Inga Swenson

Inga Swenson

Born: December 29, 1932
Died: July 23, 2023
in Omaha, Nebraska, USA
​From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Inga Swenson (December 29, 1932 - July 23, 2023) was an American actress.

Inga Swenson was a graduate of Central High School in Omaha, Nebraska, Class of 1950. Swenson was a member of Alpha Phi sorority at Northwestern University where she studied in their famed Drama Department. Swenson is best known to American audiences for her portrayal of Gretchen Kraus, the autocratic and acerbic German cook (later Head Housekeeper and Budget Director) on the TV sitcom "Benson." She got the part by appearing in a multi-episode stint as Ingrid Svenson, birth mother of Corinne Tate (Diana Canova), on the tv sitcom "Soap." Both series were created by Susan Harris and produced by Witt-Thomas-Harris Productions (who later created "The Golden Girls" and "Empty Nest.") She also appeared as northern matriarch Maude Hazard in the acclaimed mini-series "North and South" in 1985 and again in 1986.

Earlier in her career, Swenson had a notable turn on the TV western series "Bonanza" in two episodes: "Inger, My Love" (1962) and "Journey Remembered" (1963). Swenson took a brief leave of absence from her starring role in "110 in the Shade" on Broadway to appear in "Journey Remembered." The appearances were significant in that she played Lorne Greene's character's second wife, the mother of Hoss Cartwright, played by Dan Blocker. She was actually four years younger than Blocker. After "Bonanza" ended its 14-year run, Swenson guest starred in an episode of Lorne Greene's short-lived crime drama "Griff."

Also early in her career, Swenson had supporting roles in the films "Advise and Consent" (1962) and "The Miracle Worker" (1962) in which she played Helen Keller's mother.

She was a trained lyric soprano and starred on Broadway in "New Faces" (circa 1956) and "The First Gentleman" (1959), and received Tony Award nominations for Best Actress in a Musical for her performances in "110 in the Shade" (1964) and "Baker Street" (1965).

Swenson was married to actor-singer Lowell Harris, with whom she had two sons, James (deceased) and Mark.

Though her Swedish-sounding name and trademark accent on "Benson" suggest otherwise, she was born and raised in the U.S., and normally spoke with an American accent.

Description above from the Wikipedia article Inga Swenson, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Movies for Inga Swenson...

