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Rip Bruce French

Soap opera veteran Bruce French has passed away at the age of 79. Best known for his Passions character, playing Father Lonigan on the daytime drama, The Hollywood Reporter has noted the actor died this past Friday, in L.A. due to Alzheimer’s complications. French was diagnosed with the condition four years ago.

Bruce French’s Legacy

French was married to Days of Our Lives alum Eileen Barnett (ex-Brooke Hamilton). The two were wed on January 20, 1991.

The actor was born in Reinbeck, Iowa on July 4, 1945, and earned a degree from the University of Iowa. French also served in the U.S. Army and fought in the Vietnam War. In addition, he studied acting at The University Tisch School of the Arts in New York.

French’s acting career began in 1972 when he performed in the off-Broadway play, The Shadow of a Gunman, and then had a role in the 1974 movie,...

Bruce French, best known for playing Father Lonigan on Passions, died at the age of 79. Per a report from The Hollywood Reporter, French died of complications from Alzheimer’s on February 7 in Los Angeles—his wife of 34 years, Eileen Barnett (who is also a longtime Days of Our Lives actress), told the outlet. Bruce French, an […]

The post Bruce French Dies: Passions Alum Was 79 appeared first on Soap Opera News.

Soap opera veteran Bruce French has died. The actor who portrayed Father Lonigan on Passions was 79 years old. French was the husband of Days of Our Lives alum Eileen Barnett.

Rest In Peace

The Hollywood Reporter reported that French passed away on Friday in Los Angeles due to complications from Alzheimer’s. He was diagnosed with the disease four years ago. French was born on July 4, 1945, in Reinbeck, Iowa. He earned a degree from the University of Iowa, and he served with the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. Finally, French studied acting at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.

On Passions, French portrayed the blind Father Lonigan for the show’s entire nine seasons from 1999 to 2008. On the soap, baddie Alistair Crane (David Bailey; John Reilly) caused the Father to lose his sight.

He began his acting career in 1972 in the off-Broadway play, The Shadow of a Gunman.

Best known to daytime fans for his portrayal as Father Lonigan on “Passions,” actor Bruce French has died. He was 79 years old.

French died Friday, February 7 in Los Angeles of complications from Alzheimer’s, his wife of 34 years, Eileen Barnett (“Days of our Lives”), told The Hollywood Reporter. French was first diagnosed with Alzheimer’s around four years ago, Barnett shared with the outlet.

On “Passions,” French made a memorable impression on the show playing a priest who had lost his sight after a church he had been in burned down while he was looking to save a statue of an angel. His primary role in Harmony was advising citizens on the problems they sought solutions to, particularly those told to him by the young adult characters.

French appeared in several hundred episodes of the drama series from its debut on NBC in July 1999 and into its run on DirecTV’s 101 Network.

Bruce French, a veteran of the stage and prolific character actor who worked with David E. Kelley and appeared in NBC’s aughts soap Passions across the entirety of its nine-season run, died Feb. 7 at the age of 79.

He died in Los Angeles of complications from Alzheimer’s (with which he was diagnosed around four years ago), longtime Days of Our Lives actress and French’s wife of 34 years, Eileen Barnett, told The Hollywood Reporter.

“The world is a dimmer place today, missing this amazing light that has gone out,” French’s niece, Claire French, wrote on Facebook. “We will miss Uncle Bruce tremendously, but are confident that he is joyously reunited with his beloved mom and in the seat he told my dad to save him...

Character actor Bruce French, best known for playing Father Lonigan in the NBC soap Passions, has died. He was 79.

French passed away Friday in Los Angeles due to complications from Alzheimer’s disease, his wife and Days of Our Lives vet Eileen Barnett told our sister site The Hollywood Reporter. TVLine has reached out for confirmation.

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The actor recurred as Father Lonigan, the blind priest who had premonitions of evil,...

Bruce French, the dependable character actor who did lots of work for the theater and portrayed Father Lonigan, the blind priest on the soap opera Passions who somehow could sense that evil was imminent, has died. He was 79.

French died Friday in Los Angeles of complications from Alzheimer’s, his wife of 34 years, longtime Days of Our Lives actress Eileen Barnett, told The Hollywood Reporter.

The Iowa native, who has more than 150 acting credits on IMDb, guest-starred for David E. Kelley on such shows as L.A. Law, Picket Fences, Ally McBeal, The Practice, Boston Public and Boston Legal, and he appeared on three Star Trek series — The Next Generation, Voyager and Enterprise — and in the 1998 film Star Trek: Insurrection.

Plus, he played the wealthy neighbor of Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver’s shifty characters on both seasons of the 2007-08 FX drama The Riches.

French recurred as the kind-hearted...

