Doreen Lang

Doreen Lang (February 15, 1915 – April 21, 1999) was a New Zealand-born American character actress whose career spanned theatre, television, and film across five decades. Born in Gisborne, New Zealand, she studied drama in London before establishing herself on the American stage and screen.

Lang's Broadway career ran from 1941 to 1951, beginning with her portrayal of Edith in Noël Coward's farce Blithe Spirit, a role she held from 1941 to 1943. Her subsequent stage credits included Make Way for Lucia in 1948, I Know My Love in 1949, Season in the Sun in 1950, and Faithfully Yours in 1951.

Her film career began with Alfred Hitchcock's The Wrong Man in 1956, and she went on to appear in two further Hitchcock productions: an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents in 1958 and North by Northwest in 1959. She also appeared in The Birds in 1963. Among her other film credits were Wild in the Country (1961), The Cabinet of Caligari (1962), The Group (1966), Brian's Song (1971), A Death of Innocence (1971), Death Sentence (1974), Death in Canaan (1978), Like Normal People (1979), and Almost an Angel (1990).

On television, Lang took on the title role in The Story of Mary Surrat for Kraft Television Theatre in 1955 and appeared in episodes of Studio One between 1954 and 1957, as well as the daytime drama The Nurses in 1965. She later guest-starred on Hawaii Five-O (1968), Mod Squad (1969), Gunsmoke (1970), Mannix (1971), and The Waltons (1973).

Lang was married to Richard B. Rudy from 1939 to 1956, with whom she had a daughter. Following their divorce, she married actor Arthur Franz in 1964, gaining three stepchildren. She died in Malibu, California, at the age of 84 after a long battle with cancer.