Eileen Brennan

Highest Rated: 100% The Last Picture Show (1971)

Lowest Rated: 14% Reckless (1995)

Birthday: Sep 3, 1932

Birthplace: Not Available

American actress Eileen Brennan was the daughter of Jean Manahan, a moderately successful silent screen actress. Brennan studied at both Georgetown University and the American Academy of Dramatic Art before making her mark as star of the 1959 off-Broadway musical Little Mary Sunshine. Brennan was among the first-season stars of TV's Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, essentially doing hilarious variations of her simpering "Mary Sunshine" persona. With her 1970s film appearances in The Last Picture Show (1971), The Sting (1972) and Hustle (1974) came the world-weary, hard-bitten characterizations with which she built her movie following. She was nominated for an Oscar for her expert interpretation of an army sergeant in Goldie Hawn's Private Benjamin (1980), then recreated the role for the 1981 TV sitcom version of this film (which won her an Emmy). While filming the TV Benjamin, Brennan was seriously injured in a car accident. The recovery was long and painful, but by 1985 she was back at work, as caustic as ever in recent films as Clue (1985), White Palace (1991) and the Last Picture Show sequel Texasville (1990). She continued to work steadily in a variety of projects including Murder So Sweet and 1995's Freaky Friday. She also made guest appearances on various T shows including Murder, She Wrote, E/R, Mad About You, and Touched By an Angel. In the 21st century she could be seen in Jeepers Creepers and Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous. Brennan passed away in 2013. She was 80 years old.

Highest Rated Movies

Filmography

Movies

		Credit
No Score Yet	Action Pack: Clue Quote-along	Actor	—	2013
No Score Yet	Naked Run	Actor	—	2011
No Score Yet	The Kings of Appletown	Actor	—	2009
15%	Miss Congeniality 2 - Armed and Fabulous	Carol Fields	$47.2M	2005
No Score Yet	The Hollow	Joan Van Etten	—	2004
No Score Yet	Dumb Luck	Actor	—	2003
No Score Yet	Comic Book Villains	Mrs. Cresswell	—	2002
46%	Jeepers Creepers	The Cat Lady	—	2001
No Score Yet	Dumb Luck	Minnie	—	2001
No Score Yet	The Last Great Ride	Mimi	—	1998
No Score Yet	Toothless	Board Member No. 2	—	1997
80%	Boys Life 2	Mrs. Randozzo [Nunzio's Second Cousin]	—	1997
No Score Yet	Changing Habits	Mother Superior	—	1997
88%	If These Walls Could Talk	Tessie	—	1996
14%	Reckless	Sister Margaret	—	1995
No Score Yet	Freaky Friday	Principal	—	1995
No Score Yet	Trail of Tears	Clara Cook	—	1995
No Score Yet	In Search of Dr. Seuss	Actor	—	1994
No Score Yet	The Lies Boys Tell	Actor	—	1994
No Score Yet	Precious Victims	Minnie Gray	—	1993
No Score Yet	Murder So Sweet	Martha Catlin	—	1993
No Score Yet	Poisoned by Love: The Kern County Murders	Martha Catlin	—	1993
No Score Yet	I Don't Buy Kisses Anymore	Frieda	—	1992
55%	Texasville	Genevieve	—	1991
61%	White Palace	Judy	—	1990
20%	Stella	Mrs. Wilkerson	—	1990
No Score Yet	Rented Lips	Hotel Desk Clerk	—	1988
17%	The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking	Miss Bannister	—	1988
No Score Yet	Sticky Fingers	Stella	—	1988
No Score Yet	Going to the Chapel	Actor	—	1988
No Score Yet	Blood Vows: The Story of a Mafia Wife	Sylvia	—	1987
No Score Yet	Babes in Toyland	Mrs. Piper/Widow Hubbard	—	1986
61%	Clue	Mrs. Peacock	—	1985
No Score Yet	The Fourth Wise Man	Actor	—	1985
No Score Yet	The History of White People in America	Actor	—	1985
No Score Yet	Pandemonium	Candy's Mom	—	1982
No Score Yet	Funny Farm	Gail Corbin	—	1982
No Score Yet	Working	Actor	—	1982
81%	Private Benjamin	Doreen Lewis	—	1980
No Score Yet	My Old Man	Marie	—	1979
No Score Yet	When She Was Bad...	Mary Jensen	—	1979
No Score Yet	The Great Smokey Roadblock	Penelope Pearson	—	1978
47%	The Cheap Detective	Betty DeBoop	—	1978
20%	FM	Mother	—	1978
No Score Yet	Richie	Carol Werner	—	1977
63%	Murder by Death	Tess Skeffington	—	1976
63%	Hustle	Paula Hollinger	—	1975
No Score Yet	My Father's House	Actor	—	1975
20%	At Long Last Love	Elizabeth	—	1975
88%	Daisy Miller	Mrs. Walker	—	1974
No Score Yet	Come Die with Me	Mary Thatcher	—	1974
94%	The Sting	Billie	—	1973
75%	Scarecrow	Darlene	—	1973
No Score Yet	Playmates	Amy	—	1972
100%	The Last Picture Show	Genevieve	—	1971
No Score Yet	The Star Wagon	Actor	—	1967
100%	Divorce American Style	Eunice	—	1967

