Denny Dillon

Denny Dillon

74 · Born: May 18, 1951

Personal Details

BornMay 18, 1951 Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Biography

Tony Award-nominated stage, screen, television actress and comedian Denny Dillon was born on May 18, in Cleveland, Ohio.

Her professional career began six weeks after moving to NYC in 1973, when she made her Broadway debut as Agnes in the highly anticipated revival of Gypsy starring Angela Lansbury.

Other Broadway credits include The Skin of Our Teeth, Harold and Maude, Enchanted April, and the 1983 Gershwin musical: My One and Only starring Tommy Tune and Twiggy which garnered Dillon a Tony Award nomination (Best Featured Actress in a Musical).

In 1975 she and comedy partner Mark Hampton guest-starred on the third episode of the original Saturday Night Live performing their "Talent Night in the Convent". In 1980-81 she became a member of SNL's first replacement cast.

She scored a hit in her first motion picture, opposite John Travolta in an unforgettable cameo wiping his brow as Doreen in the 1977 iconic Saturday Night Fever.

After that auspicious debut, Dillon went on to appear with Al Pacino in Arthur Hiller's Author! Author!, Sidney Lumet's Garbo Talks, Anthony Harvey's Grace Quigley opposite Katharine Hepburn and Betty Thomas' Only You.

She voiced the character of Glyptodon in the first Ice Age film which was Oscar-nominated in 2003 for Best Animated Feature.

In 2006 she was part of Paul Greengrass' Oscar-nominated thriller, United 93 whose cast was awarded "best ensemble" by the Boston Critics Society.

Recently she appeared in Academy Award winner Halle Berry's directorial debut Bruised as Crazy Esther, and is featured in the comedy Paint opposite Owen Wilson.

A familiar television face, Dillon won a CableACE award "Best Actress in a Comedy Series" for the hit HBO comedy series Dream On (1990-1996).

Other television credits include: Women in Prison, Night Court, Designing Women, Nash Bridges, Louie, and Law & Order: SVU.

She recently completed a guest stint on Darren Star's new TV comedy series for Netflix, Uncoupled starring Neil Patrick Harris.

Presently Denny is filming the fourth season of the supernatural-thriller television series created by M.Night Shayamalan: Servant on Apple TV+.

Career

2023
Paint
Paint as PBS Host
Servant
Servant as Bev
Bruised
Bruised as Crazy Esther
2011
2007
2006
United 93
United 93 as Colleen Fraser
2002
Garmento
Garmento as Sylvia Walsh
Ice Age
Ice Age as Glyptodon (voice)
Goosed
Goosed as (unconfirmed)
1992
Life on the Edge
Life on the Edge as Shelli Summers
House IV
House IV as Verna Klump
Only You
Only You as Sunray Tours Travel Agent
1991
Dream On
Dream On as Toby Pedalbee
1987
Women in Prison
Women in Prison as Meg Bando
1985
1984
Garbo Talks
Garbo Talks as Elaine
1983
1982
Author! Author!
Author! Author! as Young Woman