Janet Landgard, who co-starred with Burt Lancaster in the 1968 film “The Swimmer” and appeared for three seasons on “The Donna Reed Show,” died Nov. 6. She was 75.
Landgard died of brain cancer, actor Paul Petersen told The Hollywood Reporter. She played the love interest for Peterson’s character on “The Donna Reed Show” during the comedy’s final two seasons (1963-64), according to IMDb.com. She made her acting debut playing a different character on the show in 1963.
“She never told me how gravely ill she was from the cancer that took her life earlier this week,” Petersen wrote in a Facebook post on Friday. “Typical behavior from the best TV girlfriend my alternate ego, Jeff Stone, ever had on the last three years of The Donna Reed Show.”
Landgard was born on Dec. 2, 1947, in Pasadena, California, according to Variety. She made her onscreen debut in 1963 on “The Donna Reed Show,” playing a girl named Sabrina in one episode while she was still in high school, Deadline reported.
In 1968, Landgard appeared in “The Swimmer,” in which she played Julie Ann Hooper, a former babysitter for Ned Merrill (Lancaster), according to Variety.
The two reconnect as Ned is “swimming his way home” using neighborhood pools in suburban Connecticut, according to The Hollywood Reporter. When Julie admits she once had a crush on Ned and he attempts to become intimate, she runs away, leaving him to continue his bizarre tour of swimming pools.
Janet Landgard, 'The Swimmer' and 'The Donna Reed Show' Actor, Dies at 75 https://t.co/AFpw1wsrNt
— Variety (@Variety) November 11, 2023
Landgard also appeared in “Land Raiders” (1969), “The Deadly Dream” (1971) and “Moonchild” (1972), Deadline reported.
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