Inga Swenson

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.

Known For: Acting

Born: Omaha, Nebraska, USA, 1932-12-29

Died: 2023-07-23

No.	Year	Title	Role	Vote Average
1	1958	Heart of Darkness	Maria	0
2	1962	The Miracle Worker	Kate Keller	79
3	1962	Advise & Consent	Ellen Anderson	72
4	1967	Androcles and the Lion	Lavinia	0
5	1971	Earth II	Ilyana Kovalefskii	50
6	1976	Lipstick	Sister Monica	52
7	1978	The Betsy	Mrs. Craddock	44
8	1978	Ziegfeld: The Man and His Women	Nora Bayes	50
9	1980	The Mountain Men	White Singer at the Mountain Men Gathering. (uncredited)	59
10	1985	Night of 100 Stars II	Self	80
11	1987	Bay Coven	Matty Kline	40
12	2005	Broadway's Lost Treasures III: The Best of The Tony Awards	Self (segment "Rose-Marie") (archive footage)	72

No.	Year	Title	Role	Vote Average
1	1951	Hallmark Hall of Fame	Lady Jane	86
2	1961	Dr. Kildare	Paula Waller	55
3	1966	CBS Playhouse		70
4	1972	The Rookies		68
5	1972	ABC Afterschool Special	Mrs. Marston	64
6	1973	Griff	Katherine McAfee	50
7	1977	Testimony of Two Men	Amelia Foster	50
8	1977	Weekend Special		76
9	1977	Soap		73
10	1977	Soap	Ingrid Svenson	73
11	1978	Vega$		70
12	1979	Benson	Gretchen Kraus	71
13	1982	Newhart		71
14	1985	The Golden Girls	Holly	75
15	1985	North and South	Maude Hazard	74
16	1987	Nutcracker: Money, Madness & Murder	Marilyn	65
17	1989	Doctor Doctor		78

Inga Swenson

Film

Television