About Joan Tompkins
Lived 1915 – 2005 (aged 89). Joan Tompkins was an American actor, stage actor, television actor and film actor.
Joan Swenson (July 9, 1915 – January 29, 2005), previously known as Joan Tompkins, was an American actress of television, film, radio, and stage.
Early life and career A New York City native, the eldest of two daughters born to Merritt E. Tompkins and Florence H. Aitken, Tompkins performed with stock theater companies in Mount Kisco, New York and White Plains, New York. She acted on Broadway in My Sister Eileen, Pride and Prejudice, She was also married to actor Karl Swenson.
Radio Her roles on radio programs include: Program Role Against the Storm Siri Allen David Harum Susan Wells Lora Lawton Lora Lawton Our Gal Sunday Madeline Travers This Is Nora Drake Nora Drake Young Widder Brown Joyce Turner Your Family and Mine Judy Wilbur
Filmography Film Year Film Role Notes 1966 Made in Paris Ruth (uncredited) 1969 Popi Miss Musto 1970 Zig Zag Judge Beth Weaver Crime thriller film The Christine Jorgensen Story Aunt Thora I Love My Wife Grandma Dennison Comedy film
Television Her television roles included: Adventures in Paradise as Cora Summers in "Assassins" (1961) Hazel as Florence Gurney in "Hazel and the Gardener" (1962) The New Breed as Mrs. Marsh in "How Proud the Guilty" (1962) Bus Stop, as Sarah Jenkins in "The Runaways" (1961) and unknown role in "I Kiss Your Shadow" (1962) The Danny Thomas Show, two episodes (1959 and 1962) The Lieutenant, two episodes (1963–1964) Route 66, as Mrs. Thomas in "Between Hello and Goodbye" (1962) The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters as Martha Pollux in "The Day of the Wizard" (1964) The Eleventh Hour, three episodes, including the two-parter, "Does My Mother Have to Know?", in the role of Aggie Britt (1964) Mr. Novak as Mrs. Douglas Morgan, Sr., in "The Private Life of Douglas Morgan, Jr." (1964) Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. as Mrs. Harper in "A Date for the Colonel's Daughter" (1964) Perry Mason, three episodes (1962–1964) Dr. Kildare, three episodes (1962–1965) Slattery's People, as Dorothy Ralston in "Question, What Time Is the Next Bandwagon?" (1965) The Farmer's Daughter in "Katie's Castle" (1965) General Hospital, recurring as Nurse Genevieve Kendall Jones (1967–?) My Three Sons, recurring as Lorraine Miller (1967-1970) Mannix as Mrs. Dover in "Turn Every Stone" (1967) Mission: Impossible as Miss Putnam in "The Seal" (1967) Occasional Wife as Mrs. Brahms in "Pilot" and "No Cookie for Dessert" (1966) I Dream of Jeannie as General's wife in "Invisible House for Sale" (1968) and Admiral's wife Mrs. Endicott in Jeannie, the Recording Secretary (1970) Bewitched as Harriet Walters in "Once in a Vial" (1968) The Brady Bunch as Mrs. Tyler in "The Honeymoon" (1969) which was that show's premiere episode Lassie, in two episodes, including the role of Mrs. Davis in the 1964 episode "The Little Christmas Tree" and as Katherine in the 1971 segment entitled "The Awakening" The Scarecrow as Mistress Cynthia Merton, television play (1972) The Mary Tyler Moore Show, as Mrs. Thorn, secretary to Lou Grant, episode "Who's in Charge Here?" (1972) Griff, as Ruth in "Elephant in a Cage" (1973) Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law, three episodes, including two as a judge (1973–1974) Barnaby Jones, three episodes, including role of Judge Edith Royce in "Voice in the Night" (1976) The Waltons, as Mrs. Herbert in "The Achievement" (1977), the final appearance of Richard Thomas in the series and the episode in which John-Boy Walton he obtains publication of his first novel Emergency! as Maggie Trigg in "The Most Deadly Passage" (1978), made into a television movie the following year
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Important facts
Family & relationships
People in Joan Tompkins's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Joan Tompkins's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Joan Tompkins?
American actress (1915-2005)
When was Joan Tompkins born?
Joan Tompkins was born on 9 July 1915 in Mount Vernon.
When did Joan Tompkins die?
Joan Tompkins died on 29 January 2005 in Dana Point.
What was Joan Tompkins's occupation?
Joan Tompkins was an actor, stage actor, television actor and film actor.
What nationality was Joan Tompkins?
Joan Tompkins was American.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Joan Tompkins. https://biography.guide/joan-tompkins/
MLA: "Joan Tompkins." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/joan-tompkins/.
Chicago: "Joan Tompkins." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/joan-tompkins/.
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