Early work and theatre Brennan began her acting career while attending university, appearing in Georgetown's stage productions of
Arsenic and Old Lace. Her exceptional comic skills and romantic
soprano voice propelled her from unknown to star in the title role of Rick Besoyan's
off-Broadway tongue-in-cheek musical/operetta
Little Mary Sunshine (1959), She went on to create the role of Irene Molloy in the original Broadway production of
Hello, Dolly! (1964). Brennan's work in theatre attracted attention from television producers in California.
Carl Reiner, who was seeking an actress to play the role of Laura Petrie on
The Dick Van Dyke Show, flew her from New York to Los Angeles to audition for the part; however, the role was given to
Mary Tyler Moore.
Transition to film Her feature-film debut was in
Divorce American Style (1967). She soon became one of the most recognizable supporting actresses in film and television. She usually played sympathetic characters, though she played a variety of other character types, including earthy, vulgar and sassy, but occasionally "with a heart of gold". A year after her feature-film debut, she became a semi-regular on the comedy-variety show ''
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, but stayed for only two months. Brennan also appeared in the Barnaby Jones'' episode titled "Blood Relations" (1975). Brennan became a favorite of a number of directors, in particular
Peter Bogdanovich. She appeared in Bogdanovich's drama
The Last Picture Show as Genevieve (1971), for which she received a BAFTA nomination for best supporting actress. In 1972, Brennan appeared in an
All in the Family episode, "The Elevator Story" (1972), as Angelique McCarthy, followed by a role in
George Roy Hill's Academy Award-winning film
The Sting (1973) as Billie, the brothel madam and confidante of con man Henry Gondorf (
Paul Newman). In 1974, she reunited with director Bogdanovich, appearing in his adaptation of the
Henry James novella
Daisy Miller. Bogdanovich was the only director who made use of her musical talents (save for
The Cheap Detective; and she sang in performances off Broadway) when he cast her as
Cybill Shepherd's crude, fun-loving maid in his musical flop
At Long Last Love (1975) (which also starred
Madeline Kahn; Brennan and Kahn worked together in two more films:
The Cheap Detective (1978) and
Clue (1985). Brennan also worked with director
Robert Moore and writer
Neil Simon, appearing in
Murder by Death as Tess Skeffington (1976) and also appearing in
The Cheap Detective (1978). Both of these movies also starred
James Coco,
James Cromwell and
Peter Falk. She had a starring role, playing the disc jockey Mother in the film
FM (1978), a comedy-drama about life at a rock-music radio station. In 1980, Brennan received a
Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her role as
Goldie Hawn's nasty commanding officer in
Private Benjamin. She reprised the role in
the television adaptation (1981–1983), for which she won an Emmy (supporting actress) as well as a Golden Globe (lead actress). She had one additional Golden Globe nomination and six Emmy nominations. Brennan received an Emmy nomination for her guest-star role in the
Taxi episode "Thy Boss's Wife" (1981). In 1985, Brennan portrayed the iconic Mrs. Peacock in the Paramount Pictures adaptation of
Clue.
Later roles Brennan guest-starred on two
Murder, She Wrote episodes, "Old Habits Die Hard" (1987) and "Dear Deadly" (1994), and in 1987, she also appeared in the
Magnum, P.I. episode "The Love That Lies". Other guest appearances included
Newhart,
Thirtysomething,
Home Improvement,
Walker, Texas Ranger and
ER, the first two of which she received an Emmy nomination. In the 1990s, she appeared in
Stella (1990) with
Bette Midler, Bogdanovich's
Texasville (1990, the sequel to
The Last Picture Show), and
Reckless (1995). She had a recurring role on the sitcom
Blossom as the neighbor/confidante of the title character. She also appeared opposite
Vincent D'Onofrio in a segment of
Boys Life 2, an anthology film about gay men in America. In 2001, she made a brief appearance in the horror movie
Jeepers Creepers, and the following year starred in the
dark comedy film
Comic Book Villains, with
DJ Qualls. In recent years, Brennan had guest-starred in television, including recurring roles as the nosy Mrs. Bink on
7th Heaven and as gruff-acting coach Zandra on
Will & Grace. In 2003, director
Shawn Levy cast her in a cameo role of a babysitter to
Steve Martin and
Bonnie Hunt's children in an updated remake of
Cheaper by the Dozen. Levy was inspired to cast Brennan after seeing
Private Benjamin on television. However, Brennan's cameo was deleted from the actual cut of the movie. Nonetheless, she did receive credit for her role on the deleted scenes special feature of the film's DVD. In 2004, she appeared in the horror film
The Hollow as Joan Van Etten. That same year, Brennan was nominated for an Emmy for her performance as Zandra,
Jack McFarland's caustic drama teacher, on
Will & Grace. ==Personal life==