Joan Tompkins

Summary

Joan Swenson (July 9, 1915 – January 29, 2005),[1] previously known as Joan Tompkins, was an American actress of television, film, radio, and stage.

Joan Tompkins
Tompkins (right) as Susan Price Wells with Cameron Prud'homme and Charme Allen in the radio serial David Harum, 1947
Born(1915-07-09)July 9, 1915
New York, U.S.
DiedJanuary 29, 2005(2005-01-29) (aged 89)
OccupationActress
Years active1953-1980
Known for
SpouseSteve Appleby
Children4 stepsons

Career edit

Tompkins performed with stock theater companies in Mount Kisco, New York and White Plains, New York.[2] She acted on Broadway in My Sister Eileen, Pride and Prejudice,[3] and Fly Away Home.[2]

Radio edit

Her roles on radio programs include:

Program Role
Against the Storm Siri Allen[4]
David Harum Susan Wells[4]: 94 
Lora Lawton Lora Lawton[4]: 206 
Our Gal Sunday Madeline Travers[4]: 262 
This Is Nora Drake Nora Drake[3]
Young Widder Brown Joyce Turner[4]: 361 
Your Family and Mine Judy Wilbur[4]: 362 

Filmography edit

Film edit

Year Film Role Notes
1966 Made in Paris Ruth (uncredited)
1969 Popi Miss Musto
1970 Zig Zag Judge Beth Weaver Crime thriller film
The Christine Jorgensen Story Aunt Thora
I Love My Wife Grandma Dennison Comedy film

Television edit

Her television roles included:

  • Adventures in Paradise as Cora Summers in "Assassins" (1961)
  • Hazel as Florence Gurney in "Hazel and the Gardener" (1962)
  • The New Breed as Mrs. Marsh in "How Proud the Guilty" (1962)
  • Bus Stop, as Sarah Jenkins in "The Runaways" (1961) and unknown role in "I Kiss Your Shadow" (1962)
  • The Danny Thomas Show, two episodes (1959 and 1962)
  • The Lieutenant, two episodes (1963–1964)
  • Route 66, as Mrs. Thomas in "Between Hello and Goodbye" (1962)
  • The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters as Martha Pollux in "The Day of the Wizard" (1964)
  • The Eleventh Hour, three episodes, including the two-parter, "Does My Mother Have to Know?", in the role of Aggie Britt (1964)
  • Mr. Novak as Mrs. Douglas Morgan, Sr., in "The Private Life of Douglas Morgan, Jr." (1964)
  • Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. as Mrs. Harper in "A Date for the Colonel's Daughter" (1964)
  • Perry Mason, three episodes (1962–1964)
  • Dr. Kildare, three episodes (1962–1965)
  • Slattery's People, as Dorothy Ralston in "Question, What Time Is the Next Bandwagon?" (1965)
  • The Farmer's Daughter in "Katie's Castle" (1965)
  • My Three Sons reoccurring as Lorraine Miller (1967-1970)
  • Mannix as Mrs. Dover in "Turn Every Stone" (1967)
  • Mission: Impossible as Miss Putnam in "The Seal" (1967)
  • Occasional Wife as Mrs. Brahms in "Pilot" and "No Cookie for Dessert" (1966)[citation needed]
  • I Dream of Jeannie as General's wife in "Invisible House for Sale" (1968)
  • Bewitched as Harriet Walters in "Once in a Vial" (1968)
  • The Brady Bunch as Mrs. Tyler in "The Honeymoon" (1969) which was that show's premiere episode
  • Lassie, in two episodes, including the role of Mrs. Davis in the 1964 episode "The Little Christmas Tree" and as Katherine in the 1971 segment entitled "The Awakening"
  • The Scarecrow as Mistress Cynthia Merton, television play (1972)
  • The Mary Tyler Moore Show, as Mrs. Thorn, secretary to Lou Grant, episode "Who's in Charge Here?" (1972)
  • Griff, as Ruth in "Elephant in a Cage" (1973)
  • Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law, three episodes, including two as a judge (1973–1974)
  • Barnaby Jones, three episodes, including role of Judge Edith Royce in "Voice in the Night" (1976)
  • The Waltons, as Mrs. Herbert in "The Achievement" (1977), the final appearance of Richard Thomas in the series and the episode in which John-Boy Walton he obtains publication of his first novel[5]
  • Emergency! as Maggie Trigg in "The Most Deadly Passage" (1978), made into a television movie the following year[citation needed]

Personal life edit

On July 25, 1936, Tompkins married actor Stephen Ker Appleby in Briarcliff, New York. They were divorced on December 4, 1941.[6]

References edit

  1. ^ "Social Security Death Index". ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com. Retrieved January 17, 2010.
  2. ^ a b Dorfman, Nat (August 16, 1941). "Drama in Stage Job". The Brooklyn Citizen. p. 8. Retrieved October 28, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b "This Is Nora Drake Will Be New Serial Over KSCJ". Sioux City Journal. April 11, 1940. p. 10 - Section 2. Retrieved October 28, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Terrace, Vincent (1999). Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 18. ISBN 978-0-7864-4513-4.
  5. ^ "The Waltons: "The Achievement"". fandango.com. Archived from the original on April 5, 2011. Retrieved January 17, 2010.
  6. ^ "Mrs. Appleby Obtains Divorce". The New York Times. December 5, 1941. p. 8. Retrieved October 28, 2021.

External links edit