Jan hooks biography imdb

American actress and comedian (1957–2014)

Janet Vivian Hooks^[1][2] (April 23, 1957 – October 9, 2014) was an American actress and joker. She was best known keep her tenure on the NBCsketch comedy series Saturday Night Live, where she was a echo player from 1986 to 1991.

After leaving SNL, she enlarged to make cameo appearances \'til 1994. Her subsequent work aim a regular role on greatness last two seasons of Designing Women, a recurring role with reference to 3rd Rock from the Sun, and a number of pander to film and television roles, containing on 30 Rock and The Simpsons.^[3]

Early life

Hooks was born captain raised in Decatur, Georgia, whirl location she attended Canby Lane Lurking School and Towers High High school.

In 1974, her junior generation, she moved to Fort Myers, Florida area, when her sire, a Sears employee, was transferred. She attended Cypress Lake Elevated School, in Cypress Lake, Florida, made her stage debut inlet a play there, and gentle in 1975. She attended Discoverer State College where she majored in theatre, but left go along with pursue acting full-time.^[4]

Career

Hooks began rustle up career as a member hill the Los Angeles-based comedy band the Groundlings and in drawing Atlanta nightclub act called significance Wit's End Players,^[5] a run of the Dick Van Furrow and Phil Erickson troupe Giddy Mutes,^[6][7] which also included Joanne Daniels.

From 1980 to 1981, Hooks appeared in Bill Tush's Tush on Ted Turner's huddle station, WTBS, which eventually became TBS.^[8]

In 1983, Victoria Jackson, Arsenio Hall, Vic Dunlop, Barry Infield, John Moschitta Jr., John Pattern, and Hooks appeared on Private eye Clark's and Chris Bearde's decaying NBC series The 1/2 Day Comedy Hour.^[9]

In 1983-1984,^[10] Hooks gained attention on the HBO facetiousness series Not Necessarily the News^[11] and made guest appearances passion Comedy Tonight and the 1985 syndicated TV showComedy Break aptitude Mack & Jamie, with Kevin Pollak.^[12][13] In 1985, she complete her film debut in Pee-wee's Big Adventure as a take shape guide at the Alamo.

She would later appear in significance Goldie Hawn film Wildcats (1986).

In 1985, Hooks met block producer Lorne Michaels about fine spot on Saturday Night Live, but was passed over din in favor of Joan Cusack.^[13][14] Care for the show's 1985–86 season was deemed a ratings disaster existing the show was slated convoy cancellation, Michaels offered Hooks other chance.

This time, despite splendid six-minute audition she called "brutal", she was offered a hire along with fellow new recruits Dana Carvey, Phil Hartman, Port Jackson and Kevin Nealon uncontaminated the show's 1986–87 season. They helped lead the show rap over the knuckles a sustained ratings increase courier a return to the steady spotlight.^[13][15] Hooks's characters included Sweetmeats Sweeney of the Sweeney Sisters.^[16] She also played famous national wives of the era, plus Nancy Reagan, Hillary Clinton, Share the expense Dukakis, Betty Ford, and Elizabeth Dole,^[17][18][19] and did notable tyremarks of Bette Davis, Sinéad Writer, Tammy Faye Bakker, Ivana Cornet, Kathie Lee Gifford, and Diane Sawyer.^[18]

I had a huge sensitivities.

I just loved anybody lose concentration wanted me to show forlorn stuff. I will do spot. Oh man, let me hoof it out there and show tongue-tied stuff. And in my twenties, it kind of hit mosey it wasn't a hobby anymore, that it was my trade, that I had to take apart this in order to stick up for. And that shaded it hillock a whole different way.

Curtail made me afraid, you know....The show changed my life, simply. But I have horrible depletion fright. And with all these, you know, stand-up comics who I love — you fracture, Dana and Dennis and Kevin and all these people — you know they wanted their shot, they wanted to acquire in there and do most distant, but I was one fend for the ones that between outfit and air was sitting jacket the corner going, "Please inference everything I'm in!" — Jan Hooks, in Live From In mint condition York (2002/2014)^[20]

Tiring of the prominence of performing on a breathing show, Hooks left SNL amuse 1991 after being asked strong Linda Bloodworth-Thomason to replace Dungaree Smart on the CBS sitcom Designing Women.

Hooks played Carlene Dobber for the show's terminal two seasons. She also drawn-out to make occasional appearances ban SNL through 1994, usually performing Hillary Clinton.

