Jane Sperry Connell (pronounced con-NELL, née Bennett; October 27, 1925 – September 22, 2013) was an American actress and singer.
Connell is best known for originating the role of Agnes Gooch in the 1966 stage musical and 1974 film musical versions of Auntie Mame.
Early years Connell was born in Berkeley, California, to Louis Wesley and Mary (née Sperry) Bennett.1847-Current results for Jane Bennet © 2006-2021 Ancestry. Retrieved January 14, 2021 She majored in drama at the University of California, Berkeley where she met her future husband.
Career
Connell began her career with her husband Gordon, entertaining in San Francisco night clubs such as The Purple Onion and the Hungry I. Eventually the couple moved to New York City, where Connell made her Off-Broadway debut in the 1955 revival of The Threepenny Opera, a long-running hit at the Theatre de Lys. In the London production of Once Upon a Mattress, Connell starred as Winifred, the role that Carol Burnett had originated in New York. Her Broadway debut came in the role of Mrs. Peachum in Threepenny Opera (1955).
Connell's most prominent success came in 1966 when she was cast as Agnes Gooch in the original Broadway production of Jerry Herman's Mame. She recreated the role in the 1974 screen adaptation after Lucille Ball, the film's star, became dissatisfied with Madeline Kahn, who originally had been signed to play Gooch.
Only four-foot-eleven, Connell was described as a master of the large comic gesture in The Oxford Companion to American Theatre, which described her as "a tiny woman with a giant, squeaking voice".Jane Connell obituary in playbill.com ; accessed December 11, 2013.
Connell was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance in Me and My Girl (1986). Additional Broadway credits include New Faces of 1956 (1956); Drat! The Cat! (1965); Dear World (1969), once again supporting Angela Lansbury; the short-lived 1983 revival of Mame, in which Lansbury reprised her 1966 lead role; Lend Me a Tenor (1989); Crazy for You (1992); and Moon Over Buffalo (1995), starring Carol Burnett; The Full Monty (2000), succeeding Kathleen Freeman, who died during her run in the show, and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (2001).
Jane and Gordon Connell enjoyed extensive theatre careers. They appeared together on Broadway in Lysistrata (November 1972), starring Melina Mercouri in the title role. She appeared in New York City Center Encores! production of Call Me Madam (February 1995), and the Weill Recital Hall of Carnegie Hall concert presentation of Noël Coward's Sail Away (November 1999).
Jane Connell's film roles included Ladybug Ladybug (1963), Trilogy (1969), Kotch (1971), Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976), House Calls (1978), Rabbit Test (1978), Robot in the Family (1994) and Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde (1995). Her decades of television work included six appearances on Bewitched, where she variously played Mother Goose, Martha Washington, Queen Hepzibah and, in a memorable turn as Queen Victoria, often uttered the phrase "We are not amused." She also appeared on Green Acres, All in the Family, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Love, American Style, M*A*S*H, Maude, Good Times, Law & Order and many more.JANE CONNELL Masterworks Broadway. Sony Music Entertainment 2021. Retrieved January 14, 2021Jane Connell, Agnes Gooch of ‘Mame,’ Is Dead at 87 John Schwartz. New York Times. September 25, 2012. Retrieved January 14, 2021
Connell portrayed Jane in the comedy series Stanley (1956). She was a regular on the children's series Mr. Mayor (1964) and the situation comedy The Dumplings. From 1991 to 1994, she had the recurring role of social worker Roberta Domedian on the sitcom Big Brother Jake.
Family She married Gordon Connell, an actor and musician, in 1948. They remained married until her death in 2013. The couple had two daughters.
Death Jane Connell died on September 22, 2013, aged 87, at the Lillian Booth Actors Home of the Actors Fund in Englewood, New Jersey from undisclosed causes.Notice of death of Jane Connell, broadwayworld.com, September 23, 2013. She was survived by her husband (who died in 2016) and two daughters, Melissa and Maggie.Jane Connell obituary, New York Times, September 26, 2013; accessed December 11, 2013.
