Lenka Peterson (born Betty Ann Isacson; October 16, 1925 – September 24, 2021) was an American theater, film, and television actress.

Early years

Peterson was born in Omaha, Nebraska, a daughter of Swedish and Hungarian immigrants. Her father was Swedish, and her mother was Hungarian. She majored in drama at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

Career

Peterson had the role of Corliss Archer in a

USO The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...

-sponsored troupe that performed on military bases in Japan, the Philippines, and other places in the Pacific. In the mid-1940s, she acted with the Berkshire Playhouse stock theater in New Hampshire. She later acted on stage in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Boston, Massachusetts; and Providence, Rhode Island. One of the first members admitted to New York City's

Actors Studio The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights located on West 44th Street in Hell's Kitchen in New York City. The studio is best known for its work refining and teaching method actin ...

, Peterson's Broadway portrayals included Ella in '' Sundown Beach'' (1948), Maude in '' The Grass Harp'' (1952), Kitty in '' The Time of Your Life'' (1955), Sally and Mary in '' All the Way Home'' (1960), Rose in '' Nuts'' (1980), and Sarah in '' Quilters'' (1984). Peterson was nominated for a 1985

Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical is an honor presented at the Tony Awards, a ceremony established in 1947 as the Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, to actresses for quality featured roles in a ...

for her role in '' Quilters''. She guest starred in such early television productions as ''

Hallmark Hall of Fame ''Hallmark Hall of Fame'', originally called ''Hallmark Television Playhouse'', is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas Citybased greeting card company. It is the longest-ru ...

'' (1952), ''

The Philco Television Playhouse ''The Philco Television Playhouse'' is an American television anthology series that was broadcast live on NBC from 1948 to 1955. Produced by Fred Coe, the series was sponsored by Philco. It was one of the most respected dramatic shows of the ...

'' (1955), and ''

'' (1949 and 1950). On television, she portrayed Faye Banister on the NBC drama '' Young Dr. Malone'' (1958), Martha Skerba on the ABC serial ''A Time for Us'' (1964), Doris Bonino on the NBC comedy '' Bonino'' (1953) and Eve Morgan on the ABC comedy '' Love, Sidney'' (1981) and was a cast member of the series ''Herb Shriner Time'' (1951), ''

Search for Tomorrow ''Search for Tomorrow'' is an American television soap opera. It began its run on CBS on September 3, 1951, and concluded on NBC, 35 years later, on December 26, 1986. Set in the fictional town of Henderson in an unspecified state, the show f ...

'', playing Isabel Moore in 1962 and Evelyn Reedy in 1977, '' A Flame in the Wind'', '' Another World'' as Marie Fenton from 1983 to 1984 and later Lorna Devon's adopted grandmother, and '' Code of Vengeance''. She also played Grandmom in the ''

American Playhouse ''American Playhouse'' is an American anthology television series periodically broadcast by Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). It premiered on January 12, 1982, with ''The Shady Hill Kidnapping'', written and narrated by John Cheever and direc ...

'' production of

John Updike John Hoyer Updike (March 18, 1932 – January 27, 2009) was an American novelist, poet, short-story writer, art critic, and literary critic. One of only four writers to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction more than once (the others being Booth Tar ...

's story,

Pigeon Feathers ''Pigeon Feathers and Other Stories'' is a collection of 19 works of short fiction by John Updike. The volume is Updike's second collection of short stories, published by Alfred A. Knopf in 1962. It includes the stories "Wife-Wooing" and "A&P (s ...

in 1988.

Personal life and death

On May 8, 1948, Peterson married Daniel O'Connor in Omaha, Nebraska. Peterson was the mother of actress Glynnis O'Connor and Darren O'Connor (and three more children) by O'Connor, who died in 2015. Peterson died at her home in

Roxbury, Connecticut Roxbury is a New England town, town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 2,260 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The town is located northeast of New York City, and is p ...

. She was 95.

Filmography

References

External links

* * *
Lenka Peterson papers, 1943-1996
held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division,

New York Public Library for the Performing Arts The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, is located at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, in the Lincoln Center complex on the Upper West Side in Manhattan, New York City. Situated between the Metropolitan O ...

Lenka Peterson
at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

'
Actors Studio audio collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peterson, Lenka 1925 births 2021 deaths Actresses from Omaha, Nebraska American film actresses American soap opera actresses American stage actresses American television actresses American people of Swedish descent American people of Hungarian descent 21st-century American women