# Garn Stephens

Garn Gaynell Stephens (November 7, 1944 – April 2, 2023) was an American film, television, stage, and musical theatre actress, and, later, a screenwriter. She was known for her roles in the television series Phyllis and the 1982 horror film Halloween III: Season of the Witch.

## Career

Stephens began her career on stage as a theatre actress. She performed as Estelle in the original stage play Father's Day in 1971 and played the original character Jan in the Broadway production of Grease the following year.
Throughout her 20-year career, Stephens made many television guest appearances, beginning in 1975 with an appearance on the series Wide World Mystery and a guest role on CBS sitcom All in the Family. The following year, Stephens received a leading role on the Golden Globe-winning television sitcom Phyllis with Cloris Leachman, the second spin-off from The Mary Tyler Moore Show. From the late seventies until the early nineties, Stephens appeared in several top-rated television series, including Charlie's Angels, Family Ties, Falcon Crest, and Quantum Leap.
During her career, Stephens starred in three feature films. In 1975, she appeared in The Sunshine Boys with Walter Matthau and George Burns, as well as Jake's M.O. She is best known for her role as Marge Guttman in the 1982 horror film Halloween III: Season of the Witch, which also starred her then-husband Tom Atkins. In 2003, she appeared at the Halloween: 25 Years of Terror convention, where she discussed how she received the role. Stephens had been friends with John Carpenter's then-wife Adrienne Barbeau, with whom she had worked on Grease. Stephens met Carpenter when she and Atkins were invited to see a premiere of Halloween in 1978 with Carpenter and Barbeau. Carpenter later offered her a role in Halloween III.
Stephens also wrote for television, including a 1983 episode of the medical drama series St. Elsewhere, for which she received an Emmy Award nomination. Her writing credits also include Trapper John, M.D., Hotel, and Trial by Jury.
Stephens also penned a number of crime-mystery stories.

## Personal life and death

Stephens was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Stephens was at one time married to actor Tom Atkins. She lived with musician Stuart Niemi, with whom she had one child, Spencer Baird Niemi.
Stephens died on April 2, 2023, at the age of 78.

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1975 | Wide World Mystery | Waitress | Episode: "Please Call It Murder" |
| 1975 | The Sunshine Boys | Eddie | |
| 1975 | All in the Family | Dotty | Episode: "Gloria is Nervous" |
| 1976–1977 | Phyllis | Harriet Hastings | Leading role; 24 episodes |
| 1978 | Charlie's Angels | Elizabeth Mary 'Pokey' Jefferson | Episode: "Angels in the Backfield" |
| 1978 | Barney Miller | Susan Schuman-Edwards | Episode: "Evaluation" |
| 1979 | Blind Ambition | Carol | Television mini-series |
| 1980 | Portrait of a Rebel: The Remarkable Mrs. Sanger | Mollie | Television film |
| 1980 | The Seduction of Miss Leona | June Setzer | Television film |
| 1982 | Halloween III: Season of the Witch | Marge Guttman | |
| 1983 | Princess Daisy | Candice Bloom | Television film |
| 1984 | Family Ties | Elizabeth Davidson | Episode: "Baby Boy Doe" |
| 1984 | Children in the Crossfire | Doctor | Television film |
| 1986 | Foley Square | Mrs. Sullivan | Episode: "Kid Stuff" |
| 1987 | Jake's M.O. | Liz Reardon | |
| 1988 | Buck James | Amy Ferguson | Episode: "Heal Thyself" |
| 1988 | Killer Instinct | Claire | Television film |
| 1989 | Have Faith | Edith Crepps | Episode: "Letters from Home" |
| 1990 | Family of Spies | Mary | Television film |
| 1990 | Falcon Crest | Ellen | Episode: "Finding Lauren" |
| 1992 | Something to Live for: The Alison Gertz Story | Gwen | Television film |
| 1993 | Quantum Leap | Gladys | Episode: "Memphis Melody" |
Writer
| Year | Title | Notes |
| 1983 | St. Elsewhere | Episode: "Newheart" — Nominated: Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series shared with John Masius, Tom Fontana and Emilie R. Small |
| 1982–1985 | Trapper John, M.D. | Episodes: "Russians and Ruses", "Long Ago and Far Away" |
| 1986 | Hotel | Episode: "Double Jeopardy" |
| 1991 | Trial by Jury | Episode: "The Case of the Venal Veteran" |