Filmography Year Title Role Notes1963 Ladybug Ladybug Mrs. Maxton 1969 Trilogy Mrs. Connolly1971 Kotch Miss Roberts1974 Mame Agnes Gooch1976 Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood Waitress1977 The Magnificent Magical Magnet of Santa Mesa Ida Griffith1978 House Calls Mrs. ConwayRabbit Test Anthropologist1980 Getting There Grandma1989 See No Evil, Hear No Evil Woman1994 Robot in the Family Mrs. Miller 1995 Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde Aunt Agatha
Television + Year Title Role Notes 1956–1957 Stanley Jane/Mary/Ruth 9 episodes 1960–1961 Play of the Week Baby Doll Dalls 2 episodes 1963 The Patty Duke Show Mrs. Coglan Episode: The Conquering Hero 1967–1972 Bewitched Martha/Hepzibah/Mother Goose 6 episodes 1970 The Mary Tyler Moore Show Karen Norris Episode: Divorce Isn't Everything 1971 That Girl Laura Episode: Chef's Night Out 1971 Green Acres Woman/Clara Burton 3 episodes 1972 Love, American Style Rita Baker/Sadie 2 episodes 1974–1976 ABC Afterschool Specials Aunt Peggy/Duenna 2 episodes 1976 The Dumplings Bridget McKenna 10 episodes 1976 Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman Nurse 4 episodes 1976 Maude Sally Episode: The Game Show 1976 All's Fair Mother Episode: Happy Anniversary: Part 1 1977 All In The Family Sybil Gooley Episode: Edith's 50th Birthday: Part 1 1978 Good Times Mrs. Flicker Episode: Write On, Thelma 1978 C.P.O. Sharkey Mrs. Holland Episode: Captain's Right Hand Man 1979 Visions Vinny Episode: Ladies in Waiting 1980 M*A*S*H Red Cross Worker Betty Halpern Episode: Old Soldiers 1985 Tales from the Darkside Grandma Episode: Grandma's Last Wish 1985 Another World Peg 2 episodes 1998 Law & Order Mrs. Hodge Episode: Burden 1999 Great Performances Mother Episode: Crazy For You
Stage + Year Title Role Notes 1956 New Faces of 1956 Edna/Miss Hat/Old Lady Ethel Barrymore Theatre, Broadway 1959 Pieces of Eight Euphrosyne/Portia/Simpering Julian Monk Theatre, Off-Broadway 1960 Once Upon a Mattress Winnifred Adelphi Theatre, West End 1962 Fortuna Christina Maidman Playhouse, Off-Broadway 1962 The Golden Apple Lovey Mars York Playhouse, Off-Broadway 1965 Drat! The Cat! Matilda Van Guilder Martin Beck Theatre, Broadway 1966 Mame Agnes Gooch Winter Garden Theatre, Broadway 1969 Dear World Gabrielle, the Madwoman of Montmartre Mark Hellinger Theatre, Broadway 1972 Lysistrata Gamma Brooks Atkinson Theatre, Broadway 1983 Mame Agnes Gooch Gershwin Theatre, Broadway 1985 Oh, Boy! Aunt Penelope Budd Carnegie Hall 1986 Me and My Girl Maria Marquis Theatre, Broadway 1989 Lend Me a Tenor Julia Royale Theatre, Broadway 1992 Crazy For You Mother Shubert Theatre, Broadway 1995 Call Me Madam Grand Duchess Sophie New York City Center, Off-Broadway 1995 Moon Over Buffalo Ethel Martin Beck Theatre, Broadway 1999 Sail Away Mrs. Sweeney Carnegie Hall 2000 The Student Prince Grand Duchess Anastasia Paper Mill Playhouse 2001 The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Widow Douglas Minskoff Theatre, Broadway 2001 The Full Monty Jeanette Burmeister (Replacement) Eugene O'Neill Theatre, Broadway
Awards and nominations +YearOrganizationCategoryWorkResultRef.1987Tony AwardsBest Featured Actress in a MusicalMe and My Girl
References
External links
Jane and Gordon Connell papers, 1923-2015, held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.