Eileen Brennan, a smoky-voiced actress who had worked in show business
for more than 20 years before gaining her widest attention as a
gleefully tough Army captain in both the film and television versions of
“Private Benjamin,” died on Sunday at her home in Burbank, Calif. She was 80.
Ms. Brennan in the 1971 film "The Last Picture Show."
Her manager, Kim Vasilakis, confirmed the death on Tuesday, saying the cause was bladder cancer.
Ms. Brennan had had a solid career on the New York stage and in films like “The Last Picture Show” and “The Sting” when she was cast for the film “Private Benjamin,” a 1980 box-office hit starring Goldie Hawn in the title role.
Ms. Brennan played Capt. Doreen Lewis, the slow-burning commanding
officer of a pampered, privileged young woman who joins the Army and
finds that she isn’t anybody’s little princess anymore. The performance
brought Ms. Brennan an Academy Award nomination for best supporting
actress. She reprised the role in 1981 in a CBS sitcom based on the
film, with Lorna Patterson in the Goldie Hawn role. The TV performance
brought Ms. Brennan the Emmy Award for best supporting actress in a
comedy, variety or music series.
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