Edith "Didi" Conn (née Bernstein; born July 13, 1951) is an American actress. She is best known for her work as Frenchy in Grease, Denise Stevens Downey in Benson and Stacy Jones in Shining Time Station.
Didi Conn | |
|---|---|
 Conn at Greenville Graffiti Car Show at Greenville, Illinois, in 2018 | |
| Born | Edith Bernstein July 13, 1951 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Education | Midwood High School |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1973–present |
| Known for | Grease Benson Shining Time Station |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Richard Bernstein (brother) |
Early life
editEdith Bernstein was born on July 13, 1951, in Brooklyn, New York.[1] She had a Conservative "holiday Jewish" upbringing.[2]
Career
editConn made her debut as an actress in the 1960s. Her notable characters since the 1970s, when she first became prominent, include Laurie Robinson in You Light Up My Life (1977; Kasey Cisyk provided the character's singing voice), Frenchy in the feature films Grease (1978) and Grease 2 (1982), Helen on The Practice (1976–77), Denise Stevens Downey on Benson (1981–84), and Stacy Jones on Shining Time Station (1989–95).[3] She later reprised her role as Shining Time Station manager in Thomas and the Magic Railroad (2000).
Conn provided the voice for Raggedy Ann in the animated feature Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure (1977) directed by Richard Williams. She appeared as a celebrity guest on game shows like Match Game, The $20,000, $25,000, $50,000, and $100,000 Pyramids, Whew!, Chain Reaction, and Go.
As a theatre actress, she was involved with Broadway productions of Lost in Yonkers (1991), The Green Bird (2000), and Say Goodnight, Gracie (2002).[4] In 2014 she performed in The Underpants in Hartford, Connecticut.[3] She also starred in Dan Clancy's play Middletown from 2019 until 2021.[2][5]
In January 2016, she had a cameo as Vi in the Grease: Live television special on Fox, thus being the only actress to appear in all three screen adaptations of the franchise. In addition, she has appeared in numerous other roles on television.[6]
In 2019, Conn was a contestant on the eleventh series of the British television series Dancing on Ice. At 67, she was the oldest person ever to compete on the show.[7] She, alongside her professional partner Łukasz Różycki, were eliminated in Week 4, after the judges saved Saara Aalto and Hamish Gaman in the skate-off.
Activism
editConn's adopted son Daniel is autistic.[2][8] On November 13, 2008, she was named national celebrity spokesperson for Autism Speaks.[9] Before that, she was a spokesperson for the National Alliance for Autism Research, now part of Autism Speaks. She has performed at benefits for Foundation for Educating Children with Autism (FECA).[10]
On September 27, 2008, Conn performed with David Shire and Lynne Wintersteller at a benefit performance for Barack Obama in Nyack, New York.[11]
Personal life
editShe married her first husband, Frank Conn, in 1975 and they divorced in 1978.[6] She has been married to composer David Shire since 1984.[3]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure | Raggedy Ann (voice) | Animated film |
| 1977 | You Light Up My Life | Laurie Robinson | Singing voice provided by Kvitka Cisyk |
| 1978 | Grease | Frenchy | |
| 1978 | Almost Summer | Donna DeVito | |
| 1981 | Violet | Violet | Short film |
| 1982 | Grease 2 | Frenchy | |
| 1983 | The Magic Show | Cal | |
| 2000 | Thomas and the Magic Railroad | Stacy Jones | |
| 2002 | Frida | Waitress | |
| 2005 | Shooting Vegetarians | Patrice | |
| 2006 | Helen at Risk | Helen | Short film |
| 2008 | Oh Baby! | David's Mom | |
| 2018 | Most Likely to Murder | Fran Green | |
| 2020 | The Mimic | The Gossip Lady | |
| 2021 | One December Night | Norma |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Genesis II | TV Actress | TV movie |
| 1975 | Happy Days | Joyce | Episode: "Kiss Me Sickly" |
| 1975 | The Rookies | Young Woman | Episode: "Measure of Mercy" |
| 1976–77 | The Practice | Helen | 27 episodes |
| 1977 | Handle with Care | Jackie Morse | TV pilot |
| 1978 | Three on a Date | Eve Harris | TV movie |
| 1978 | Match Game | Herself (panelist) | 6 episodes, 1 for PM |
| 1978 | Murder at the Mardi Gras | Julie Evans | TV movie |
