Editing Fran Brill

{{Short description|American actress (born 1946)}}
{{BLP sources|date=June 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Fran Brill
| image              = 
| image_size         = 
| image_caption      = 
| birth_name         = 
| birth_date         = {{Birth date and age|1946|09|30}}
| birth_place        = [[Chester, Pennsylvania]], U.S.
| occupation         = {{hlist|Actress|[[puppeteer]]}}
| years_active       = 1969–2015
| spouse             = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Clint Ramsden|1979|1983|reason=divorced}}
* {{marriage|Francis Robert Kelly|1988}}
}}
}}
'''Fran Brill''' (born September 30, 1946)<ref name="ibdb" /> is an American retired actress and puppeteer, best known for her roles on ''[[Sesame Street]]'', as well as playing Sally Hayes in the [[Hal Ashby]] film ''[[Being There]]'' (1979), Dana Mardukas in the [[Martin Brest]] film ''[[Midnight Run]]'' (1988) and Lily Marvin in the [[Frank Oz]] film ''[[What About Bob?]]'' (1991).

Brill was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the [[3rd Children's and Family Emmy Awards]] in 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fran Brill to receive Life Achievement honor at 3rd Annual Children’s & Family Emmy Awards|url=https://www.shootonline.com/shoot_newsbriefs/fran-brill-to-receive-life-achievement-honor-at-3rd-annual-childrens-family-emmy-awards/|access-date=February 12, 2025 |website=[[Shoot Online]]}}</ref>

==Life and career==
Brill was born in Chester, Pennsylvania,<ref name="ibdb" /> and is a native of [[Swarthmore, Pennsylvania]],<ref name="pp" /> the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Joe Brill. Her father was a physician.<ref name="dn">{{cite news |last1=Wahls |first1=Robert |title=What Fran Brill Knows |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/95134658/fran-brill/ |access-date=February 17, 2022 |work=Daily News |date=July 6, 1975 |location=New York, New York City |page=Leisure 8|via = [[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> She is a graduate of [[Boston University College of Fine Arts]].<ref name="pp" /> Her early experience in acting came when she was 15 and performed in summer stock theater.<ref name="dn" />

She began her career in theater, making her [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] debut portraying a student leader in ''[[Red, White and Maddox]]'' (1969).<ref name=ibdb>{{cite web |title=Fran Brill |url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/fran-brill-92653 |website=Internet Broadway Database |publisher=The Broadway League |access-date=February 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220217031539/https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/fran-brill-92653 |archive-date=February 17, 2022 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="pp" /> Her other [[theater|theatrical]] roles include leads at the [[Roundabout Theatre Company|Roundabout Theatre]], [[Manhattan Theater Club]], [[Playwrights Horizons]] and many [[region]]al theaters including the [[Long Wharf Theatre|Long Wharf]], [[Yale Repertory Theatre]], [[Arena Stage]], the [[Mark Taper Forum]] and the [[Actors Theatre of Louisville]]. She has been nominated twice for a [[Drama Desk Award]], for ''[[What Every Woman Knows (play)|What Every Woman Knows]]'' (1976) and for ''Knuckle'' (1981), respectively.

From 1974-1975, Brill played Fran Bachman on [[NBC]]'s [[daytime drama]] ''[[How to Survive a Marriage]]''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Terrace |first1=Vincent |title=Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010, 2d ed. |date=2014 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-8641-0 |page=483 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YX_daEhlnbsC&dq=%22Fran+Brill%22&pg=PA483 |access-date=February 17, 2022 |language=en}}</ref> Her character struggled with sudden [[widow]]hood, and Brill received many [[condolence]] [[Letter (message)|letter]]s. Brill was also featured in [[episode]]s of ''[[The Guiding Light]]'', ''[[All My Children]]'', ''[[The Edge of Night]]'', ''[[Lip Service (1988 film)|Lip Service]]'' and ''[[Kate and Allie]]''.

