Jennifer Runyon, who had roles in “Ghostbusters” and on “Charles in Charge,” died Friday following a brief battle with cancer. She was 65.
Runyon’s death was confirmed Sunday by family members on social media.
“No one told me she was sick. My Cousin Kim called me last night,” wrote Daria Demkovich, who says she’s Runyon’s cousin, on Facebook. “Her brother was aware she got cancer but Jennifer was putting on her best spin, maybe two months or less. Spread everywhere over 2 weeks then gone. I could have sent her the protocols had I known, maybe would get her more time. Complete strangers reach out to me but not my own family. Out of sight out of mind, I guess.”
“We were the two closest in age and were always best friends as kids,” she added.
Melania Pesick Charleston, a second women who said she is Runyon’s cousin, also noted her death on Facebook.
“Last night I received word that my cousin, Jennifer Runyon Corman, passed away. My heart breaks for her husband and kids. Jen was a familiar face to many in the 80’a & 90’s, as she appeared in many TV shows and movies,” she wrote. “With our age difference & the fact that she lived in California, I didn’t know her well. But we still found things in common when she came in town to visit. Her passing was unexpected & it makes me long to reconnect with my family. Hug those in your life. Make sure they know you love them.”
Runyon was 23 when she was cast as a female student in “Ghostbusters.” As she told Noblemania in a 2016 interview, she’d previously had parts in the 1980 horror movie “To All a Goodnight” and on the soap opera “Another World.”
“I really thought the script was fun, but I had no idea how big this movie was going to be,” she said of the film. “I loved this part. I really wanted it … I wanted to work with Bill Murray.”
Of Murray, Runyon also said, “I adore Bill Murray. He was so fun to work with. He took me to dinner once, as friends, after the movie came out. We ended up driving an Amtrak train at Union Station in L.A. Bill asked the conductor if we could drive it … only Bill Murray could make that happen.”
Runyon was born April 1, 1960, in Chicago. She married her husband, Todd Corman, in 1991, and the pair share two children. She semiretired from acting in 2014, and began working as a teacher.
