Kathryn Joosten
| Kathryn Joosten | |
|---|---|
Joosten at the 2009 Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony
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|
| Born | Kathryn Rausch December 20, 1939 Chicago, Illinois, U.S.[1] |
| Died | Error: Need valid death date (first date): year, month, day Westlake Village, California, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Lung cancer |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1982–2012 |
| Known for | Karen McCluskey, Dolores Landingham |
| Television | Desperate Housewives, The West Wing |
| Children | 2 sons |
| Awards | Emmy Awards (2005, 2008) |
| Website | www |
Kathryn Joosten (December 20, 1939 – June 2, 2012)[2] was an American television actress best known for her regular role as Karen McCluskey in Desperate Housewives, for which she won two Emmy Awards, and for her recurring role in The West Wing as Dolores Landingham.
Early life
Joosten was born Kathryn Rausch in Chicago, Illinois to Dutch-German parents.[1][3] Her first career was as a psychiatric nurse at Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago, living in nearby Lake Forest, Illinois, where she married a psychiatrist and raised two sons. Following her 1980 divorce,[3] she began acting in community theater in 1982, at age 42.[4]
Career
In 1992, she was hired as a street performer working for Disney World in Orlando, Florida. In 1995, she moved to Hollywood, where she took guest roles in television series such as Roseanne, Home Improvement, Picket Fences, Murphy Brown, ER, Seinfeld, Frasier, Just Shoot Me!, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dharma & Greg, Las Vegas and The Drew Carey Show. In a 1997 episode of Frasier, "Roz's Turn", Joosten appeared as Vera, the mother and personal secretary of Frasier's conniving agent, Bebe Glazer, played by Harriet Sansom Harris. The pair would later be reunited to play opposite neighbors in Desperate Housewives.
In 1999, Joosten took the role of Mrs. Landingham, personal secretary to President Josiah Bartlet (played by Martin Sheen) in The West Wing. Joosten played the role for two seasons, until her character's death in a car crash in 2001, and returned to the show twice more in flashback appearances. Her role on The West Wing gave her an entrance into more significant guest roles on notable television series.
Since 2001, she appeared in such shows as Scrubs (appearing in "My Old Lady", which won a Humanitas Prize as well as reappearing in two later episodes), My Name is Earl, Spin City, The X-Files, Judging Amy, Monk, Charmed, Will & Grace, Malcolm in the Middle, Grey's Anatomy, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, Reba, So Little Time, Gilmore Girls, The Closer and a recurring role as one of the less intimidating incarnations of God seen by the title character (played by Amber Tamblyn) on the TV series Joan of Arcadia. In 2005, Joosten appeared in the film Wedding Crashers, starring Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson.
Joosten had a recurring role on Desperate Housewives as Karen McCluskey. For this role, Joosten won two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series in 2005 and 2008 and once again was nominated for 2010, and appeared as a presenter at the 2005 and 2008 Emmy Awards telecasts. She received Screen Actors Guild Award nominations with the rest of the cast for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series from 2006–2008. She was promoted to a member of the regular cast in Season 6. However, the Emmys still billed her as a "Guest Actress" when she was nominated for a third time for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for the 2010 Emmys. She was then nominated for a fourth Emmy, this time for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 2012. She played Aunt Jackie in Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel in 2009.
In 2009, Joosten and Lily Tomlin were in talks to star in a Desperate Housewives spin-off.[5] The spin-off was given a preliminary green light to proceed.[6] However, the series did not proceed.
Health
Joosten appeared in numerous television commercials such as those for V8 and Fiber One. In 2007, in an appearance on The View, she revealed that she was in remission from lung cancer, after many years of chain smoking (which she had by then quit). She offered some tips on how to beat the habit of smoking. Coincidentally, her guest roles on My Name is Earl and Grey's Anatomy revolved largely around her character attempting to quit smoking. In 2001, she quit her 45-year smoking habit when she was diagnosed with lung cancer.[7] In September 2009, Joosten was diagnosed with lung cancer for a second time. She subsequently underwent surgery and four rounds of chemotherapy, and was found to be cancer-free in January 2010.
