American actress (1908?2003)
Nedra Volz
|
---|
|
Born
| Nedra Gordonier
(
1908-06-18
)
June 18, 1908
|
---|
Died
| January 20, 2003
(2003-01-20)
(aged 94)
|
---|
Occupation
| Actress
|
---|
Years active
| 1973–1996
|
---|
Nedra Volz
(nee
Gordonier
; June 18, 1908 – January 20, 2003) was an American actress. On television, she portrayed Aunt Iola on
All in the Family
, Adelaide Brubaker on
Diff'rent Strokes
, Emma Tisdale on
The Dukes of Hazzard
, and Winona Beck on
Filthy Rich
. Her film roles include Big Ed in
Lust in the Dust
(1985), Loretta Houk in
Moving Violations
(1985), and Lana in
Earth Girls Are Easy
(1988).
Early life and career
[
edit
]
Born in
Montrose, Iowa
,
[1]
she began her career as a toddler in the family
tent show
, billed as "Baby Nedra". The act continued until she was 11 years old and had outgrown the act's title. She unsuccessfully tried acting in high school, which led her to pursue music.
[2]
In the early 1930s, Volz was featured vocalist with Cato's Vagabonds.
[3]
In 1932, Volz and two other singers from Cato's orchestra performed as "Nedra, Paul, and Glenn" on
WHAM
radio in Rochester, New York.
[4]
In 1940, Volz, described as a "blues songstress", was part of a vaudeville revue in Miami, Florida.
[5]
Beginning with an episode of
Good Times
in 1975, she became a well-recognized supporting
character actress
, primarily on television but also in movies. Volz often played grandmothers or feisty little old ladies in 1970s sitcoms such as
Alice
,
Maude
and
One Day at a Time
, and she appeared in two of Norman Lear's summer television series: as Grandma Belle Durbin in
A Year at the Top
in 1977
[6]
: 1201
and as Bill Macy's housekeeper Pinky Nolan in
Hanging In
in 1979.
[6]
: 428
In 1978, Volz appeared in the pilot episode of the TV series
WKRP in Cincinnati
, where she whacked a turntable with her umbrella in protest of the station's format change, and in
All In The Family
as Edith's spinster relative and unwelcome visitor, Aunt Iola.
In 1980, she appeared in several
Jack in the Box
TV spots as they blew up Jack, one of more than 25 commercials that featured Volz.
[2]
By 1980 she appeared on TV almost weekly, starting with a recurring role as housekeeper Adelaide Brubaker in the
sitcom
Diff'rent Strokes
.
[6]
In 1981 she landed another recurring role as postal worker Emma Tisdale on the TV show
The Dukes of Hazzard
.
[6]
: 291
In the 1982–83 season, Volz was the matriarch on
Filthy Rich
,
[6]
: 342
a series spoofing prime-time soap operas of the day. Volz's character Winona "Mother B" Beck, was the discarded first wife of cryogenically frozen Big Guy Beck (
Slim Pickens
and, after his death,
Forrest Tucker
), constantly trying to escape from the nursing home to return to the family mansion, Toad Hall. Volz's final series role was as the bail-bonds woman that hired
Lee Majors
's bounty-hunter character on
The Fall Guy
from 1985 until the series ended in 1986.
In "Mission of Peace", a 1986 episode of
The A-Team
, she was one of a group of senior citizens forced into asking the team for help. She portrayed the roles of Mrs. Perwinkle and Angelica on
The Super Mario Bros. Super Show
in 1989. She continued as a guest star on such series as
Night Court
,
Coach
,
The Commish
and
Babes
into the early 1990s, and she continued to act well into her eighties.
In
Moving Violations
, director Neil Israel allowed her to do many stunts herself, including being lifted into a window and falling head-first onto the floor. Volz's last acting role was in
The Great White Hype
in 1996.
[1]
Death
[
edit
]
On January 20, 2003, Volz died of complications from
Alzheimer's disease
in
Mesa, Arizona
.
[1]
Filmography
[
edit
]
Film
[
edit
]
Television
[
edit
]
Year
|
Title
|
Role
|
Notes
|
1975
|
They Only Come Out at Night
|
Elderly woman
|
Television film
|
1975
|
Good Times
|
Old Lady
|
Episode: Florida's Protest
|
1976
|
Rhoda
|
Elderly woman
|
Episode: Meet the Levys
|
1976?1977
|
Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman
|
Mrs. DeFarge / Barbie
|
19 episodes
Recurring role (Season 2)
|
1976?1982
|
One Day at a Time
|
Mrs. Peabody / Emily
|
4 episodes
|
1977
|
The Tony Randall Show
|
Mildred Piersen
|
Episode: Democracy vs. Tyranny
|
1977
|
A Year at the Top
|
Grandma Belle Durbin
|
5 episodes
Main cast (Season 1)
|
1977
|
Fernwood 2 Night
|
Barbara Forman
|
Episode: #1.30
|
1978?1980
|
Eight Is Enough
|
Mrs. Yaterman
|
2 episodes
|
1978
|
Apple Pie
|
Mrs. Cassidy
|
Episode: Tornado
|
1978?1980
|
Alice
|
Esther / Gambler
|
3 episodes
|
1978
|
All in the Family
|
Aunt Iola
|
Episode: Aunt Iola's Visit
|
1978
|
Maude
|
Pinky Nolan
|
Episode: Maude's Big Move: Part 3
|
1978
|
WKRP in Cincinnati
|
Mrs. Burstyn
|
Episode: Pilot: Part 2
|
1978
|
Carter Country
|
Mrs. Forsythe
|
Episode: Poor Butterfly
|
1979
|
Mr. Dugan
|
Pinky Nolan
|
Maude's spin-off never aired
|
1979
|
Angie
|
Hostess
|
Episode: Joyce's Job
|
1979
|
Hanging In
|
Pinky Nolan
|
4 episodes
Main cast (Season 1)
|
1979
|
The Baxters
|
Helen Lawson
|
Episode: Victims of Inflation
|
1980?1984
|
Diff'rent Strokes
|
Adelaide Brubaker
|
22 episodes
Recurring role (Seasons 2?4) Guest star (Season 6)
|
1980
|
Condominium
|
Mrs. Conlaw
|
Television film
|
1980
|
Quincy M.E.
