Anne Ryan Haney ( Thomas; March 4, 1934 – May 26, 2001) was an American
character actress
A character actor is an actor known for playing unusual, eccentric, or interesting characters in supporting roles, rather than leading ones.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014 ...
. She appeared in small supporting roles in around 50 film and television productions and was best known for her roles as Mrs. Sellner in ''
Mrs. Doubtfire'', Mrs. Chapil in ''
The American President
''The American President'' is a 1995 American political romantic comedy drama film directed and produced by Rob Reiner and written by Aaron Sorkin. The film stars Michael Douglas as President Andrew Shepherd, a widower who pursues a romanti ...
'' and Greta in ''
Liar Liar
''Liar Liar'' is a 1997 American fantasy comedy film directed by Tom Shadyac and written by Paul Guay and Stephen Mazur. It stars Jim Carrey as a lawyer who built his entire career on lying but finds himself cursed to speak only the truth fo ...
''.
Early years
Haney was born to Robert Lee Thomas
on March 4, 1934, in
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...
.
She attended
East High School and
Southwestern at Memphis before earning her
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
from
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...
.
["Anne Thomas to Be Wed to John Haney on Nov.30"](_blank)
''The Commercial Appeal''. September ember 8, 1957. Sec. VI, pg. 1. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
Career
Haney began acting in 1970, appearing in commercials and in local theatrical productions in Atlanta, Jacksonville, and Norfolk, Virginia.
Haney appeared in the ''
Star Trek: The Next Generation'' episode "
The Survivors" as
Rishon Uxbridge, and later appeared as a
Bajoran
The Bajorans (variously pronounced , , )[Script notes](_blank)
specify "bah-JOR-an" and "BAY-jor" as the correc ...
arbitrator in the ''
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' episode "
Dax
The DAX (''Deutscher Aktienindex'' (German stock index); ) is a stock market index consisting of the 40 major German blue chip companies trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. It is a total return index. Prices are taken from the Xetra t ...
". She was a regular guest-star during the syndicated run of ''
Mama's Family
''Mama's Family'' is an American sitcom television series starring Vicki Lawrence as Thelma Harper, Mama (Thelma Harper). The series is a spin-off of a recurring series of comedy sketches called "The Family (sketch), The Family" featured on ''T ...
'', playing
Alberta Meechum, the nemesis of
Thelma Harper. On ''
Our House'' she played fussy neighbour Virginia Taft. She was also a recurring cast member of ''
L.A. Law
''L.A. Law'' is an American legal drama television series created by Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher for NBC. It ran for eight seasons and List of L.A. Law episodes, 172 episodes from September 15, 1986, to May 19, 1994.
The series cente ...
'', playing Judge Marilyn Travelini. Haney guest starred on ''
Benson'', ''
Cheers
''Cheers'' is an American television sitcom, created by Glen and Les Charles, Glen Charles & Les Charles and James Burrows, that aired on NBC for eleven seasons from September 30, 1982, to May 20, 1993. The show was produced by Charles/Burrows/C ...
'', ''
Designing Women
''Designing Women'' is an American television sitcom created by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason that aired on CBS between September 29, 1986 and May 24, 1993, producing seven seasons and 163 episodes. It was a joint production of Bloodworth/Thomas ...
'', ''
The Golden Girls
''The Golden Girls'' is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris that aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning seven seasons. The show's ensemble cast stars Beatrice Arthur, Betty ...
'', ''
Charmed
''Charmed'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Constance M. Burge and produced by Aaron Spelling and his production company Spelling Television, with Brad Kern serving as showrunner. The series was originally broadc ...
'', ''
Boy Meets World
''Boy Meets World'' is an American coming-of-age sitcom created by Michael Jacobs and April Kelly that aired on ABC for seven seasons between September1993 and May2000. The series centers on Cory Matthews ( Ben Savage) and his friends and f ...
'', ''
Columbo
''Columbo'' is an American crime drama television series starring Peter Falk as Columbo (character), Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. After two pilot episodes in 1968 and 1971, the show originall ...
'', ''
ER'', ''
NYPD Blue
''NYPD Blue'' is an American police procedural television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensemble ca ...
'', ''
Curb Your Enthusiasm
''Curb Your Enthusiasm'', also known colloquially simply as ''Curb'', is an American television comedy of manners created by Larry David that premiered on HBO with an hour-long special in October 17, 1999, followed by 12 seasons broadcast from Oc ...
'' and ''
Ally McBeal
''Ally McBeal'' is an American legal comedy-drama television series created by David E. Kelley that originally aired on Fox from September 8, 1997, to May 20, 2002. It revolves around Calista Flockhart in the title role as a lawyer working ...
