Didi Conn

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Didi Conn
Didi Conn at Greenville Graffiti Car Show on June 16, 2018.jpg
Conn at Greenville Graffiti Car Show at Greenville, Illinois, in 2018
Born
Edith Bernstein

(1951-07-13) July 13, 1951 (age 73)
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Education Midwood High School
OccupationActress
Years active1973–present
Known for Grease
Benson
Shining Time Station
Spouses
Frank Conn
(m. 1975;div. 1978)
(m. 1984)
Children2
Relatives Richard Bernstein (brother)

Edith "Didi" Conn (née Bernstein; born July 13, 1951) is an American actress. She is best known for her work as Frenchy in Grease , Denise Stevens Downey in Benson and Stacy Jones in Shining Time Station .

Contents

Early life

Edith Bernstein was born on July 13, 1951, in Brooklyn, New York. [1] She had a Conservative "holiday Jewish" upbringing. [2]

Career

Conn made her debut as an actress in the 1960s. Her notable characters since the 1970s, when she first became prominent, include Laurie Robinson in You Light Up My Life (1977; Kasey Cisyk provided the character's singing voice), Frenchy in the feature films Grease (1978) and Grease 2 (1982), Helen on The Practice (1976–77), Denise Stevens Downey on Benson (1981–84), and Stacy Jones on Shining Time Station (1989–95). [3] She later reprised her role as Shining Time Station manager in Thomas and the Magic Railroad (2000).

Conn provided the voice for Raggedy Ann in the animated feature Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure (1977) directed by Richard Williams. She appeared as a celebrity guest on game shows like Match Game , The $20,000, $25,000, $50,000, and $100,000 Pyramids , Whew! , Chain Reaction , and Go .

As a theatre actress, she was involved with Broadway productions of Lost in Yonkers (1991), The Green Bird (2000), and Say Goodnight, Gracie (2002). [4] In 2014 she performed in The Underpants in Hartford, Connecticut. [3] She also starred in Dan Clancy's play Middletown from 2019 until 2021. [2] [5]

In January 2016, she had a cameo as Vi in the Grease: Live television special on Fox, thus being the only actress to appear in all three screen adaptations of the franchise. In addition, she has appeared in numerous other roles on television. [6]

In 2019, Conn was a contestant on the eleventh series of the British television series Dancing on Ice . At 67, she was the oldest person ever to compete on the show. [7] She, alongside her professional partner Łukasz Różycki, were eliminated in Week 4, after the judges saved Saara Aalto and Hamish Gaman in the skate-off.

Activism

Conn's adopted son Daniel is autistic. [2] [8] On November 13, 2008, she was named national celebrity spokesperson for Autism Speaks. [9] Before that, she was a spokesperson for the National Alliance for Autism Research, now part of Autism Speaks. She has performed at benefits for Foundation for Educating Children with Autism (FECA). [10]

On September 27, 2008, Conn performed with David Shire and Lynne Wintersteller at a benefit performance for Barack Obama in Nyack, New York. [11]

Personal life

She married her first husband, Frank Conn, in 1975 and they divorced in 1978. [6] She has been married to composer David Shire since 1984. [3]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1977 Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure Raggedy Ann (voice)Animated film
You Light Up My Life Laurie RobinsonSinging voice provided by Kvitka Cisyk
1978 Grease Frenchy
Almost Summer Donna DeVito
1981 Violet VioletShort film
1982 Grease 2 Frenchy
1983 The Magic Show Cal
2000 Thomas and the Magic Railroad Stacy Jones
2002 Frida Waitress
2005Shooting VegetariansPatrice
2006Helen at RiskHelenShort film
2008Oh Baby!David's Mom
2018 Most Likely to Murder Fran Green
2020 The Mimic The Gossip Lady
2021One December NightNorma

