“I love meanies, and this goes back to Captain Lewis in ‘Private Benjamin’ (1980). You know why? Because they have no sense of humor.
People who are mean or unkind or rigid – think about it – cannot laugh at themselves. If we can’t laugh at ourselves and the human condition, we’re going to be mean.”
It was in her role as the growling Captain Doreen Lewis in the film “Private Benjamin,” who oversaw the unlikely Army enlistee played by Goldie Hawn, that Eileen Brennan found her biggest success.
The actress was the epitome of the “gruff but lovable” type, often bringing comedic sparkle to workaday frustrations while playing figures worn weary by their lives but still able to laugh off the worst.
The film was a box-office hit and earned three Oscar nominations, including one for Brennan as best supporting actress. She won an Emmy for her part in the television spin-off.
During the show’s run in 1982, Brennan had dinner one evening with good friend Goldie Hawn at a Los Angeles restaurant.
They had already parted ways when Brennan was hit and critically injured by a car while crossing a street.
Replaced in the television series (by “Alice” co-star Polly Holliday), her recovery and rehabilitation lasted three years, which included an addiction to painkillers that she overcame.
“It’s so horrible and it can be so disastrous, yet there’s something about the sensitivity of the human being that has to face it. We’re very sensitive people with a lot of introspection, and you get saved or you don’t get saved.” (IMDb)
Happy Birthday, Eileen Brennan!