Arlene Golonka (born January 23, 1936) is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for playing Millie Swanson on the television comedies The Andy Griffith Show and Mayberry R.F.D., and often portrayed bubbly, eccentric blondes in supporting character roles on stage, film, and television.
Golonka was born in Chicago, Illinois. She began her acting career when she was 11 years old, and went professional in a summer-stock troupe while still in...
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Arlene Golonka (born January 23, 1936) is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for playing Millie Swanson on the television comedies The Andy Griffith Show and Mayberry R.F.D., and often portrayed bubbly, eccentric blondes in supporting character roles on stage, film, and television.
Golonka was born in Chicago, Illinois. She began her acting career when she was 11 years old, and went professional in a summer-stock troupe while still in her teens. After studying at the prestigious Goodman Theatre in her native Chicago, she made her way to New York City, aged 22, where she studied with Lee Strasberg, Sanford Meisner and Uta Hagen.
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...
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