Conchata Ferrell

Conchata Ferrell Headshot

Actress

Birth Date: March 28, 1943

Death Date: October 12, 2020

Birth Place: Charleston, West Virginia

A robust performer with a ringing, resonant voice, Conchata Ferrell could be brassy and cynical or warm and yielding, depending on the demands of the role. She carved an enviable niche primarily in supporting roles on both the big and small screens. After making her theatrical debut in the New York Off-Broadway scene in the 1970s, Ferrell demonstrated her versatility and staying power in a succession of character parts in numerous TV movies, many theatrical films, several TV series and countless guest spots.

This native West Virginian first came to notice as an original cast member of Lanford Wilson's "Hot L Baltimore," the award-winning Off-Broadway production which Norman Lear later produced as a series for the 1974-75 ABC-TV season. The show brought sexual innuendo and racy dialogue into the nation's living rooms, some of it courtesy of Ferrell's character, prostitute April Green. Despite some affiliates refusing to carry the show, ABC kept it on the air for four months before it was finally dropped due to lack of viewer interest. Ferrell remained in Los Angeles, where her often tart-tongued and bossy but always warm and earthy demeanor garnered her continuing employment in a slew of supporting character parts, including plenty of nurses and, for variety, the occasional doctor.

Making her theatrical film debut as a feisty programmer in Sidney Lumet's "Network" (1976), Ferrell shed her typically urban persona when she won her first and to date only starring role opposite Rip Torn in Richard Pearce's small-scale, beautifully acted gem about rural life, "Heartland" (1980). She appeared in the ensemble comedy romance "Mystic Pizza" (1988), and also served up a memorably hokey performance in Tim Burton's "Edward Scissorhands" (1989). Ferrell later acted in Tony Scott's "True Romance" and Oliver Stone's "Heaven and Earth" (1993) and left an impression on viewers as the busybody office manager who frequently clashed with Julia Roberts in "Erin Brockovich" (2000). That same year, she lent her typically earthy presence to the brief role of Ellen Barkin's high-spirited best friend in the otherwise mundane "Crime + Punishment in Suburbia." The actress played a character named Mama Cass in the women's correctional facility telepic "Stranger Inside" (2001), followed by a supporting turn in the ABC TV movie "Oprah Winfrey Presents: Amy and Isabelle" (2001). Ferrell continued to appear in features with stints in "K-PAX" (2001), "Mr. Deeds" (2002) and the mockumentary "Surviving Eden" (2004).

Among Ferrell's many spots as a TV primetime series regular are roles on the popular seriocomic road adventure "B.

J and the Bear" (NBC, 1978-81) and "L.A. Law" (NBC, 1991-92), for which she received an Emmy Award nomination. In many cases, Ferrell joined established series during their runs: for example, she was featured during the last two seasons of "Hearts Afire" (CBS, 1993-95) as a sharp-tongued psychiatrist who writes an advice column for the small-town paper which the protagonists publish. Later, she returned to the series grind as a diner owner in the short-lived ABC sitcom "Townies" (1996-97) and as the aunt of a teen whose best friend serves as his guardian spirit in "Teen Angel" (ABC, 1997-98). The actress was a guest star on several popular series, including "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Touched by an Angel," "JAG," "Friends," "Popular," "ER," "Sabrina the Teenage Witch," "Becker" and "Judging Amy," and she appeared on the short-lived drama "Push Nevada" (ABC, 2002). The actress delivered another memorably tart-tongued creation in her recurring role as Berta, Charlie Sheen's sardonic housekeeper on the hit sitcom "Two and a Half Men" (CBS, 2003-15). Ferrell's winning portrayal of the sassy, blue-collared Berta twice earned her Emmy nods - first in 2005, then again in 2007 - for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. Conchata Ferrell died on October 12, 2020 in Sherman Oaks, CA at the age of 77.

