Eileen Brennan
| Eileen Brennan | |
|---|---|
Brennan, circa 1990
|
|
| Born |
Verla Eileen Brennen September 3, 1932 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Died | July 28, 2013 (aged 80) Burbank, California, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Bladder cancer |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1960–2009 |
| Spouse(s) | David John Lampson (1968–1974; divorced; 2 sons) |
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.
Brennan was born Verla Eileen Brennen on September 3, 1932 in Los Angeles, California, daughter of Regina "Jeanne" Menehan, a silent film actress, and John Gerald Brennen, a doctor. Of Irish descent, she was raised Roman Catholic.
Brennan appeared in plays with the Mask and Bauble Society at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., where she was employed. She starred there in 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). She played Annie Sullivan in The Miracle Worker at the 1961 Central City, Colorado Festival, 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 Malloy in the original Broadway production of Hello, Dolly! (1964).
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