Sue Ane Langdon is an American actress. She has appeared in dozens of television series and had featured roles in films such as '' A Guide for the Married Man'' and ''
The Cheyenne Social Club
''The Cheyenne Social Club'' is a 1970 American Western comedy film written by James Lee Barrett, directed and produced by Gene Kelly, and starring James Stewart, Henry Fonda and Shirley Jones. The film is about an aging cowboy who inherits ...
Henry Fonda
Henry Jaynes Fonda (May 16, 1905 – August 12, 1982) was an American actor. He had a career that spanned five decades on Broadway and in Hollywood. He cultivated an everyman screen image in several films considered to be classics.
Born and r ...
and
Glenn Ford
Gwyllyn Samuel Newton "Glenn" Ford (May 1, 1916 – August 30, 2006) was a Canadian-American actor who often portrayed ordinary men in unusual circumstances. Ford was most prominent during Hollywood's Golden Age as one of the biggest box-offic ...
and two
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
movies, ''
Roustabout
Roustabout (Australian English, Australia/New Zealand English, New Zealand English: rouseabout) is an occupational term. Traditionally, it referred to a worker with broad-based, non-specific skills. In particular, it was used to describe show ...
'' and '' Frankie and Johnny''.
She began her performing career singing at
Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue and theater at 1260 Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Nicknamed "The Showplace of the Nation", it is the headquarters for th ...
and acting in stage productions. In the mid-1960s, she appeared in the Broadway musical ''The Apple Tree'', which starred
Alan Alda
Alan Alda (; born Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo; January 28, 1936) is an American actor, screenwriter, and director. A six-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award winner, he is best known for playing Captain Benjamin "Hawkeye" Pierce in the war come ...
.
Her co-starring role on the television series ''
Arnie
Arnie is a masculine given name, frequently a shortened version of Arnold. It may refer to:
People
* Arnie Arenz (1911–1985), American National Football League quarterback in 1934
* Arnie Beyeler (born 1964), American minor league baseball pla ...
'' won her a
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, an ...
. She was featured mainly in comedies, with an occasional dramatic film.
Biography
Early life
Langdon was born in Paterson, New Jersey, to Albert G. Lookhoff and Grace (née Huddle), an operatic soprano. She was enrolled at the
University of North Texas
The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 years later."Denton Normal Schoo ...
. She was also briefly enrolled full-time at
Idaho State University
Idaho State University (ISU) is a Public university, public research university in Pocatello, Idaho. Founded in 1901 as the Academy of Idaho, Idaho State offers more than 250 programs at its main campus in Pocatello and locations in Meridian, Idah ...
Tony Curtis
Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz; June 3, 1925September 29, 2010) was an American actor whose career spanned six decades, achieving the height of his popularity in the 1950s (Kansas Raiders, 1950) and early 1960s. He acted in more than 100 f ...
A Man Called Dagger
''A Man Called Dagger'' (1968) is a low-budget spy film that was the first collaboration between director Richard Rush, cinematographer László Kovács, and stuntman Gary Warner Kent (who also did the film's special effects).
It was filmed in ...
'' (1967), ''
The Cheyenne Social Club
''The Cheyenne Social Club'' is a 1970 American Western comedy film written by James Lee Barrett, directed and produced by Gene Kelly, and starring James Stewart, Henry Fonda and Shirley Jones. The film is about an aging cowboy who inherits ...
'' (1970), and '' A Fine Madness'' (1966) which led to her posing nude for ''
Playboy
''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother.
K ...
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
,
Donna Douglas
Donna Douglas (born Doris Ione Smith; September 26, 1932 – January 1, 2015) was an American actress and singer, known for her role as Elly May Clampett on ''The Beverly Hillbillies'' (1962–1971). Following her acting career, Douglas became ...
and
Harry Morgan
Harry Morgan (born Harry Bratsberg; April 10, 1915 – December 7, 2011) was an American actor and director whose television and film career spanned six decades. Morgan's major roles included Pete Porter in both '' December Bride'' (1954–195 ...
. Her later films included ''
The Evictors
''The Evictors'' is a 1979 American crime-horror film written and directed by Charles B. Pierce, and starring Vic Morrow, Michael Parks, and Jessica Harper. A period piece set in 1942, it follows a couple who are terrorized by a mysterious man ...
Zapped!
''Zapped!'' is a 1982 American teen sex comedy film directed by Robert J. Rosenthal and co-written with Bruce Rubin. The film stars Scott Baio as a high school student who acquires telekinetic powers.
Plot
At Ralph Waldo Emerson High School, ...