Broadway's Lost Treasures III: The Best of The Tony Awards
Title: Broadway's Lost Treasures III: The Best of The Tony Awards
Character: Herself (segment "Rose-Marie")
Released: August 7, 2005
Type: Movie
Broadway royalty and Tony-winners Tommy Tune, Carol Channing, Robert Goulet, and Harvey Fierstein are your hosts for this third compilation of great musical performances from the archives of the Tony Award® broadcasts. Legendary stars from legendary shows strut their stuff in 23 performances that have become part of Broadway history.
bee
Title: Doctor Doctor
Released: June 12, 1989
Type: TV
Doctor Doctor is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS. It began a short run in June 1989, and was picked up for a full season the following fall. A second season followed in fall 1990, but the show was cancelled at the end of the 1990-1991 season, due to low ratings. One episode, "Long Day's Journey Into Deirdre", remains unaired in the US.
bee
Bay Coven
Title: Bay Coven
Character: Matty Kline
Released: October 25, 1987
Type: Movie
A young newlywed couple move to a remote island only to find a secret coven of witches who want them to join all the fun...or face the consequences.
bee
Title: Nutcracker: Money, Madness & Murder
Character: Marilyn
Released: March 22, 1987
Type: TV
A sociopathic socialite plots her father's murder.
bee
Title: North and South
Character: Maude Hazard
Released: November 3, 1985
Type: TV
The story of the enduring friendship between Orry Main of South Carolina and George Hazard of Pennsylvania, who become best friends while attending the United States Military Academy at West Point but later find themselves and their families on opposite sides of the American Civil War.
bee
Title: The Golden Girls
Character: Holly
Released: September 14, 1985
Type: TV
Four Southern Florida seniors share a house, their dreams, and a whole lot of cheesecake. Bright, promiscuous, clueless and hilarious, these lovely, mismatched ladies form the perfect circle of friends.
bee
Night of 100 Stars II
Title: Night of 100 Stars II
Character: Self
Released: March 10, 1985
Type: Movie
This special is the second "Night of 100 Stars" to benefit The Actors Fund of America. Edited from a seven-hour live entertainment marathon that was taped February 17, 1985, at New York's Radio City Music Hall, this sequel to the 1982 "Night of 100 Stars" special features 288 celebrities.
bee
Title: Newhart
Released: October 2, 1982
Type: TV
Dick Loudon and his wife Joanna decide to leave life in New York City and buy a little inn in Vermont. Dick is a how-to book writer, who eventually becomes a local TV celebrity as host of "Vermont Today." George Utley is the handyman at the inn and Leslie Vanderkellen is the maid, with ambitions of being an Olympic Ski champion; she is later replaced by her cousin Stephanie, an heiress who hates her job. Her boyfriend is Dick's yuppie TV producer, Michael Harris. There are many other quirky characters in this fictional little town, including Dick's neighbors Larry, Darryl, and Darryl...three brothers who buy the Minuteman Cafe from Kirk Devane. Besides sharing a name, Darryl and Darryl never speak.
bee
Title: Benson
Character: Gretchen Kraus
Released: September 13, 1979
Type: TV
A butler deals with life at the governor's mansion.
bee
Title: Vega$
Released: September 20, 1978
Type: TV
Vega$ is an American detective television drama series that aired on ABC between 1978 and 1981. It was produced by Aaron Spelling. The series was filmed in its entirety in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is believed to be the first television series produced entirely in Las Vegas. The show stars Robert Urich as private detective Dan Tanna, who drove around the streets of Las Vegas in a red 1957 Ford Thunderbird solving crimes and making Las Vegas a better place for residents and tourists alike.
bee
Ziegfeld: The Man and His Women
Title: Ziegfeld: The Man and His Women
Character: Nora Bayes
Released: May 21, 1978
Type: Movie
The life and times of the flamboyant showman who built his legendary Follies around beautiful women -- as told by the women in his life.
bee
The Betsy
Title: The Betsy
Character: Mrs. Craddock
Released: February 2, 1978
Type: Movie
Ruthless patriarch Loren hires racecar driver Angelo to build a more efficient vehicle against the wishes of his grandson. But things get even messier when Angelo romances two women in Loren's life -- his great-granddaughter and his mistress.
bee
Title: Soap
Character: Ingrid Svenson
Released: September 13, 1977
Type: TV
The antics of a wealthy family, the Tates, and a working-class family, the Campbells, in the fictional town of Dunn's River, Connecticut.
bee
Title: Soap
Released: September 13, 1977
Type: TV
The antics of a wealthy family, the Tates, and a working-class family, the Campbells, in the fictional town of Dunn's River, Connecticut.
bee
Title: Weekend Special
Released: September 10, 1977
Type: TV
