Sondra Rodgers (born Fenella Jewell Rodgers; 1903–1997) was an American film and

television actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), ...

Early years

Born Fenella Jewell Rodgers, she grew up on the family farm in

Trimble County, Kentucky Trimble County is a county located in the north central part of the U.S. state of Kentucky. Its county seat is Bedford. The county was founded in 1837 and is named for Robert Trimble. Trimble is no longer a prohibition or dry county. Trimble C ...

. She was the daughter of J.L. Rodgers and his wife, Lacy Rodgers. When she was 17, she moved to New York and began modeling for a commercial photographer.

Radio

Rodgers left the stage to work in radio in 1934. She was heard often in the United States on broadcasts of ''Miniature Theater of the Air'' and on a number of soap operas. She also worked in radio in Europe. Although she was employed by

Radio Luxembourg Radio Luxembourg was a multilingual commercial broadcaster in Luxembourg. It is known in most non-English languages as RTL (for Radio Television Luxembourg). The English-language service of Radio Luxembourg began in 1933 as one of the earlies ...

, she was based in London. Her programs were recorded and shipped to Luxembourg for broadcast. After concluding her work in Europe, she returned to Kentucky and wrote scripts for

WLAP WLAP (630 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Lexington, Kentucky, serving the Central Kentucky region. It airs a talk radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The studios and offices are on Nicolasville Road in Lexington. By day ...

in Lexington.

Stage

Rodgers' early acting experience came in New York when she worked (using the name Sondra Arleaux) in stock theater with

Jessie Bonstelle Jessie Bonstelle (born Laura Justine Bonesteel; November 18, 1871 – October 14, 1932) was an American theater director, actress, and drama company manager. Encouraged by her mother, she sang and performed in the theater from a young age; she w ...

. She appeared on Broadway in ''Riddle Me This'' (1933). Rodgers spent time in Europe studying with playwrights, then returned to the United States, where she directed plays at the

Pasadena Playhouse The Pasadena Playhouse is a historic performing arts venue located 39 S. El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California, United States. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engage ...

with Gilmour Brown as her supervisor. Later, in Los Angeles, Rodgers acted in plays, including ''No Time for Comedy'', ''Heaven Can Wait'', ''Cry Havoc'', an d''Family Portrait.''

Film

Rodgers signed her first film contract, with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, in May 1944. Her film debut came in ''

Marriage Is a Private Affair ''Marriage is a Private Affair'' is a 1944 war-comedy film, directed by Robert Z. Leonard, based on novel ''Marriage Is a Private Affair'' (1941) by Judith Kelly. It stars Lana Turner, Frances Gifford and James Craig. Plot During World War II ...

'' (1944).

Television

Rodgers portrayed Mrs. Appleby in the 1961 episode "A Doctor Comes to Town" of the

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

Window on Main Street ''Window on Main Street'' is an American comedy-drama television series starring Robert Young about an author who returns to his home town after an absence of many years to write about the people and events there. Original episodes aired from Oct ...

''.

Filmography

References

Bibliography

* Erickson, Hal. ''Military Comedy Films: A Critical Survey and Filmography of Hollywood Releases Since 1918''. McFarland, 2012.

External links

* 1903 births 1997 deaths American film actresses American television actresses 20th-century American actresses People from Trimble County, Kentucky Actresses from Kentucky {{US-film-actor-1900s-stub