'' (1982), ''
UHF
Ultra high frequency (UHF) is the ITU designation for radio frequencies in the range between 300 megahertz (MHz) and 3 gigahertz (GHz), also known as the decimetre band as the wavelengths range from one meter to one tenth of a meter ...
'' (1989) and '' Zapped Again!'' (1990).
Langdon's first regular role on network series television came as the third actress to play Alice Kramden in
Jackie Gleason
John Herbert Gleason (February 26, 1916June 24, 1987) was an American actor, comedian, writer, composer, and conductor known affectionately as "The Great One." Developing a style and characters from growing up in Brooklyn, New York, he was know ...
's ''
The Honeymooners
''The Honeymooners'' is an American television sitcom which originally aired from 1955 to 1956, created by and starring Jackie Gleason, and based on a recurring comedy sketch of the same name that had been part of Gleason's variety show. It fo ...
'' sketches and shows. Preceded by
Pert Kelton
Pert or PERT may refer to:
Ships
* - see List of United States Navy ships: P
* , a World War II corvette, originally HMS ''Nepeta''
* ''Pert'' (sidewheeler), a 19th-century steamboat that operated in British Columbia, Canada
Statistics
* PE ...
and
Audrey Meadows
Audrey Meadows ( Cotter, February 8, 1922 – February 3, 1996) was an American actress best known for her role as the deadpan housewife Alice Kramden on the 1950s American television comedy ''The Honeymooners''. She was the younger sister of ...
and followed by
Sheila MacRae
Sheila Margaret MacRae (née Stephens; 24 September 1921 – 6 March 2014) was an English-born American actress, singer, and dancer.
Career
MacRae appeared in such films as '' Caged'' (1950), '' Backfire'' (1950), and '' Sex and the Single Gi ...
and Meadows again, she shared a ''
Life
Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...
'' cover with Gleason promoting his 1962 return to weekly variety television. A premature departure from the role following a brief four-week run left her mark on the '' American Scene Magazine'' era of Gleason's career a small one at best. The press reported at the time "incompatible personality differences" between "The Great One" and her. Four years later, MacRae took over the role for the color, hour-long musical versions.
Langdon was more frequently seen on the small screen in guest roles such as Kitty Marsh during the
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...
syndicated
Syndication may refer to:
* Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system
* Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips
* Web syndication, ...
crime drama
Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...
'' Coronado 9''. In 1961, she made her first of three appearances on ''
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 cli ...
'' as Rowena Leach in "The Case of the Crying Comedian". In 1962, she appeared as nurse Mary Simpson in an episode of CBS's ''
The Andy Griffith Show
''The Andy Griffith Show '' is an American situation comedy television series that aired on CBS from October 3, 1960, to April 1, 1968, with a total of 249 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons—159 in black and white and 90 in color.
Th ...
''. (Another actress,
Julie Adams
Julie Adams (born Betty May Adams; October 17, 1926 – February 3, 2019) was an American actress, billed as Julia Adams toward the beginning of her career, primarily known for her numerous television guest roles. She starred in a number of ...
, also played Nurse Mary on the Griffith show.) In another popular situation comedy, Langdon played a scatter-brained defendant on trial in a ''
Dick Van Dyke Show
''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' is an American television sitcom created by Carl Reiner that initially aired on CBS from October 3, 1961 to June 1, 1966, with a total of 158 half-hour episodes spanning five seasons. It was produced by Calvada Prod ...
'' episode called "One Angry Man".
Langdon made her second guest appearance on ''Perry Mason'' in 1964 as murder victim Bonnie in "The Case of the Scandalous Sculptor". Her third ''Perry Mason'' appearance was in the 1966 episode "The Case of the Avenging Angel" as Dorothy (Dotty) Merrill. Her other guest appearances on TV programs included ''
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 chara ...
'', ''
Tales of Wells Fargo
''Tales of Wells Fargo'' is an American Western television series starring Dale Robertson that ran from 1957 to 1962 on NBC. Produced by Revue Productions, the series aired in a half-hour format until its final season, when it expanded to a ...
'', ''
77 Sunset Strip
''77 Sunset Strip'' is an American television private detective drama series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Roger Smith, Richard Long (from 1960 to 1961) and Edd Byrnes (billed as Edward Byrnes). Each episode was on ...
'', ''
Bourbon Street Beat
''Bourbon Street Beat'' is a private detective television series that aired on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC network from October 5, 1959, to July 4, 1960, starring Richard Long (actor), Richard Long as Rex Randolph and Andrew Duggan as C ...
Shotgun Slade
''Shotgun Slade'' is an American western mystery television series starring Scott Brady that aired seventy-eight episodes in syndication from 1959 to 1961 Created by Frank Gruber, the stories were written by John Berardino, Charissa Hughes, ...
