# Lois Nettleton

Lois June Nettleton (August 16, 1927 – January 18, 2008) was an American film, stage, radio and television actress. She received three Primetime Emmy Award nominations and won two Daytime Emmy Awards.

## Early life

Lois Nettleton was born on August 16, 1927, in Oak Park, Illinois, to Virginia and Edward L. Nettleton. She was also raised by her maternal aunt's family. She attended Senn High School, where she was a classmate of Lee Stern, and Goodman School of Drama at the Art Institute of Chicago. She was crowned Miss Chicago of 1948 and became a semifinalist at the Miss America 1948 pageant. After performing to favorable reviews with Geraldine Page in repertory theatre at the New Lake Zurich Playhouse in 1946 and with the Woodstock Players the following year, her professional acting career began in 1949. She understudied Barbara Bel Geddes in the original Broadway production of Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and appeared on television in a production of "Flowers from a Stranger" on Westinghouse Studio One on the CBS network in 1949.

## Career
### Radio

Nettleton played Patsy in the soap opera The Brighter Day.

### Television

Nettleton performed in many guest-starring roles on television shows, including The Twilight Zone (episode "The Midnight Sun", 1961), Naked City, Route 66, Mr. Novak, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (episode "The Dark Pool", 1963), The Eleventh Hour, Hawaii Five-O, Dr. Kildare, Twelve O'Clock High, The Fugitive, The F.B.I., Cannon, Bonanza, Gunsmoke, The Virginian and Daniel Boone. In 1973, she appeared on The Mary Tyler Moore Show as Lou Grant's boss. In 1975, she appeared as Delonia Cantrell in season 3, episode 18 (Barbary House) and episode 19 (Flight To Orion) of Kung Fu (1972 TV series). She appeared in the pilot episode of The Eddie Capra Mysteries in 1978 and in hit TV miniseries such as Washington: Behind Closed Doors and Centennial. In 1987, Nettleton portrayed Penny Vanderhof Sycamore on the TV series version of the Kaufman and Hart comedy play You Can't Take It with You with Harry Morgan and Richard Sanders.
Nettleton was a regular celebrity guest on various versions of the game show Pyramid from the 1970s through 1991.
She won two Emmy Awards during her career. The first was for her role as Susan B. Anthony in the television film The American Woman: Profiles in Courage (1977), and the second for "A Gun for Mandy" (1983), an episode of the religious anthology Insight. She received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for the Golden Girls episode "Isn't It Romantic?". She also received Emmy nominations for her work in the TV movie Fear on Trial (1975) (Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Special) and for a recurring role in the series In the Heat of the Night in 1989 (Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series). Nettleton appeared in a 2006 Christmas TV movie special titled The Christmas Card.

### Film

Nettleton appeared in several Hollywood feature films. Her first prominent role came in Period of Adjustment (1962), an adaptation of a Tennessee Williams play, as a woman in a troubled marriage.

### Stage

A lifetime member of the Actors Studio, Nettleton made her Broadway debut in the 1949 production of Dalton Trumbo's play The Biggest Thief in Town. She appeared in a short-lived off-Broadway production of Look Charlie, which was written by her future husband, humorist Jean Shepherd. It opened for three performances in late December 1958 and closed after several more the following February.
Nettleton received critical praise for her performance as Blanche DuBois in a 1973 revival of A Streetcar Named Desire. She was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance as Amy in a 1976 revival of They Knew What They Wanted. Her other stage credits include Broadway productions of Darkness at Noon and Silent Night, Lonely Night. She continued to act on the stage into her seventies. Her final stage performance was in the 2004 off-Broadway play How to Build a Better Tulip.

### Voice acting

Nettleton appeared in episodes of the CBS Radio Mystery Theater. In her later years, she performed voice roles as Athena in Herc's Adventures and as Maleficent in House of Mouse and Mickey's House of Villains.

## Personal life and death

Nettleton was the first caller to Jean Shepherd's late-night radio program on WOR, later becoming his third wife. She was a regular guest, known to the audience as "the listener." They married on December 3, 1960, in Tarrytown, New York but divorced in 1967.
Nettleton made her last public appearance in August 2007 at a Twilight Zone convention in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey. On January 18, 2008, she died in Woodland Hills, California, at the age of 80 from lung cancer.

