Kathleen Freeman

This article is about the American actress. For the British classical scholar, see Kathleen Freeman (classicist).

Kathleen Freeman
Freeman in 1972
Born	(1923-02-17)February 17, 1923 Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died	August 23, 2001(2001-08-23) (aged 78) Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
Resting place	Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Occupations	Actress voice artist
Years active	1948–2001

Kathleen Freeman (February 17, 1923 – August 23, 2001) was an American actress. In a career that spanned more than 50 years, she portrayed acerbic maids, secretaries, teachers, busybodies, nurses, and battle-axe neighbors and relatives, almost invariably to comic effect. In film, she is perhaps best remembered for appearing in 12 Jerry Lewis comedies in the 1950s and 1960s and The Blues Brothers (1980).

Early life

Freeman was born on February 17, 1923, in Chicago, Illinois. She began her career as a child, dancing in her parents' vaudeville act. Freeman was a Democrat who supported Adlai Stevenson during the 1952 presidential election. She was also a practitioner of Religious Science International

Career

Cary Grant and Freeman (in uncredited role) as a laundromat gossip in Houseboat (1958)

Film

Freeman made her film debut in Wild Harvest (1947). For a short time in the early 1950s, Freeman was a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player, appearing mostly in small and uncredited bit parts. Her most notable early role was an uncredited part in the 1952 MGM musical Singin' in the Rain as Jean Hagen's diction coach Phoebe Dinsmore.

Beginning with the 1954 film 3 Ring Circus, Freeman became a favorite foil of Jerry Lewis, playing opposite him in 11 films. These included most of Lewis's better-known comedies, including The Disorderly Orderly as Nurse Higgins, The Errand Boy as the studio boss's wife, and The Nutty Professor as Millie Lemon. Over 30 years later, she made a brief appearance in Nutty Professor II: The Klumps.

Her other film roles included appearances in The Missouri Traveler (1958), the horror film The Fly (1958), the Western spoofs Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969) and Support Your Local Gunfighter (1971), and appearances in a spate of comedies in the 1980s and 1990s. Freeman played Sister Mary Stigmata (referred to as the Penguin) in John Landis' The Blues Brothers (1980) and Blues Brothers 2000 (1998). She also played a foul-mouthed apartment building manager in Dragnet (1987), a teacher in Hocus Pocus (1993), and a gangster mother in Naked Gun 33+1⁄3: The Final Insult (1994). She also had cameos in Joe Dante's Innerspace (1987) and Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990) (as tipsy cooking host Microwave Marge). Her final film role was in Shrek (2001), where she played an old woman.

In the 1973 film The Sting, Freeman was seen in a family photo for Kid Twist’s character (played by Harold Gould) in the Western Union office scene.

Television

In addition to teaching acting classes in Los Angeles, Freeman was a familiar presence on television. In 1958–59, she appeared three times on Buckskin, a children's program set in a hotel in a fictitious Montana town. She appeared from the 1950s until her death in regular or recurring roles on many sitcoms, including six episodes of The Bob Cummings Show (as Bertha Krause), Topper (as Katie the maid), and The Donna Reed Show (as Mrs. Celia Wilgus, the Stones' busybody next door neighbor). In 1964, she appeared in five episodes of The Lucy Show. Later, she was cast on Hogan's Heroes as Frau Gertrude Linkmeyer, General Burkhalter's sister, who longed to wed Colonel Klink. In 1973, she had a co-starring role with Dom DeLuise in the sitcom Lotsa Luck (based on the British sitcom On the Buses).

She appeared in several episodes of Wagon Train, Funny Face (as Mrs. Kate Harwell), I Dream of Jeannie (as a grouchy supervisor in a fantasy preview of Major Nelson's future, and later as a hillbilly), the short-lived prehistoric sitcom It's About Time (as Mrs. Boss), and as a nurse in the television series Love American Style.

