Jennifer Runyon

Jennifer Victoria Runyon (born April 1, 1960) is an American actress. She made her feature film debut in the slasher film To All a Goodnight (1980), and went on to have supporting roles in the comedies Up the Creek (1984) and Ghostbusters (1984). She also had a lead role as Gwendolyn Pierce in the 1984 sitcom Charles in Charge during its first season. In 1988, she portrayed Cindy Brady in the television film A Very Brady Christmas.

Jennifer Runyon
Runyon at the Chiller Theatre Expo in 2017
Born	Jennifer Victoria Runyon April 1, 1960 Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1981–1993, 2015-present
Spouse(s)	Todd Corman ​ (m. 1991)​
Children	2
Parent(s)	Jim Runyon (father)

Early life

Runyon was born in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of radio announcer and disc jockey Jim Runyon, and actress Jane Roberts.[1] She has one half-brother, Scott, from her father's first marriage.[2] Runyon grew up in various cities in the United States, as her father's disc jockey career required the family to move frequently.[3] The family eventually settled in Los Angeles when Runyon was fourteen years old.

Career

Runyon made her feature film debut in the slasher film To All a Goodnight (1980), about a group of school girls stalked by a killer in a Santa Claus costume.[3] She was subsequently cast in a supporting role as Sally Frame on the soap opera Another World,[4] which she taped in New York from March 1981 until February 1983.[3] She had a small part as a student being given an ESP test by Bill Murray in Ghostbusters (1984) and she starred in Up the Creek that same year, the latter of which she filmed over several weeks in Bend, Oregon.[5] She later appeared on television as Gwendolyn Pierce in the sitcom Charles in Charge (1984–1985), and replaced Susan Olsen as Cindy Brady in the television film A Very Brady Christmas (1988).

She was a guest on Beverly Hills, 90210 in 1991. In 1988, Runyon played the lead in The In Crowd and was in the pilot of Quantum Leap.[6] She also starred in the comedy 18 Again!. She also appeared in Murder, She Wrote in the 1989 episode, "Seal of the Confessional" playing the character Kelly Barret alongside leading role Angela Lansbury.[7] In 1990 she played a supporting role in the World War II parody A Man Called Sarge, produced by the brother of Roger Corman, Gene Corman, father of her husband Todd Corman.

Personal life

Runyon married former actor and collegiate basketball coach Todd Corman on March 9, 1991.[8] Corman previously served as the head coach of the Concordia University (Irvine, California) women's basketball team from 2004 to March 2008. Beginning in 2008, he was the assistant coach of the women's basketball team at Oregon State University.[8] The couple have a son, Wyatt, and a daughter, Bayley.[8]

Per a 2014 interview, Runyon stated she was semi-retired from acting, and instead working as a teacher; she also stated that she co-hosted her own cooking podcast.[5]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1980	To All a Goodnight	Nancy
1984	Up the Creek	Heather Merriweather
1984	Ghostbusters	Female Student
1985	The Falcon and the Snowman	Carole
1986	Flight of the Spruce Goose	Terry
1986	Dreams of Gold: The Mel Fisher Story	Angel Fisher	Television film
1986	Blue de Ville	J.C. Smith	Television film
1986	Pros & Cons	Christy	Television film
1988	The In Crowd	Vicky
1988	18 Again!	Robin Morrison
1988	A Very Brady Christmas	Cindy Brady	Television film
1990	A Man Called Sarge	Fifi LaRue
1991	Killing Streets	Sandra Ross
1991	Tagteam	Rita Valentine	Television film
1992	Till Death Us Do Part	Judy Davis	Television film
1993	Carnosaur	Ann 'Thrush'
2015	Silent Night, Bloody Night 2: Revival	Carol Brickman
2016	Terror Tales	Melanie	Segment: "Epidemic"
2017	Bloodsucka Jones vs. The Creeping Death	Nurse Zarkov

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1981–1982	Another World	Sally Frame	Main cast
1983	The Fall Guy	Kate	Episode: "Hollywood Shorties"
1983	Boone	Connie Sue	Episode: "Second Fiddle"
1984	The Master	Alicia Clayton	Episode: "Hostages"
1984–1987	Charles in Charge	Gwendolyn Pierce	Main cast (1984-1985); guest appearance (1987)
1985	Space	Marcia Grant	Miniseries
1987	Magnum, P.I.	Christine Maxfield Bentley	Episode: "Murder by Night"
1987	The Highwayman	Amanda Merrick	Episode: "The Highwayman"
1987	Who's the Boss?	Doreen	Episode: "Hell on Wheels"
1988	Dear John	Karen	Episode: "The Younger Girl"
1988	Valerie	Gwen	Episode: "Foiled Again"
1988	Quantum Leap	Peggy Stratton	Episode: "Genesis: Part 1 - September 13, 1956"
1989–1991	Murder, She Wrote	Rebecca Beiler / Kelly Barrett	2 episodes
1990	Booker	Linda Fowler	Episode: "The Red Dot"
1991	Beverly Hills, 90210	Christine	Episode: "Down and Out of District in Beverly Hills"
1992	Vinnie & Bobby	Hillary Bomgarden	Episode: "Spring is in the Air"

References

1. "Jennifer Runyon: Is she the 1980s' Marilyn Monroe?". Nl.newsbank.com. August 24, 1986. Retrieved September 12, 2011.
2. Morrow, Larry, ed. (2010). This is Larry Morrow: My Life on and Off the Air. Cleveland, Ohio: Gray & Company. p. 133. ISBN 978-1-598-51069-0.
3. Specht, Cathie (February 17, 1987). "Courier TV Mail Q&A". The Courier. Waterloo, Iowa. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
4. Reichardt, Nancy M. (November 21, 1982). "Runyon has run-in with kook". The Daily Spectrum. Saint George, Utah. p. 38 – via Newspapers.com.
5. Runyon, Jennifer (2014). "Killing Nancy: An Interview with Jennifer Runyon". To All a Goodnight (Blu-ray bonus featurette). Scorpion Releasing and Kino Lorber.
6. "Jennifer Runyon Credits". TV Guide. Archived from the original on December 30, 2018. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
7. "Jennifer Runyon IMDb". IMDb. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
8. "Women's Basketball: Todd Corman". OSU Beavers. Oregon State University. November 2, 2011. Archived from the original on December 30, 2018. Retrieved December 30, 2018.

External links

• Jennifer Runyon at IMDb