## In popular culture

A highly fictionalized version of Nettleton appears in James Ellroy's 2021 novel Widespread Panic and in his 2023 novel The Enchanters.

## Filmography
### Movies

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1957 | A Face in the Crowd | Mr. Mason's Nurse | Uncredited |
| 1962 | Period of Adjustment | Dorothea Bates | |
| 1963 | Come Fly with Me | Hilda 'Bergie' Bergstrom | |
| 1964 | Mail Order Bride | Annie Boley | |
| 1968 | The Bamboo Saucer | Anna Karachev | |
| 1969 | The Good Guys and the Bad Guys | Mary | |
| 1970 | Pigeons | Mildred | |
| 1970 | Dirty Dingus Magee | Prudence Frost | |
| 1971 | The Bull of the West | Mary Justin | |
| 1972 | The Honkers | Linda Lathrop | |
| 1975 | The Man in the Glass Booth | Miriam Rosen | |
| 1976 | Echoes of a Summer | Ruth Striden | |
| 1981 | Deadly Blessing | Louisa Stohler | |
| 1981 | Soggy Bottom, U.S.A. | Molly | |
| 1982 | Butterfly | Belle Morgan | |
| 1982 | The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas | Dulcie Mae | |
| 1994 | Mirror, Mirror 2: Raven Dance | Sister Marion | |
| 2001 | Mickey's House of Villains | Maleficent | Voice, video |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1949-1956 | Studio One in Hollywood | Bertha Randall / Mona | 3 Episodes: "Flowers from a Stranger", "The Willow Cabin", "An Incident of Love" |
| 1953 | Man Against Crime | Ethel | 1 Episode: "Murder Mountain" |
| 1954 | Captain Video and His Video Rangers | | 1 Episode: "The Enemy from Within" |
| 1954-1957 | The Brighter Day | Patsy Dennis | |
| 1955-1958 | Camera Three | Emily Dickinson / Akulina | 3 Episodes: "The Forty-Niners", "The Rendezvous", "Emily Dickinson: Portrait of a Poet" |
| 1956 | The Big Story | Jean | 1 Episode: "Ex-Convict" |
| 1958 | Armstrong Circle Theatre | | 2 Episodes: "The Mummy Complex", "Accused of Murder" |
| 1958 | Kraft Theatre | Beth / Sarah | 2 Episodes: "Now Will You Try for Murder?", "Presumption of Innocence" |
| 1958 | Decoy | Lois Bergen | 2 Episodes: "Deadly Corridor", "Ladies Man" |
| 1959 | Meet Me in St. Louis | Lucille Ballard | TV movie |
| 1959 | Brenner | | 1 Episode: "One of Our Own" |
| 1959 | The United States Steel Hour | Jan Livingston | 1 Episode: "Seed of Guilt" |
| 1959 | True Story | Sue Richards | 1 Episode: "12 September 1959" |
| 1959 | Summer of Decision | Receptionist | TV movie |
| 1959 | Captain David Grief | Rosita Molina | 1 Episode: "The Gun Runner" |
| 1960 | Startime | | 1 Episode: "Mr. Arcularis" |
| 1960 | Dow Hour of Great Mysteries | Laura / Anne Catherick | 1 Episode: "The Woman in White" |
| 1960 | The Play of the Week | Mary / Abigail Sarclet | 2 Episodes: "Duet for Two Hands", "Emmanuel" |
| 1960-1962 | Naked City | Sara / Marie Marianni / Fran Burney / Merissa Mori | 4 Episodes: "Debt of Honor", "To Dream Without Sleep", "Show Me the Way to Go Home", "A Run for the Money" |
| 1961 | Encounter | Lise | 1 Episode: "The Neighbour" |
| 1961 | Great Ghost Tales | | 1 Episode: "Mr. Arcularis" |
| 1961 | The Twilight Zone | Norma | 1 Episode: "The Midnight Sun" |
| 1961-1963 | Route 66 | Isabelle / Jahala West / Susan | 3 Episodes: "The Opponent"; "Some of the People, Some of the Time"; "Suppose I Said I Was the Queen of Spain" |