Freeman played Sgt Carter's mother in a 1969 episode of Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., as well as appearing as a different character in a 1968 episode of the same series. She also starred with Phil Silvers in The Beverly Hillbillies in episodes 25 and 26 of season eight and episodes two and three in season nine. She also made a first season appearance playing the wife of a couple who take the Clampetts to court, falsely accusing them of reckless driving and causing injuries to the couple (Season 1, Episode 32).

She appeared as the voice of Peg Bundy's mom, an unseen character in several episodes of Married... with Children. She played a female arm wrestler on Mama's Family, and also appeared in episodes of Growing Pains, Simon & Simon, ALF, L.A. Law, The Golden Girls, Doogie Howser, M.D., Roseanne, Coach and Home Improvement among others.

She remained active in her last two years with a regular voice role on As Told by Ginger, a voice bit in the animated feature film Shrek, and a guest appearance on the sitcom Becker. She received a Tony Award nomination and a Theatre World Award for her role as Jeannette Burmeister in the musical version of The Full Monty. In her final episode of As Told by Ginger, season two's "No Hope for Courtney", Freeman's character retires from her teaching job, although Carl and Hoodsey try convincing her to return to work. The script originally was written to have Mrs. Gordon return to Lucky Elementary School, but Freeman died before the episode was finished. The script was then rewritten, and Mrs. Gordon died, as well. The episode was dedicated in Freeman's memory. The dedication came at the end of the episode after the announcement that Elaine Gordon had died and Carl was crying. The screen faded to black and a title card said "In Memory of Kathleen Freeman".

Death

Weakened by illness, Freeman was forced to leave the Full Monty cast. Five days later, she died of lung cancer at age 78 at Lenox Hill Hospital. She was cremated and her ashes interred in a niche at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. She never married and she had no children. The report of her death in the British newspaper The Guardian mentioned her "long-time companion Helen Ramsey"; Playbill's report referred to Ramsey as Freeman's "longtime and best friend", and similarly Variety called her Freeman's "best friend".

