Leigh French
Encyclopedia
Leigh French is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 actress.

In her early career as a regular on the Smothers Brothers
Smothers Brothers
The Smothers Brothers are Thomas and Richard , American singers, musicians, comedians and folk heroes. The brothers' trademark act was performing folk songs , which usually led to arguments between the siblings...

 variety show of the late-1960s, she portrayed a somewhat spaced-out or ditzy hippie
Hippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...

 named Goldie O'Keefe. (The character was originally introduced, in an ostensible studio-audience interview segment, as Goldie Keif; both "Goldie" and "Keif" were slang terms for marijuana at the time. Reportedly, the slight name change to O'Keefe when she became a semi-regular was at the television network's insistence.) Her segment of the show was called "Share a Little Tea with Goldie." At the time, "sharing tea" was a popular euphemism for getting high
Recreational drug use
Recreational drug use is the use of a drug, usually psychoactive, with the intention of creating or enhancing recreational experience. Such use is controversial, however, often being considered to be also drug abuse, and it is often illegal...

 on marijuana. Following suit, her segment consisted largely of "helpful" household advice loaded with sex and drug-related double-entendres.

She played a similar character, a San Francisco hippie type named Cobalt-Blue, in a 1968 episode ("Tag, You're It") of the I Spy series. She and Rob Reiner
Rob Reiner
Robert "Rob" Reiner is an American actor, director, producer, writer, and political activist.As an actor, Reiner first came to national prominence as Archie and Edith Bunker's son-in-law, Michael "Meathead" Stivic, on All in the Family. That role earned him two Emmy Awards during the 1970s...

 also played hippies in the 1969 "Flower Power" episode of Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.
Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.The show renders the title as Gomer Pyle - USMC. is an American situation comedy that originally aired on CBS from September 25, 1964, to May 2, 1969. The series was a spinoff of The Andy Griffith Show, and the pilot was aired as the finale of the fourth season of The Andy...

French can also be seen in such films as WUSA
WUSA (film)
WUSA is a 1970 drama film, directed by Stuart Rosenberg. It was written by Robert Stone, based on his novel A Hall of Mirrors. The story involves a radio station in New Orleans with the eponymous call sign which is apparently involved in a so-called "right-wing conspiracy". It culminates with a...

(1970), The Drowning Pool
The Drowning Pool
The Drowning Pool is a 1950 mystery novel written by Ross Macdonald, his second book in the series revolving around the cases of private detective Lew Archer.-Plot summary:Archer is hired by a woman to investigate a slanderous letter she received...

(1975), The Hollywood Knights
The Hollywood Knights
The Hollywood Knights is an American motion picture comedy written and directed by Floyd Mutrux depicting the crass and mischievous antics and practical jokes of the remaining members of a 1950s-era car club turned social fraternity in and around Beverly Hills and Hollywood in 1965...

(1980), and The Long Days of Summer (1980). Leigh also appeared as Goober Pyle's (George Lindsey
George Lindsey
George Lindsey is an American character actor, best known for his role as "Goober Pyle" on The Andy Griffith Show, as well as for his tenure on Hee-Haw.-Early life and career :...

) sister on a pilot episode for a sitcom that the networks rejected that had Goober working with his sister as managers of a highway truck stop.

She has worked steadily if quietly over the years, primarily behind the scenes and doing voiceover roles in animated features.

External links

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