| 1961, 1967 | Gunsmoke | Amy Todd / Nina Sharkey | 2 Episodes: "Nina's Revenge", "The Returning" |
| 1962 | The DuPont Show of the Week | Jennifer Graham | 1 Episode: "The Shadowed Affair" |
| 1963 | The Alfred Hitchcock Hour | Dianne Castillejo | Season 1 Episode 29: "The Dark Pool" |
| 1963 | The Eleventh Hour | Ruth | 1 Episode: "Oh, You Shouldn't Have Done It" |
| 1963 | East Side/West Side | Ann Severson | 1 Episode: "No Hiding Place" |
| 1963-1964 | The Nurses | Ella Johnson / Molly Kane | 2 Episodes: "The Guilt of Molly Kane", "A Messenger to Everyone" |
| 1964-1965 | Dr. Kildare | Lisa Dowling / Hildy Pochek | 2 Episodes: "Speak Not in Angry Whispers"; "My Name Is Lisa, and I Am Lost" |
| 1964-1966 | The Fugitive | Marcia Stone / Susan Cartwright / Lucey Russell | 3 Episodes: "Man on a String", "In a Plain Paper Wrapper", "Death Is the Door Prize" |
| 1965 | Mr. Novak | Jean Corcoran | 1 Episode: "Where Is There to Go, Billie, But Up?" |
| 1965 | Twelve O'Clock High | Susan Nesbit | 1 Episode: "Show Me a Hero, I'll Show You a Bum" |
| 1966 | Bonanza | Elizabeth Ann Clauson | 2 Episodes: "The Pursued: Part 1 & 2" |
| 1966, 1970 | The F.B.I. | Elizabeth Colling / Catherine Fossburg | 2 Episodes: "Vendetta", "The Innocents" |
| 1967 | Accidental Family | Sue Kramer | 16 episodes |
| 1967 | Valley of Mystery | Rita Brown | TV movie |
| 1968 | Daniel Boone | Sulie | 1 Episode: "The Bait" |
| 1968 | Macbeth | Lady Macbeth | TV movie |
| 1968 | The Virginian | Suzanne Mayo | "The Wind of Outrage" |
| 1968, 1970 | The Name of the Game | Laura Garver / Ruth Prochek | 2 Episodes: "The Taker", "All the Old Familiar Faces" |
| 1969 | Any Second Now | Nancy Dennison | TV movie |
| 1969 | The Outsider | April Endby | 1 Episode: "Periwinkle Blue" |
| 1969 | Then Came Bronson | Barbara Timmons | 1 Episode: "All the World and God" |
| 1969 | The Bold Ones: The New Doctors | Laura Michaels | 1 Episode: "And Those Unborn" |
| 1970 | Bracken's World | Eva Sanders | 1 Episode: "Nude Scene" |
| 1970 | Weekend of Terror | Sister Ellen | TV movie |
| 1970-1976 | Medical Center | Maj. Annie Malone / Katie Height / Dr. Annie Claymor | 5 Episodes |
| 1971 | The Interns | Jeanne / Jenny | 1 Episode: "Metamorphosis" |
| 1971 | The Forgotten Man | Anne Wilson | TV movie |
| 1971 | Terror in the Sky | Janet Turner | TV movie |
| 1971 | The Man and the City | Jennifer Wilson | 1 Episode: "Jennifer" |
| 1972 | Women in Chains | Sandra Parker / Sally Porter | TV movie |
| 1972 | Night Gallery | Moira | 1 Episode: "I'll Never Leave You - Ever/There Aren't Any More MacBanes" |
| 1972 | Cannon | Linda Dean | 1 Episode: "The Shadow Man" |
| 1973 | The Mary Tyler Moore Show | Barbara Coleman | 1 Episode: "What Do You Do When the Boss Says 'I Love You'" |
| 1974 | The ABC Afternoon Playbreak | Jennifer Clifton | 1 Episode: "Last Bride of Salem" |
| 1974 | Movin' On | Karen | 1 Episode: "Life Line" |
| 1974 | Marcus Welby, M.D. | Mary Anderson | 1 Episode: "Child of Silence" |
| 1974 | Barnaby Jones | Ellen Blazeford | 1 Episode: "Death on Deposit" |
| 1975 | Kung Fu | Delonia Cantrell | 2 Episodes: "Danny Caine:Barbary House", "Flight to Orion" |
| 1975 | Petrocelli | Gloria | 1 Episode: "A Night of Terror" |
| 1975 | Fear on Trial | Nan Claybourne | TV movie |
