Bruce French, ‘Passions’ Actor and a Veteran of the Stage, Dies at 79

Father Lonigan, the blind priest on the soap opera Passions who apparently sensed the coming of evil, was played by Bruce French, the reliable character actor who did a lot of work for the theater. French passed away. He was seventy-nine. According to The Hollywood Reporter, French’s wife of 34 years, Days of Our Lives veteran Eileen Barnett, passed away in Los Angeles on Friday due to complications from Alzheimer’s disease. In addition to appearing on three Star Trek series (The Next Generation, Voyager, and Enterprise) and the 1998 movie Star Trek: Insurrection, the Iowa native, who has more than 150 acting credits on IMDb, guest-starred for David E. Kelley on shows like L.A. Law, Picket Fences, Ally McBeal, The Practice, Boston Public, and Boston Legal.

In addition, he portrayed Eddie Izzard’s and Minnie Driver’s shifty characters’ affluent neighbor in both seasons of the 2007–08 FX drama The Riches. Throughout Passions’ nine-season run, which began on NBC in July 1999 and concluded on DirecTV’s 101 Network in August 2008, French returned as the benevolent Lonigan. His character, who was a mainstay in Harmony, New England, frequently clashed with evil tycoon Alistair Crane (played by David Bailey and later by John Reilly), which led to him losing his sight. French also portrayed men of religion in other TV series and movies over the years, including Mission: Impossible III (2006). French was born on July 4th, 1945, in Reinbeck, Iowa, the son of an undertaker. He attended NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts to study acting, served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War, and received his degree from the University of Iowa.

He made his on-screen debut in the Frank Perry-directed Man on a Swing (1974), which starred Cliff Robertson and Joel Grey, after performing off-Broadway in The Shadow of a Gunman in 1972. He went on to make two other noteworthy films in 1978: Bloodbrothers, directed by Robert Mulligan, and Coming Home, starring Hal Ashby. Additionally, French had appearances on the big screen in Jurassic Park III (2001), Mr. Deeds (2002), Murphy’s Romance (1985), Christine (1983), Mr. Mom (1983), Fletch (1985), Legal Eagles (1986), Wildcats (1986), and Thank You for Smoking (2005), Beginners (2010) and Beautiful Boy (2010). He appeared on a wide range of television shows, including The Waltons, Dallas, Soap, Hill Street Blues, Family Ties, Moonlighting, Falcon Crest, Cheers and Designing Women, Beverly Hills, 90210, The West Wing, Gilmore Girls, Bones, Mad Men, Eli Stone, Grey’s Anatomy, and Who’s the Boss?

French’s portrayal as Lucky in the 1977 film adaptation of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot for KCET’s Theatre in America series was one of his favorite stage parts. Additionally, he was at his best in 2009 when he played the dejected schoolmaster Andrew Crocker-Harris at the Pacific Resident Theatre in Venice in Terence Rattigan’s The Browning Version. According to Barnett, French received an Alzheimer’s diagnosis approximately four years ago. According to Barnett, French received an Alzheimer’s diagnosis approximately four years ago. Survivors include his nieces Claire and Paula, as well as his wife, whom he originally met at the University of Iowa, reconnected with 25 years later, and married in January 1991.