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1948	The Naked City	Stout Girl on Elevated Train	Uncredited
	Casbah	American Woman
	The Saxon Charm	Nurse
	Behind Locked Doors
1949	Mr. Belvedere Goes to College	Gwendolyn
	Annie Was a Wonder	Annie Swenson	Short film
	The Story of Molly X	Seamstress Con	Uncredited
1950	No Man of Her Own	Clara Larrimore
	The Secret Fury	Jury Member
	House by the River	Effie Ferguson - Party Guest
	The Reformer and the Redhead	Lily Rayton Parker
	Once a Thief	Phoebe
	Lonely Heart Bandits	Bertha Martin
	A Life of Her Own	Switchboard Operator, Betsy Ross Hotel	Uncredited
	The Second Face	Shirley
1951	The Company She Keeps	Jessie - Parolee with Child
	Cry Danger	Second Cigarette Clerk
	Cause for Alarm!	Woman
	A Place in the Sun	Factory Worker - Prosecution Witness
	Appointment with Danger	Nun
	Strictly Dishonorable	Silent Movie Organist
	Behave Yourself!	Pet Shop Proprietor's Wife
	Come Fill the Cup	Lil - Newspaper Switchboard Operator
	Let's Make It Legal	Reporter
	The Wild Blue Yonder	Nurse Baxter
1952	The Greatest Show on Earth	Spectator
	Love Is Better Than Ever	Mrs. Kahrney
	Singin' in the Rain	Phoebe Dinsmore	Uncredited
	Talk About a Stranger	Rosa, Grocery Clerk
	Kid Monk Baroni	Maria Baroni
	Skirts Ahoy!	Sarcastic Seamstress	Uncredited
	Wait 'til the Sun Shines, Nellie	The Burdges' Maid
	O. Henry's Full House	Mrs. Dorset	Uncredited Segment: "The Ransom of Red Chief"
	Monkey Business	Mrs. Brannigan, Neighbor	Uncredited
	The Prisoner of Zenda	Gertrud Holf
	The Bad and the Beautiful	Miss March
1953	The Magnetic Monster	Nelly
	She's Back on Broadway	Annie	Uncredited
	Confidentially Connie	Mother of Twins
	The Glass Wall	Zelda - Fat Woman
	A Perilous Journey	Leah
	Dream Wife	Chambermaid	Uncredited
	The Affairs of Dobie Gillis	'Happy Stella' Kowalski
	Half a Hero	Welcomer
	The Glass Web	Mrs. O'Halloran	Uncredited
1954	Battle of Rogue River	Sis Pringle
	The Far Country	Grits
	Athena	Miss Seely
	3 Ring Circus	Custard-Pie Gag Victim	Uncredited
1955	The Seven Year Itch	Woman at Vegetarian Restaurant
	Artists and Models	Mrs. Muldoon
1957	The Midnight Story	Rosa Cuneo
	Pawnee	Mrs. Carter
	Kiss Them for Me	Nurse Wilinski	Uncredited
1958	The Missouri Traveller	Serena Poole
	Too Much, Too Soon	Miss Magruder	Uncredited
	The Fly	Emma
	Houseboat	Laundromat Gossip	Uncredited
	The Buccaneer	Tina
1960	North to Alaska	Lena Nordquist
1961	Madison Avenue	Miss Thelma Haley
	The Ladies Man	Katie
	The Errand Boy	Mrs. Helen Paramutual / Mrs. T.P.
1962	Wild Harvest	Goldie
1963	The Nutty Professor	Millie Lemmon
	Who's Minding the Store?	Mrs. Glucksman
1964	Mail Order Bride	Sister Sue
	The Patsy	Katie	Uncredited
	The Disorderly Orderly	Nurse Maggie Higgins
1965	The Rounders	Agatha Moore
	That Funny Feeling	Woman at Phone Booth
	Marriage on the Rocks	Miss Blight
1966	Three on a Couch	Murphy
1967	The Big Mouth	Little Old Lady	Uncredited
	Point Blank	First Citizen
1968	The Helicopter Spies	Mom
1969	Support Your Local Sheriff!	Mrs. Danvers
	Hook, Line & Sinker	Mrs. Hardtack - Baby Sitter
	Death of a Gunfighter	Mary Elizabeth
	The Good Guys and the Bad Guys	Mrs. Stone - Mother
	Love American Style	Nurse
1970	The Ballad of Cable Hogue	Mrs. Jensen
	Myra Breckinridge	Bobby Dean Loner
	Which Way to the Front?	Bland's Mother
1971	Support Your Local Gunfighter!	Mrs. Perkins
	Head On	Nadine
1972	Stand Up and Be Counted	Sarah
	Where Does It Hurt?	Mrs. Mazzini
	The Unholy Rollers	Karen's Mother
1973	Your Three Minutes Are Up	Mrs. Wilk
1974	So Evil, My Sister	Hilda
1975	The Strongest Man in the World	Officer Hurley
1978	The Norseman	Old Indian Woman
1980	The Blues Brothers	Sister Mary Stigmata, a.k.a. The Penguin
1981	Heartbeeps	Helicopter Pilot
1986	The Best of Times	Rosie
	Inside Out	Mother	Voice
	The Malibu Bikini Shop	Loraine Bender
1987	In the Mood	Beulah Marver
	Dragnet	Enid Borden
	Innerspace	Dream Lady
	Teen Wolf Too	Admissions Lady
1988	The Wrong Guys	Grunskis' Mom
1989	Chances Are	Mrs. Handy
	Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland	Dance Teacher	Voice
	The Princess and the Dwarf	Unknown
	Hollywood Chaos
1990	Gremlins 2: The New Batch	Microwave Marge
	The Willies	Miss Titmarsh
1991	Joey Takes a Cab	Lola
	Dutch	Gritzi
1992	FernGully: The Last Rainforest	Elder #1	Voice
1993	Reckless Kelly	Mrs. Delance
	Hocus Pocus	Miss Olin
1994	Naked Gun 33+1⁄3: The Final Insult	Muriel
1996	Two Guys Talkin' About Girls	Rhonda's Grandma
	Candysack	Elderly Marilyn Monroe Impersonator	Voice Direct-to-video
	Carpool	Franklin's Mom	Voice
1997	Hercules	Heavyset Woman
1998	Blues Brothers 2000	Mother Mary Stigmata
	Richie Rich's Christmas Wish	Miss Peabody	Direct-to-video
	I'll Be Home for Christmas	Tom Tom Girl Gloria
1999	Baby Geniuses	Lenny's Noisy Neighbor	Uncredited
	Seven Girlfriends	Ms. Hargrove
2000	Ready to Rumble	Jane King
	Nutty Professor II: The Klumps	Denise's Nosy Neighbor	Uncredited
2001	Joe Dirt	Joe Dirt's Foster Mother
	Shrek	Old Woman	Voice Final film role

