Janice "Jan" Hooks (April 23, 1957 – October 9, 2014) was an American actress and comediene best known for her work on NBC's Saturday Night Live (SNL), where she was a repertory player from 1986 to 1991, and continued making cameo appearances until 1994. Her subsequent work included a regular role on the final two seasons of Designing Women, a recurring role on 3rd Rock from the Sun and a number of other roles in film and television.

Life and career

Hooks was born and grew up in Decatur, Georgia, east of Atlanta, where she attended Canby Lane Elementary School and Towers High School. She began her career as a member of the Los Angeles-based comedy troupeThe Groundlings and in an Atlanta nightclub act called The Wits End Players.[1] From 1978 to 1979, Hooks appeared in Tush on Ted Turner's television station WTCG, which eventually became TBS. She gained notice in the early 1980s on the HBO comedy series Not Necessarily the News. Hooks made guest appearances on Comedy Break with Mack and Jamie in the mid-1980s.

Hooks was considered for SNL in 1985, but was passed over by the show's producers in favor of Joan Cusack. After the show's 1985–1986 season was deemed a ratings disaster and put on the chopping block for cancellation, returning producer Lorne Michaels offered Hooks a contract in 1986, along with new recruits Dana Carvey and Phil Hartman, among others. They helped put the show back in the national spotlight. Her characters included Candy Sweeney of "The Sweeney Sisters". She performed notable impressions of Bette Davis, Ann-Margret, Betty Ford, Nancy Reagan, Sinéad O'Connor, Jodie Foster, Tammy Faye Bakker, Kathie Lee Gifford, Kitty Dukakis, Diane Sawyer and Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Tiring of the stress of performing on a live show, Hooks left SNL in 1991 after being asked by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason to replace Jean Smart on the CBS sitcom Designing Women. Hooks played the role of Carlene Dobber for the final two seasons of the show. She appeared in several movies, starred as Dixie Glick in the series Primetime Glick, and the movie Jiminy Glick in Lalawood. She had a recurring role as the trashy Vicki Dubcek on 3rd Rock from the Sun, which earned Hooks an Emmy Award nomination. Hooks guest-starred on two Matt Groening-produced cartoons for the FOX Network: The Simpsons, as Apu's wife, Manjula (although Hooks was later replaced by Tress MacNeille), and in Futurama(in the episode "Bendless Love" as the voice of a female robot named Angleyne).[5] She appeared in Pee-wee's Big Adventure as a know-it-all tour guide at the Alamo and made a cameo appearance in the 1992 movie Batman Returns as Jen, the Penguin's image consultant during his campaign to become Mayor of Gotham City. Her last roles were two appearances on 30 Rock in 2010 playing Jenna Maroney's mother, Verna.

Death

Hooks died on October 9, 2014, in New York City at age 57. Her agent confirmed the death, but the cause has not been released.

Film

1985 Pee-wee's Big Adventure Tina

1986 Wildcats Stephanie Needham

1987 Funland Shelly Willingham

1992 Batman Returns Jen

1993 Coneheads Gladys Johnson A Dangerous Woman Makeup Girl

1998 Simon Birch Miss Leavey

2004 Jiminy Glick in Lalawood Dixie Glick