|
Gladys
|
Episode: T.K.O.
|
1980
|
The Stockard Channing Show
|
Mother Clyde
|
Episode: Susan's Big Break
|
1980
|
Gridlock
|
Mrs. Felcher
|
Television film
|
1980?1984
|
The Dukes of Hazzard
|
Emma Tisdale
|
13 episodes
Recurring role (Seasons 3?5) Guest star (Season 7)
|
1981
|
Hart to Hart
|
Mrs. Bittersweet
|
Episode: Hart-Shaped Murder
|
1981
|
Pals
|
Emily Baines
|
Television short
|
1982?1983
|
Filthy Rich
|
Winona 'Mother B' Beck
|
15 episodes
Main cast (Seasons 1?2)
|
1983
|
Insight
|
Mrs. Minerva
|
Dutton's Choice
|
1983?1984
|
Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour
|
Herself (panelist)
|
45 episodes
|
1984
|
Last of the Great Survivors
|
Gladys
|
Television film
|
1984
|
The Love Boat
|
Dancing Partner
|
Episode:
Soap Gets in Your Eyes/A Match Made in Heaven/Tugs of the Heart
|
1984
|
For Love or Money
|
Hypatia
|
Television film
|
1984?1986
|
Gimme a Break!
|
Maid
|
3 episodes
|
1985?1986
|
The Fall Guy
|
Pearl Sperling
|
3 episodes
Season 5 (Recrruing role)
|
1986
|
Night Court
|
Little Old Lady
|
Episode: Contempt of Courting
|
1986
|
The A-Team
|
Little Old Lady
|
Episode: Mission of Peace
|
1986
|
Who's the Boss?
|
Ethel
|
Episode: Forgive Me, Tony
|
1986
|
My Sister Sam
|
Dora
|
Episode: Walk a While in My Shoes
|
1987?1988
|
ALF
|
Cat Woman
|
2 episodes
|
1988
|
It's a Living
|
Mrs. Thompson
|
Episode: Tune In, Tune Out
|
1988
|
Designing Women
|
Mother
|
Episode: Hard Hats and Lovers
|
1989
|
Webster
|
Ida
|
Episode: A-Camping We Will Go
|
1989
|
TV 101
|
Mother Steadman
|
Episode: Keegan's Past
|
1989
|
Super Mario Bros. Super Show
|
Mrs. Periwinkle / Angelica / Spooky Gadgets Incorporated
|
2 episodes
|
1990
|
Dear John
|
Dotty
|
Episode: Honolulu Baby
|
1990?1991
|
Babes
|
Mrs. Florence Newman
|
5 episodes
Recurring role (Season 1)
|
1992
|
The Commish
|
Mrs. Zimmerman
|
Episode: Sex, Lies and Kerosene
|
1993
|
Coach
|
Gertrude
|
Episode: Christmas of the Van Damned
|
1993?1994
|
Step by Step
|
Mrs. Slezak / Shirley
|
2 episodes
|
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
Oliver, Myrna (January 29, 2003).
"Nedra Volz, 94; TV Actress Played Many 'Old Lady' Roles"
.
Los Angeles Times
. Retrieved
October 1,
2019
.
- ^
a
b
Dugan, Laurel Call (January 31, 1981).
"Nedra Volz--sprightly actress a '10' for all seasons"
.
Los Angeles Times
. p. 2
. Retrieved
September 1,
2019
– via Newspapers.com.
- ^
Simon, George T. (2012).
The Big Bands
. Schirmer Trade Books.
ISBN
978-0-8571-2812-6
. Retrieved
September 1,
2019
.
- ^
"Musicians Return"
.
Democrat and Chronicle
. Rochester, New York. October 2, 1932. p. 5
. Retrieved
September 1,
2019
– via
Newspapers.com
.
- ^
"Strand And Grove Offer Stage Shows"
.
The Miami News
. May 17, 1940. p. 11
. Retrieved
September 1,
2019
– via Newspapers.com.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Terrace, Vincent (2011).
Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010
(2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Co. p. 260.
ISBN
978-0-7864-6477-7
.