Television

Year(s)	Title	Role	Notes
1950–1954	Fireside Theatre	Mrs. Chernowitz	8 episodes
1952	Dragnet	Unknown	Episode: "The Big Death"
	Big Town		Episode: "Marry My Past"
	I Married Joan	Customer in Dress Shop	Episode: "Birthday"
	Our Miss Brooks	Miss Atterberry	Episode: "The Embezzled Dress"
	Schlitz Playhouse	Ripplehissian Gang	Episode: "The Pussyfootin' Rocks"
1953	Cavalcade of America	Unknown	Episode: "The Indomitable Blacksmith"
	I Married Joan	Betty	2 episodes
	The Loretta Young Show	Freida Foss	Episode: "Girl on a Flagpole"
1953–1954	Topper	Katie	19 episodes
1954	Mr. & Mrs. North	Mary Farrell	Episode: "The Girl in Cell 13"
1954–1955	Mayor of the Town	Marilyn "Marilly" the Housekeeper	39 episodes
1954–1956	The Loretta Young Show	Jessie	3 episodes
1955	Lux Video Theatre	Connie	Episode: "Not All Your Tears"
	The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show	Helga	Episode: "Harry Morton's Cocktail Party"
1955–1956	Matinee Theatre	Village Shopkeeper	3 episodes
1955–1958	The Bob Cummings Show	Bertha Krause	6 episodes
1956	Father Knows Best	Fussy Woman	Uncredited Episode: "The Bus to Nowhere"
	It's Always Jan	Mrs. Johnson	2 episodes
	Warner Bros. Presents	Unknown	Episode: "Strange World"
	The Loretta Young Show	Cousin Phemie	Episode: "His Inheritance"
1958	December Bride	Marie	Episode: "The Fred MacMurray Show"
	Tombstone Territory	Hannah Woolsey	Episode: "The Outcasts"
	Lassie	Mrs. Graff	Episode: "The Raffle"
1959	Wagon Train	Sairy Hogg	Episode: "The Kitty Angel Story"
	Lux Playhouse	Emma	Episode: "The Miss and Missiles"
1959–1962	General Electric Theatre	Girdle Woman	2 episodes
1959–1963	77 Sunset Strip	Hannah Wells / Mrs. Ryan / WAF Secretary / Mrs. Holmes	4 episodes
1959–1964	The Donna Reed Show	Mrs. Celia Wilgus
1960	Hawaiian Eye	Opal Jensen	Episode: "Then There Were Three"
	Bourbon Street Beat	Elsie	Episode: "Wagon Show"
	The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis	Mrs. Metzger	Episode: "Rock-A-Bye Dobie"
	The Case of the Dangerous Robin	Unknown	Episode: "The Nightmare"
1960–1961	Bachelor Father	Hilda	2 episodes
1961	Guestward Ho!	Mrs. Laughing Water	Episode: "The Hootons Versus Hawkeye"
1962–1971	The Beverly Hillbillies	Mabel Johnson / Agnes / Flo Shaffer	6 episodes
1962	Margie	Mrs. Botts	Episode: "Flaming Youth"
	The Detectives	Betty	Episode: "Pandora's Box"
	Rawhide	Mrs. Beamish	Episode: "The Greedy Town"
	Wagon Train	Mrs. Benson	Episode: "The Caroline Casteel Story"
	Laramie	Edna Holtzhoff	Episode: "Justice in a Hurry"
	The Dick Powell Theatre	Unknown	Episode: "Pericles on 31st Street"
	87th Precinct	Miss Wilson	Episode: "Girl in the Case"
1963	Arrest and Trial	Mrs. Hinch	Episode: "The Quality of Justice"