''. She also appeared in the television movies ''
LBJ: The Early Years'' (1987) and ''
Elvis and Me'' (1988).
Haney also became known for a number of film appearances. In 1993, she was cast as Mrs. Sellner, a family court supervisor in ''
Mrs. Doubtfire''. In 1995, she appeared as Mrs. Chapil in ''
The American President
''The American President'' is a 1995 American political romantic comedy drama film directed and produced by Rob Reiner and written by Aaron Sorkin. The film stars Michael Douglas as President Andrew Shepherd, a widower who pursues a romanti ...
''. In 1997, she played Greta in ''
Liar Liar
''Liar Liar'' is a 1997 American fantasy comedy film directed by Tom Shadyac and written by Paul Guay and Stephen Mazur. It stars Jim Carrey as a lawyer who built his entire career on lying but finds himself cursed to speak only the truth fo ...
''. In 1999, she appeared in ''
Forces of Nature'' and ''
The Out-of-Towners''.
Personal life
She was married to John Haney, a public television executive whom she met at the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...
, where she had been studying drama, radio, and television.
They were married from November 30, 1957, until his death on April 9, 1980;
"John Haney, 54, Public TV Executive"
''The Atlanta Journal''. April 10, 1980. p. 48. Retrieved August 23, 2023. the marriage produced one daughter. As for her reason for coming to Hollywood, she said "My husband died, my daughter went to college, the dog got fleas, and the maid quit. So I had to come to Hollywood.”
Death
Haney died of congestive heart failure
Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood.
Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...
, aged 67, at her home in Studio City, Los Angeles
Studio City is a neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, United States, in the southeast San Fernando Valley, just west of the Cahuenga Pass. It is named after the studio lot that was established in the area by film producer Mack Sennett in ...
, California on May 26, 2001.
Selected filmography
* ''Summer of My German Soldier
''Summer of My German Soldier'' is a 1973 book by Bette Greene. The story focuses on the friendship between a young Jewish-American girl and an escaped German POW in a small town in the Southern United States during World War II. The novel was ...
'' (1978) – Mrs. Benn
* ''Hopscotch
Hopscotch is a playground game in which players toss a small object, called a lagger, into numbered triangles or a pattern of rectangles outlined on the ground and then hop or jump through the spaces and retrieve the object. It is a children's ...
'' (1980) – Mrs. Myerson
* '' The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia'' (1981) – Waitress
* '' The Children Nobody Wanted'' (1981, made-for-television
A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...
) – Mrs. Lightheart
* ''Making Love
''Making Love'' is a 1982 American drama (film and television), drama film directed by Arthur Hiller and starring Kate Jackson, Harry Hamlin and Michael Ontkean. The film tells the story of a married man coming to terms with his homosexuality an ...
'' (1982) – Lila
* '' Some Kind of Hero'' (1982) – Monica Lewis
* ''Frances
Frances is an English given name or last name of Latin origin. In Latin the meaning of the name Frances is 'from France' or 'the French.' The male version of the name in English is Francis (given name), Francis. The original Franciscus, meaning "F ...
'' (1982) – Hairdresser
* ''Cheers
''Cheers'' is an American television sitcom, created by Glen and Les Charles, Glen Charles & Les Charles and James Burrows, that aired on NBC for eleven seasons from September 30, 1982, to May 20, 1993. The show was produced by Charles/Burrows/C ...
'' (1982) – Miss Gilder
* '' The Osterman Weekend'' (1983) – Honeymoon Bride
* '' Benson'' (1984) – Nun
* '' Impulse'' (1984) – Mrs. Piersall
* '' The Night They Saved Christmas'' (1984) – Hedda
* ''St. Elsewhere
''St. Elsewhere'' is an American medical drama television series created by Joshua Brand and John Falsey that originally ran on NBC from October 26, 1982, to May 25, 1988. The series stars Ed Flanders, Norman Lloyd, and William Daniels as ...
'' (1984) – Mrs. Clifford
* '' The Bad Seed'' (1985) – Alice Fern
* '' Lime Street'' (1985) – Evelyn Camp
* '' Malice in Wonderland'' (1985) – Dema's Secretary
* ''Mr. Belvedere
''Mr. Belvedere'' is an American sitcom that originally broadcasting, aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from March 15, 1985 until its cancellation (television), cancellation following the 107th episodic television, episode on December ...