| 1975 | Hawaii Five-O | Chelsea Merriman | 1 Episode: "Sing a Song of Suspence" |
| 1976 | The American Woman: Portraits of Courage | Susan B. Anthony | TV movie |
| 1977 | All That Glitters | Christina Stockwood | 65 Episodes |
| 1977 | The Streets of San Francisco | Carolyn Blake | 1 Episode: "Interlude" |
| 1977 | Washington: Behind Closed Doors | Linda Martin | 6 Episodes |
| 1978 | The Eddie Capra Mysteries | Jessica Crowley | 1 Episode: "Nightmare at Pendragon Castle" |
| 1978-1979 | Centennial | Maude Wendell | 10 Episodes |
| 1980 | The Love Boat | Susan Stoddard | 1 Episode: "Celebration/Captain Papa/Honeymoon Pressure" |
| 1980 | Tourist | Terry Carrell | TV movie |
| 1982 | Trapper John, M.D. | Janet Weems | 1 Episode: "Three on a Mismatch" |
| 1982 | Insight | Joanna / Mandy | 2 Episodes: "A Gun for Mandy", "So Little Time" |
| 1984 | Glitter | Sister Abigail | 1 Episode: "A Minor Miracle" |
| 1984-1991 | Murder, She Wrote | Ginny Blanchard / Deidre French / Amelia | 3 Episodes: "Lovers and Other Killers", "Mourning Among the Wisterias", "Terminal Connection" |
| 1985 | Finder of Lost Loves | Helen Sanderson | 1 Episode: "From the Heart" |
| 1985 | Hotel | Cheryl Pomeroy | 1 Episode: "Lost and Found" |
| 1985 | Brass | Claire Willis | TV movie |
| 1986 | Manhunt for Claude Dallas | Dee Pogue | TV movie |
| 1986 | The Golden Girls | Jean | 1 Episode: "Isn't It Romantic?" |
| 1986-1987 | The Facts of Life | Noreen Stickle / Radio Voice | 2 Episodes: "Ready or Not", "Ex Marks the Spot" |
| 1987 | Cagney & Lacey | Faith Dewey | 1 Episode: "Divine Couriers" |
| 1987-1988 | You Can't Take It with You | Penny Vanderhof Sycamore | 3 Episodes: "Like Mother, Like Son"; "The Trial of Martin Vanderhof"; "For Whom the Phone Rings" |
| 1988 | Mr. Belvedere | Barbara Collins | 1 Episode: "Black Widow" |
| 1988-1989 | In the Heat of the Night | Joanne St. John | 22 Episodes |
| 1989 | The Munsters Today | Ms. Jessica Bowton | 1 Episode: "Eau de Munster" |
| 1990 | The Flash | Belle Crocker | 1 Episode: "Ghost in the Machine" |
| 1991 | Full House | Nedra Donaldson | 2 Episodes: "The Wedding: Part 1 & 2" |
| 1993 | Traveler's Rest | Joanne | TV Short |
| 1994 | Seinfeld | Mrs. Enright | 1 Episode: "The Gymnast" |
| 1994 | Babylon 5 | Daggair | 1 Episode: "Soul Mates" |
| 1995 | The Cosby Mysteries | Mrs. Adams | 1 Episode: "Last Tango" |
| 1995 | University Hospital | Sarah McCormick | 1 Episode: "'Til Death Do Us Part" |
| 1995 | Coach | Lois | 1 Episode: "Fool for Lunch" |
| 1995 | Baywatch Nights | Frances Sandreen | 1 Episode: "Bad Blades" |
| 1996 | The Making of a Hollywood Madam | Katherine | TV movie |
| 1996 | Charlie Grace | Sarah McCormick | 1 Episode: "I've Got a Secret" |
| 1996-1998 | General Hospital | Virginia Benson | |
| 1997 | Spider-Man | Nora | 2 Episodes: "Partners in Danger Chapter 1: Guilty", "Partners in Danger Chapter 2: The Cat" |
| 1999 | The Pretender | Gloria | 1 Episode: "Risqué Business" |
| 2001 | Crossing Jordan | Evelyn | 5 Episodes |
| 2002 | House of Mouse | Maleficent | 1 Episode: "Halloween with Hades" |
| 2006 | The Christmas Card | Rosie Spelman | TV movie, (final film role) |

### Video games

| Year | Title | Role |
| 1997 | Herc's Adventures | Athena |