|
"I was no saint," she said in an interview with Ladies Home Journal. "I was angry, and anger is a powerful emotion. It increased my determination not to go under, to get well." Brennan became dependent on painkillers, and two years after the accident she entered the Betty Ford Center to cure her addiction. "We get addicted to dull the pain of life," she told the magazine. "But once we accept that life is tough and painful, we can move on and grow and evolve." A decade after the accident, Brennan 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." She was a member of the original company of "Hello, Dolly" on Broadway. From the New York stage, Brennan moved to the screen in "The Sting," "The Cheap Detective," "Divorce American Style" and "The Last Picture Show" and TV guest shots on everything from "All in the Family" and "McMillan & Wife" to "Kojak," "The Love Boat," "Murder She Wrote," "Mad About You" and "7th Heaven." Brennan was born Verla Eileen Regina Brennan in Los Angeles. She was educated in convent schools and studied at Georgetown University and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. "Our family is so grateful for the outpouring of love and respect for Eileen," her family said in a statement. "She was funny and caring and truly one of a kind. Her strength and love will never be forgotten." Brennan is survived by her ex-husband, David John Lampson, their two sons, Patrick and Sam.
[Associated
Press;
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.