| 1980 | Semi-Tough | Kiki | Episode: "One Bad Apple" |
| 1980–81 | The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang | Cupcake (voice) | 24 episodes |
| 1981–84 | Benson | Denise Stevens Downey | 72 episodes |
| 1982 | American Playhouse | Receptionist | Episode: "Working" |
| 1983 | The Love Boat | Jenny | Episode: "Love on Strike" |
| 1984 | Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour | Herself (celebrity panelist) | Five episodes, airing July 16–20, 1984 |
| 1984 | ABC Weekend Special | Dimples (voice) | Episode: "Bad Cat" |
| 1985 | Hotel | Patty Maloney | Episode: "Sleeping Dogs" |
| 1985 | Star Fairies | Spice (voice) | TV movie |
| 1985 | The Jetsons | Cousin Melissa | Episode: "Judy Takes Off" |
| 1987 | Cagney & Lacey | Dinah Roswell | Episode: "Waste Deep" |
| 1987 | Highway to Heaven | Wanda / Birdy Belker | Episodes: "All That Glitters", "Ghost Rider" |
| 1989–93 | Shining Time Station | Stacy Jones, Gracie Jones | 65 episodes |
| 1990 | The Adventures of Don Coyote and Sancho Panda | Additional voices | Episode: "Pity the Poor Pirate" |
| 1990 | Shining Time Station: 'Tis a Gift | Stacy Jones | TV special |
| 1992 | Civil Wars | Hilary Schoenfeld | Episode: "Till Debt Do Us Part" |
| 1993 | A Flintstone Family Christmas | Stella (voice) | TV special |
| 1994 | L.A. Law | Penny Tressman | Episode: "He Ain't Guilty, He's My Brother" |
| 1995 | Shining Time Station: Once Upon a Time | Stacy Jones | TV special |
| 1995 | Shining Time Station: Second Chances | Stacy Jones | TV special |
| 1995 | Shining Time Station: One of the Family | Stacy Jones | TV special |
| 1995 | Shining Time Station: Queen for a Day | Stacy Jones | TV special |
| 1995 | Cybill | Sitcom Mom | Episode: "The Cheese Stands Alone" |
| 1998 | Saturday Night Live | Herself | Episode: "Steve Buscemi/Third Eye Blind" |
| 2002 | Rugrats | Caroller (voice) | Episode: "Babies in Toyland Part 1" |
| 2003 | Stanley | Mrs. Goldberg (voice) | Episode: "Going-Away Goose/Time to Climb!" |
| 2003 | The Wild Thornberrys | Muskox #2 (voice) | Episode: "Clash and Learn" |
| 2008–10 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Nurse | 3 episodes |
| 2011 | Gigantic | Didi Conn | Episode: "Scramble" |
| 2012 | Didi Lightful | Didi Lightful (voice) | TV pilot |
| 2015 | Transparent | Joyce Feldman | Episode: "The Book of Life" |
| 2016 | The Call | Corrine | TV pilot |
| 2016 | Grease: Live | Vi | TV movie |
| 2019 | Dancing on Ice | Herself (contestant) | 4 episodes, Series 11 |
| 2019 | Welcome to the Wayne | Oldest Annacille (voice) | Episode: "Some Sort of Bad Luck Curse" |
| 2022 | Blue Bloods | Mrs. Devlin | Episode: "Where We Stand" |
| 2023 | Harlan Coben's Shelter | Mrs. Friedman | Season One: Episodes 1-6 |
References
edit- ^ "Dancing on Ice 2019 Didi Conn: Age, net worth, movies and husband revealed". heart. January 3, 2019. Archived from the original on October 6, 2021. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
- ^ a b c Zighelboim, Selah Maya (April 16, 2019). "Didi Conn Talks 'Middletown,' Bar Mitzvahs". Jewish Exponent. Archived from the original on December 17, 2021. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
- ^ a b c "Actress Didi Conn Explains Her Voice And Attraction To 'Underpants'". Hartford Courant. January 24, 2014. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
- ^ "Didi Conn (Performer)". Playbill. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
- ^ Rabinowitz, Chloe. "MIDDLETOWN Starring Didi Conn, Donny Most & More To Open At Actors' Playhouse". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
- ^ a b "Didi Conn". Jewish Women's Archive. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
- ^ Dancing On Ice star opens up on being oldest contestant in 2019 series, OK! Magazine; accessed January 20, 2019.
- ^ "Commentary: I was the 'queen of denial' on autism". www.cnn.com. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
- ^ Didi Conn Named a National Celebrity Spokesperson for Autism Speaks, AutismSpeaks.org, November 14, 2008.
- ^ "Devereux Millwood gala goes retro". devereux.org. Archived from the original on September 25, 2006. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
- ^ Sept 27, 2008 Obama Benefit performance, NyackNewsandViews.com, September 21, 2008.