Bruce French was a veteran actor of stage and screen best known for portraying Father Lonigan in over 400 episodes of the NBC daytime drama, “Passions.”
- Died: February 7, 2025 (Who else died on February 7?)
- Details of death: Died in Los Angeles of complications from Alzheimer’s disease at the age of 79.
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Bruce French’s legacy
If you watched any amount of television between now and the 1970s, chances are you saw French in at least one role. The veteran actor racked up over 150 TV credits since his 1974 debut, appearing in a wide range of shows, from popular sitcoms to soap operas to acclaimed dramas and more.
Before he began acting, French was a U.S. Army veteran who served during the Vietnam War. A graduate of University of Iowa, he studied his chosen craft at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.
French is perhaps best known for his long tenure acting on the NBC daytime drama “Passions.” For almost 430 episodes between 1999 and 2008, French portrayed Father Lonigan on the paranormal-tinged weekday series, making him a mainstay of the cast.
Though he never had a significant stay on another show – despite a four-episode stint on “Dallas” and 14 episodes on the 2007-2008 show “The Riches,” his two longest-running gigs after “Passions” – the rest of French’s career reads like a greatest-hits list of television shows. In the 1970s, he appeared on “The Waltons” and “Soap,” while in the 1980s, he was on “Cheers,” “Night Court,” “Family Ties,” “Fame,” “Benson,” “Hill Street Blues,” “Magnum P.I.,” “The A-Team,” “Silver Spoons,” “Knots Landing,” “L.A. Law,” “Moonlighting,” and many other series.
In the 1990s, French had roles on shows including “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” “Who’s The Boss,” “Picket Fences,” “Star Trek: Voyager,” and “Beverly Hills, 90210,” and his work continued into the 21st century with brief appearances on “Star Trek: Enterprise,” “Ally McBeal,” “The West Wing,” “Gilmore Girls,” “The Practice,” “House,” “Bones,” “Mad Men,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” and a long list of other popular programs.
French also did film work, appearing in “Jurassic Park III,” “Mission: Impossible III,” “Star Trek: Insurrection,” and other movies on screens big and small.
Tributes to Bruce French
Full obituary: The Hollywood Reporter