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Making her feature directorial debut is Emily Lerer (Shameless), from a script by Adam Lebowitz-Lockard (The Shrink Next Door), who also stars as Matt, an impulsive millennial mensch who gets possessed by the spirit of his dead Yiddish grandma, Omi (Levine), after popping the question to his shiksa girlfriend, Christina (Hemingway). In order to pull off the Jewish exorcism of the century, Matt and Christina enlist the help of Rabbi Louise (Connie Shi) and friends (played by Jonathan Fishman and Dalia Rooni).

Rounding out the cast are Shane Paul McGhie (Deputy) as Troy, Brooks Wheelan (Saturday Night Live) as Brian, Tess Paras (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) as Lauren, Morgana Shaw (Hit Man) as Ms. Walker, Paul Urcioli (Thanks For Sharing) as Boss, with Ken Lerner...

Clifford Bell, the cabaret impresario, director and producer affectionately known as “Lawrence of Cabarabia,” died Sunday of natural causes at Cha Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center, publicist Steve Moyer announced. He was 67.

“Clifford Bell was a force of nature!” Moyer said in a statement. “He lived and breathed music every day of his life to the very end.”

A 40-year show business veteran, Bell wrote and directed variety performances featuring the likes of Walter Cronkite, Colin Powell and Michael Eisner at the Honda Center in Anaheim and toured with Katey Sagal and her band.

As a cabaret director, he helmed shows for singers Gregg Marx, Todd Murray, Lois Bourgon, Carol Whitener, Joanne Tatham, Bonnie Gilgallon, Lauren White, Quinn Johnson, Chase Masterson, Lee Lessack, Bobbie Norman and Katrina Aguilar.

He produced albums for singers Betsyann Faiella, Eileen Barnett and Judy Butterfield and directed one-person shows starring Beth Lapides, Joan Hotchkis, Juliette Marshall,...

1967: Dark Shadows' Barnabas bared his fangs (upside down).

1981: The art auction began on General Hospital.

1987: Days of our Lives' Harper arrived in Salem.

2008: Noelle Beck debuted as the new Lily on As the World Turns."History speaks to artists. It changes the artist's thinking and is constantly reshaping it into d ifferent and unexpected images."

― Anselm Kiefer

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1959: CBS aired the 2,000th episode of Search for Tomorrow. The network released a celebratory photo with the following caption: "Mary Stuart, who for nearly eight years has played the stellar role of Joanne Tate on the program, shows off a...

1967: Peyton Place's Allison famously cut her hair.

1980: AMC's Palmer toasted Nina on her 19th birthday.

1985: Santa Barbara's Kelly blew up a car.

2010: AMC's Greenlee revealed herself to be alive at her wedding."History speaks to artists. It changes the artist's thinking and is constantly reshaping it into d ifferent and unexpected images."

― Anselm Kiefer

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1952: On Search for Tomorrow, Jim and Sam received photos of Keith kissing another woman. Louise told Joanne (Mary Stuart) that Irene (Bess Johnson) planned to destroy Joanne's reputation by leaking information of her affairs and shady business activities. Irene told Jim that she wanted...

1984: General Hospital's Frisco met Felicia.

1987: Another World's Dawn learned her mother had died.

1988: Santa Barbara's Julia was reunited with Mason.

2007: Passions' Ethan learned he had a son."The best prophet of the future is the past."

― Lord Byron

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1966: On Peyton Place, Steven Cord (James Douglas) arrived at his mother's (Ruth Warrick) home with a trunk of Ann's (Susan Oliver) childhood belongings and confronted her and Mr. Peyton about their treatment of Ann and the lies regarding her true parentage. They protested that they did what they thought was best, but he argued that they could have helped her after...

1967: Dark Shadows' Barnabas bared his fangs (upside down).

1981: The art auction began on General Hospital.

1987: Days of our Lives' Harper arrived in Salem.

2008: Noelle Beck debuted as the new Lily on As the World Turns."All true histories contain instruction; though, in some, the treasure may be hard to find, and when found, so trivial in quantity that the dry, shrivelled kernel scarcely compensates for the trouble of cracking the nut."

― Anne Brontë in "Agnes Grey"

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1959: CBS aired the 2,000th episode of Search for Tomorrow. The network released a celebratory photo with the following caption: "Mary Stuart,...

1967: Peyton Place's Allison famously cut her hair.

1980: AMC's Palmer toasted Nina on her 19th birthday.

1985: Santa Barbara's Kelly blew up a car.

2010: AMC's Greenlee revealed herself to be alive at her wedding."Whoever wishes to foresee the future must consult the past; for human events ever resemble those of preceding times. This arises from the fact that they are produced by men who ever have been, and ever shall be, animated by the same passions, and thus they necessarily have the same results."

― Machiavelli

"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.

On this date in...

1952: On Search for Tomorrow, Jim and Sam received photos of Keith kissing another woman.