Five Fast Facts About The Conners Guest Star Candice Bergen

Although she will probably be forever known as vice-riddled news show anchor Murphy Brown, actress Candice Bergen has a long impressive filmography. And tonight, she adds to that body of work a guest appearance on the ABC sitcom The Conners. But exactly how much do you actually know about this acting dynamo?

Five Fast Facts About Candice Bergen

From when and where she was born to the protest she staged as a youth, here are five fast facts about Candice Bergen.

Who Is Candice Bergen?
Bergen was born May 9, 1946, at Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital in Los Angeles, California. Her mother, Frances, was a model repped by the prestigious John Robert Powers Agency, and her father, Edgar, was a famed ventriloquist, comedian, and actor.

Pranks For The Memories 
In the 1960s, she was a member of the Youth International Party (AKA Yippies), a youth-oriented, radical, and countercultural revolutionary offshoot of the free speech and anti-war movement.

During a demonstration, Bergen, party co-founder Abbie Hoffman, and several others threw dollar bills onto the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, which resulted in the institution’s temporary shutdown.

True Crime
Bergen and former boyfriend Terry Melcher once occupied the home situated at 10050 Cielo Drive in Los Angeles – an address made famous when it served as the location for the “Sharon Tate murders” committed on August 9, 1969. There was rampant speculation that Melcher has been an intended victim, but he would later claim that Charles Manson, the architect of the crime, had been well aware of the fact that he and Bergen had moved.

Switch It Up
Following the cancellation of the workplace sitcom Murphy Brown, Bergen was contacted by the producers of 60 Minutes, and her interest in joining the program as a special contributor was gaged. However, Bergen ultimately declined the offer, claiming that she didn’t want to blur the line between an actress playing a TV journalist and actual TV journalism.

Five Alive
Bergen hosted the fourth episode of Saturday Night Live’s inaugural season, then turned right around and performed the same duties for its eighth – becoming the first female emcee and the first repeat hire. She would subsequently return as host on three more occasions: 1976, 1987, and 1990. This puts her in the famed “Five-Timers Club,” an elite group consisting of the likes of Steve Martin, Alec Baldwin, Tom Hanks, Drew Barrymore, and Danny DeVito.

The Conners returns to ABC’s Wednesday night lineup on January 13, 2021. Check your local listings for airtimes.