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IMDbPro

Fran Ryan(1916-2000)

  • Actress
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Fran Ryan
As an American character actress, Fran Ryan was a familiar face on stage, screen and television from her theatrical stage debut in the 1950s and continuing for nearly three decades. Ryan's similarity to actress Marjorie Main was soon noticed in the late 1960s, and she frequently played tough, mean-lipped, earthy and gruff-but-lovable female characters.

One of Ryan's first major television roles was playing Aggie Thompson, the housekeeper on The Doris Day Show (1968) and quickly found her place as a last-minute replacement on several television shows. She replaced the late Barbara Pepper in playing Doris Ziffel on the final season of Green Acres (1965). She also successfully succeeded Amanda Blake to play Miss Hannah on the final season of Gunsmoke (1955). Ryan's best-known TV credits include General Hospital (1963) and No Soap, Radio (1982).

Ryan also had supporting roles in major motion pictures including Big Wednesday (1978), The Long Riders (1980), Stripes (1981), Savannah Smiles (1982), Private School (1983), Eyes of Fire (1983) and Pale Rider (1985). Although she was never far from television, she returned to play Hannah the Barbarian in the short lived animated series Little Dracula (1991).

Fran Ryan passed away at her home in Burbank, California on January 15, 2000 of natural causes.
BornNovember 29, 1916
DiedJanuary 15, 2000(83)
BornNovember 29, 1916
DiedJanuary 15, 2000(83)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank

Photos19

West Buchanan and Fran Ryan in The Optimist (1983)
Fran Ryan in The Optimist (1983)
Enn Reitel and Fran Ryan in The Optimist (1983)
Julie Payne, Betsy Russell, and Fran Ryan in Private School (1983)
Fran Ryan and Johnny Whitaker in Sigmund and the Sea Monsters (1973)
Joe Higgins and Fran Ryan in Sigmund and the Sea Monsters (1973)
Scott C. Kolden, Sparky Marcus, Fran Ryan, and Johnny Whitaker in Sigmund and the Sea Monsters (1973)
Mark Miller and Fran Ryan in Savannah Smiles (1982)
Fran Ryan in Savannah Smiles (1982)
Hank Patterson and Fran Ryan in Green Acres (1965)
Fran Ryan in CHiPs (1977)
Mary Grace Canfield and Fran Ryan in Green Acres (1965)

Known for

Bill Murray in Stripes (1981)
Stripes
6.8
  • Dowager in Cab
  • 1981
Clint Eastwood in Pale Rider (1985)
Pale Rider
7.3
  • Ma Blankenship
  • 1985
John Cusack, Nicollette Sheridan, and Daphne Zuniga in The Sure Thing (1985)
The Sure Thing
7.0
  • Lady in Car
  • 1985
The Long Riders (1980)
The Long Riders
6.9
  • Mrs. Samuel
  • 1980

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actress

  • Michael Chiklis in The Commish (1991)
    The Commish
    • Doris
    • TV Series
    • 1993
  • River of Rage: The Taking of Maggie Keene (1993)
    River of Rage: The Taking of Maggie Keene
    • Hattie Clandell
    • TV Movie
    • 1993
  • Michael Harris and Dennis Haysbert in Suture (1993)
    Suture
    • Mrs. Lucerne
    • 1993
  • Tiny Toon Adventures (1990)
    Tiny Toon Adventures
    • Grandma Duff (voice)
    • TV Series
    • 1992
  • Jack's Place (1992)
    Jack's Place
    • Ira
    • TV Series
    • 1992
  • Homefront (1991)
    Homefront
    • Sister Theophane
    • TV Series
    • 1991
  • Pamela Anderson, Yasmine Bleeth, Alexandra Paul, David Hasselhoff, David Chokachi, Gena Lee Nolin, and Jaason Simmons in Baywatch (1989)
    Baywatch
    • Tillie McCabe
    • TV Series
    • 1991
  • Little Dracula (1991)
    Little Dracula
    • Hannah the Barbarian (voice)
    • TV Series
    • 1991
  • Davis Rules (1991)
    Davis Rules
    • Miss Catworthy
    • TV Series
    • 1991
  • The New Adam-12 (1989)
    The New Adam-12
    • Ida Collins
    • TV Series
    • 1990
  • Thanksgiving Day (1990)
    Thanksgiving Day
    • Lois
    • TV Movie
    • 1990
  • Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell in Quantum Leap (1989)
    Quantum Leap
    • Dorothy Jaeger
    • TV Series
    • 1990
  • Over My Dead Body (1990)
    Over My Dead Body
    • Building Manager
    • TV Series
    • 1990
  • Harry Anderson, Selma Diamond, Ellen Foley, John Larroquette, Richard Moll, and Charles Robinson in Night Court (1984)
    Night Court
    • Miss Crombie
    • Ethel La Rue
    • TV Series
    • 1987–1990
  • Corey Burton and Tress MacNeille in Chip 'n' Dale Rescue Rangers (1989)
    Chip 'n' Dale Rescue Rangers
    • Camembert Kate
    • School Teacher
    • TV Series
    • 1990

Soundtrack

  • The Doris Day Show (1968)
    The Doris Day Show
    • performer: "Down by the Old Mill Stream" (uncredited)
    • TV Series
    • 1968

Personal details

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  • Born
    • November 29, 1916
    • Los Angeles, California, USA
  • Died
    • January 15, 2000
    • Burbank, California, USA(natural causes)
  • Spouses
      Howard SchaferJanuary 1953 - May 1953 (his death)
  • Other works
    Fran Ryan frequently played Ms. Goodbody on the 1970's children's program "The New Zoo Revue", which featured Doug Momary and Emily "Emmy Jo" Peden, along with Freddy the Frog, Henrietta Hippo, and Charlie the Owl

Did you know

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  • Trivia
    Ryan's first husband, Walter Kenneth Wayne (whom she married in Fairbanks, Alaska in 1949), died in a plane crash, in a plane he was piloting in January 1951 while Fran was pregnant with their first and only child. She would give birth to their son, Chris, in April 1951.

    She remarried in January 1953 to Howard Schafer, who, bizarrely, would also perish in a plane crash in Oregon in May 1953. He had been piloting the plane. The wreckage of Howard's plane would not be discovered until 15 years later in November 1968. The remains of Schafer and his passengers were never found. All that was found at the crash site was a woman's shoe, 4 combs, and 2 sets of eyeglasses.
  • Quotes
    For some reason, I always had a feeling that Howard would walk right out of those mountains - you always have hope. - Fran, upon being notified that her second husband's plane wreckage had been found 15 years later.

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