Beatrice Colen (January 10, 1948 – November 18, 1999) was an American television and film actress. She may be best known for her television roles as roller-skating

carhop A carhop is a waiter or waitress who brings fast food to people in their cars at drive-in restaurants. Carhops usually work on foot but sometimes use roller skates, as depicted in movies such as ''American Graffiti'' and television shows such as ...

Marsha Simms on ''

Happy Days ''Happy Days'' is an American television sitcom that aired first-run on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marsha ...

'' and as Etta Candy on the first season of ''

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superheroine who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in ''All Star Comics'' Introducing Wonder Woman, #8, published October 21, 1941, with her first feature in ''Sensation Comic ...

''.

Early life

Colen was born to Anne and Bruce D Colen in New York City, New York. Both of her parents were of

German Jewish The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321 CE, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (c. 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish commu ...

descent. She was the granddaughter of playwright George S. Kaufman.

Career

Starting in the 1970s, Colen landed roles early in her career in both film and television. On ''

'', she starred as

Marsha Simms in seasons 1-3 and 5. She was the first actress to portray Etta Candy in the live action adaptation of the DC comic book series ''Wonder Woman''. After the pilot, she appeared only during the series' first season (1976–1977), which were set during World War II. When the series was retooled and reset in modern times, the character was dropped. Colen acted in such television films as '' Schoolboy Father'' (1980), ''

Brave New World ''Brave New World'' is a dystopian novel by English author Aldous Huxley, written in 1931, and published in 1932. Largely set in a futuristic World State, whose citizens are environmentally engineered into an intelligence-based social hier ...

'', and in feature films such as ''

Lifeguard A lifeguard is a rescuer who supervises the safety and rescue of swimmers, surfers, and other water sports participants such as in a swimming pool, water park, beach, spa, river and lake. Lifeguards are trained in swimming and Cardiopulmonary ...

'', '' High Anxiety'', '' American Pop'', and ''

Who's that Girl Who's That Girl? may refer to: Film and television * Who's That Girl (1987 film), ''Who's That Girl'' (1987 film), an American film starring Madonna * ''Who's That Girl'', a List of Philippine films of 2011#Films, Philippine film of 2011 * "Who's T ...

''. She guest-starred on a number of TV shows such as '' The Odd Couple'', ''

All in the Family ''All in the Family'' is an American sitcoms in the United States, sitcom television series that aired on CBS for nine seasons from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979, with a total of 205 episodes. It was later produced as ''Archie Bunker's Pla ...

'', ''

The Love Boat ''The Love Boat'' is an American romantic comedy-drama television series created by Wilford Lloyd Baumes that originally aired on ABC from September 24, 1977, to May 24, 1986. In addition, three TV movies aired before the regular series pre ...

'', '' Kolchak: The Night Stalker'' (1974, premiere episode: "The Ripper"), ''

Barney Miller ''Barney Miller'' is an American sitcom television series set in a New York City Police Department police station on East 6th Street in Greenwich Village (Lower Manhattan). The series was broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from Janu ...

'' (1981, episode: "The Rainmaker" and the 1975 episode: “Grand Hotel”), ''

The Wonder Years ''The Wonder Years'' is an American coming-of-age comedy television series created by Neal Marlens and Carol Black. It ran on ABC from January 31, 1988, until May 12, 1993. The series premiered immediately after ABC's coverage of Super Bowl X ...

'', and ''

Baywatch ''Baywatch'' is an American Drama (film and television), drama television series about lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, and Hawaii, starring David Hasselhoff. It was created by Michael Berk, Douglas Schwartz ...

''. Her final television appearance before retiring was in a 1997 episode of

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

's ''

The Secret World of Alex Mack ''The Secret World of Alex Mack'' is an American science fiction television series that aired on Nickelodeon from October 8, 1994, to January 15, 1998. The series was co-created by Ken Lipman and Thomas W. Lynch and was produced by Lynch Entertain ...

''.

Personal life and death

Colen was married to Patrick Cronin on October 23, 1977, and together they had two sons, James (born ) and Charlie (born . She died of lung cancer, which metastisized to a brain tumour years later, on November 18, 1999, in Los Angeles, California, at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Colen died on the opening night of Brentwood High School's production of '' The Man Who Came to Dinner'', which was written by her grandfather, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright George S. Kaufman, and which starred her son, James, in the title role of Sheridan Whiteside; James honoured her wish that he perform that night. Her memorial service was held at Saint James Episcopal Church in Los Angeles 10 days later.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Colen, Beatrice 1948 births 1999 deaths 20th-century American actresses American film actresses American people of German-Jewish descent American television actresses Actresses from New York City Jewish American actresses Deaths from lung cancer in California 20th-century American Jews