Inga Swenson
Inga Swenson was born on December 29, 1932 in Omaha, Nebraska, USA. She appeared in multiple Broadway productions and received two Tony nominations. She also spent seven years portraying Gretchen Kraus in the ABC comedy series "Benson". Early years. Inga Swenson graduated from Omaha Central High School in Nebraska in 1950. While she was attending OCHS, as a junior, Swenson won the state title in the National Forensic League's speech contest and later, she won the NFL's national contest. As a high school senior she was considered the school's best vocalist and she was also  the president of the Central High Players. She studied drama at Northwestern University under Alvina Krause, among others, and was a member of the Alpha Phi sorority. Career. Early in her career, Swenson had supporting roles in the films "Advise and Consent" (1962) and "The Miracle Worker" (1962) in which she played Helen Keller's mother. Swenson is a trained lyric soprano and starred on Broadway in "New Faces" (c. 1956), and "The First Gentleman" (1959), receiving Tony Award nominations for Best Actress in a Musical for her performances in "110 in the Shade" (1964) and "Baker Street" (1965). Swenson  had a role in the TV western series "Bonanza" in two episodes: "Inger, My Love" (1962) and "Journey Remembered" (1963). Swenson also portrayed Gretchen Kraus, the autocratic and acerbic German cook (later head housekeeper and budget director) in the TV sitcom "Benson". She received the part by appearing in a multi-episode stint as Ingrid Spencer, the Swedish birth mother of Corinne Tate (Diana Canova), on the TV sitcom "Soap", which had the same producers. She also appeared as northern matriarch Maude Hazard in the mini-series "North and South" in 1985 and again in 1986. A life member of  The Actors Studio, her favorite role was Lizzie Currie in the musical "110 in the Shade". Singer, The Mountai Men(film) The Mountain Men' 1980 Television credits. Television debut – Singer, Chrysler Special, CBC (Canadian television), 1957.