Jane Connell obit

Jane Connell, Agnes Gooch of ‘Mame,’ Is Dead at 87

 The veteran comic actress played Agnes Gooch in the original stage musical "Mame," then returned for the film version opposite Lucille Ball.

She was not on the list.

Jane Connell, who played secretary Agnes Gooch in Jerry Herman’s original Broadway musical production of Mame, then reprised the famous role for the 1974 film starring Lucille Ball, has died. She was 87.

Connell, who was nominated for a Tony Award for best featured actress in a musical for 1986’s Me and My Girl, died Monday, the website BroadwayWorld.com reported.

The 4-foot-11-inch Connell worked on Broadway with Angela Lansbury in Mame, in Herman’s Dear World (1969) and again in a revival of Mame that opened in 1983.

Her other stage credits include New Faces of 1956 with Maggie Smith; Drat! The Cat! (1965); Lysistrata (1972); Crazy for You (1982); Lend Me a Tenor (1989); Moon Over Buffalo (1995) opposite Carol Burnett; and the musical version of The Full Monty (2000), in which she replaced the late Kathleen Freeman midway through its run.

For a London production of Once Upon a Mattress in 1960, Connell starred as the wacky Princess Winifred, the role that brought Burnett stardom on Broadway.

Her big break came with Mame in 1966. “We knew the show would be a smash. Jerry’s songs, Gene Saks’ direction. It had strokes of genius,” she told the Houston Chronicle in 2004. She opened the musical with a hymn as she led the orphan Patrick to his Auntie Mame. (Also in the cast: Bea Arthur, then the wife of Saks.)

For the film version, also directed by Saks and featuring Arthur, Connell replaced Madeline Kahn, who was fired.

A native of Berkeley, Calif., Connell appeared on many TV series, including All in the Family (in the first part of the memorable “Edith’s 50th Birthday” two-part episode), The Patty Duke Show, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, That Girl, Green Acres, Bewitched, CPO Sharkey, M*A*S*H* and Law & Order. She was a regular on the short-lived NBC sitcom The Dumplings, starring James Coco and Geraldine Brooks.

She starred in director Frank Perry’s Cold War drama Ladybug Ladybug (1963) and also appeared in such films as Kotch (1971), Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood, House Calls (1978), the Joan Rivers-scripted and directed Rabbit Test (1978) and Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde (1995).

Connell was married to actor and musician Gordon Connell.

Actress (40 credits)

 1999 Great Performances (TV Series)

Mother

- Crazy for You (1999) ... Mother

 1998 Law & Order (TV Series)

Mrs. Hodge

- Burden (1998) ... Mrs. Hodge

 1995 Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde

Aunt Agatha

 1993 Robot in the Family

Mrs. Miller

 1990 Big Brother Jake (TV Series)

Miss Roberta Domedian (1991-1994)

 1989 See No Evil, Hear No Evil

Woman

 1985 Another World (TV Series)

Peg

- Episode #1.5359 (1985) ... Peg

 1985 Tales from the Darkside (TV Series)

Grandma

- Grandma's Last Wish (1985) ... Grandma

 1980 Getting There (TV Movie)

Grandma

 1980 M*A*S*H (TV Series)

Red Cross Worker Betty Halpern

- Old Soldiers (1980) ... Red Cross Worker Betty Halpern

 1980 Paris (TV Series)

- Fitz's Boys (1980)

 1979 Visions (TV Series)

Vinny

- Ladies in Waiting (1979) ... Vinny

 1978 Rabbit Test

Anthropologist

 1978 CPO Sharkey (TV Series)

Mrs. Holland

- Captain's Right Hand Man (1978) ... Mrs. Holland

 1978 Good Times (TV Series)

Mrs. Flicker

- Write On, Thelma (1978) ... Mrs. Flicker

 1978 House Calls

Mrs. Conway

 1977 All in the Family (TV Series)

Sybil Gooley

- Edith's 50th Birthday (1977) ... Sybil Gooley

 1977 The Magnificent Magical Magnet of Santa Mesa (TV Movie)

Ida Griffith

 1976 All's Fair (TV Series)

Mother

- Happy Anniversary: Part 1 (1976) ... Mother

 1976 Maude (TV Series)

Sally

- The Game Show (1976) ... Sally

 1976 Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman (TV Series)

