Leigh French (born July 14, 1945) is an American actress.

Leigh French
Born (1945-07-14) July 14, 1945 (age 79)
OccupationActress
Years active1966–present

Early life

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French was born in Ashland, Kentucky.

Career

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In her early career as a regular on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour of the late-1960s, French portrayed a hippie named Goldie O'Keefe. The character was originally introduced, in an ostensible studio-audience interview segment, as Goldie Keif; both "Goldie" and "Keif" were slang terms for marijuana at the time.[1] Reportedly, the slight name change to O'Keefe when she became a semi-regular was at the television network's insistence. Her segment of the show was called "Share a Little Tea with Goldie". At the time, "sharing tea" was a popular euphemism for getting high on marijuana. Following suit, her segment consisted largely of "helpful" household advice loaded with sex- and drug-related double entendres.[2]

French played a similar character, a San Francisco hippie type named Cobalt-Blue, in a 1968 episode ("Tag, You're It") of the I Spy series. She and Rob Reiner (both of whom had been members of The Committee improv group in San Francisco) also played hippies in the 1969 "Flower Power" episode of Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. French can also be seen in the films WUSA (1970), The Drowning Pool (1975), Aloha, Bobby and Rose (1975), The Hollywood Knights (1980), and The Long Days of Summer (1980). She appeared as Goober Pyle's (George Lindsey) sister on a pilot episode for a sitcom called Goober & the Truckers' Paradise. The show, in which Goober and his sister managed a highway truck stop, was not picked up by networks.[3]

French's acting work continued steadily through 2010, with her primarily performing behind the scenes and in voiceover roles in animated features up to 2014.[4]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1968 How Sweet It Is! Maria
1970 WUSA Girl
1970 Norwood Vernell Bird
1973 The All-American Boy Lovette
1973 The Laughing Policeman Porno Cashier
1975 Aloha, Bobby and Rose Donna Sue
1975 The Drowning Pool Red Head
1975 White Line Fever Lucy
1977 The Great Smokey Roadblock Glinda
1980 The Hollywood Knights Jacqueline Freedman
1981 History of the World, Part I Prehistoric Woman
1981 Halloween II Gary's Mother
1985 Summer Rental Announcer
1985 Stoogemania Television voice
1986 Children of a Lesser God Announcer
1987 Summer School Student
1988 Bright Lights, Big City Additional voices
1988 Talk Radio Newscaster
1989 Uncle Buck Additional voices
1990 The Spirit of '76 Voice of the Future
1991 Career Opportunities Voiceover
1991 An American Tail: Fievel Goes West Various voices Uncredited
1992 Glengarry Glen Ross Additional voice
1995 A Goofy Movie Uncredited
1996 Ghosts of Mississippi Bridge Lady
1998 Homegrown Waitress
2004 The Big Bounce Rell
2005 Rumor Has It Charity Dinner Guest
2006 Barnyard Additional voices
2007 Shrek the Third Baby Ogres Uncredited

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1966 The John Bartholomew Tucker Show Various roles Episode #1.7
1966–1967 Hey, Landlord 3 episodes
1968 I Spy Cobalt-Blue Episode: "Tag, You're It"
1969 Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. Michele Episode: "Flower Power"
1973 Chase Rita Episode: "A Bit of Class"
1975 Delancey Street: The Crisis Within Mary Television film
1975 The Fireman's Ball Angelina
1976 How to Break Up a Happy Divorce Marilyn
1978 Goober & the Truckers' Paradise Pearl Pyle
1980 The Long Days of Summer Frances Haley
1981 CHiPs Jackie Episode: "Crash Course"
1984 St. Elsewhere Alisha Episode: "Attack"
1984 It's Your Move Miss Feldman Episode: "Put to the Test"
1984 E/R Mrs. Forman Episode: "Only a Nurse"
1985 This Child Is Mine Carol Television film
1985 Knots Landing Phyllis Elliot Episode: "Rise and Fall"
1987 Warm Hearts, Cold Feet Nancy Carmel Television film
1990 Midnight Caller Sunny / Sunny Farina 2 episodes
1994 Reform School Girl Velmont Announcer Television film
1994 Rebel Highway Episode: "Reform School Girl"
1995 Original Sins The Voice Television film
2009 Children of the Corn Additional voice

References

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  1. ^ Freeman, Marc (2017-11-25). "'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour' at 50: The Rise and Fall of a Groundbreaking Variety Show". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2017-11-25.
  2. ^ "Campbell, French, Paulsen Reunited". Calgary Herald. November 1, 1968. p. 13. Retrieved November 11, 2011.
  3. ^ Erickson, Hal (2015). "Leigh French Biography". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 7 January 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  4. ^ "Leigh French". IMDb. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
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