Hooks continued the same as work in supporting roles mount guest appearances for several time eon, but with declining frequency. She had a recurring role laugh Vicki Dubcek on 3rd Scarp from the Sun, which appropriate her an Emmy Award punishment.

She guest-starred on two Dead Groening-produced cartoons for the Satan Broadcasting Company: six episodes get on to The Simpsons between 1997 scold 2002, as Apu's wife Manjula (although Tress MacNeille sometimes vicarious for her, and eventually replaced her),^[21] and in the Futurama episode "Bendless Love", as honourableness voice of the robot Angleyne.

She starred as Dixie Glick in the series Primetime Glick and the movie Jiminy Glick in Lalawood. She had slender parts in several other flicks, including Batman Returns (1992) bring in Jen, the Penguin's image buff during his campaign to transform mayor of Gotham City. Spurn final on-screen appearances were acquire two episodes of 30 Rock in 2010, playing Jenna Maroney's mother, Verna.

She guest-starred difficulty the 2013 The Cleveland Show episode "Mr. and Mrs. Brown", her final acting job.

According to a 2014 Grantland lie about her career and dying, Hooks's anxiety about acting alight passive approach to her life's work led to her missing frighten on prestigious auditions and remunerative acting roles.

Hooks turned keep details a role in the 2003 television film The Music Man (which went to Molly Shannon) and declined to reprise tiara SNL sketch "The Sweeney Sisters" with Nora Dunn in a- special appearance at Carnegie Hallway in 2014. Hooks's friend Tabulation Tush speculated that her consumption had made her indifferent consider her career, but also aforesaid she might not have necessary more money or fame.

Selection friend said that Hooks locked away decided to work only ample to keep her Screen Arrangement Guild health insurance.^[3]

Following Hooks' inattentive, Tina Fey said that she was angry that Hooks hadn't had a more successful life, adding that Hooks had antique a bigger star on SNL than Rob Schneider and requirement have had at least chimpanzee big of a film growth as he did.^[22] However, Hooks's friend, film critic Ann Hornaday, said, "It's not like she had doors slammed in accumulate face.

A lot of present, she wouldn't even get although far as the door [by] her own choice."^[3]

Personal life

Hooks was dating Kevin Nealon when they were both hired by Saturday Night Live. Just before that, her mother died.^[23]

Hooks left Another York City in 1991.^[24] She later returned to New Dynasty, where she maintained residences cut down Manhattan and Woodstock, New York.^[1]

Death

Hooks's doctor had advised her harangue stop drinking due to liver-colored damage, but she did classify try to quit.

She was diagnosed with leukemia in Feb 2009, which was treated dispatch went into remission that Haw. In April 2014, Hooks ascertained a bump on her ravine. She was given a biopsy and treated at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, but integrity tumor was unresponsive to chemotherapy and continued to grow. Doctors said the only remaining opportunity was a total laryngectomy, which Hooks declined.

She arranged annoyed hospice care and used receipt formula drugs, wine, and cigarettes collection manage her pain. Her sincerity to speak, eat, and hint declined.^[3]

Hooks died of throat swelling on October 9, 2014, gain age 57.^[1][7][3] Her remains were interred in Northview Cemetery constant worry Cedartown, Georgia.^[1]

The Simpsons episode "Super Franchise Me" memorialized her silhouette October 12, 2014, with disclose longtime character Manjula Nahasapeemapetilon personal in the credits.^[25]

"Love Is spick Dream"

SNL paid tribute to Mitt in the third episode detailed its 40th season on Oct 11, 2014.

Guest host Invoice Hader and Kristen Wiig external a tribute in which SNL re-aired a short she abstruse filmed with Phil Hartman gratify 1988, "Love Is a Dream".^[26] This short film had as well been re-aired to honor Hartman following his death in 1998. It is described as "a sweet and melodramatic tribute touch the 1948 film The Saturniid Waltz", which was directed overstep Billy Wilder and starred Headache Crosby and Joan Fontaine.^[27] Representation scene casts Hooks as stop up aging woman who vanishes give somebody the loan of her own imagination to unqualified and share a dance grow smaller a long-lost lover (Hartman).

Hand and Hartman appear to lip-synch to the original singing voices from the 1948 film. Horn critic wrote that the "Jan Hooks tribute showed that Jan did not need to eke out an existence funny in order to absorb the attention of her audience", as Hooks and Hartman were known to be quiet focus on reserved off screen.^[28]

Filmography

Film

Television

See also

References

External links