'' (1985, Episode "Sweet Charity") – Molly
* '' The Best of Times'' (1986) – Marcy
* ''The Golden Girls
''The Golden Girls'' is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris that aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes, spanning seven seasons. The show's ensemble cast stars Beatrice Arthur, Betty ...
'' (1986) – Bonnie
* '' Blind Justice'' (1986) – Jim's mother
* ''The Twilight Zone
''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described ...
'' (1986, Episode "The Toys of Caliban") – Mary Ross
* ''Mama's Family
''Mama's Family'' is an American sitcom television series starring Vicki Lawrence as Thelma Harper, Mama (Thelma Harper). The series is a spin-off of a recurring series of comedy sketches called "The Family (sketch), The Family" featured on ''T ...
'' (1986–1989) – Alberta Meechum
* '' LBJ: The Early Years'' (1987) – Rebekah Baines Johnson
* ''Cold Steel
Cold Steel may refer to:
* Cold-formed steel (CFS), the common term for products made by rolling or pressing thin gauges of sheet steel into goods
* Cold Steel (company), marketer of knives, swords and other edged weapons and tools
Media Fil ...
'' (1987) – Anna Modine
* '' Our House'' (1988) – Virginia Taft
* '' Elvis and Me'' (1988) – Grandma Minnie Mae Presley
* ''Beauty and the Beast
"Beauty and the Beast" is a fairy tale written by the French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in (''The Young American and Marine Tales'').
Villeneuve's lengthy version was abridged, rewritten, and publish ...
'' Episode "Dead of Winter" (1988) - Tamara
* '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (1989) – Rishon Uxbridge
* '' Columbo '' (1990, Episode "Agenda For Murder") – Louise
* '' Quantum Leap '' (1991, Episode "A Single Drop of Rain") – Grace Beaumont
* '' LA Law'' (1992) – Judge Marilyn Travelini
* ''Northern Exposure
''Northern Exposure'' is an American comedy-drama television series about the eccentric residents in the fictitious town of Cicely, Alaska, that originally aired on CBS from July 12, 1990, to July 26, 1995, with a total of 110 episodes. It rec ...
'' (1992) – Judge Elizabeth Percy
* '' The Golden Palace'' (1992) – Vivian
* '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (1993) – Renora
* '' Mrs. Doubtfire'' (1993) – Mrs. Sellner
* '' ER'' (1994) - Mrs Packer
* ''The American President
''The American President'' is a 1995 American political romantic comedy drama film directed and produced by Rob Reiner and written by Aaron Sorkin. The film stars Michael Douglas as President Andrew Shepherd, a widower who pursues a romanti ...
'' (1995) – Mrs. Chapil
* ''Mother
A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of ges ...
'' (1996) – Helen
* ''NYPD Blue
''NYPD Blue'' is an American police procedural television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensemble ca ...
'' (1996, Episode "Head Case") – Mrs. Reese
* ''Liar Liar
''Liar Liar'' is a 1997 American fantasy comedy film directed by Tom Shadyac and written by Paul Guay and Stephen Mazur. It stars Jim Carrey as a lawyer who built his entire career on lying but finds himself cursed to speak only the truth fo ...
'' (1997) – Greta
* '' Changing Habits'' (1997) – Sister Humiliata
* ''Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
''Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil'' is a non-fiction novel by John Berendt. The book, Berendt's first, was published on January 10, 1994, and follows the story of Jim Williams, an antiques dealer on trial for the killing of Danny Hansf ...
'' (1997) – Margaret Williams
* '' The Lesser Evil'' (1998) – Derek's Mother
* '' Psycho'' (1998) – Mrs. Chambers
* '' Forces of Nature'' (1999) – Emma
* '' The Out-of-Towners'' (1999) – Woman in Bathroom
* ''Charmed
''Charmed'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Constance M. Burge and produced by Aaron Spelling and his production company Spelling Television, with Brad Kern serving as showrunner. The series was originally broadc ...
'' (2000, Episode "How to Make a Quilt Out of Americans") – Aunt Gail
* ''Curb Your Enthusiasm
''Curb Your Enthusiasm'', also known colloquially simply as ''Curb'', is an American television comedy of manners created by Larry David that premiered on HBO with an hour-long special in October 17, 1999, followed by 12 seasons broadcast from Oc ...
'' (2000, Episode "Ted and Mary") – Mary's Mother (final appearance)
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haney, Anne
1934 births
2001 deaths
Rhodes College alumni
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni
Actresses from Memphis, Tennessee
American film actresses
American stage actresses
American television actresses
20th-century American actresses
21st-century American actresses
Deaths from congestive heart failure in the United States
East High School (Memphis, Tennessee) alumni