Whatever Happened To Connie?

Luke_Krebbs_Ewing

Luke_Krebbs_Ewing

Telly Talk Champion
Sarah said:
She looks a little bit like Linda Gray here in one of the Southern Cross scenes.
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Maybe that's the real reason the actress was dropped, because she looked too similar to one of the show's lead actresses. :)
 
Toni

Toni

Maximum Member
Via The Void said:
Maybe that's the real reason the actress was dropped, because she looked too similar to one of the show's lead actresses. :)
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The actress who played Phyllis (Deborah Tranelli) resembled Linda Gray even more, so I don´t think that was the reason. Maybe they just decided that Bobby needed someone who really did a good job instead of one who spent the whole day looking at her fellow secretary as if she were thinking: "You are such a beeech" (hint, hint, Kristin and Louella...). Phyllis became the model secretary and incredibly discreet (even in Pam´s dreams...). And hey, she is a wonderful singer...If Afton could just have hit the lowest notes Deborah can...

 
tommie

tommie

Telly Talk Hero
Seaviewer said:
I wonder why they bothered changing the secretary's name. More important characters than that were simply recast without any onscreen explanation.
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I guess because she wasn't an important player there wasn't much use to actually try and re-cast her - better to say that Bobby just changed secretary.
 
Toni

Toni

Maximum Member
Via The Void said:
It's equally possible the actress wanted to leave.

Is she still alive? :)
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Rumors say she was run over by a car driven by a brunette in a blond wig...who looked like Phyllis. :spinning:
 
Dr. Ellby's hair

Dr. Ellby's hair

Telly Talk Member
tommie said:
I guess because she wasn't an important player there wasn't much use to actually try and re-cast her - better to say that Bobby just changed secretary.
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According to imdb.com they actually did recast Connie.

Jeanna Michaels plays (uncredited claims imdb, Connie does appear but i think the actress is someone else) Connie in episode "Double Wedding" aired 21 October 1978 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0553304/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast

Then actress Nancy Bleier appears as Connie four times, starting 19 November 1978 till 14 January 1979 http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0088194/?ref_=tt_cl_t13

In next episode 26 January 1979 "Julie's Return" Jeanna Michaels takes role over permanently. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0553346/?ref_=ttfc_fc_tt

Jeanna Michaels is alive and well:
http://www.compassplayers.com/first-bio
https://www.facebook.com/compassplayers/

2016 pic:

1933553_1650336241895603_8191295797074345979_o.jpg
 
Toni

Toni

Maximum Member
Dr. Ellby's hair said:
According to imdb.com they actually did recast Connie.

Jeanna Michaels plays (uncredited claims imdb, Connie does appear but i think the actress is someone else) Connie in episode "Double Wedding" aired 21 October 1978 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0553304/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast

Then actress Nancy Bleier appears as Connie four times, starting 19 November 1978 till 14 January 1979 http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0088194/?ref_=tt_cl_t13

In next episode 26 January 1979 "Julie's Return" Jeanna Michaels takes role over permanently. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0553346/?ref_=ttfc_fc_tt

Jeanna Michaels is alive and well:
http://www.compassplayers.com/first-bio
https://www.facebook.com/compassplayers/

2016 pic:

1933553_1650336241895603_8191295797074345979_o.jpg
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info! The girl has a sense of humor, that´s for sure!!:kiss:
 
Mel O'Drama

Mel O'Drama

Admin
Dr. Ellby's hair said:
Jeanna Michaels is alive and well
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Toni said:
The girl has a sense of humor, that´s for sure!!
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She certainly has. I enjoyed the irreverence with which she sums up her Dallas role and her reasons for quitting.


This is intriguing...

But my big break, and I mean big, came when I was offered the female lead in a sitcom—keep in mind that 66 episodes of a sitcom means a syndication deal and millions of dollars for everyone involved—and we did 103 episodes.

So what could possibly be wrong with this picture—the answer is that this was the second sitcom ever produced for exhibition on satellite television. You remember TBS, Ted Turner’s Superstation—well he got billions and Jane Fonda and I got scale and no residuals!
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I can't see any long-running sitcom roles in Jeanna's IMDb credits, and a quick online search cross-referencing Jeanna and Jane Fonda doesn't highlight anything obvious either.
 
Luke_Krebbs_Ewing

Luke_Krebbs_Ewing

Telly Talk Champion
According to her wikipedia entry Jeanna Michaels died in 2018 of Lymphoma, which I believe is a form of cancer.

Such a terrible disease.

May she Rest In Peace. :sad:

Connie Brasher.jpg Connie Brasher1.png
 
Toni

Toni

Maximum Member
The Ewing secretaries should have had at least one scene per year to discuss what their bosses had been doing the whole year. And exchanging gossip about them!!
 
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C

Chris2

Telly Talk Dream Maker
The Ewing Secretaries should have had a “Designing Women”-like sitcom spinoff. Maybe where they all room together and we see their lives after hours. Connie, Kendall, Sly, and Phyllis. Connie’s the sarcastic ringleader, Kendall is the ditzy one, Sly is the trampy one, and Phyllis is the straight man.
 
Toni

Toni

Maximum Member
Chris2 said:
The Ewing Secretaries should have had a “Designing Women”-like sitcom spinoff. Maybe where they all room together and we see their lives after hours. Connie, Kendall, Sly, and Phyllis. Connie’s the sarcastic ringleader, Kendall is the ditzy one, Sly is the trampy one, and Phyllis is the straight man.
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I don´t see them that way: Connie was passive-agressive, Kendall was bubblehead Receptionist Barbie ("hi hi, welcome to Ewing Oil, I´m so dumb..."), Sly was the first in the class (she was so opportunistic in her first scene: "Is that Harry MacSween, I call him Uncle Harry..."), and Phyllis...wait, was she a man? :eek:
 
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