‘Perpetual motion’ actor-author Marilu Henner comes to Sarasota with a hospice message

Anyone who starred in hit TV sitcoms “Taxi” and “Evening Shade,” 72 films and seven Broadway shows, might be content to call it a career.

Not Marilu Henner. Now 71, she’s blessed with a keen memory and so much energy that she’s been nicknamed “perpetual motion.”

Henner, who was in Sarasota this past week to advocate for hospice and palliative care as keynote speaker for Tidewell Foundation’s Signature Luncheon at the Ritz Carlton, told the Bradenton Herald that sleep is over-rated.

“I love being awake, being alive,” she of her high-energy take on life and a desire to always get on with her next adventure. “I’m not much of a sleeper.”

Her drive and exceptional memory manifested itself early.

At age 2 1/2 Henner said she already knew that she wanted to be on stage, helped by her family owning a dance studio. By age 6, Henner and everyone in her family knew that she had a gift.

As it turned out, Henner is one of only a handful of people ever diagnosed with highly superior autobiographical memory, also known as hyperthymesia.

It’s an ability that allows recall of nearly every event in a life with great precision.

In 2018, “60 Minutes” aired a three-part program that featured Henner and her incredible memory.

“I always knew that information went in and stayed there,” she said.

Sitcom fame

Henner’s breakout role was as Elaine O’Connor Nardo in the sitcom “Taxi, “ a role she played from 1978 to 1983. The cast included Danny DeVito, Tony Danza, Andy Kaufman, Christopher Lloyd, Carol Kane and Judd Hirsch.

“We all stay close and see each other all the time,” Henner said.

From 1990 to 1994, she was in a second hit sitcom, “Evening Shade.”

That cast included Burt Reynolds, Hal Halbrook, Charles Durning, Ossie Davis, Michael Jeter and Elizabeth Ashley. Unfortunately, of those, only Ashley and Henner remain alive.

She has especially fond memories of Reynolds, including visiting him at his home in Jupiter.

Henner said she has a long standing “love fest” with Florida.

“My family used to go to Miami Beach for spring break. I’m real fond of Florida,” she said.

Henner in recent times

Henner co-stars with Gerald McRaney on “NCIS LA” and with Candace Cameron Bure in the Hallmark Murders and Mysteries series “Aurora Teagarden.”

This year, she can also be seen in the play “Madwomen of the West” with Caroline Aaron, Melanie Mayron and JoBeth Williams, as well as around the country in her one-woman show “Music and Memories with Marilu Henner.”

Henner as author

Henner has also written 10 books on health, parenting, memory and lifestyle improvement and had nationally syndicated radio programs “Marilu,” “Shape Up Your Life” and “The Marilu Henner Show.”

Her advice for aspiring authors: Start putting bullet points on index cards for a prospective book and then write an outline. Never write a preface first. Write it last. “The book will write itself.”

She has testified before Congress 11 times on dietary supplements, women’s cardiovascular disease, deadbeat parents, the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act, U.S. Dietary Guidelines in 2004 and 2014 and funding for Alzheimer’s.

Henner as advocate

Henner is a spokesperson for Alzheimer’s disease awareness and advocate for hospice care.

In 2019 she became a spokesperson for the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.

Hospice care is one of the most important things anyone can do for loved ones at the end of life, she said.

Henner’s mother died in hospice care, and she has said that the experience was “beautiful and peaceful.”

Hospice care can help families cope with the death of a loved one, she said.

Marilu Henner’s credo

▪ The key to life is how you deal with plan B, for what’s around the corner.

▪ Learn to love the foods that love you. She decided on Aug. 15, 1979, that she no longer loved dairy products because dairy didn’t love her.

▪ “Motion is lotion.” For a healthy life, keep moving. Movement helps the human body stay healthy and to heal.