Mary Ellen Trainor, actress in Goonies, Lethal Weapon movies, is dead at 62

Mary Ellen Trainor, star of 80s movies, is dead at 62

(Image credit: RCN/YouTube)

Late Monday, Lucasfilms President Kathleen Kennedy said that Mary Ellen Trainor, a longtime character actress and staple of '80s movies, had died from pancreatic cancer at her Montecito, California, home. She was 62. Trainor was best known for her roles in the four Lethal Weapon movies (police psychiatrist Dr. Stephanie Woods) and as the mother of Goonies characters Mikey and Brand. But Trainor played small parts in a great number of '80s hits, starting with Romancing the Stone and including Die Hard, Ghostbusters II, Back to the Future Part II, and Scrooged.

Trainor died on May 20, Kennedy said, calling her longtime friend and former college roommate "a great actress, warm friend, and generous spirit." She is survived by one son, Alex, with former husband Robert Zemeckis, the director. You can watch Trainor discuss her famous rolls in Britain's RNC TV in May 2013. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.