Fran Ryan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Fran Ryan (November 29, 1916 – January 15, 2000) was an American character actress featured in television and films. She was born in Los Angeles, California. Fran Ryan began performing at the age of 6, at Oakland's Henry Duffy Theatre, in Northern California. She attended Stanford University for three years, and during World War II was a member of the USO entertaining troops. She performed comedy, singing and acting on stage in California and Chicago but was not to launch her television career for two decades. Her small screen debut came in an episode on Television's Batman, in 1966, followed by a bit part in Beverly Hillbillies. Ryan's best known television role was as Aggie Thompson in The Doris Day Show (in its first incarnation plotline theme), though the gig only lasted a few months. This role was cut short because she was offered the 'replacement' role on the hit series Green Acres as Doris Ziffel from 1969-1971. Fran was to replace Barbara Pepper, who by then was in poor health. Sadly, Miss Pepper died just five months later of heart ailments, on July 15, 1969. Ryan also starred on the long running TV Western series Gunsmoke during its twentieth and final season as Miss Hannah (Cobb). In 1987, she reprised the role of Miss Hannah in the TV movie Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge. Fran Ryan played the role of Sister Agatha in the soap opera General Hospital in (1979). She also did voices for cartoons such as Hong Kong Phooey, Mister T and Little Dracula. Fran starred on some TV shows for children like Sigmund and the Sea Monsters in 1975 as Gertrude Grouch, and in 1970s children's show The New Zoo Revue as Ms. Goodbody, the 1980s TV series No Soap, Radio as Mrs. Belmont, the short lived 1980s CBS TV series The Wizard as Tillie Russell from 1986-1987. Her last regular TV role was on The Dave Thomas Comedy Show. She starred in many feature films, including Flush (1977), Big Wednesday (1978), Take This Job and Shove It (1981), Pale Rider (1985), Chances Are, and in her scene-stealing cameo in 1981's Stripes, as a tortured cab fare to Bill Murray as the cabbie, in the opening scenes of the comedy film. Ryan made guest appearances on TV shows ranging from Batman, Adam-12, CHiPs, Quantum Leap, Night Court, Baywatch to The Commish. Fran Ryan was often compared to actress Marjorie Main; they looked similar to one another. Ryan died on January 15, 2000, at age 83. She is buried in the family plots alongside her mother, at the Holy Sepulchre Catholic Cemetery, in Hayward, California. Description above from the Wikipedia article Fran Ryan, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Rocky II
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Pale Rider
as Ma BlankenshipA mysterious preacher protects a humble prospector village from a greedy mining company trying...
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The Long Riders
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Stripes
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Private School
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Three 1960s California surfers fool around, drift apart and reunite years later to ride epic waves.
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Chances Are
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Family Plot
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The Million Dollar Duck
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The Sure Thing
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Straight Time
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Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge
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Eyes of Fire
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Stewardess School
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Savannah Smiles
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Out Cold
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Archie: To Riverdale and Back Again
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Suture
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Mickey One
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Deadly Game
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Fuzzbucket
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Scandalous John
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Goldie and the Boxer
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Long Way Home
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Panic in Echo Park
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Quiet Cool
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Nick Knight
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Tough Enough
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Lucky Stiff
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Father of Hell Town
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Thanksgiving Day
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Johnny Belinda
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Christmas Mountain
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Marcus Welby, M.D.: A Matter of Humanities
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Stalk the Wild Child
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The Return of Marcus Welby, M.D.
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Americana
as ColonelIn a small town in rural Kansas, a troubled veteran attempts to restore an old merry-go-round ride.
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The Adventures of Nellie Bly
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The Great Brain
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Hog Wild
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Rebel Love
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The Front Line
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Quantum Leap
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Falcon Crest
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Starsky & Hutch
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Daniel Boone
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Batman
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Murder, She Wrote
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Baywatch
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Barney Miller
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I Dream of Jeannie
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Hill Street Blues
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The Waltons
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Charlie's Angels
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Charlie's Angels
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Adam-12
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Night Court
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Night Court
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Taxi
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Highway to Heaven
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Matlock
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The Brady Bunch
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Green Acres
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Murphy Brown
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One Day at a Time
as uncreditedThe misadventures of a divorced mother, two teenage daughters, and new building superintendent...
