Joan Margaret Tetzel (June 21, 1921 – October 31, 1977) was an American actress.

Early years

Tetzel was born in New York City and grew up in the Spuyten Duyvil section of the Bronx. Her father, an illustrator, was Austrian, and her mother was Scottish-Canadian.

Radio career

Tetzel played in ''When a Girl Marries'' and ''Woman of Courage'', both on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

Film career

Tetzel is noted for her performance in

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

's ''

The Paradine Case ''The Paradine Case'' is a 1947 American film noir courtroom drama film, set in England, directed by Alfred Hitchcock and produced by David O. Selznick. The screenplay was written by Selznick and an uncredited Ben Hecht, from an adaptation by Al ...

'' (1947), in which she played "Judy Flaquer", the daughter of the solicitor played by

Charles Coburn Charles Douville Coburn (June 19, 1877 – August 30, 1961) was an American actor and theatrical producer. He was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award three times – in ''The Devil and Miss Jones'' (1941), '' The More the M ...

in the film. In the movie, she is the confidante and best friend of the wife ( Ann Todd) of defense lawyer Anthony Keane (

Gregory Peck Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the 12th-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood ...

), and is able to objectively see how Keane is ruining his marriage because of his infatuation with Mrs. Paradine (

Alida Valli Alida Maria Laura, '' Freiin'' Altenburger von Marckenstein-Frauenberg (31 May 1921 – 22 April 2006), better known by her stage name Alida Valli (or simply Valli), was an Italian actress who appeared in more than 100 films in a 70-year career, ...

). Her other film appearances included '' Duel in the Sun'' (1946), ''

The File on Thelma Jordon ''The File on Thelma Jordon'' is a 1950 American film noir drama film directed by Robert Siodmak and starring Barbara Stanwyck and Wendell Corey. The screenplay by Ketti Frings, based on an unpublished short story by Marty Holland, concerns a wo ...

'' (1950), ''

Hell Below Zero ''Hell Below Zero'' is a 1954 British-American adventure film directed by Mark Robson and starring Alan Ladd, Joan Tetzel, Basil Sydney and Stanley Baker. It was written by Alec Coppel and Max Trell based on the 1949 novel '' The White South'' ...

'' (1954) and '' Joy in the Morning'' (1965).

TV career

Sir Cedric Hardwicke Joan Tetzel Climax 1957

Tetzel also worked with Alfred Hitchcock in his TV series ''

Alfred Hitchcock Presents ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, aired on CBS and NBC between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers and mysteries. Between 1962 and 1965 it was ren ...

''. She played "Eve Ross" in the ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' episode "Guest for Breakfast". In 1963, she appeared as Marian Stuart, wife of the title character, in ''

Perry Mason Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and 4 short stories, all of which involve a c ...

'''s, "The Case of the Decadent Dean." Tetzel also made appearances on '' Thriller'' ("An Attractive Family" and "The Devil's Ticket") and ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centers on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central character ...

''.

Theater career

Aside from her movie career, Tetzel was a well-known stage actress. She appeared in the 1940 revival of ''

Liliom ''Liliom'' is a 1909 play by the Hungarian playwright Ferenc Molnár. It was well known in its own right during the early to mid-20th century, but is best known today as the basis for the Rodgers and Hammerstein 1945 musical ''Carousel''. P ...

'', the original stage production of '' I Remember Mama'', and portrayed

Nurse Ratched Nurse Ratched (full name Mildred Ratched in the movie, also known as "Big Nurse") is a fictional character and the main antagonist of '' One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'', first featured in Ken Kesey's 1962 novel as well as the 1975 film adap ...

in the stage production of '' One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' on Broadway. As a noted stage actress, her photo appeared on the front cover of ''

Life Magazine ''Life'' was an American magazine published weekly from 1883 to 1972, as an intermittent "special" until 1978, and as a monthly from 1978 until 2000. During its golden age from 1936 to 1972, ''Life'' was a wide-ranging weekly general-interest ma ...

'' on Monday 16 February 1948. Tetzel's other Broadway credits include ''The Winner'' (1953), ''Red Gloves'' (1948), ''Strange Bedfellows'' (1947), ''Pretty Little Parlor'' (1943), ''Peepshow'' (1943), ''Harriet'' (1942), ''The Damask Cheek'' (1942), and ''The Happy Days'' (1940).

Marriages

Her first husband was radio producer John E. Mosman. Her second husband was

Oscar Homolka Oskar Homolka (August 12, 1898 – January 27, 1978) was an Austrian film and theatre actor, who went on to work in Germany, Britain and America. Both his voice and his appearance fitted him for roles as communist spies or Soviet officials, for w ...

(1898–1978), whom she married in 1949.

Death

Tetzel died October 31, 1977, at her home Beri-Be-Dahn, Fairwarp,

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, aged 56, from cancer and pneumonia.

Partial filmography

*'' Duel in the Sun'' (1946) - Helen Langford *''

'' (1947) - Judy Flaquer *''

'' (1950) - Pamela Blackwell Marshall *''

'' (1954) - Judie Nordhal *''The Red Dress'' (1954) - Pandora (segment "Meet Mr. Jones' story) *'' Joy in the Morning'' (1965) - Beverly Karter

References

External links

* * * 1921 births 1977 deaths Actresses from New York City American stage actresses American film actresses American television actresses American expatriates in the United Kingdom Deaths from cancer in England 20th-century American actresses 20th-century American singers American people of Austrian descent American people of Canadian descent American people of Scottish descent {{US-theat-actor-1920s-stub