Sondra Rodgers

{{short description|American film and television actress (1903–1997)}} {{Infobox person | name = Sondra Rodgers | image = Sondra Rodgers.jpg | image_size = | caption = | birth_name = Fenella Jewell Rodgers | birth_date = February 3, 1903 | birth_place = Trimble County, Kentucky, U.S. | death_date = July 22, 1997 | death_place = Los Angeles, California <br /> U.S. | other_names = Sondra Arleaux | occupation = Actress | years_active = 1944 - 1970 (film) | parents = }}

'''Sondra Rodgers''' (born '''Fenella Jewell Rodgers;''' 1903–1997) was an American film and television actress.<ref>Erickson p.385</ref>

==Early years== Born Fenella Jewell Rodgers,<ref name="ra">{{cite news|last1=McCollum|first1=Konnie|title=Trimble County native found fame in Hollywood|url=http://www.roundaboutmadison.com/InsidePages/ArchivedArticles/2007/0707SondraRodgers.html|accessdate=12 February 2018|work=RoundAbout|date=July 2007|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20180212035138/http://www.roundaboutmadison.com/InsidePages/ArchivedArticles/2007/0707SondraRodgers.html|archivedate=12 February 2018}}</ref> she grew up on the family farm in Trimble County, Kentucky.<ref name="cj100249-77" /> She was the daughter of J.L. Rodgers<ref name="cj100249-78" /> and his wife, Lacy Rodgers. When she was 17, she moved to New York and began modeling for a commercial photographer.<ref name="cj100249-77">{{cite news|last1=Ransdell|first1=Gail M.|title=An Old Kentucky Home Is The Setting|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/17373543/sondra_rodgers/|work=The Courier-Journal|date=October 2, 1949|location=Kentucky, Louisville|page=77|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = February 11, 2018}} {{Open access}}</ref>

==Radio== Rodgers left the stage to work in radio in 1934.<ref name=cj100249-78/> She was heard often in the United States on broadcasts of ''Miniature Theater of the Air'' and on a number of soap operas.<ref name=cj100249-77/>

She also worked in radio in Europe. Although she was employed by Radio Luxembourg, she was based in London. Her programs were recorded and shipped to Luxembourg for broadcast.<ref name="cj100249-78" /> After concluding her work in Europe, she returned to Kentucky and wrote scripts for WLAP in Lexington.<ref name="cj100249-78" />

==Stage== Rodgers' early acting experience came in New York when she worked (using the name '''Sondra Arleaux''')<ref name="cj100249-78">{{cite news|title=Cabins for 300 Negro slaves used to ring the homestead|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/17374361/sondra_rodgers/|work=The Courier-Journal|date=October 2, 1949|location=Kentucky, Louisville|page=78|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = February 11, 2018}} {{Open access}}</ref> in stock theater with Jessie Bonstelle. She appeared on Broadway in ''Riddle Me This'' (1933).<ref>{{cite web|title=("Sondra Arleaux" search results)|url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/sondra-arleaux-30092|website=Internet Broadway Database|publisher=The Broadway League|accessdate=12 February 2018|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20180212024526/https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/sondra-arleaux-30092|archivedate=12 February 2018}}</ref>

Rodgers spent time in Europe studying with playwrights, then returned to the United States, where she directed plays at the Pasadena Playhouse with Gilmour Brown as her supervisor.<ref name=cj100249-78/>

Later, in Los Angeles, Rodgers acted in plays, including ''No Time for Comedy'', ''Heaven Can Wait'', ''Cry Havoc'', an d''Family Portrait.''<ref name=cj100249-77/>

==Film== Rodgers signed her first film contract, with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, in May 1944.<ref>{{cite news|title=Lure of Hollywood Proves Too Strong|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/17376180/sondra_rodgers/|work=The Pittsburgh Press|date=May 12, 1944|location=Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh|page=29|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = February 11, 2018}} {{Open access}}</ref> Her film debut came in ''Marriage Is a Private Affair'' (1944).<ref>{{cite news|title=Screen Newcomer|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/17376033/sondra_rodgers/|work=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|date=August 2, 1944|location=Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh|page=20|via = Newspapers.com|accessdate = February 11, 2018}} {{Open access}}</ref>

==Television== Rodgers portrayed Mrs. Appleby in the 1961 episode "A Doctor Comes to Town" of the television series ''Window on Main Street''.{{Citation needed |date=March 2021}}. She played the prudish (unnamed) mother of daughters Elmira and Dodie on "Wagon Train" in S1 E18 "The Gabe Carswell Story" which aired 1/14/1958.

==Filmography== {| class="wikitable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes |- |1944|| ''Marriage Is a Private Affair'' || Nurse || Uncredited |- |1944|| ''Lost in a Harem'' || Zaida || Uncredited |- |1945|| ''Keep Your Powder Dry'' || WAC Hodgekins || |- |1945|| ''Anchors Aweigh'' || Jean || Uncredited |- |1945|| ''The Hidden Eye'' || Helen Roberts || |- |1946|| ''Up Goes Maisie'' || || Uncredited |- |1946|| ''Easy to Wed'' || Attendant || |- |1946|| ''Boys' Ranch'' || Mrs. O'Neill || Uncredited |- |1948|| ''Tap Roots'' || Shellie Dabney || |- |1951|| ''As You Were'' || WAC Captain || |- |1963|| ''Tammy and the Doctor'' || First Nurse || |- |1966|| ''Country Boy'' || Mrs. Byrd || |- |1970|| ''Airport'' || Margaret Rogers - Passenger || Uncredited, (final film role) |}

==References== {{Portal|Biography|Radio|Theater|Film|Television|United States}} {{Reflist}}

==Bibliography== * Erickson, Hal. ''Military Comedy Films: A Critical Survey and Filmography of Hollywood Releases Since 1918''. McFarland, 2012.

==External links== *{{IMDb name|0734776}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodgers, Sondra}} Category:1903 births Category:1997 deaths Category:American film actresses Category:American television actresses Category:20th-century American actresses Category:People from Trimble County, Kentucky Category:Actresses from Kentucky