1964–1965	The Dick Van Dyke Show	Mrs. Campbell / Hotel Maid	2 episodes
1965	Alfred Hitchcock Hour	Angela Morrow / Wife	Episode: "World's Oldest Motive"
1966–1971	Hogan's Heroes	Gertrude Linkmeyer	4 episodes
1967–1970	Bonanza	Miss Hibbs / Ma Brinker	2 episodes
	Dragnet	Mrs. Sunshine Pound	Episode: "The Gun"
1968–1969	Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.	Alice Whipple / Mom	2 episodes
1969	The Bill Cosby Show	Eloise Parker	Episode: "A Word from Our Sponsor"
1973	The Mod Squad	Martha	Episode: "Cry Uncle"
1973–1974	Lotsa Luck	Iris Belmont	22 episodes
1975	The Daughters of Joshua Cabe Return	Essie	Television film
	Kolchak: The Night Stalker	Bella Sarkof	Episode: "The Youth Killer"
1976	Father O Father	Housekeeper	Television film
1977	Kojak	Ma Wonderly	Episode: "Case Without a File"
	ABC Weekend Special	Mrs. Stetson	Episode: "Soup and Me"
1978	Police Woman	Landlady	Episode: "Sons"
1980	CHiPs	Outraged Lady	Episode: "To Your Health"
1983	Sutter's Bay	Unknown	Television film
1985	AfterMASH	Mrs. Poulos	Episode: "Saturday's Heroes"
	Snorks	Additional Voices	Voice Episode: "Snorkitis Is Nothing to Sneeze At/The Whole Toot and Nothing But..."
	Simon & Simon	Felix's Customer	Episode: "Facets"
1986	My Sister Sam	Mrs. Pink	Episode: "Patti's Party"
1987	Hunter	Ann Ridley	Episode: "Requiem for Sergeant McCall"
	Mama's Family	Big Joan McCall	Episode: "Mama with the Golden Arm"
	She's the Sheriff	Bessie	Episode: "Hildy Gets Shot"
1988	Bring Me the Head of Dobie Gillis	Marie	Television film
	The Facts of Life	Noreen Grisbee	2 episodes
	The Canterbury Ghost	Mrs. Umney	Voice Television film
	Glitz	Mrs. Magyk	Television film
	Simon & Simon	Stella Brunansky	Episode: "The Merry Adventures of Robert Hood"
	Murphy Brown	Mrs. Caldwell	Episode: "Respect"
	ALF	Betty Susla	Episode: "Alone Again, Naturally"
1988–1990	Growing Pains	Madge / Marge / Estelle / Sophie	5 episodes
	The Hogan Family	Mother Poole	2 episodes
1989	L.A. Law	Joan Ackerman	Episode: "Izzy Ackerman or Is He Not"
	TV 101	Landlady	Episode: "First Love: Part 3"
	The Magical World of Disney	Mrs. Crackshell	Voice Episode: "Super DuckTales"
	Generations	Mrs. Brezinski	7 episodes
	Mr. Belvedere	Woman	Episode: "Fear of Flying"
	Christine Cromwell	Kathryn	Episode: "Things That Go Bump in the Night"
1989–1990	Head of the Class	Nurse	2 episodes
	DuckTales	Mrs. Crackshell / Nurse Hatchet	Voice 10 episodes
1990	Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers	Ma	Voice Episode: "Short Order Crooks"
	A Family for Joe	Mrs. Lee	Episode: "Law and Order"
	Sydney	Louisa	Episode: "36-24-36"
	The Golden Girls	Mother Superior	Episode: "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Sophia?"
1991	The Munsters Today	Grandma	Episode: "A House Divided"