Joosten made a guest appearance on The Bold and the Beautiful on February 7, 2011, as part of the show's 6000th episode, which featured several other real-life lung cancer survivors discussing their experiences with two of the show's characters, played by Susan Flannery and Jack Wagner, who were dealing with lung cancer.[8]
Joosten was named the national spokesperson for the Lung Cancer Profiles campaign on behalf of Pfizer.[9]
Death
Joosten died of lung cancer on the morning of June 2, 2012, after an 11-year battle with the disease. Coincidentally, her death occurred twenty days after the onscreen death from cancer of her Desperate Housewives character, Karen McCluskey. Poignantly, viewers in the United Kingdom first saw her onscreen death the day after her real life passing.[2]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Sable | Waitress | 1 episode |
| 1995 | Pointman | Lois | 1 episode |
| Family Matters | Grocery checker | 1 episode | |
| Picket Fences | Waitress | 1 episode | |
| Grace Under Fire | Ida Reilly | 1 episode | |
| 1996 | 3rd Rock from the Sun | Cafeteria lady | 1 episode |
| ER | Lois | 1 episode | |
| Roseanne | Carol / Supermarket customer | 2 episodes (separate roles) | |
| Goode Behavior | Unknown | 1 episode | |
| Murphy Brown | Secretary #83 | 1 episode | |
| Boston Common | Mrs. Schuster | 1 episode | |
| 1997 | Seinfeld | Warden Betsy | Episode: "The Little Jerry" |
| Frasier | Vera | 1 episode | |
| Profiler | Morganna Styles | 1 episode | |
| Men Behaving Badly | Saleswoman | 1 episode | |
| NYPD Blue | Mrs. Prows | 1 episode | |
| Life with Roger | Mrs. Mitchell | 1 episode | |
| Brooklyn South | Mrs. Mariah Westbrook | 2 episodes | |
| 1998 | Prey | Landlady | 1 episode |
| Just Shoot Me! | Mrs. Pierce | 1 episode | |
| The Nanny | Ward nurse | 1 episode | |
| 1998–2003 | The Drew Carey Show | Natalie / Ruth | 2 episodes (separate roles) |
| 1998–2001 | Dharma and Greg | Claire | 7 episodes (recurring role) |
| 1999 | Home Improvement | Thelma McCreedy | 1 episode |
| Thanks | Mrs. Sturges | 3 episodes | |
| Tracey Takes On... | Waitress | 1 episode | |
| 1999–2001 | Providence | Mrs. Nielsen / Miss O'Meara | 2 episodes (separate roles) |
| 1999–2002 | The West Wing | Dolores Landingham | 30 episodes (recurring role) |
| 2000 | Buffy the Vampire Slayer | Genevive Holt | 1 episode |
| Becker | Mrs. Goldsmith | 1 episode | |
| Hellraiser - Inferno | Mother | ||
| 2001 | Ally McBeal | Sister Alice | 1 episode |
| Arli$$ | Kirby's mother | 1 episode | |
| Dead Last | Nurse | 1 episode | |
| Raising Dad | Unknown | 1 episode | |
| Spin City | Sister Agnes | 1 episode | |
| 2001–09 | Scrubs | Mrs. Tanner | 3 episodes: 1 uncredited |
| 2002 | The X-Files | Agent Edie Boal | episode: "Trust No 1" |
| Titus | Betty | 1 episode | |
| The Division | Constance "Connie" Langtry | 1 episode | |
| So Little Time | Louise Van Horn | 1 episode | |
| Even Stevens | Edna Manning | 1 episode | |
| 2002–03 | General Hospital | Ida Warren | 5 episodes |
| 2003 | Judging Amy | Judge Drabowsky | 1 episode |
| A.U.S.A. | Ginny Romano | 2 episodes | |
| Hope & Faith | Funeral guest | Uncredited | |
| Charmed | Magician's wife / assistant | 1 episode | |
| Less Than Perfect | Old lady | 1 episode | |
| Strong Medicine | Mrs. Nolan | 1 episode | |
| The King of Queens | Maureen | 1 episode | |
| 2003–05 | Joan of Arcadia | Elderly woman (incarnation of God) | 8 episodes |
| 2003–08 | Monk | Neysa Gordon / Nurse Stempel | separate roles: 2 episodes |
| 2004 | Curb Your Enthusiasm | Woman at reception | 1 episode |
| 10-8: Officers on Duty | Mrs. Utenberger | 1 episode | |
| Will & Grace | Felicia | 1 episode | |
| Yes, Dear | Claire Atkinson | 1 episode | |
| Life with Bonnie | Phyllis | 1 episode | |
| Everwood | Mrs. Hammerhill | 1 episode | |
| Gilmore Girls | Mazie Fortner | 1 episode | |
| Breaking Dawn | Neighbor | ||
| Cheaper by the Dozen 2 | Patron | ||
| 2005 | Grey's Anatomy | Stephanie Drake | 1 episode |
| Love, Inc. | Doris | 1 episode | |
| Wedding Crashers | Chazz's Mom | ||
| Malcolm in The Middle | Claire | 1 episode | |
| 2005–08 | My Name Is Earl | Donny's mother | 2 episodes |
| 2004–12 | Desperate Housewives | Karen McCluskey | 87 episodes Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series (Won; 2005, 2008, Nominated; 2010) Nominated - Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (2012) Nominated - Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (2006, 2007, 2008) |
| 2006 | Reba | Director | 1 episode |
| The Suite Life of Zack & Cody | Grandma Marilyn | 1 episode | |
| The Evidence | Midge | 1 episode | |
| Saved | Evelyn Wilson | 1 episode | |
| 2007 | In Case of Emergency | Mrs. Walsh | 1 episode |
| The Closer | Nurse Townsend | 1 episode | |
| 2008 | Las Vegas | Robby | 1 episode |
| 2009 | Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel | Aunt Jackie | |
| 2011 | The Bold and the Beautiful | Herself | |
| The Cleveland Show | Hazel | ||
| Mega Python vs. Gatoroid | Angie | ||
| 2012 | The Mentalist | Elderly neighbor | 1 episode |
References
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- Kathryn Joosten at the Internet Movie Database
- Kathryn Joosten interview video at the Archive of American Television
- Emmy's: Emmy Winner Kathryn Joosten Succumbs to Lung Cancer
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- ↑ Biodata at Joosten's official website, retrieved March 26, 2010
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- ↑ IMDb profile
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- Pages with reference errors
- Use mdy dates from September 2013
- Age error
- Articles with hCards
- Articles using Template:EmmyTVLegends name
- 1939 births
- 2012 deaths
- 20th-century American actresses
- 21st-century American actresses
- Actresses from Chicago, Illinois
- Actresses from Florida
- American film actresses
- American nurses
- American people of Dutch descent
- American people of German descent
- American television actresses
- Cancer deaths in California
- Deaths from lung cancer
- People from Eustis, Florida
- Primetime Emmy Award winners
