Bruce French (actor)

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Bruce French
Born(1945-07-04)July 4, 1945
Reinbeck, Iowa, U.S.
DiedFebruary 7, 2025(2025-02-07) (aged 79)
Los Angles, California, U.S.
OccupationActor
Years active1974–2012
Spouse
Eileen Barnett
​
(m. 1991)​

Bruce French (July 4, 1945 – February 7, 2025) was an American actor. He acted for more than 30 years.

Life and career

French was born in Reinbeck, Iowa, on July 4, 1945. He attended the University of Iowa and majored in speech and theatre.[1] He was married to actress and singer Eileen Barnett.

He is best known for his recurring role as

Father Lonigan on the NBC daytime drama Passions, appearing in over four hundred episodes between 1999 and 2008. Lonigan, a blind priest who had an uncanny knack for perceiving evil, was one of French's more than 150 credited appearances on television and in film.[2] He played priests and other men of faith with such frequency that he brought a clerical collar to auditions.[2]

French also played Jim Burns, the wealthy neighbor of the Malloy/"Rich" family, on The Riches; Jim's wife, Nina, is played by Margo Martindale. He was also noted for having portrayed a number of different characters across the Star Trek universe, including the empath adjutant to Jean Simmons in "The Drumhead", cited as one of the best episodes in the franchise. He is also one of the few actors to appear in both Star Trek and Star Wars, having contributed his voice to Star Wars: The Original Radio Drama in 1981.

His film roles include that of a checkout man in Frank Perry's Man on a Swing. He also had a brief role as a reporter in Jurassic Park III and a pathologist in Fletch.

French died from complications of Alzheimer's disease in Los Angeles, on February 7, 2025, at the age of 79.[2]

Awards and nominations

Ovation Awards

  • 2010: Won the award for Lead Actor in a Play for the role of Andrew Crocker-Harris in the Pacific Resident Theatre production of "The Browning Version"[3]

Filmography

References

  1. ^ "Performers & Producers". Admissions - The University of Iowa. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c Barnes, Mike (9 February 2025). "Bruce French, 'Passions' Actor and a Veteran of the Stage, Dies at 79". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 9 February 2025. Retrieved 9 February 2025.
  3. ^ "2009/2010 Ovation Award Winners". lastagetimes.com. 17 January 2011. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 11 February 2013.
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