Callan first appeared on television in an episode of
Route 66 that happened to be shooting in Dallas. She resumed her on-camera career in 1970, guest-starring in roles on
One Day at a Time,
St. Elsewhere,
Carnivàle,
JAG,
Coach and
King of the Hill. She played a key role in the
Emmy Award-winning episode "
Cousin Liz" of
All in the Family and portrayed the mother of
April Stevens Ewing in several episodes of the penultimate season of
Dallas. She played Daisy LaRue in the TV show
Meet the Browns and appeared as Mrs. Monroe, Gabe Duncan's teacher, in
Good Luck Charlie. She also appeared in the
third-season finale of
Desperate Housewives as Ilene Britt, the mother of
Edie Britt (
Nicollette Sheridan), and has portrayed
Lily's maternal grandmother on several episodes of
How I Met Your Mother. She played the part of Charlie (as an elderly woman) in
Heroes for one episode. She appeared in the films
Joe (1970),
A Touch of Class (1973),
The Onion Field (1979),
American Gigolo (1980),
A Change of Seasons (1980),
Fast-Walking (1982),
Knives Out (2019), and
Sew Torn (2024), as well as the 1972 television adaptation of the 1966
Lanford Wilson play
The Rimers of Eldritch. She has written several books, including
The Los Angeles Agent,
The Script Is Finished, Now What Do I Do?,
Directing Your Directing Career, in New York City, as well as Stella Adler, Larry Ross and others in Los Angeles. Callan made TV commercials for products, including Anacin, Endust, Geritol, and Sanka. ==Personal life==