INGA SWENSON, NEBRASKA->BROADWAY->HOLLYWOOD

Today, The Grandma has been watching some films interpreted by Inga Swenson, the American actress and singer, who was born on a day like today in 1932.

Inga Swenson (December 29, 1932-July 23, 2023) was an American actress and singer. She appeared in multiple Broadway productions and was nominated twice for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performances as Lizzie Curry in 110 in the Shade and Irene Adler in Baker Street. She also spent seven years portraying Gretchen Kraus in the ABC comedy series Benson.

Inga Swenson was born in Omaha, Nebraska, on December 29, 1932, the youngest of three children of Geneva Pauline (née Seeger) and Axel Carl Richard 'A.C.R.' Swenson. Her father died in a car accident when she was 15.

Swenson graduated from Omaha Central High School in 1950. While attending OCHS, as a junior, Swenson won the state title in the National Forensic League's speech contest and later, she won the NFL's national contest. As a high school senior she was considered the school's best vocalist and she was also the president of the Central High Players. She studied drama at Northwestern University under Alvina Krause, among others, and was a member of the Alpha Phi sorority.

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. 

Swenson was a trained lyric soprano and starred on Broadway in New Faces (c. 1956), and The First Gentleman (1959), receiving Tony Award nominations for Best Actress in a Musical for her performances in 110 in the Shade (1964) and Baker Street (1965). A life member of The Actors Studio, she said her favorite role was Lizzie Currie in the musical 110 in the Shade.

Swenson appeared in two episodes of Bonanza: Inger, My Love (1962) and Journey Remembered (1963) as Hoss' mother. She portrayed Gretchen Kraus, the autocratic and acerbic German cook (later head housekeeper and budget director) in the TV sitcom Benson. Her portrayal garnered three Emmy nominations. She was cast after appearing in a multi-episode stint as the conniving revenge-seeking Ingrid Svenson, the Swedish birth mother of Corinne Tate (Diana Canova), on the TV sitcom Soap. Benson was a spinoff of Soap and shared the same producers. She also appeared as northern matriarch Maude Hazard in the mini-series North and South in 1985 and again in 1986.

Swenson retired from acting in 1998.

Swenson married actor/singer Lowell Harris in 1953, and the couple had two sons: Mark and James.

Swenson died in Los Angeles on July 23, 2023, at the age of 90.

More information: The Hollywood Reported

So, all we have to do is knock a hole
in the wall and let the sunshine in.

Inga Swenson