Wilimeda Pearl BeHanna; Actress, Comedian

Wilimeda Pearl BeHanna, actress and comedian, has died at her Lake View Terrace home. She was 68.

Mrs. BeHanna died Sunday of a heart attack, her daughter, Deborah Marsh, said.

Born in Connellsville, Pa., she appeared in a variety act in Cleveland before moving to California in 1978.

She was featured in several television shows, including “Totally Hidden Videos” and an Oak Ridge Boys special, and performed a comedy act in Los Angeles called “Willie & Friends.”

Owner of First Star Productions Ltd., she was developing and producing a remake of the 1947 feature film “The Egg And I” at the time of her death.

Mrs. BeHanna was a member of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television & Radio Artists.

She is survived by her longtime companion, David Cushnie of Lake View Terrace; her son, Eugene V. BeHanna Jr. of Plum, Pa.; daughters Deborah Marsh of Burbank and Carol Hoyt of Anchorage, Alaska, and sisters Carrie Raspet of Irwin, Pa., and Anna Mae Stahl of Buffalo, N.Y. Her husband, Eugene V. BeHanna Sr., died in 1965.

Services will be held today in West Newton, Pa. Forest Lawn Mortuary, Hollywood Hills, handled the arrangements locally.

Family members said they are planning a memorial service at the First United Methodist Church of Burbank soon. Donations can be made in Mrs. BeHanna’s name to the American Heart Assn.