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Laverne & Shirley
as uncreditedLaverne & Shirley is an American television sitcom that ran on ABC from January 27, 1976 to May...
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Amazing Stories
as Mrs. AbbottA truly amazing, fantastical, science fiction, funny and odd, and sometimes scary, sad and...
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Night Gallery
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The Commish
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Matt Houston
as uncreditedMatt Houston is an American crime drama series that aired on ABC from 1982 to 1985. Created by...
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The Rookies
as uncreditedThe Rookies is an American crime drama series that aired on ABC from 1972 until 1976. It follows...
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McCloud
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Tiny Toon Adventures
as Grandma (voice)Follow the adventures of a group of young cartoon characters who attend the Acme Looniversity to...
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That Girl
as uncreditedThat Girl is an American sitcom that ran on ABC from 1966 to 1971. It stars Marlo Thomas as the...
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Punky Brewster
as uncreditedAn abandoned waif and her dog are taken in by a cranky apartment manager who becomes her...
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How the West Was Won
as uncreditedThe Macahans, a family from Virginia headed by Zeb Macahan, travel across the country to pioneer...
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CHiPs
as NancyLighthearted look at the adventures of two Highway Patrol officers in Los Angeles. The main...
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Gunsmoke
as Mrs. KellerGunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman...
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Gunsmoke
as HannahGunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman...
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The Bill Cosby Show
as Mrs. BealThe Bill Cosby Show is an American situation comedy that aired for two seasons on NBC's Sunday...
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Brothers
as Mrs. MurphyTwo conservative men support their younger brother when he comes out as gay, and help him...
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The Colbys
as uncreditedThe Colbys is an American prime time soap opera, which originally aired on ABC from November 20,...
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Hong Kong Phooey
as uncreditedPenrod Pooch leaps into action as Hong Kong Phooey to fight villains.
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Grizzly Adams
as uncreditedAn innocent fugitive from the law lives in the wilderness with a grizzly bear companion and...
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Nichols
as Minnie DowdNichols is an American Western television series starring James Garner broadcast in the United...
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Manimal
as uncreditedJonathan Chase was a British college professor at New York University who had the unusual...
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The Wizard
as Tillie RussellThe Wizard is a live-action, family friendly, action/adventure series created by Michael Berk,...
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The Quest
as uncreditedThe Quest is an American Western series which aired on NBC from September to December 1976. The...
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Father Murphy
as uncreditedA good-hearted frontiersman poses as a priest to start an orphanage for a group of kids whose...
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Carter Country
as uncreditedCarter Country is an American television sitcom that ran from 1977 to 1979 on ABC.
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Good Heavens
as uncreditedGood Heavens was an ABC comedy anthology series produced by Columbia Pictures Television that...
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Sigmund and the Sea Monsters
as GertrudeSigmund and the Sea Monsters was an American children's television series that ran from 1973 to...
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It Takes Two
as uncreditedIt Takes Two is an American sitcom, created by Susan Harris, that aired on ABC from October 14,...
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Devlin
as uncreditedDevlin is an animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera for ABC in 1974.
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The Bradys
as uncreditedThe Bradys is a six-episode American drama series that aired on CBS in 1990. It was a revival of...
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Little Dracula
as uncreditedLittle Dracula is a British series of children's books and an American animated television...
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Mister T
as uncreditedMister T is an animated series that aired on NBC on Saturday morning from 1983 to 1986. A total...
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When the Whistle Blows
as uncreditedShort-lived comedy about construction workers enjoying themselves. The crew was all male except...
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Foul Play
as uncreditedBased on the 1978 film of the same name, the series is about a bumbling detective in San...
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