KATHLEEN FREEMAN

February 17, 1919

Kathleen Freeman was born in Chicago. She began her career as a child, dancing in her parents’ vaudeville act. After studying music at UCLA she went into acting full-time, working on the stage, and finally entering films in 1948.

In a career that spanned more than 50 years, she portrayed acerbic maids, secretaries, teachers, busybodies, nurses, and battle-axe neighbors and relatives. She is perhaps best remembered for appearing in 11 Jerry Lewis comedies in the 1950s and 60s. Lewis said of her:

“Kathleen Freeman was as talented a comic genius as Patsy Kelly, Lucille Ball and Judy Holiday.”

She made her screen debut in the 1948 film The Naked City playing a train passenger, uncredited. 

She began doing television at the start of 1952 with an episode of “Dragnet”. Her third TV appearance, just a few months later, was an episode of “Our Miss Brooks” filmed at Desilu playing sassy secretary Miss Atterbury, and featuring Eve Arden and Gale Gordon. Coincidentally, on Lucille Ball’s radio show “My Favorite Husband” Gale Gordon also played a character named Atterbury. 

In February 1958, Freeman worked for Desilu as Marie, Fred MacMurray’s maid on an episode of “December Bride”. 

In 1957, Executive Producer Desi Arnaz appeared as himself on the series.

A few months later she was back at Desilu for an episode of “The Ann Sothern Show” playing landlady Mrs. Bennett.  In 1959, Lucille Ball played Lucy Ricardo on the series. 

In May 1961, she played Mrs. Laughing Water (!) on Desilu’s “Guestward Ho!” The episode also featured Iron Eyes Cody and Flip Mark. 

Freeman was part of five episodes of “The Lucy Show” – all during 1964. 

• Nurse Blake in “Lucy Plays Florence Nightingale” (TLS S2;E14) ~ January 6, 1964

• Olga the Cook in “Lucy and Viv Open a Restaurant” (TLS S2;E20) ~ February 17, 1964

• Kathleen in “Lucy Takes a Job at the Bank” (TLS S2;E21) ~ February 24, 1964

• Kathleen in “Lucy Enters a Baking Contest” (TLS S2;E28) ~ April 27, 1964

• Miss Putnam, Maid in “Lucy Gets Her Maid” (TLS S3;E11) ~ November 30, 1964

In “Lucy Hires a Maid” (ILL S2;E23) Lucy Ricardo hired Mrs. Porter, a maid who intimidates her and behaves more like the employer than the employee. Both maids dislike children, are overly concerned about their own meals, and demand to be addressed by their last names. As in 1953, Lucy ends up waiting on the maid, not the other way around.  Coincidentally, Freeman’s first role with Desilu was as a maid on “December Bride” – a show which co-starred Verna Felton, who played Mrs. Porter! 

She was a maid again (a hotel maid this time) on a March 1965 episode of “The Dick Van Dyke Show” shot at Desilu Studios. 

She had done a previous episode in March 1964 playing Mrs. Campbell, a caustic innkeeper who acts as her own maid!  

 Her last project for Desilu was as co-star was playing Ma in the unsold pilot of “Good Old Days” in 1966. She continued performing at Desilu Studios in such shows as “My Three Sons” (1967) and “Gomer Pyle USMC” (1968 and 1969). 

Like many of Lucille Ball’s performers, she was seen on “Batman” playing an uncredited character named Rosetta Stone in a 1968 episode starring Victor Buono as King Tut. 

For the next thirty years she was a tireless performer, appearing regularly on television, in films, and on stage. Freeman was appearing on Broadway as Jeanette in The Full Monty in 2001 when she died of lung cancer at age 82.