Inga Swenson was not born in Germany, but in Omaha, Nebraska, on December 29, 1932. A trained soprano, she made her Broadway debut in “New Faces of 1956” with Maggie Smith, Jane Connell, Billie Hayes, and others. She appeared in 1957’s “The First Gentleman,” in productions for the American Shakespeare Company of Connecticut, and understudied Julie Andrews in “Camelot.” In 1963 Swenson was cast as the spinster Lizzy in 110 in the Shade, based on N. Richard Nash’s play The Rainmaker. She received a Tony nomination for best actress in a musical for that performance, then landed another for her turn as Sherlock Holmes foe Irene Adler in the Hal Prince-directed Baker Street a year later.
Other highlights of her 40 years on TV (1957-1998) included playing the mother of Hoss Cartwright (Dan Blocker) on two episodes of “Bonanza” (1962 & 1963), Maude Hazard in both “North & South” (1985) and “North & South: Book 2” (1986), Rose’s “jackass” sister Holly on a 1989 episode of “The Golden Girls,” and Grandma Helga on two episodes of “Life with Louie” (1997 & 1998), the latter of which became her final work as an actress.
