Arlene Golonka, best known for her portrayal of waitress Millie on the classic CBS sitcom The Andy Griffith Show and its spinoff Mayberry R.F.D., died Monday at a West Hollywood memory care facility following a battle with Alzheimer’s. She was 85.
Her death was announced by her friend, the literary agent Cary Kozlov.
Golonka, who made her Broadway debut in 1958’s short-lived The Night Circus before landing stage roles in 1962’s Come Blow Your Horn and 1963’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, already had made numerous appearances on television prior to her breakthrough role on The Andy Griffith Show in 1967, among them Car 54, Where Are You?, The Doctors, The Flying Nun and The Big Valley.
She made her first Griffith appearance on Oct. 16, 1967, in an episode that introduced her as Millie Hutchins, initially intended as a love interest for bookish bachelor Howard Sprague (played by Jack Dodson...
Her death was announced by her friend, the literary agent Cary Kozlov.
Golonka, who made her Broadway debut in 1958’s short-lived The Night Circus before landing stage roles in 1962’s Come Blow Your Horn and 1963’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, already had made numerous appearances on television prior to her breakthrough role on The Andy Griffith Show in 1967, among them Car 54, Where Are You?, The Doctors, The Flying Nun and The Big Valley.
She made her first Griffith appearance on Oct. 16, 1967, in an episode that introduced her as Millie Hutchins, initially intended as a love interest for bookish bachelor Howard Sprague (played by Jack Dodson...
- 6/1/2021
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Arlene Golonka, a veteran character actor best known for playing Millie Swanson on “Mayberry R.F.D.,” died Monday in West Hollywood, Calif. She was 85.
Her niece Stephanie Morton, said she had been suffering from Alzheimer’s.
“She lived and breathed being an artist, being an actress was who she was born to be,” said her niece, “She was a very wise woman who I was lucky to call my aunt.”
“She loved to teach,” said Morton, who said her acting students over the years included Halle Berry.
With a career spanning over 45 years, Golonka played recurring roles on “The Doctors,” “Joe & Valerie” and “1st & 10” and appeared in episodes of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “M*A*S*H” and “The King of Queens.” On “The Andy Griffith Show,” Golonka played Millie Hutchins, the girlfriend of Sam Jones (Ken Berry) on two episodes, and she reprised the role as Millie Swanson on “Mayberry R.F.D.” across 34 episodes.
Her niece Stephanie Morton, said she had been suffering from Alzheimer’s.
“She lived and breathed being an artist, being an actress was who she was born to be,” said her niece, “She was a very wise woman who I was lucky to call my aunt.”
“She loved to teach,” said Morton, who said her acting students over the years included Halle Berry.
With a career spanning over 45 years, Golonka played recurring roles on “The Doctors,” “Joe & Valerie” and “1st & 10” and appeared in episodes of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “M*A*S*H” and “The King of Queens.” On “The Andy Griffith Show,” Golonka played Millie Hutchins, the girlfriend of Sam Jones (Ken Berry) on two episodes, and she reprised the role as Millie Swanson on “Mayberry R.F.D.” across 34 episodes.
- 6/1/2021
- by Ethan Shanfeld
- Variety Film + TV
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