'', ''
Mannix
''Mannix'' is an American detective television series that ran from 1967 to 1975 on CBS. It was created by Richard Levinson and William Link, and developed by executive producer Bruce Geller. The title character, Joe Mannix, is a private in ...
'', ''
Thriller
Thriller may refer to:
* Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television
** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre
Comics
* ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...
'', ''
Bonanza
''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 13, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 432 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running western, the second-longest-running western series on ...
McHale's Navy
''McHale's Navy'' is an American sitcom starring Ernest Borgnine that aired 138 half-hour episodes over four seasons, from October 11, 1962, to April 12, 1966, on the ABC television network. The series was filmed in black and white and originate ...
'', ''
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' is an American spy fiction television series produced by MGM Television, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television and first broadcast on NBC. The series follows secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who wo ...
'', ''
Banacek
''Banacek'' is an American detective TV series starring George Peppard that aired on the NBC network from 1972 to 1974. The series was part of the rotating '' NBC Wednesday Mystery Movie'' anthology. It alternated in its time slot with several ...
'', ''
The Wild Wild West
''The Wild Wild West'' is an American Western, espionage, and science fiction television series that ran on the CBS television network for four seasons from September 17, 1965, to April 11, 1969. Two satirical comedy television film sequels ...
'', ''
Hart to Hart
''Hart to Hart'' is an American mystery television series that premiered on August 25, 1979, on ABC. The show stars Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers as Jonathan and Jennifer Hart, respectively, a wealthy couple who lead a glamorous jetset li ...
'', ''
Three's Company
''Three's Company'' is an American sitcom television series that aired for eight seasons on ABC from March 15, 1977, to September 18, 1984. It is based on the British sitcom '' Man About the House''.
The story revolves around three single roo ...
'', ''
The Love Boat
''The Love Boat'' is an American romantic comedy/drama television series that aired on ABC from 1977 to 1986; in addition, four three-hour specials aired in 1986, 1987, and 1990. The series was set on the luxury passenger cruise ship MS ''Pa ...
'', and ''
Happy Days
''Happy Days'' is an American television sitcom that aired first-run on the ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marshall, it was one of the most su ...
'' and as herself on ''
Rowan and Martin's Laugh In
''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' (often simply referred to as ''Laugh-In'') is an American sketch comedy television program that ran for 140 episodes from January 22, 1968, to March 12, 1973, on the NBC television network, hosted by comedians Dan ...
''.
She co-starred in two television series in the 1970s. ''
Arnie
Arnie is a masculine given name, frequently a shortened version of Arnold. It may refer to:
People
* Arnie Arenz (1911–1985), American National Football League quarterback in 1934
* Arnie Beyeler (born 1964), American minor league baseball pla ...
'', a sitcom starring actor
Herschel Bernardi
Herschel Bernardi (October 30, 1923 – May 9, 1986) was an American actor and singer. He is best known for his supporting role in the drama television series '' Peter Gunn'' (1958–1961) and his leading role in the comedy television se ...
, debuted in 1970 and aired for two seasons on CBS. Langdon portrayed Lillian Nuvo, the wife of a loading-dock foreman turned corporate executive, and won a
Golden Globe
The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...
hour-long comedy starring veteran actor
Jack Albertson
Harold Albertson (June 16, 1907 – November 25, 1981), known professionally as Jack Albertson, was an American actor, comedian, dancer and singer who also performed in variety. Albertson was a Tony, Oscar, and Emmy winning actor. For his perfo ...
, featured Langdon as Rosie Kelley, the daughter-in-law of an over-65 maverick United States Senator. Premiering in 1978 opposite ''
Happy Days
''Happy Days'' is an American television sitcom that aired first-run on the ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marshall, it was one of the most su ...
'' and '' Laverne and Shirley'', the top-rated block of shows at the time, her third attempt at weekly episodic television lasted four months. A final stab at her own series came in the ABC comedy '' When the Whistle Blows''. A 1980 mid-season replacement, Langdon played Darlene Ridgeway, the owner of a saloon frequented by local construction workers. Another rare 60-minute comedy, it lasted 10 weeks.
Langdon was presented one of the
Golden Boot Awards
The Golden Boot Awards were an American acknowledgement of achievement honoring actors, actresses, and crew members who made significant contributions to the genre of Westerns in television and film. The award was sponsored and presented by the M ...
in 2003 for her contribution to television and cinema Westerns.
Personal life
Langdon married Jack Emrek on April 4, 1959 in
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...
. The couple remained married until his death on April 27, 2010, in