Garn Stephens

Garn Gaynell Stephens (November 7, 1944 – April 2, 2023) was an American actress and screenwriter whose work spanned stage, film, and television over a career of roughly two decades. Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, she worked across multiple entertainment disciplines, ultimately adding television writing to her performing credits.

Stephens launched her career in theatre, appearing as Estelle in the original stage production of Father's Day in 1971. The following year she originated the role of Jan in the Broadway production of Grease, which opened in 1972. She had previously worked with actress Adrienne Barbeau, then married to filmmaker John Carpenter, through their shared connection to Grease.

Her television career began in 1975 with a guest appearance on Wide World Mystery and a role on the CBS sitcom All in the Family. In 1976 she joined the cast of Phyllis, a Golden Globe-winning sitcom starring Cloris Leachman that served as the second spin-off from The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Over the following years Stephens made guest appearances on numerous television series, among them Charlie's Angels, Family Ties, Falcon Crest, and Quantum Leap.

Stephens appeared in three feature films during her career. In 1975 she had a role in The Sunshine Boys alongside Walter Matthau and George Burns, and also appeared in Jake's M.O. that same year. Her most prominent film credit came in 1982, when she played Marge Guttman in the horror film Halloween III: Season of the Witch, which also featured her then-husband, actor Tom Atkins. Her casting in that film traced back to a 1978 premiere screening of Halloween, which she and Atkins attended with Carpenter and Barbeau; Carpenter subsequently offered her the role. In 2003, Stephens discussed the circumstances of her casting at the Halloween: 25 Years of Terror convention.

Beyond performing, Stephens wrote for television, receiving an Emmy Award nomination for a 1983 episode of the medical drama St. Elsewhere. Her additional writing credits include Trapper John, M.D., Hotel, and Trial by Jury. She also wrote crime-mystery fiction. In her personal life, Stephens was at one time married to Tom Atkins and later lived with musician Stuart Niemi, with whom she had a son, Spencer Baird Niemi. She died on April 2, 2023, at the age of 78.