Eileen Brennan (September 3, 1932 – July 28, 2013) was an American actress of film, television, and theater. Brennan was known for her role as Doreen Lewis in Private Benjamin, for which she received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. She reprised the role for the TV adaptation, winning both a Golden Globe and Emmy for her performance. She received Emmy nominations for her guest starring roles on Newhart, Thirtysomething, Taxi and Will & Grace.
September 3, 1932, Los Angeles, California, United States
Died
July 28, 2013, Burbank, California, United States
Place Of Birth
Los Angeles, California, USA
Height
5' 6" (1.68 m)
Profession
Actress, Soundtrack
Education
Georgetown University
Nationality
American
Spouse
David John Lampson (m. 1968–1974)
Children
Patrick Brennan, Samuel John Lampson
Parents
John Gerald Brennan, Regina Manahan
Siblings
Kathleen Howard
Awards
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy, Obie Award for Best Actress, Grammy Hall of Fame
Nominations
Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress - Comedy Series, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series, BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Suppo...
Movies
Private Benjamin, Clue, The Sting, Murder by Death, The Last Picture Show, Jeepers Creepers, The Cheap Detective, The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking, Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous, White Palace, At Long Last Love, Daisy Miller, Divorce American Style, Texasville, Scarecrow, Babes in ...
TV Shows
Private Benjamin, A New Kind of Family, All That Glitters, Off the Rack, 13 Queens Boulevard, Gravedale High
Star Sign
Virgo
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Trademark
1
Deep smoky voice
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Quote
1
[1988] I love meanies, and this goes back to Captain Lewis in Private Benjamin (1980). You know why? Because they have no sense of humor. People who are mean or unkind or rigid - think about it - cannot laugh at themselves. If we can't laugh at ourselves and the human condition, we're going to be mean.
2
Everyone hits bottom their own way. Mine came through my accident, which led to my pill addiction, which led to my birth. I say birth rather than rebirth because I feel born new. I reestablished a spiritual connection that is lost when you are taking any kind of drug. Strangely enough, I wouldn't have missed my accident. It just knocks me out to say that, but I mean it.
3
[on alcohol/drug medication addiction] It's so horrible and it can be so disastrous, yet there's something about the sensitivity of the human being that has to face it. We're very sensitive people with a lot of introspection, and you get saved or you don't get saved.
4
Actors are crazy or we wouldn't be doing this.
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Fact
1
In 1973 Eileen Brennan had supporting acting parts in "The Sting" with Robert Redford and Paul Newman and "Scarecrow" with Al Pacino and Gene Hackman. Brennan often excelled in roles as a wisecracking hard-bitten sidekick, such as the madam in "The Sting" and her turns in the Neil Simon scripted 1976 "Murder By Death" and 1978 "The Cheap Detective." As Eileen Brennan was launching the 1979 television comedy "13 Queens Boulevard," Brennan noted how often she was cast as comedic characters on the fringe when she said, "I've just about exhausted the market for madams. I love to pay them and I hope I have given each of the ladies a certain amount of individuality. But it's always a challenge to develop new types".
2
It was in her role as the growling Captain Doreen Lewis in the film "Private Benjamin," who oversaw the unlikely Army enlistee played by Goldie Hawn, that Brennan found her biggest success. The actress was the epitome of the "gruff but lovable" type, often bringing comedic sparkle to workaday frustrations while playing figures worn weary by their lives but still able to laugh off the worst. The film was a box-office hit and earned three Oscar nominations, including one for Brennan as best supporting actress. She won an EMMY for her part in the television spin-off. Brennan was nominated seven times for EMMY Awards, including for appearances on "Taxi," "Thirtysomething," "Newhart" and "Will & Grace".
3
Eileen Brennan made her Hollywood film debut in the 1967 comedy "Divorce American Style" starring Dick Van Dyke, Debbie Reynolds and Jason Robards.
Two featured characters in Norman Lear's "All That Glitters" television series were Eileen Brennan as Ma Packer and her lazy son, Sonny Packer, played by Tim Thomerson. Sonny's (Thomerson's) role idol and wannabe impersonation of an Elvis Presley character, always strumming his guitar, practicing swinging hips and rock movements was diligently encouraged by his Ma (Eileen Brennan) Packer. Their principal abode was a run down farm shack. In preparation for the first introduction of the outlandish pair, director Herb Kenwith and Eileen requested the littered straw and dirt studio set floor be inhabited with a small pot bellied pig and a dozen chickens. The first day to video-tape Ma and Sonny Packer's introduction in the series, Eileen picked up one of the hens, holding the chicken in her arms like a pet cat, petting and soothing the clucking hen while performing her character's motherly role. The entire week of staged scenes, Eileen carried the same hen in her arms, with the chickens pecking seeds from the straw on the ramshackle shack floor. The following week, the "All That Glitters" staff of women producers decided to cancel Eileen's on-set chicken wrangler and his livestock. Arriving early on the ramshackle set for rehearsal, Eileen and Herb confronted the dull witted lady producers. Where were the Chickens? Canceled to save money on a chicken wrangler and his flock of hens! The cast and crew waited for one hour while the wrangler and his flock of hens could arrive. Thereafter, Eileen, her chicken-hen co-star, with the floor flock of hens were featured until Ma moved uptown, with Sonny becoming a full fledged rock star on a local television station talent show, landing a gig at a local Western bar and stardom! Ma Packer, now a sexy glamorous theatrical agent, became a music-rock group phenomena.
6
She was cremated upon her death.
7
Prior to "Hello Dolly!", she had also created the title role in the long-running Off-Broadway musical "Little Mary Sunshine" (1960).
8
Best known for her role as the spiteful Captain Doreen Lewis in the comedy film Private Benjamin (1980) and the situation comedy Private Benjamin (1981).
$1.3 Million
