Eileen Brennan

Brennan began her acting career 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 Little Mary Sunshine. 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. Brennan was a favorite of many directors, in particular Peter Bogdanovich. She was a semi-regular on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, but stayed for only two months. Brennan also appeared on Barnaby Jones; episode titled “Blood Relations” (11/28/1975) Brennan worked with director Robert Moore and writer Neil Simon. 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) and a Golden Globe (lead actress) Brennan received an Emmy nomination for her guest-star role in the Taxi episode "Thy Boss's Wife" In 1985, Brennan portrayed the iconic Mrs. Peacock in the Paramount Pictures adaptation of Clue. She had one additional Golden Globe nomination and six Emmy nominations. 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. In 2001, she made a brief appearance in the horror movie Jeepers Creepers. In recent years, Brennan had guest-starred in television, including recurring roles on 7th Heaven and 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. 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. However, Brennan's cameo was deleted from the actual cut of the movie. She did receive credit for her role on the deleted scenes special feature of the film's DVD.