Kathryn Joosten obit

Kathryn Joosten, 'Desperate Housewives' actress, dead from lung cancer at 72

 

She was not on the list.

Just weeks after Kathryn Joosten delivered an emotional death scene as Karen McCluskey on the "Desperate Housewives" series finale, the Emmy-winning thesp has passed away.

Joosten died Saturday morning from lung cancer, and was surrounded by family and friends at the time of her passing, E! News has confirmed.

She was 72.

"Kathryn passed away this morning after a valiant fight against her cancer," Nadine Jolson, Joosten's rep, told E! News. "Her family was with her. Funeral arrangements are pending. This is a terrible loss, and she fought as hard as she could."

n 1992, aged 53, she was hired as a street performer working for the Disney-MGM Studios theme park at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.[8] In 1995, she moved to Hollywood, where she took guest roles in television series such as Roseanne, Home Improvement, Picket Fences, Murphy Brown, ER, Seinfeld, Frasier, Just Shoot Me!, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dharma & Greg, Las Vegas and The Drew Carey Show. In a 1997 episode of Frasier, "Roz's Turn", Joosten appeared as Vera, the mother and personal secretary of Frasier's conniving agent, Bebe Glazer, played by Harriet Sansom Harris. The pair would later be reunited to play opposite neighbors in Desperate Housewives.

In 1999, Joosten took the role of Mrs. Landingham, personal secretary to President Josiah Bartlet (played by Martin Sheen) in The West Wing. Joosten played the role for two seasons, until her character's death in a car crash in 2001, and returned to the show twice more in flashback appearances. Her role on The West Wing gave her an entrance into more significant guest roles on notable television series.

After 2001, she appeared in such shows as Scrubs (appearing in "My Old Lady", which won a Humanitas Prize as well as reappearing in two later episodes), My Name is Earl, Spin City, The X-Files, Judging Amy, Monk, Charmed, Will & Grace, Malcolm in the Middle, Grey's Anatomy, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, Reba, So Little Time, Gilmore Girls, The Closer and a recurring role as one of the less intimidating incarnations of God seen by the title character (played by Amber Tamblyn) on the TV series Joan of Arcadia. In 2005, Joosten appeared in the film Wedding Crashers, starring Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson.

Joosten had a recurring role on Desperate Housewives as Karen McCluskey. For this role, Joosten won two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series in 2005 and 2008 and once again was nominated for 2010, and appeared as a presenter at the 2005 and 2008 Emmy Awards telecasts. She received Screen Actors Guild Award nominations with the rest of the cast for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series from 2006 to 2008. She was promoted to a member of the regular cast in Season 6. However, the Emmys still billed her as a "Guest Actress" when she was nominated for a third time for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for the 2010 Emmys. She was then nominated for a fourth Emmy, this time for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 2012. She played Aunt Jackie in Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel in 2009.

In 2009, Joosten and Lily Tomlin were in talks to star in a Desperate Housewives spin-off. The spin-off was given a preliminary green light to proceed.[10] However, the series did not proceed.

 

Filmography & Television

Year        Title        Role       Notes

1984     Grandview, U.S.A.            Mrs. Clark           

1985     Lady Blue             Margo   1 episode

1987     Sable     Waitress               1 episode

1989     The Package        Waitress              

1995     Pointman             Lois        1 episode

Family Matters  Grocery Checker               1 episode

Picket Fences     Waitress

Grace Under Fire               Ida Reilly              1 episode

1996     3rd Rock from the Sun    Cafeteria Lady    1 episode

ER           Lois        1 episode

Roseanne            Carol      2 episodes

Goode Behavior Delores 1 episode

Murphy Brown  Caroline Langston, Secretary #83               1 episode

Boston Common              Mrs. Schuster     1 episode

1997     Seinfeld Betsy     Episode: "The Little Jerry"

Frasier   Vera       1 episode

Profiler Morganna Styles               1 episode

Men Behaving Badly       Saleswoman       1 episode

NYPD Blue           Mrs. Prows         1 episode

Life with Roger  Dee-Dee Mitchell              1 episode

Brooklyn South Mariah Westbrook          2 episodes

Best Men             Edie       

1998     Prey       Nettie    1 episode

Just Shoot Me!  Dina Pierce          1 episode

The Nanny          Harriet  1 episode

Phoenix Esther  

1998–2003         The Drew Carey Show    Natalie  2 episodes (separate roles)

