American Character Actress. Born Bernice Siegel, after raising three daughters in Los Angeles, she began her career as an actress that went on to span seven decades. She appeared in several notable theater productions, including the west coast premiere of John Cassavetes’ ‘Love Streams’ and starred in the musical ‘Minnie’s Boys’ in which she played the mother of the Marx Brothers. In 1966, she made her television debut on an episode of ‘Petticoat Junction’ and went on to appear in dozens of TV shows, including ‘The Ghost & Mrs. Muir’, ‘That Girl’, ‘Baretta’, ‘Starsky and Hutch’, ‘The Facts of Life’, ‘Saved by the Bell’, ‘Night Court’, ‘ ALF’, ‘Family Ties’, ‘Married with Children’, ‘Seinfeld’ and ‘Ellen’. On film, she appeared in ‘Funny Girl’ (1968), ‘Doctors’ Wives’ (1971), ‘Fuzz’ (1972), ‘Independence Day’ (1983), ‘Re-Animator’ (1985), ‘Big Top Pee-wee’ (1988), ‘Skinheads’ (1989), ‘Fatal Instinct’ (1993) and ‘Killer Bud’ (2001). (bio by: Louis M.)