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Kathleen Freeman

Kathleen Freeman

The inimitable American actress Kathleen Freeman has been convulsing film audiences with portrayals of dowdy, sharp-tongued matrons since she was in her 20s. After stage work, Freeman began taking bit roles in major-studio features in 1948, seldom getting screen credit but always making a positive impression. The best of her earliest roles was in Singin' in the Rain (1952); Freeman played long-suffering vocal coach Phoebe Dinsmore, whose Herculean efforts to get dumb movie star Jean Hagen to grasp the proper enunciation of the phrase "I can't staaaand him" proved uproariously futile. Often cast as domestics, Freeman had a year's run in 1953 as the "spooked" maid on the ghostly TV sitcom Topper. Freeman was a particular favorite of comedian Jerry Lewis, who cast the actress in showy (and billed!) roles in such farces as The Errand Boy (1961), The Nutty Professor (1963) and Who's Got the Action?. As Nurse Higgins in Lewis' Disorderly Orderly (1964), Freeman weeps quietly as Jerry meekly scrapes oatmeal off her face and babbles "Oh, Nurse Higgins...you're all full of...stuff." Lewis so trusted Freeman's acting instincts that he sent her to the set of director William Wyler's The Collector (1965) in order to help build up the confidence of Wyler's nervous young leading lady Samantha Eggar. Throughout the '70s and '80s, Freeman took occasional "sabbaticals" from her movie and TV assignments to do stage work, enjoying a lengthy run in a Chicago production of Ira Levin's Deathtrap. Like many character actors of the '50s, Kathleen Freeman is frequently called upon to buoy the projects of baby-boomer directors: she was recently seen as an hysterical Julia Child clone in Joe Dante's Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide


Filmography of Kathleen Freeman:

Kathleen Freeman Trivia

When was Kathleen Freeman born?
Kathleen Freeman date of birth: February 17, 1919

Who did Kathleen Freeman play in The Ladies' Man?
Kathleen Freeman was Katie in The Ladies' Man

Who did Kathleen Freeman portray in The Nutty Professor?
Kathleen Freeman was Millie Lemmon in The Nutty Professor

Who did Kathleen Freeman play in The Disorderly Orderly?
Kathleen Freeman was Maggie Higgins in The Disorderly Orderly

What role did Kathleen Freeman play in Blues Brothers 2000?
Kathleen Freeman played Mother Mary Stigmata in Blues Brothers 2000

What role did Kathleen Freeman portray in The Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult?
Kathleen Freeman played Muriel in The Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult

Who did Kathleen Freeman play in Kid Monk Baroni?
Kathleen Freeman was Maria Baroni in Kid Monk Baroni

Who did Kathleen Freeman play in North to Alaska?
Kathleen Freeman was Lena Nordquist in North to Alaska

What role did Kathleen Freeman portray in The Errand Boy?
Kathleen Freeman played Mrs. T.P. in The Errand Boy

Who did Kathleen Freeman play in The House by the River?
Kathleen Freeman was Effie Ferguson in The House by the River

Who did Kathleen Freeman portray in The Ballad of Cable Hogue?
Kathleen Freeman was Mrs. Jensen in The Ballad of Cable Hogue

Who did Kathleen Freeman portray in The Good Guys and the Bad Guys?
Kathleen Freeman was Mrs. Stone in The Good Guys and the Bad Guys

Who did Kathleen Freeman portray in Point Blank?
Kathleen Freeman was 1st Citizen in Point Blank

What role did Kathleen Freeman portray in Gremlins 2: The New Batch?
Kathleen Freeman played Microwave Marge in Gremlins 2: The New Batch

What role did Kathleen Freeman play in Marriage on the Rocks?
Kathleen Freeman played Miss Blight in Marriage on the Rocks

Who did Kathleen Freeman play in The Far Country?
Kathleen Freeman was Grits in The Far Country

Who did Kathleen Freeman play in The Bad and the Beautiful?
Kathleen Freeman was Miss March in The Bad and the Beautiful

What role did Kathleen Freeman portray in Myra Breckinridge?
Kathleen Freeman played Bobby Dean Loner in Myra Breckinridge

Who did Kathleen Freeman play in Innerspace?
Kathleen Freeman was Dream Lady in Innerspace

Who did Kathleen Freeman portray in Monkey Business?
Kathleen Freeman was Mrs. Brannigan in Monkey Business

Who did Kathleen Freeman play in The Blues Brothers?
Kathleen Freeman was Sister Mary Stigmata in The Blues Brothers

What role did Kathleen Freeman portray in Lotsa Luck [TV Series]?
Kathleen Freeman played Iris Belmont in Lotsa Luck [TV Series]

Who did Kathleen Freeman portray in The Strongest Man in the World?
Kathleen Freeman was Policewoman in The Strongest Man in the World

Who did Kathleen Freeman portray in O. Henry's Full House?
Kathleen Freeman was Mrs. Dorset (uncredited) in O. Henry's Full House

What role did Kathleen Freeman portray in Kiss Them for Me?
Kathleen Freeman played Nurse Wilinski in Kiss Them for Me

Who did Kathleen Freeman portray in The Wrong Guys?
Kathleen Freeman was Grunskis' Mom in The Wrong Guys

Who did Kathleen Freeman play in The Willies?
Kathleen Freeman was Miss Titmarch in The Willies

Who did Kathleen Freeman portray in Support Your Local Sheriff?
Kathleen Freeman was Mrs. Danvers in Support Your Local Sheriff

Who did Kathleen Freeman play in Support Your Local Gunfighter?
Kathleen Freeman was Mrs. Perkins in Support Your Local Gunfighter

Who did Kathleen Freeman portray in Singin' in the Rain?
Kathleen Freeman was Phoebe Dinsmore in Singin' in the Rain

Who did Kathleen Freeman portray in A Place in the Sun?
Kathleen Freeman was Martha in A Place in the Sun

Who did Kathleen Freeman play in The Patsy?
Kathleen Freeman was Katie in The Patsy

Who did Kathleen Freeman play in Naked City?
Kathleen Freeman was Stout Girl in Naked City

What role did Kathleen Freeman portray in Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland?
Kathleen Freeman played Dance Teacher in Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland

Who did Kathleen Freeman portray in Let's Make It Legal?
Kathleen Freeman was Reporter in Let's Make It Legal

Who did Kathleen Freeman portray in Hocus Pocus?
Kathleen Freeman was Miss Olin in Hocus Pocus

Who did Kathleen Freeman play in Heartbeeps?
Kathleen Freeman was Helicopter Pilot in Heartbeeps

What role did Kathleen Freeman play in The Greatest Show on Earth?
Kathleen Freeman played Woman in The Greatest Show on Earth

What role did Kathleen Freeman portray in Ferngully: The Last Rainforest?
Kathleen Freeman played Edler in Ferngully: The Last Rainforest

What role did Kathleen Freeman portray in Dutch?
Kathleen Freeman played Gritzi in Dutch

What role did Kathleen Freeman play in Dragnet?
Kathleen Freeman played Enid Borden in Dragnet

What role did Kathleen Freeman portray in Chances Are?
Kathleen Freeman played Mrs. Handy in Chances Are

What role did Kathleen Freeman play in The Best of Times?
Kathleen Freeman played Rosie in The Best of Times


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