Gene Kelly
Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996) was an American dancer, actor, singer, director and choreographer. He was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style and sought to create a new form of American dance accessibl ...
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
, '' Roustabout'' and '' Frankie and Johnny''.
Langdon began her performing career at Radio City Music Hall, singing and acting in stage productions. In the mid-1960s, she appeared in the Broadway musical ''The Apple Tree'', which starred Alan Alda.
Her co-starring role on the 1970 television series '' Arnie'' won her a
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...
. She was featured mainly in comedies, with an occasional dramatic film.
Biography
Early life
Langdon was born in
New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
, but raised in various locations around the country following the death of her father when she was two years old. She attended the North Texas Teachers College in
Denton, Texas
Denton is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Denton County, Texas, Denton County. With a population of 139,869 as of 2020, it is the List of cities in Texas by population, 20th-most populous city in Texas, the List of Un ...
Playboy
''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
Jackie Gleason
Herbert John Gleason (born Herbert Walton Gleason Jr.; February 26, 1916June 24, 1987), known as Jackie Gleason, was an American comedian, actor, writer, and composer also known as "The Great One". He developed a style and characters from growin ...
's ''
The Honeymooners
''The Honeymooners'' is an American television sitcom that 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 f ...
Life
Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...
'' 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 TV in guest roles such as Kitty Marsh during the NBC portion (1959–1961) of '' Bachelor Father''. She appeared twice on Rod Cameron's syndicated
crime drama
Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...
'' Coronado 9''. In 1961, she made her first of three appearances on '' Perry Mason'' 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''. (Another actress, Julie Adams, 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'' episode called "One Angry Man".
Langdon made her second guest appearance on ''Perry Mason'' in 1964 as the murder victim 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 centered on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central charact ...
Bonanza
''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 12, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 431 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running Western, the second-longest-running Western series on ...
Happy Days
''Happy Days'' is an American television sitcom that aired first-run on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marsha ...
'', and as herself on '' Rowan and Martin's Laugh In''.
In 1970, Langdon co-starred in the CBS sitcom '' Arnie'', starring Herschel Bernardi, which aired for two seasons. She portrayed Lillian, the wife of Arnie Nuvo, a loading-dock foreman turned corporate executive. Langdon won a Golden Globe award for her performance. '' Grandpa Goes to Washington'', an NBC hour-long comedy starring veteran actor
Jack Albertson
Harold "Jack" Albertson (June 16, 1907 – November 25, 1981) was an American actor, comedian, dancer and singer who also performed in vaudeville. Albertson was a Tony, Oscar, and Emmy winning actor, which ranks him among a rare stature of 24 ...
, 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 American Broadcasting Company, ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marsha ...
'' and '' Laverne and Shirley'', the top-rated block of shows at the time, her third attempt at weekly episodic television lasted for four months. In 1980, A final attempt at her own series came in the ABC comedy '' When the Whistle Blows''. A mid-season replacement, Langdon played Darlene Ridgeway, the owner of a saloon frequented by local construction workers. Another rare 60-minute comedy, the program lasted 10 weeks.
Personal life
Langdon married Jack Emrek on April 4, 1959, in
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
. The couple remained married until his death on April 27, 2010, in