Actress Eileen Brennan has passed away. Variety has reported that the Oscar nominated, Emmy Award-winning actress succumbed to bladder cancer. She was 80.
The first thing I saw Brennan is was PRIVATE BENJAMIN, but she scored a place in my heart for her role as Billie, the brothel madam/occasional lover of Henry Gondorff (Paul Newman) in THE STING. She began her film career, in 1967, with DIVORCE AMERICAN STYLE, but first gained success in theater, starting in the mid-fifties. Once she turned to film and television, she never went back. Over the years, she excelled at comedy, with roles including Mrs. Peacock in CLUE, THE CHEAP DETECTIVE’s Betty DeBoop, PRIVATE BENJAMIN’s Capt Lewis and Tess Skeffington in MURDER BY DEATH. But she also earned much acclaim for her dramatic performances in THE LAST PICTURE SHOW and THE STING.