Credits

Deported

Actor
Betsy
Movie
2020

Grace and FrankieStream

Guest Star
Grandma Jean
Series
2016
90%

Villisca

Actor
Mrs. Flanks
Movie
2016

KrampusStream

Actor
Aunt Dorothy
Movie
2015
66%

Wishin' and Hopin'

Actor
Sister Agrippina
Movie
2014

Frankenweenie

Voice
Bob's Mom
Movie
2012

Kabluey

Actor
Kathleen
Movie
2007

Surviving Eden

Actor
Rosemary Flotchky
Movie
2004

Two and a Half MenStream

Actor
Berta
Series
2003
65%

Two and a Half MenStream

Guest Star
Berta
Series
2003
65%

Push, Nevada

Guest Star
Show
2002

Mr. DeedsStream

Actor
Jan
Movie
2002
22%

Amy and Isabelle

Actor
Bev
Movie
2001

Stranger Inside

Actor
Mama Cass
Movie
2001

Buzz Lightyear of Star Command

Guest Voice
Series
2000

Erin BrockovichStream

Actor
Brenda
Movie
2000
85%

Crime and Punishment in Suburbia

Actor
Bella
Movie
2000

Judging Amy

Guest Star
Series
1999

BeckerStream

Guest Star
Series
1998

Two Guys and a Girl

Guest Star
Series
1998

Teen Angel

Actor
Pam
Series
1997

Pensacola: Wings of Gold

Guest Star
Show
1997

Buffy the Vampire SlayerStream

Guest Star
Nurse Greenliegh
Series
1997
85%

Touch

Actor
Virginia Worrel
Movie
1997

Townies

Actor
Marge
Series
1996
30%

Freeway

Actor
Mrs. Sheets
Movie
1996

Sweet Dreams

Actor
Dr. Kate Lowe
Movie
1996

My Fellow Americans

Actor
Woman Truck Driver
Movie
1996

JAGStream

Guest Star
Series
1995

Minor Adjustments

Guest Star
Show
1995

FriendsStream

Guest Star
The Judge
Series
1994
78%

Touched by an AngelStream

Guest Star
Series
1994

ERStream

Guest Star
Mrs. Jenkins
Series
1994

A Worn Path

Actor
Nurse
Movie
1994

Samurai Cowboy

Actor
Bobbi Bob Pickette
Movie
1994

Walker, Texas RangerStream

Guest Star
Series
1993

Family Prayers

Actor
Mrs. Romeyo
Movie
1993

Heaven and Earth

Actor
Bernice
Movie
1993

Hearts AfireStream

Actor
Dr. Madeline Stoessinger
Series
1992
50%

DinosaursStream

Guest Voice
Shelly
Series
1991
91%

Intenciones Criminales

Actor
Movie
1991

Deadly Intentions... Again?

Actor
Joan
Movie
1991

Chains of Gold

Actor
Martha Burke
Movie
1991

Backfield in Motion

Actor
Ann Bedowski
Movie
1991

Edward ScissorhandsStream

Actor
Helen, Neighbor
Movie
1990
89%

Hard Time on Planet Earth

Guest Star
Show
1989

Your Mother Wears Combat Boots

Actor
Specialist Mononaghee
Movie
1989

Runaway Ralph

Actor
Aunt Jill
Show
1988

For Keeps

Actor
Mrs. Bobrucz
Movie
1988

Mystic PizzaStream

Actor
Leona
Movie
1988
78%

Goodbye, Miss 4th of July

Actor
Movie
1988

Frank's Place

Guest Star
Series
1987

Eye on the Sparrow

Actor
Mary
Movie
1987

MatlockStream

Guest Star
Series
1986

Where the River Runs Black

Actor
Mother Marta
Movie
1986

Murder, She WroteStream

Guest Star
Harriet Lundgren
Series
1984

Who's the Boss?Stream

Guest Star
Series
1984

E/R

Actor
Nurse Joan Thor
Show
1984

Emergency Room

Actor
Nurse Sylvia Kaye
Movie
1983

Beatrice: una Vida

Actor
Movie
1982

La Justicia de McClain

Actor
Movie
1981

The Seduction of Miss Leona

Actor
Hazel Dawson
Movie
1980

Rape and Marriage: The Rideout Case

Actor
Helen
Movie
1980

The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo

Guest Star
Show
1979

B. J. and the Bear

Actor
Series
1979

Before and After

Actor
Marge
Movie
1979

Heartland

Actor
Elinore Randall Stewart
Movie
1979

A Death in Canaan

Actor
Rita Parsons
Movie
1978

Mixed Nuts

Actor
Nurse Cassidy
Show
1977

The Girl Called Hatter Fox

Actor
Nurse Rinehart
Movie
1977

One Day at a TimeStream

Guest Star
Series
1975

Hot L Baltimore

Actor
April Green
Series
1975

The Rockford FilesStream

Guest Star
Ella Mae White
Series
1974

Good TimesStream

Guest Star
Miss Johnson
Series
1974

MaudeStream

Guest Star
Series
1972

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