TV

		Credit
No Score Yet	Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In 1973	Performer	2018
No Score Yet	Will & Grace 1998	Zandra	2006 2004 2002 2001 1999
No Score Yet	7th Heaven 1996-2007	Gladys Bink	2004 2003 1997 1996
100%	Lizzie McGuire 2001-2004	Marge	2003 2002
62%	Arli$$ 1996-2002	Lenore	2002
No Score Yet	Touched by an Angel 1994-2003	Dolores	1999
No Score Yet	Mad About You 1992-1999	No. 10	1998 1994
No Score Yet	Veronica's Closet 1997-2000		1997
No Score Yet	ER 1994-2009	Betty	1996
No Score Yet	Walker, Texas Ranger 1993-2001		1995
No Score Yet	Murder, She Wrote 1984-1996	Marion Simpson Loretta Lee	1994 1989 1987
82%	Tales from the Crypt 1989-1996	Guest	1993
No Score Yet	Blossom 1991-1995	Agnes	1991
85%	Thirtysomething 1987-1991		1991
No Score Yet	Newhart 1982-1990	Illustrator	1989 1988
No Score Yet	Magnum, P.I. 1980-1988	Brenda Babcock	1987
No Score Yet	Taxi 1978-1983	Boss's Wife	1981
No Score Yet	Kojak 1973-1978	Julie Loring	1975
No Score Yet	All in the Family 1971-1979	Miss McCarthy	1972
40%	Rick Moranis in Gravedale High 1990	Voice

QUOTES FROM Eileen Brennan CHARACTERS

Sam Diamond says: I owe Miss Skeffington here two years and three months back pay.

Tess Skeffington says: I don't care about the money, Sam.

Sam Diamond says: Neither do I.

Tess Skeffington says: Please excuse Sam. He was shot in the head last week; he shouldn't even be out of the hospital.

Tess Skeffington says: First kiss me, Sam.

Sam Diamond says: I don't kiss.

Tess Skeffington says: Just this once.

Sam Diamond says: I don't like kissing. Now leave me alone.

The Cat Lady says: What the hell did you bring into my house?

The Cat Lady says: That's not my scarecrow.

The Cat Lady says: You got ten seconds to get your ass out of my yard, and don't think I'm gonna tell ya twice!

Trish says: Get the hell away from him.

Darry says: What are you doing, Trish?

Trish says: Get the hell away from him!

Tess Skeffington says: ...He was my uncle. He was very good to me; he used to take me to the circus and give me candy. We stopped going when I was...about twenty-six

Tess Skeffington says: He was my uncle. He was very good to me, he used to take me to the circus and give me candy. We stopped going when I was...about twenty-six.

Sam Diamond says: Twenty-six? What the hell kind of circus was it?

Prof. Plum says: What are you afraid of, a fate worse than death?

Mrs. Peacock says: No, just death, isn't that enough?

Col. Mustard says: This is war, Peacock. Casualties are inevitable. You can not make an omelet without breaking eggs, every cook will tell you that.

Mrs. Peacock says: But look what happened to the cook! (haunk)

Mrs. Peacock says: But look what happened to the cook!

Tess Skeffington says: Twain picked up Sam in a gay bar.

Sam Diamond says: I was working on a case! Working.

Tess Skeffington says: Every night for six months?

Mrs. Peacock says: Well, someone's got to break the ice, and it might as well be me. I mean, I'm used to being a hostess, it's part of my husband's work. And it's always difficult when a group of new friends meet together for the first time, to get acquainted. So I'm perfectly prepared to start the ball rolling. I mean, I-I have absolutely no idea what we're doing here. Or what I'm doing here, or what this place is about, but I am determined to enjoy myself. And I'm very intrigued, and, oh my, this soup's delicious, isn't it?