The ABC Weekend Special is a weekly 30-minute anthology TV series for children that aired Saturday mornings on ABC from 1977 to 1997. It featured a wide variety of stories that were both live-action and animated. Similar to both the ABC Afterschool Special and The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie that had started five years previous, the ABC Weekend Special differed in that it was primarily aimed at younger viewers following ABC's Saturday Morning cartoon lineup, whereas the ABC Afterschool Special was known for its somewhat more serious, and often dramatic storylines dealing with issues concerning a slightly older teen and pre-teen audience. With the debut of the ABC Weekend Special, some of the early ABC Afterschool Specials that had been targeted towards younger viewers were subsequently repackaged and re-run instead as ABC Weekend Specials.
bee
Lipstick
Title: Lipstick
Character: Sister Monica
Released: April 2, 1976
Type: Movie
An aspiring avant-garde composer rapes a fashion model. When she takes him to court, she's slut-shamed by the defense and the man is exonerated. But justice will be served.
bee
Title: ABC Afterschool Special
Character: Mrs. Marston
Released: October 4, 1972
Type: TV
Dramatically presented situations, often controversial, of interest to children and teenagers. Several episodes were either in animated form or presented as documentaries. Topics included illiteracy, substance abuse and teenage pregnancy.
bee
Title: The Rookies
Released: September 11, 1972
Type: TV
The Rookies is an American crime drama series that aired on ABC from 1972 until 1976. It follows the exploits of three rookie police officers working in an unidentified city for the fictitious Southern California Police Department.
bee
Earth II
Title: Earth II
Character: Ilyana Kovalefskii
Released: November 28, 1971
Type: Movie
In the near future, a space station dubbed Earth II is built for the purpose of scientific research and world peace. However, that peace is shattered when the Chinese send up a nuclear bomb that is orbiting just a few miles away from the station. Can the crew disarm the bomb before it detonates, not only destroying the station but setting off World War III?
bee
Androcles and the Lion
Title: Androcles and the Lion
Character: Lavinia
Released: November 15, 1967
Type: Movie
The story of Androcles, the simple-hearted Christian tailor whose friendship with a lion saves himself and his friends from martyrdom in the Roman Colosseum.
bee
Title: CBS Playhouse
Released: December 8, 1966
Type: TV
CBS Playhouse is an American anthology drama series that aired on CBS from 1967 to 1970. Airing twelve plays over the course of its run, the series was nominated for a number of awards and featured many noteworthy actors and playwrights.
bee
Advise & Consent
Title: Advise & Consent
Character: Ellen Anderson
Released: June 6, 1962
Type: Movie
Proposed by the President of the United States to fill the post of Secretary of State, Robert Leffingwell appears before a Senate committee, chaired by the idealistic Senator Brig Anderson, which must decide whether he is the right person for the job.
bee
The Miracle Worker
Title: The Miracle Worker
Character: Kate Keller
Released: May 23, 1962
Type: Movie
The true story of the frightening, lonely world of silence and darkness of 7-year-old Helen Keller who, since infancy, has never seen the sky, heard her mother's voice or expressed her innermost feelings. Then Annie Sullivan, a 20-year-old teacher from Boston, arrives. Having just recently regained her own sight, the no-nonsense Annie reaches out to Helen through the power of touch, the only tool they have in common, and leads her bold pupil on a miraculous journey from fear and isolation to happiness and light.
bee
Title: Dr. Kildare
Character: Paula Waller
Released: September 27, 1961
Type: TV
The story of a young intern in a large metropolitan hospital trying to learn his profession, deal with the problems of his patients, and win the respect of the senior doctor in his specialty, internal medicine.
bee
Heart of Darkness
Title: Heart of Darkness
Character: Maria
Released: November 6, 1958
Type: Movie
A trading company manager travels up an African river to find a missing outpost head and discovers the depth of evil in humanity's soul.
bee
Title: Hallmark Hall of Fame
Character: Lady Jane
Released: December 24, 1951
Type: TV
Hallmark Hall of Fame is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City based greeting card company. The longest-running primetime series in the history of television, it has a historically long run, beginning during 1951 and continuing into 2013. From 1954 onward, all of its productions have been shown in color, although color television video productions were extremely rare in 1954. Many television movies have been shown on the program since its debut, though the program began with live telecasts of dramas and then changed to videotaped productions before finally changing to filmed ones. The series has received eighty Emmy Awards, twenty-four Christopher Awards, eleven Peabody Awards, nine Golden Globes, and four Humanitas Prizes. Once a common practice in American television, it is the last remaining television program such that the title includes the name of the sponsor. Unlike other long-running TV series still on the air, it differs in that it broadcasts only occasionally and not on a weekly broadcast programming schedule.