Jennifer Runyon, ‘Ghostbusters’ and ‘Charles in Charge’ Actress, Dies at 65

Jennifer Runyon, known for her roles in the 1980s comedy Ghostbusters and the television sitcom Charles in Charge, died March 6 after a brief battle with cancer. She was 65.

Runyon’s death was confirmed by her friend, actress Erin Murphy, who shared the news in a message on social media. Murphy described Runyon as a longtime friend and offered condolences to her family.

Runyon began her acting career at the start of the 1980s, appearing in the slasher film To All a Good Night, which marked her feature film debut. She went on to take supporting roles in several comedies during the decade, including Up the Creek and Ghostbusters, the supernatural comedy that became one of the most successful films of 1984.

That same year, Runyon joined the cast of the CBS sitcom Charles in Charge, playing Gwendolyn Pierce during the show’s first season. The series follows a college student who works as a live-in babysitter for a family in New Jersey. While Runyon appeared only in the show’s early episodes, the role became one of the most widely recognized television performances of her career.

Throughout the 1980s, Runyon continued to appear in both film and television. In 1988, she portrayed Cindy Brady in the television reunion movie A Very Brady Christmas, a project that revisited the characters from the original Brady Bunch series. That same year, she also starred in the teen drama film The In Crowd and appeared in the pilot episode of the science-fiction series Quantum Leap.

Other credits included the comedy 18 Again! and guest roles on television programs such as Murder, She Wrote and Beverly Hills, 90210.

Runyon was born April 1, 1960, in Chicago. She came from a family connected to the entertainment industry: her father, Jim Runyon, worked as a radio announcer and disc jockey, while her mother, Jane Roberts, performed as an actress.

In 1991, Runyon married Todd Corman, a collegiate basketball coach who also worked in film and television production during the off-season. The couple had two children, Wyatt and Bayley.

Later in life, Runyon stepped away from regular acting work. In a 2014 interview, she described herself as semi-retired from the entertainment industry and said she had shifted her focus to teaching.

Friends and colleagues remembered her as someone devoted to family and close relationships. In the message announcing her death, Murphy wrote that Runyon would be remembered for her warmth and for the strong connections she maintained with those around her.

Runyon’s acting career, though relatively brief compared with some of her contemporaries, left her associated with several well-known television and film projects from the 1980s, including one of the most commercially successful comedies of the decade and a popular network sitcom.