Eileen Brennan (September 3, 1932 – July 28, 2013) was a smokey-voiced actress who had worked in show business for more than 20 years before gaining her widest attention as a gleefully tough Army captain in both the film (1980) and television (1981-83) versions of Private Benjamin. She was forced to leave the TV series when she was hit by a car and critically injured in Venice, CA. Without her, the series ended in 1983. Her mother was silent film star Regina "Jeanne" Menehan.
