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Eileen Brennan, 80, comedy actress

LOS ANGELES - Eileen Brennan, 80, who went from musical comedy on Broadway to wringing laughs out of memorable characters in such films as Private Benjamin, died Sunday at her home in Burbank after a battle with bladder cancer.

Actress Brennan Eileen models clothes at a gala in Hollywood where stars wore original costumes in honor of the designers, Oct. 1982. (AP Photo/Doug Pizac)
Actress Brennan Eileen models clothes at a gala in Hollywood where stars wore original costumes in honor of the designers, Oct. 1982. (AP Photo/Doug Pizac)Read moreAP

LOS ANGELES - Eileen Brennan, 80, who went from musical comedy on Broadway to wringing laughs out of memorable characters in such films as Private Benjamin, died Sunday at her home in Burbank after a battle with bladder cancer.

"Our family is so grateful for the outpouring of love and respect for Eileen," her family said. "She was funny and caring and truly one of a kind."

Ms. Brennan got her first big role on the New York stage in Little Mary Sunshine, a musical comedy that won her the 1960 Obie for best actress. Along with her "excellent singing voice," her performance was "radiant and comic," said a New York Times review.

But it was a series of sharp-tongued roles that won her fans on TV and in movies, including gruff Army Capt. Doreen Lewis in 1980's Private Benjamin.

"I love meanies, and this goes back to Capt. Lewis in Private Benjamin," she told the Associated Press in 1988. "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."

Private Benjamin brought her an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress. She won an Emmy and Golden Globe for repeating the role in the TV version, and was nominated six other times for guest roles on such shows as Newhart, thirtysomething, Taxi, and Will & Grace.

The Private Benjamin role led to an enduring friendship with the movie's star, Goldie Hawn.

"Our world has lost a rare human," Hawn said in a statement. "Eileen was a brilliant comedian, a powerful dramatic actress and had the voice of an angel. I will miss my old friend."

A couple of years after they filmed the movie, Ms. Brennan and Hawn had dinner one night in 1982 in Venice, Calif. As they left the restaurant, Ms. Brennan was hit by a car. Her legs were smashed, bones on the left side of her face were broken, and her left eye socket was shattered.

She said she fought her injuries with rage. "I was no saint," she told Ladies' Home Journal. "I was angry, and anger is a powerful emotion. It increased my determination not to go under, to get well."

A decade after the accident and battling a related addiction to painkillers, she said she was glad she was struck by the car.

"You learn from powerful things," she said in 1992. "Initially, there's enormous anger, but your priorities get shifted around."

Ms. Brennan was a member of the original company of Hello, Dolly on Broadway. From the New York stage, she moved to the screen in Divorce American Style, The Last Picture Show, and The Sting.

Among her later roles was as Susan Sarandon's sister in 1990's White Palace.

She is survived by her two sons, Sam and Patrick.