Former ââ¬ÅSaturday Night Liveââ¬Â cast member Jan Hooks has died.
The 57-year-old Hooks died Thursday in New York, according to The New York Times. The newspaper confirmed the death through Hooksââ¬â¢ agent, Lisa Lieberman.
The comic actress was a versatile performer whose impressions ranged from Nancy Reagan to Sinead Oââ¬â¢Connor to Tammy Faye Bakker.
Hooks, a Decatur, Georgia, native, moved into prime time in 1991 as a cast member on the sitcom ââ¬ÅDesigning Women.ââ¬Â She later did an Emmy Award-nominated turn on ââ¬Å3rd Rock From the Sun.ââ¬Â
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She also appeared in 1992ââ¬â¢s ââ¬ÅBatman Returnsââ¬Â and voiced convenience store owner Apuââ¬â¢s wife on ââ¬ÅThe Simpsonsââ¬Â for several years.
On ââ¬ÅSNL,ââ¬Â she was part of a 1986 cast infusion that included fellow standouts Dana Carvey and Phil Hartman that helped the show after the previous seasonââ¬â¢s ratings dive.
A former member of the influential comedy troupe The Groundlings, she had been rejected twice before for a spot on the NBC comedy institution.
Besides impersonations that included Bette Davis and Hillary Rodham Clinton, Hooks won laughs for original characters such as Candy, half of the bouffant-haired Sweeney Sisters lounge act. But being on a live weekly broadcast proved hard on the comic actress.
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ââ¬ÅThe show changed my life, obviously. But I have horrible stage fright,ââ¬Â she said in an oral history of ââ¬ÅSNL.ââ¬Â While other performers wanted to ââ¬Åget in there and do it,ââ¬Â she said, ââ¬ÅI was one of the ones that between dress (rehearsal) and air was sitting in the corner going, ââ¬ËPlease cut everything Iââ¬â¢m in.ââ¬â¢Ã¢â¬Â
She jumped at the chance to move into prime time when asked to join the sitcom ââ¬ÅDesigning Women,ââ¬Â appearing in the 1991-93 final seasons.
Born April 23, 1957, in Decatur, Georgia, Hooks studied for a time at the University of West Florida in Pensacola before leaving to begin her acting career, which included the 1985 movie ââ¬ÅPee-Weeââ¬â¢s Big Adventure.ââ¬Â
Her screen work became much more sporadic after the 1990s. On ââ¬Å30 Rockââ¬Â in 2010, she played the avaricious mother of Jane Krakowskiââ¬â¢s character, Jenna Maroney.
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