brennan was born in Los Angeles on September 3, 1932, the daughter of Regina “Jeanne” Menehan, a second-rate actress on the silent stage, and John Gerald Brennan. , a doctor. She attended Georgetown University in Washington and at that time she participated in plays for the Mask and Bauble Society, to later continue her studies at the New York Academy of Dramatic Arts. Her soprano voice allowed her to participate in operettas and even for two years she appeared in the Broadway stage production of the musical “Hello, Dolly” alongside Carol Channing . In theater she would get to play the attractive role of Ana Sullivan in the celebrated play “The Miracle of Ana Sullivan”.

Hollywood would knock on his door with My Wife’s Boyfriend (1967), a small role in a comedy for greater glory by Dick Van Dyke and Debbie Reynolds . From here she would hook regular presences on television shows, but without a doubt the one that put her on the cinematographic map was Peter Bogdanovich , who had her for The Last Session (1971), repeating her role 20 years later in Texasville (1990). She also made with this filmmaker Una senorita rebelde (1974) and At Long Last Love (1975). The 70s made her a secondary character in titles as emblematic as The Coup ( George Roy Hill, 1973), The Scarecrow (Jerry Schzatberg, 1973) and A Corpse for Desserts ( Robert Moore , 1976).

Everything was going smoothly, including her Oscar nomination for her role as Goldie Hawn ‘s “boss” in Private Benjamin ( Howard Zieff , 1980), which would give her an Emmy in its television series version. But precisely a wheeled vehicle ran over her as she was leaving dinner with Hawn, which caused multiple injuries to her legs and jaw, and ended up causing an addiction to painkillers. She was not the only health problem for her, she also went through breast cancer, which she overcame, although this deadly disease would end up taking her to the grave.

Brennan has never stopped working, even in 2011 he appears credited in the unknown movie Naked Run , and was in the series Will and Grace . From the rest of her filmography, it is worth highlighting The Game of Suspicion ( Jonathan Lynn , 1985), Adventures in Toyland ( Clive Donner , 1986), Pippi Longstocking. The Movie ( Ken Annakin , 1988), Stella ( John Erman , 1990), Passion Without Barriers ( Luis Mandoki , 1991) and Jeepers Creepers ( Victor Salva, 2001). She is survived by two children from her marriage to David John Lampson, from whom she separated in 1974.