 She recreated the role in the 1974 screen adaptation after Lucille Ball, the film's star, became dissatisfied with Madeline Kahn, who originally had been signed to play Gooch.Only four-foot-eleven, Connell was described as a master of the large comic gesture in "The Oxford Companion to American Theatre", which described her as "a tiny woman with a giant, squeaking voice".Connell was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance in "Me and My Girl" (1986).