1998–2001         Dharma and Greg             Claire     7 episodes (recurring role)

1999     Home Improvement       Thelma McCreedy            1 episode

Thanks  Anne Sturges     3 episodes

Tracey Takes On...            Dana      1 episode

Kiss Toledo Goodbye       Inez       

1999–2001         Providence          Renee James O'Meara    2 episodes

1999–2002         The West Wing  Dolores Landingham       30 episodes (recurring role)

2000     Buffy the Vampire Slayer               Genevive Holt    1 episode

Becker   Edna Goldsmith 1 episode

Hellraiser: Inferno            Mary Thorne     

2001     Ally McBeal         Sister Alice           1 episode

Arli$$    June       1 episode

Dead Last             Nurse Alicia         1 episode

Raising Dad         Ella         1 episode

Spin City               Sister Agnes        1 episode

2001–2009         Scrubs   Barbara 'Babs' O'Neil Tanner        3 episodes: 1 uncredited

2002     The X-Files           Agent Edie Boal episode: "Trust No 1"

Titus      Betty     1 episode

The Division        Constance 'Connie' Langtry          1 episode

So Little Time     Louise Van Horn                1 episode

Even Stevens      Edna Manning   1 episode

2002–2003         General Hospital               Ida Warren          5 episodes

2003     Judging Amy       Judge Drabowsky             1 episode

A.U.S.A. Ginny Romano  2 episodes

Wasabi Tuna       Erma     

Hope & Faith      Jean Smith          Uncredited

Charmed              Marnie  1 episode

Less Than Perfect              Agnes    1 episode

Strong Medicine                Kathryn Nolan   1 episode

Red Roses and Petrol       Nurse Gretchen

The King of Queens         Maureen              1 episode

2003–2005         Joan of Arcadia  Margo (incarnation of God)          8 episodes

2003–2008         Monk    Neysa Gordon Stempler 2 episodes

2004     Curb Your Enthusiasm    Jenny    1 episode

10-8: Officers on Duty    Mrs. Utenberger               1 episode

Will & Grace       Felicia    1 episode

Yes, Dear              Claire Atkinson  1 episode

Life with Bonnie Phyllis   1 episode

Everwood            Mrs. Hammerhill               1 episode

Gilmore Girls      Maisy Fortner    1 episode

Breaking Dawn  Neighbor            

2005     Hostage                Officer Louise    

Taking Your Life  Helen    

Grey's Anatomy Stephanie Drake                1 episode

Love, Inc.             Doris      1 episode

Wedding Crashers            Chazz's Mom     

Malcolm in The Middle  Claire     1 episode

Cheaper by the Dozen 2 Theatre Patron 

2005–2008         My Name Is Earl                Agatha  2 episodes

2005     McBride: It's Murder, Madam     Judge Broderick 1 Episode

2005–2012         Desperate Housewives   Mrs. Karen McCluskey-Bender    87 episodes

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series (Won; 2005, 2008, Nominated; 2010)

Nominated - Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (2012)

Nominated - Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (2006, 2007, 2008)

2006     Reba      Jackie Harmony, Director of Homeless Shelter      1 episode

Intellectual Property       Nurse   

The Suite Life of Zack & Cody      Grandma Marilyn             1 episode

The TV Set           Lois       

The Evidence      Midge   1 episode

Saved    Evelyn Wilson    1 episode

2007     In Case of Emergency      Fran Walsh          1 episode

The Closer           Nurse Townsend               1 episode

2008     Las Vegas             'Robby' 1 episode

Bedtime Stories Maureen Dixon

2009     Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel             Aunt Jackie         

2011     The Bold and the Beautiful           Herself 

The Cleveland Show        Hazel    

Mega Python vs. Gatoroid            Angie Polk          

2012     The Mentalist     Gloria Williams  1 episode