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1973 Genesis II TV ActressTV movie
1975 Happy Days JoyceEpisode: "Kiss Me Sickly"
The Rookies Young WomanEpisode: "Measure of Mercy"
1976–77 The Practice Helen27 episodes
1977Handle with CareJackie MorseTV pilot
1978 Three on a Date Eve HarrisTV movie
Match Game Herself (panelist)6 episodes, 1 for PM
Murder at the Mardi Gras Julie EvansTV movie
1980 Semi-Tough KikiEpisode: "One Bad Apple"
1980–81 The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang Cupcake (voice)24 episodes
1981–84 Benson Denise Stevens Downey72 episodes
1982 American Playhouse ReceptionistEpisode: "Working"
1983 The Love Boat JennyEpisode: "Love on Strike"
1984 Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour Herself (celebrity panelist)Five episodes, airing July 16–20, 1984
ABC Weekend Special Dimples (voice)Episode: "Bad Cat"
1985 Hotel Patty MaloneyEpisode: "Sleeping Dogs"
Star Fairies Spice (voice)TV movie
The Jetsons Cousin MelissaEpisode: "Judy Takes Off"
1987 Cagney & Lacey Dinah RoswellEpisode: "Waste Deep"
Highway to Heaven Wanda / Birdy BelkerEpisodes: "All That Glitters", "Ghost Rider"
1989–93 Shining Time Station Stacy Jones, Gracie Jones65 episodes
1990 The Adventures of Don Coyote and Sancho Panda Additional voicesEpisode: "Pity the Poor Pirate"
Shining Time Station: 'Tis a GiftStacy JonesTV special
1992 Civil Wars Hilary SchoenfeldEpisode: "Till Debt Do Us Part"
1993 A Flintstone Family Christmas Stella (voice)TV special
1994 L.A. Law Penny TressmanEpisode: "He Ain't Guilty, He's My Brother"
1995Shining Time Station: Once Upon a TimeStacy JonesTV special
Shining Time Station: Second ChancesTV special
Shining Time Station: One of the FamilyTV special
Shining Time Station: Queen for a DayTV special
Cybill Sitcom MomEpisode: "The Cheese Stands Alone"
1998 Saturday Night Live HerselfEpisode: "Steve Buscemi/Third Eye Blind"
2002 Rugrats Caroller (voice)Episode: "Babies in Toyland Part 1"
2003 Stanley Mrs. Goldberg (voice)Episode: "Going-Away Goose/Time to Climb!"
The Wild Thornberrys Muskox #2 (voice)Episode: "Clash and Learn"
2008–10 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Nurse3 episodes
2011 Gigantic Didi ConnEpisode: "Scramble"
2012Didi LightfulDidi Lightful (voice)TV pilot
2015 Transparent Joyce FeldmanEpisode: "The Book of Life"
2016The CallCorrineTV pilot
Grease: Live ViTV movie
2019 Dancing on Ice Herself (contestant)4 episodes, Series 11
Welcome to the Wayne Oldest Annacille (voice)Episode: "Some Sort of Bad Luck Curse"
2022 Blue Bloods Mrs. DevlinEpisode: "Where We Stand"
2023 Harlan Coben's Shelter Mrs. FriedmanSeason One: Episodes 1-6

References

  1. "Dancing on Ice 2019 Didi Conn: Age, net worth, movies and husband revealed". heart. January 3, 2019. Archived from the original on October 6, 2021. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 Zighelboim, Selah Maya (April 16, 2019). "Didi Conn Talks 'Middletown,' Bar Mitzvahs". Jewish Exponent. Archived from the original on December 17, 2021. Retrieved December 17, 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 "Actress Didi Conn Explains Her Voice And Attraction To 'Underpants'". Hartford Courant. January 24, 2014. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
  4. "Didi Conn (Performer)". Playbill. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
  5. Rabinowitz, Chloe. "MIDDLETOWN Starring Didi Conn, Donny Most & More To Open At Actors' Playhouse". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
  6. 1 2 "Didi Conn". Jewish Women's Archive. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
  7. Dancing On Ice star opens up on being oldest contestant in 2019 series, OK! Magazine; accessed January 20, 2019.
  8. "Commentary: I was the 'queen of denial' on autism". www.cnn.com. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
  9. Didi Conn Named a National Celebrity Spokesperson for Autism Speaks, AutismSpeaks.org, November 14, 2008.
  10. "Devereux Millwood gala goes retro". devereux.org. Archived from the original on September 25, 2006. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
  11. Sept 27, 2008 Obama Benefit performance, NyackNewsandViews.com, September 21, 2008.