Maureen Ann Collins (born July 7, 1965) is an American actress and

comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolish (as in slapstick), or employing prop comedy. A comedian who addresses an audience dir ...

who was a member of the ensemble on

FOX Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelv ...

sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. The form developed and became popular in vaudeville, and ...

series ''

Mad TV ''Mad TV'' (stylized as ''MADtv'') is an American sketch comedy television series originally inspired by '' Mad'' magazine. In its initial run, it aired on Fox from 1995 to 2009. After a one-off reunion show in 2015 to celebrate the twentiet ...

''. Collins became well known for several characters during her tenure on the show. She was a cast member from the 4th season (1998) through the 9th season (2004); she only appeared in fourteen episodes during season nine due to contractual reasons. She returned to ''Mad TV'' in the 10th season for one episode, and again when she made an appearance on the 300th episode doing her popular character Lorraine Swanson. Her best known role following her departure from ''Mad TV'' was as morning talk show host Joan Callamezzo on the sitcom ''

Parks and Recreation ''Parks and Recreation'' (also known as ''Parks and Rec'') is an American political satire mockumentary sitcom television series created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur. The series aired on NBC from April 9, 2009, to February 24, 2015, f ...

''. The nickname Mo was first given to Collins by the football/drama coach of her junior high school whom she credits with introducing her to

improv comedy Improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted: created spontaneously by the performers. In its purest form, the dialogue, a ...

Career

''Mad TV''

Collins joined the cast of ''

'' at the beginning of season four and stayed until the end of season nine, though only appeared in 14 episodes during the ninth season. Her popular stint on the show led her to come back to guest star in 2005 during Season 10, in 2007 during the 300th episode on season 13, the final episode of season 14 in 2009 and the 20th anniversary reunion special in 2016. Her most featured and arguably most popular characters were Doreen, the screechy-voiced mother of overgrown toddler Stuart (when Mo Collins left the show, Doreen was written off as being asleep after her latest alcoholic bender or never mentioned); the odd, annoying, confused middle-aged woman Lorraine, and the perpetually unlucky Trina. Collins also did a multitude of celebrity impressions, including Pamela Anderson,

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, Bobbie Battista,

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(as

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from ''

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''),

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, Mary Hart,

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, Anne Heche, Catherine Hicks,

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, Allison Janney, Jennifer Lopez,

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(as Lois on a ''

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'' parody called ''

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in the Middle''), Jewel,

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, Madonna,

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(as herself and as Laverne DeFazio from ''

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''), Audrey Meadows,

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(in several "modern-day spin" parodies of ''

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''),

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, Diane Sawyer,

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, and

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Other work

*She has performed her one-woman show, ''Mo vs. Mo'', in various cities, including

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

and

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

. * Collins played in the fourth Hollywood Home Game edition of the

World Poker Tour The World Poker Tour (WPT) is an internationally televised gaming and entertainment brand. Since 2002, the World Poker Tour has operated a series of international poker tournaments and associated television series broadcasting playdown and the ...

for the weSPARK Cancer Support Center. She placed 4th and won $2,500. *She performed with Streetmosphere at the (formerly named) Disney-MGM Studios in the Hollywood Public Works. * She voices Jan Ors in the ''Star Wars: Dark Forces: The Collector's Trilogy'' audio drama.

Personal life

While attending St. Catherine University for visual arts, Collins was asked to leave in response to an act of

graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

she and her fellow art program friends had committed. Collins is in remission from a rare form of cancer known as

gastrointestinal stromal tumor Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are the most common mesenchymal neoplasms of the gastrointestinal tract. GISTs arise in the smooth muscle pacemaker interstitial cell of Cajal, or similar cells. They are defined as tumors whose behavio ...

(GIST). She was diagnosed in spring 2011 when she noticed an odd lump in her abdomen. Collins said, "I would have done nothing about it. I was 44, feeling healthy, everything was going great for me, but my fiancé, Alex said, ‘You need to get it checked out’". Collins learned she had a primary tumor in her

duodenum The duodenum is the first section of the small intestine in most higher vertebrates, including mammals, reptiles, and birds. In fish, the divisions of the small intestine are not as clear, and the terms anterior intestine or proximal intestine ...

and was able to find a doctor who knew enough about GIST to know that she needed to see a specialist.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

*
World Poker Tour profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Mo 1965 births Living people American television actresses American television writers American voice actresses American women comedians Actresses from Minneapolis 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses American sketch comedians Screenwriters from Minnesota 20th-century American comedians 21st-century American comedians Comedians from Minnesota American women television writers