	Sons and Daughters	Debbie	Episode: "Deep Throat"
	Out of This World	Miss Ogilvy	Episode: "Educating Kyle"
	Tales from the Crypt	Mrs. Parker	Episode: "Loved to Death"
	Beverly Hills, 90210	Pawn Shop Clerk	Episode: "Anaconda"
	Matlock	Lucy Lewis	Episodes "The Witness Killings"
	MacGyver	Rose Magruta	Episode: "Off the Wall"
1992	Major Dad	Edna	Episode: "Close Encounters"
	Martin	Saleslady	Episode: "The Gift Rapper"
	Doogie Howser, M.D.	Mrs. Mickling	Episode: "The Patient in Spite of Himself"
1993	Chairman's Choice	Unknown	Television film
	Nurses	Sister Mary Alma	Episode: "Smokin' in the Boys' Room"
1993–1994	Phenom	Maureen De La Rosa	2 episodes
1994	Herman's Head	Mrs. Debusher	Episode: "Bedtime for Hermo"
	Party of Five	Mona	Episode: "Kiss Me Kate"
1995	The Mommies	Rona	Episode: "Enter Ken"
	Renegade	Felipe's Mother	Episode: "Most Wanted"
	Bless This Mess	Jimmy's Mother	Voice Episode: "The Postman Always Moves Twice"
	Married... with Children	Peg's Mom	Voice 5 episodes
1996	Dave's World	Waitress	Episode: "Loves Me Like a Rock"
	Melrose Place	Madge	Episode: "The Circle of Strife"
	The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest	Mrs. Evans	Voice Episode: "Return of the Anasazi"
	Common Law	Danish Lady	Episode: "In the Matter of: Luis in Love"
	Roseanne	Seaweed Attendant / Edna	2 episodes
	ER	Rhonda's Patient	Episode: "No Brain, No Gain"
1996–1997	Duckman	Nurse	Voice 2 episodes
1997	Coach	Magda	Episode: "The Stench of Death"
1998	Cow and Chicken	Greta	Voice Episode: "Sumo Cow/Comet!"
	Night Man	Fern	Episode: "Bad to the Bone"
	Home Improvement	Gwen	Episode: "The Son Also Mooches"
	Love Boat: The Next Wave	Maw-Maw Cranston	Episode: "How Long Has This Been Going On?"
	Clueless	Pearl	Episode: "Cashless"
1999	Caroline in the City	Grandma Duffy	2 episodes
	Rugrats	Margaret	Voice Episode: "Wrestling Grandpa/Chuckie Collects"
	Arli$$	Helen Krupp	Episode: "The Changing of the Guard"
	Providence	Miss Van Gundy	Episode: "The Third Thing"
	Grown Ups	Mona	Episode: "Online Romance"
1999–2000	Detention	Eugenia P. Kisskillya	Voice 13 episodes
2000	Becker	Edith / Evelyn	Episode: "The Hypocratic Oath"
	Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show	Community Center Cook	Episode: "Honey, I'm the Wrong Arm of the Law"
	Batman Beyond	Ma Mayhem	Voice Episode: "The Eggbaby"
2000–2002	As Told by Ginger	Mrs. Gordon	Voice 13 episodes

Video games

Year	Title	Voice
1997	The Curse of Monkey Island	Madame Xima

External links

• Kathleen Freeman at IMDb
• Kathleen Freeman at the Internet Broadway Database
• Kathleen Freeman Remembered Archived August 24, 2005, at the Wayback Machine, lucyfan.com; accessed December 14, 2014.
• Interview with Kathleen Freeman, TonyAwards.com; accessed December 14, 2014.