Inga Swenson, ‘Benson’ actress, dead at 90

Inga Swenson, who played the unflappable and autocratic German cook Gretchen Kraus on the 1980s television sitcom “Benson,” has died, according to published reports. She was 90.

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Swenson, a two-time Tony Award-nominated singer and actress, played the foil to Robert Guillaume’s acerbic character on “Benson,” which was a spinoff from “Soap,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The actress died July 23 in Los Angeles at a board and care facility from natural causes, her son, Mark, told TMZ. Her husband, Lowell Harris, was at her side when she died, the website reported.

Swenson played Kraus, a haughty cook for Gov. Eugene Xavier Gatling (James Noble) in all 159 episodes of Benson from 1979 to 1986, according to IMDb.com. She sparred with Guillaume, who played Benson DuBois, who was hired as the governor’s head of the household.

For her role as Gretchen, Swenson was nominated for Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress 1980, 1982, and 1985, Variety reported.

On “Soap,” which also featured Guillaume, Swenson appeared in several episodes as Ingrid Svenson, according to the entertainment news website.

Swenson was born on Dec. 29, 1932, in Omaha, Nebraska, Entertainment Weekly reported. She made her first televisoin appearance in a 1957 episode of the “Goodyear Playhouse.”

She played Lady Jane in “Victoria Regina” in the 1961 television movie, and appeared in film the following year in “Advise & Consent,” as the wife of a U.S. senator with a dark secret; and as the mother of Helen Keller in “The Miracle Worker,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Her film credits also include “Lipstick” (1976) and “The Betsy” (1978), Variety reported.

On Broadway, Swenson was nominated for Tony Awards as best actress in a musical in “Baker Street” and “110 in the Shade,” according to the entertainment news website.

Swenson also played the mother of Hoss Cartwright (Dan Blocker) on “Bonanza,” the younger sister of Rose Nylund (Betty White) on “The Golden Girls” and the matriarch of a wealthy Pennsylvania family on two “North & South” miniseries, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

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