In 1975, Brill portrayed first lady Rachel Jackson in ''First Ladies' Diaries'' on NBC-TV.<ref name="pp">{{cite news |last1=Holsopple |first1=Barbara |title=Fran Brill's TV Marriages Move From Fiction To Fact |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/95132716/fran-brill/ |access-date=February 17, 2022 |work=The Pittsburgh Press |date=April 13, 1975 |page=4 TV|via = [[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> She has also [[guest star|guest-starred]] on [[nighttime]] [[drama]]s such as ''[[Third Watch]]'', ''[[Against the Law (TV series)|Against the Law]]'', ''[[Law & Order]]'', and ''[[Law & Order: SVU]]''.

She has one known animation credit when she guest starred as Elisa and Eliza Stitch in ''[[Courage the Cowardly Dog]]''.

Brill had no experience as a puppeteer when she joined ''[[Sesame Street]]'', for which she has won an [[Emmy Awards|Emmy Award]], and created Prairie Dawn.<ref name="ar">{{cite news |last1=Perera |first1=Srianthi |title='Sesame Street' puppeteer to visit libraries |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/95133723/fran-brill/ |access-date=February 17, 2022 |work=Arizona Republic |date=January 2, 2008 |location=Arizona, Phoenix |page=395|via = [[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> She also created and puppeteered the [[The Muppets|Muppets]] [[Zoe (Sesame Street)|Zoe]], [[List of Sesame Street Muppets#L|Little Bird]], and [[List of Sesame Street Muppets#B|Betty Lou]], among others. Playing Zoe, Brill appeared on the [[TV-series]] ''[[The West Wing]]'' as well as many [[home videos]] including ''Zoe's Dance Moves''. With [[the Muppets]] she did ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'', ''[[The Muppet Show]]'', ''[[The Jim Henson Hour]]'', ''[[Dog City]]'', and ''[[The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland]]''.

She has also made commercials, preferring to do voiceovers rather than appearing on-camera,<ref name="dn" /> and has appeared in such films as ''[[Being There]]'', ''[[What About Bob?]]'', ''[[Midnight Run]]'', and ''[[City Hall (1996 film)|City Hall]]''.

In 2014, Brill announced that she was retiring from puppeteering on ''Sesame Street''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.toughpigs.com/fran-brill-retires-from-puppeteering|title=Fran Brill Retires from Puppeteering - Muppet Fans Who Grew Up - Tough Pigs|date=2 October 2014}}</ref>

==Filmography==
*''[[Sesame Street]]'' (1969-2014)
*''[[Being There]]'' (1979)
*''[[The Muppets Take Manhattan]]'' (1984)
*''[[Old Enough (film)|Old Enough]]'' (1984)
*''[[Seize the Day (film)|Seize the Day]]'' (1986)
*''[[Midnight Run]]'' (1988)
*''[[What About Bob?]]'' (1991)
*''[[Billy Bunny's Animal Songs]]'' (1993)
*''[[Nick Jr. Channel]]'' (as Jam in "Little Big Room" segments) 
*''[[City Hall (1996 film)|City Hall]]'' (1996)
*''[[Elmo's World]]'' (1998-2009)
*''[[Doug's 1st Movie]]'' (1999)
*''[[The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland]]'' (1999)
*''[[The World of Tosh]]'' (2002-2003) - Aunt Mabel (in the episode "Not Abnormally Normal")/Mrs. Bartles (in the episodes "Along Came a Spider" and "Message in a Bottle") (English dub, uncredited)
*''[[Animal Mechanicals]]'' (2007) - Mouse

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb name|id=0109329|name=Fran Brill}}
*{{IBDB name}}
*[http://franbrill.com/ Official Website]

{{The Muppets}}
{{Sesame Street}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brill, Fran}}
[[Category:1946 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Chester, Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:American film actresses]]
[[Category:American television actresses]]
[[Category:American voice actresses]]
[[Category:Female puppeteers]]
[[Category:Boston University College of Fine Arts alumni]]
[[Category:Actresses from Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:American puppeteers]]