Rrround tones, rrrrrround tones!

Kathleen Freeman was born

in 1919 in Chicago,

and joined her parents' vaudeville act as soon as she could stand.

She studied music at UCLA, with a piano major,

but the acting bug bit 

(or as she's quoted,"A terrible thing happened (on stage),

I got a laugh")

and it was off to the stage and movies!

Her film debut was in Wild Harvest, in 1947.

 

Kathleen made over 120 movies over the course of 50 years,

but one of her most popular films,

Singin' In The Rain, 1952,

did not even credit her.

She played Phoebe Dinsmore, vocal coach to Jean Hagen.

 Jerry Lewis was a big fan:

Kathleen did 11 movies with Jerry,

including The Nutty Professor and The Errand Boy.

 Another uncredited role, above,

in House Boat with Cary Grant (1958).

And so many sit-com appearances!

Including Hogan's Heroes, 1965-71,

where she played Frau Gertrude Linkmeyer,

above with Werner Klemperer as Colonel Klink.

A short lived sit-com,

done with Dom Deluise, 

"Lotsa Luck"

done in 1973.

 Other TV shows:

I Dream Of Jeanie, The Bob Cummings Show, 

Wagon Train, The Lucy Show,

The Beverly Hillbillies, Married With Children, and on and on! 

And back to movies...

As Sister Mary Stigmata in The Blues Brothers (1980)

  

 Support Your Local Gunfighter

with James Garner (1971)

 Hocus Pocus (1993)

 Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult

 And just before Kathleen passed away,

Broadway's The Full Monty,

where she played Jeanette Burmeister,

music director for "the boys" act.

She had to leave the show a few months into the run,

and died 5 days after doing so,

at the age 82. 

She received a Theatre World Award for her work.

Below with Andre DeShields.

 

Character actress supreme...

1919-2001