Frieda Altman

Frieda Altman (August 18, 1904 – January 14, 2002) was an American theatre and television character actress, perhaps best known for her recurring role as Mrs. Miller, the housekeeper, on Search for Tomorrow.

Early life and career Born in Boston, Massachusetts, on August 18, 1904, Altman was the daughter of Russian Jewish immigrants Samuel and Bella Altman. She attended George Putnam School, Boston Latin School (class of 1920), and Wellesley College, earning her Bachelor of Arts in 1924. Having done so roughly two months before her 20th birthday, Altman was said to be the second youngest member of her graduating class.

In the spring of 1916, at age 11, Altman had reportedly been one of "500 little dancers" performing at the annual May Festival held at the Mechanic's Building in Boston. In a similar vein is her next documented public appearance, seven years later, wherein another annual event, Wellesley College's annual Tree Day, formed the backdrop for a variety of solo and group dances, including Altman and four others "tak[ing] part in an odd dance of candy sticks".

In February 1926, Altman was credited as "assistant to directors" in a production of Indian poet/playwright Kalidasa's signature work, Shakuntala. By April of that year, having advanced to "Chairman of Dramatics" of Junior Hadassah, Altman was also the second-billed player in that group's staging of Abraham Goldfaden's Shulamith, presented entirely in the original Yiddish. Approximately one year later, at Boston's Brattle Hall, Altman starred as Vera in a production of Israel Zangwill's The Melting Pot, staged by the Junior Council of Temple Ashkenaz, Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 1929, Altman portrayed the Virgin Mary in A Christmas Mystery, a production which marked the resumption—after a two-year lapse—of the Boston Public Library's annual Nativity Play presentation. The following February, while not appearing herself, Altman did direct The Eternal Song by Marc Arnstein, one of a pair of one-act plays comprising the debut of the Temple Israel Little Theatre of Boston. By December of that year, Altman had joined an amateur troupe performing in the Greater Boston region, called Lend-a-Hand Masque; on Saturday the 6th, she performed in their production of Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp, staged at the Brookline High School auditorium.

Prior to making her 1932 Broadway debut, Altman was with Falmouth's University Players, for a period of approximately eight months, beginning no later than December 1931. James Stewart, Kent Smith, Later still, as Mrs. Barwick, she appeared alongside Windust, O'Neil, Natwick, and McCormick in John Balderston's time-travel fantasy, Berkeley Square.

In 1952, Altman, as "Aunt Sarah", and child actress Patsy Bruder as "Alice", co-starred in "Little Girl", an episode of Lights Out,

Predeceased by her husband, Altman died in Manhattan at age 97, on January 14, 2002.

Broadway credits

1932: Another Language as Grace Hallam 1932: Carry Nation as Mrs. Gloyd 1933: We the People as Passer-by 1933: Hilda Cassidy as Mrs. Miller 1934: Picnic as Mademoiselle 1934: Spring Song as Tillie Solomon 1935: Paradise Lost as Bertha 1936: Timber House as Alvina Glouster 1936: Days to Come as Cora Rodman 1937: Marching Song as Jenny Russell 1938: Yr. Obedient Husband as Podd 1939: Pastoral as Sara Ten Brock 1941: Gabrielle as Frau Spatz 1941: Ah, Wilderness as Lily Miller, Nat's sister 1942: Counsellor-at-Law as Goldie Rindskoff (as Freida Altman) 1942: Guest in the House as Miss Rhodes 1943: The Naked Genius as Mrs. Davis 1944: Hickory Stick as Bettina Pessolano 1946: A Joy Forever as Mrs. Tillery 1946: Little Brown Jug as Lydia 1946: Land's End as Miss Penrose 1947: The Wanhope Building as Madam Endor 1948: Strange Bedfellows as Mrs. Gimble 1948: The Young and Fair as Emmy Foster 1950: Hilda Crane as Miss Keavney 1955: The Southwest Corner as Hattie Carew 1957: The Waltz of the Toreadors as First Maid 1958: The Visit as Frau Burgomaster, Frau Schill (replacement) 1959: Chéri as Madame Valerie Aldonza 1960: A Distant Bell as Keene Stanfield

Filmography Films 1945: The House on 92nd Street as Saboteur (uncredited) 1954: Go Man Go as Ticket seller (uncredited) 1964: Fail Safe as Jenny Johnson

Television

Studio One Ep. "The Dybbuk" (1949) as Frade Suspense Ep. "The Third One" (1949) as Mrs. Sheperone The Trap Ep. "The Dark Corner" (1950) Flashgun Casey Ep. "The Gentle Strangler" (1951) Ellery Queen Ep. "Death of a Wax Doll" (1952) Lights Out Ep. "Little Girl" (1952) as Aunt Hannah Suspense Ep. "Remember Me?" (1952) as Mrs. Liebowitz One Woman's Story Ep. "My Son, Paul" (1952) The Doctor Ep. "A Pile of Rocks" (1952) as Maud Gutherie Studio One Ep. "An Almanac of Liberty" (1954) as Mrs. Nathan Hallmark Hall of Fame Ep. "Macbeth" (1954) as Second Witch The Ella Raines Show Ep. "Gomez Case" Ep. "The Murch Case" The Elgin Hour Ep. "Mind Over Momma" on (1955) as Sadie Mandel The United States Steel Hour Ep. "Hunted" (1956) – Landlady Armstrong Circle Theatre Ep. "The Complex Mummy Complex" (1957) The United States Steel Hour Ep. "Family Happiness" (1959) – Tatyana Semenova Naked City Ep. "Even Crows Sing Good" (1959) as Mama Hine The Play of the Week Ep. "The House of Bernarda Alba" (1960) as Prudentia Naked City Ep. "A Memory of Crying" (1961) as Mrs. Howard (the florist) The DuPont Show of the Week Ep. "Ride With Terror" on (1963) as Bertha Beckerman Search for Tomorrow Numerous Episodes (1965–1971) as Mrs. Miller The Eternal Light Ep. "The Book and the Window" (1967) as Lilian (Mrs. Israel Friedlander)