Jenny O'Hara on House M.D.
Doctor shows, whether comedies or dramas, are fun because they allow guest appearances from people you may not see much otherwise. “House M.D.”, over the past three years of existence, has had a variety of patients, from Michelle Trachtenberg to Howard Hessman to L.L. Cool J. Recently they had an excellent appearance by Dave Matthews of the Dave Matthews band.
This past Tuesday, the show featured Jenny O’Hara as the victim who had the mysterious malady. I recognized her immediately because she did a lot of work as a character actress since the mid-seventies. As a teenager, she appeared on the soap opera “As the World Turns”. During the seventies and eighties she made appearances on shows like “The Rockford Files”, “Charlie’s Angels”, “Barney Miller” and “CHiPs”. Often she played vulnerable, insipid women. Her characters often lacked confidence in themselves.
At the start of the series “Facts of Life”, O’Hara was given a similar role as a teacher chasing after another male teacher at the school. It was a “Our Miss Brooks” kind of role which she did well, but the show cut the part after four episodes.
Most recently, she has played a recurring role on the “King of Queens” as Janet Heffernan. Unfortunately, I admit I rarely watch the Kevin James show so I do not know how the character relates to the plot, other than she is a family member.
Watching her on “House, M.D.”, I was amazed at O’Hara’s performance. She was still her trademark vulnerable character, but she was able to exhibit so much with just a handful of lines. She was able to show bravery in the face of fear. Her character, Fran, was afraid of growing older and letting life pass her by, so she decided to do things she would never have done as a younger woman. When telling her story, she was able to exhibit that bravery mixed with embarrassment and anger with herself.
O’Hara has grown much as an actress through the years. The part on the hospital drama was complicated and she was able to communicate to the audience exactly what the character was feeling each step of the way.
The television landscape is littered with programs, like "House, M.D.", that are so-called “dramadies”. I hope someone can offer Jenny O’Hara a part of an aunt or supervisor on one of these shows and allow audiences to see her on a regular basis. She can only make such a show better.
Thank you for reading. We will talk again soon.
This past Tuesday, the show featured Jenny O’Hara as the victim who had the mysterious malady. I recognized her immediately because she did a lot of work as a character actress since the mid-seventies. As a teenager, she appeared on the soap opera “As the World Turns”. During the seventies and eighties she made appearances on shows like “The Rockford Files”, “Charlie’s Angels”, “Barney Miller” and “CHiPs”. Often she played vulnerable, insipid women. Her characters often lacked confidence in themselves.
At the start of the series “Facts of Life”, O’Hara was given a similar role as a teacher chasing after another male teacher at the school. It was a “Our Miss Brooks” kind of role which she did well, but the show cut the part after four episodes.
Most recently, she has played a recurring role on the “King of Queens” as Janet Heffernan. Unfortunately, I admit I rarely watch the Kevin James show so I do not know how the character relates to the plot, other than she is a family member.
Watching her on “House, M.D.”, I was amazed at O’Hara’s performance. She was still her trademark vulnerable character, but she was able to exhibit so much with just a handful of lines. She was able to show bravery in the face of fear. Her character, Fran, was afraid of growing older and letting life pass her by, so she decided to do things she would never have done as a younger woman. When telling her story, she was able to exhibit that bravery mixed with embarrassment and anger with herself.
O’Hara has grown much as an actress through the years. The part on the hospital drama was complicated and she was able to communicate to the audience exactly what the character was feeling each step of the way.
The television landscape is littered with programs, like "House, M.D.", that are so-called “dramadies”. I hope someone can offer Jenny O’Hara a part of an aunt or supervisor on one of these shows and allow audiences to see her on a regular basis. She can only make such a show better.
Thank you for reading. We will talk again soon.
Labels: Entertainment, People
posted by Alexander Dimm | 5:28 AM
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