Arlene Golonka

Arlene Leanore Golonka (January 23, 1936 – May 31, 2021) was an American actress. She is known for playing Millie Hutchins on the television comedy The Andy Griffith Show and Millie Swanson on Mayberry R.F.D., and often portrayed bubbly, eccentric blondes in supporting character roles on stage, film, and television.

Early years Golonka was born in Chicago on January 23, 1936, the daughter of Elinor (née Wroblewski) and Frank Golonka, of Polish descent, She worked as a waitress and began her acting career in her early teens, going professional in a summer-stock troupe. she appeared in her first major production, The Night Circus, with Ben Gazzara, at the Shubert Theater in New Haven, Connecticut on November 17, 1958. After a week-long trial run, the play moved to Broadway on December 2, 1958, but closed after only seven performances.

Despite that setback, she continued working in other plays such as Take Me Along with Jackie Gleason, Walter Pidgeon and Robert Morse (448 performances from late 1959 to late 1960), Neil Simon's first Broadway play, Come Blow Your Horn, which ran 677 performances from February 1961 until October 1962, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, starring Kirk Douglas, from November 1963 until January 1964. Golonka appeared in two other Broadway plays from 1965 to 1966, and took supporting roles in films produced in the New York City area. When the time came to record its sequel, When You're in Love the Whole World Is Jewish, she was unavailable, but encouraged her roommate, aspiring actress Valerie Harper, to audition to take her place.

In 1967, Golonka moved to Los Angeles to try her hand at television. She made numerous TV appearances on such series as Car 54, Where Are You?; Get Smart; Barnaby Jones; The Flying Nun; I Spy; That Girl; The Mary Tyler Moore Show; M*A*S*H; All in the Family; Cannon; Maude; The Andy Griffith Show; Mayberry R.F.D.; Alice; The Rockford Files; The Streets of San Francisco; One Day at a Time; The San Pedro Beach Bums; Taxi; ; Murder, She Wrote; The King of Queens; Valerie; Sunset Beat; and Matlock; among others.

In 1992, Golonka appeared as Sally Nash in the 13th episode "Fool for Love" in season 5 of the television series In the Heat of the Night with Carroll O'Connor. In this episode she played the other woman to a philandering Dr. Vance Talbot (played by actor Robert Ginty) who tries to frame her for the murder of his wife before murdering Nash as well. Golonka was a regular on the animated cartoon Speed Buggy, providing the voice of "Debbie", and had a recurring role on the short-lived TV series Joe & Valerie. She performed voices in other animated series including The New Yogi Bear Show, Capitol Critters, Yogi's Treasure Hunt, and The New Scooby-Doo Movies.

Golonka had supporting roles in some 30 films, including Harvey Middleman, Fireman (1965), Penelope (1966), The Busy Body (1967), Welcome to Hard Times (1967), Hang 'Em High (1968), The Elevator (1974), Airport '77 (1977), The In-Laws (1979), Love At First Bite (1980), The Last Married Couple in America (1980), My Tutor (1983), The End of Innocence (1990), and A Family Affair (2001).

Golonka performed in a number of productions for the West Coast Jewish Theatre.

Personal life Golonka was married and divorced three times. Her first husband was Christopher Michael Haenel. In 1962, she married jazz pianist and composer Mike Longo, and they divorced in 1967.

Filmography

1963: Car 54, Where Are You? as Laverne Montaine, Season 2, Episode 16 1963: Love with the Proper Stranger as Marge (uncredited) 1964: Diary of a Bachelor as Lois 1965: Harvey Middleman, Fireman as Harriet 1966: Penelope as Honeysuckle Rose 1967: The Busy Body as Bobbi Brody 1967: Welcome to Hard Times as Mae 1967: The Flying Nun as Dottie, Season 1, Episode 3 1967: The Big Valley as Gail Miller, Season 3, Episode 10–11 1967: The Andy Griffith Show as Millie Hutchins (2 episodes) 1967–1968: That Girl (3 episodes) 1968: Get Smart as Zelda, Season 3, Episode 16–17 1968: I Spy as Melanie, Season 3, Episode 26 1968: Hang 'Em High as Jennifer 1968–1971: Mayberry R.F.D. as Millie Hutchins-Swanson (49 episodes) 1971–1974: The Mary Tyler Moore Show (2 episodes) 1972: M*A*S*H as Lt. Edwina “Eddie” Ferguson, Season 1, Episode 13 1972: The Rookies as Store Clerk 1973: Speed Buggy as Debbie (voice) 1973–1975: Barnaby Jones (2 episodes) 1973: All in the Family as Tina, Season 3, Episode 16 1973: Cannon as Melissa "BJ" Franklin, Season 2, Episode 15 1974–1975: Maude (2 episodes) 1974: The Elevator as Wendy Thompson 1974: Police Woman as Carolee English, Season 1, Episode 12 1975: The Secret Night Caller as Charlotte 1975–1976: The Streets of San Francisco (2 episodes) 1977: Airport '77 as Mrs. Jane Stern 1977: Alice as Shirley Bartlett, Season 1, Episode 19 1978: The Rockford Files as Jeanne Rosenthal, Season 4 Episode 15 1978: One Day at a Time as Joyce Emerson, Season 4, Episode 3 1978: Taxi as Sheila, Season 1, Episode 7 1979: The In-Laws as Jean Ricardo 1979–1982: The Love Boat (2 episodes) 1979–1982: Fantasy Island (3 episodes) 1980: The Last Married Couple in America as Sally Cooper 1981: Longshot as Evelyn Gripp 1981: Separate Ways as Annie Donahue 1982–1983: Gimme a Break! as Maxine (2 episodes) 1983: Simon & Simon as Joyce Allreed, Season 3, Episode 5 1983: Benson as Betty Braxton, Season 5, Episode 11 1983: My Tutor as Mrs. Chrystal 1986: Foxtrap as Emily 1986: Detective School Dropouts (uncredited) 1986–1990: Murder, She Wrote (2 episodes) 1987: Valerie as Darlene Franklin, Season 2, Episode 22 1987: Survival Game as Barbara Hawkins 1988–1990: Growing Pains (2 episodes) 1989: Dr. Alien as Mom 1989: Trained to Kill as Martha Cooper 1990: The Gumshoe Kid as Gracie Sherman 1990: The End of Innocence as Claire 1991–1993: Matlock (2 episodes) 1992: In The Heat of The Night as Sally Nash, Season 5, Episode 13 1993: Amore! as Acting Coach 1995: Cops n Roberts 1997: Leather Jacket Love Story as Mom 2001: A Family Affair as Leah Rosen 2005: The King of Queens as Annette, Season 8, Episode 7