Nurse / Nurse #1

- Episode #2.5 (1976) ... Nurse #1 (credit only)

- Episode #2.1 (1976) ... Nurse (uncredited)

- Episode #1.100 (1976) ... Nurse (credit only)

- Episode #1.99 (1976) ... Nurse (uncredited)

 1976 Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood

Waitress

 1976 The Dumplings (TV Series)

Bridget McKenna

- Joe Takes a Fall (1976) ... Bridget McKenna

- The Foundling (1976) ... Bridget McKenna

- The Other Woman (1976) ... Bridget McKenna

- Cully's Sister (1976) ... Bridget McKenna

- Sweetzer's Image (1976) ... Bridget McKenna

1974-1976 ABC Afterschool Specials (TV Series)

Aunt Peggy / Duenna

- The Amazing Cosmic Awareness of Duffy Moon (1976) ... Aunt Peggy

- Cyrano (1974) ... Duenna (voice)

 1974 Mame

Agnes Gooch

 1972-1973 Love, American Style (TV Series)

Rita Baker (segment "Love and the Suspicious Husband") / Sadie (segment "Love and the Disappearing Box")

- Love and the Comedienne/Love and the Lie/Love and the Lifter/Love and the Suspicious Husband (1973) ... Rita Baker (segment "Love and the Suspicious Husband")

- Love and the Confession/Love and the Disappearing Box/Love and the Hip Arrangement/Love and the Old Flames (1972) ... Sadie (segment "Love and the Disappearing Box")

 1967-1972 Bewitched (TV Series)

Martha Washington / Hepzibah / Mother Goose / ...

- George Washington Zapped Here: Part 2 (1972) ... Martha Washington

- George Washington Zapped Here: Part 1 (1972) ... Martha Washington

- Salem, Here We Come (1970) ... Hepzibah

- To Go or Not to Go, That Is the Question (1970) ... Hepzibah

- Sam's Double Mother Trouble (1969) ... Mother Goose

Show all 6 episodes

 1971 Kotch

Miss Roberts

 1970-1971 Green Acres (TV Series)

Woman On The Plane / Woman / Clara Burton

- Hawaiian Honeymoon (1971) ... Woman On The Plane

- The Wedding Deal (1971) ... Woman

- The Picnic (1970) ... Clara Burton

 1971 That Girl (TV Series)

Laura

- Chef's Night Out (1971) ... Laura

 1970 The Mary Tyler Moore Show (TV Series)

Karen Norris

- Divorce Isn't Everything (1970) ... Karen Norris

 1970 Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (TV Series)

Guest Performer

- Guest Starring Milton Berle (1970) ... Guest Performer (uncredited)

- Guest Starring Carl Reiner (1970) ... Guest Performer (uncredited)

 1969 Trilogy

Mrs. Connolly (segment "Miriam")

 1966 Sedgewick Hawk-Styles: Prince of Danger (TV Movie)

Queen Victoria

 1964 Mister Mayor (TV Series)

- Episode #1.1 (1964)

 1964 The Nut House!! (TV Movie)

 1963 Ladybug Ladybug

Mrs. Maxton - the Dietician

 1963 The Patty Duke Show (TV Series)

Mrs. Coglan

- The Conquering Hero (1963) ... Mrs. Coglan

 1960-1961 Play of the Week (TV Series)

Baby Doll Dalls

- New York Scrapbook (1961)

- The Grass Harp (1960) ... Baby Doll Dalls

 1956-1957 Stanley (TV Series)

Jane / Ruth / Mary

- Work Follies (1957) ... Jane

- The Fight (1957) ... Jane

- Married Friends (1957) ... Jane

- The Celebrity (1957) ... Ruth

- The New Year's Party (1956) ... Mary