Early Life and Career
Born in Montrose, Iowa, she began her career in the family tent show, and appeared in vaudeville as a toddler (called "Baby Nedra"). She ended up in the 1970s as a well-recognized supporting character actress, primarily on television and also in feature films. An apple dumpling of a darling, Nedra often played grandmothers or feisty little old ladies.
In the early 1930s, Volz was featured vocalist with Cato's Vagabonds, a Des Moines, Iowa, big band that briefly enjoyed national popularity. Cato never made records, but Nedra managed to appear on exactly one 78 side, with the orchestra of Will Osborne in 1933.
Her most notable appearances include:
- Aunt Iola, Edith Bunker's favorite aunt on All in the Family, 1978.
- Housekeeper Adelaide Brubaker on Diff'rent Strokes from January 1980 until May 1982.
- Post Office Employee Miz Emma Tisdale on The Dukes of Hazzard starting in November 1980 until 1984.
- "Big Ed" in the Paul Bartel spoof Lust in the Dust
- Mother B. (Winona Beck) in Filthy Rich.
- Loretta Houk in the film Moving Violations (1985).
- Lana in the film Earth Girls Are Easy (1988)
- Esther in the TV show Alice in 1978.
- Pearl Sperling in the 1985 season of The Fall Guy.
Aside from these regular parts, she also appeared in a great many guest roles, including 'Mission of Peace', a 1986 episode of The A-Team, as one of a group of senior citizens forced into asking the team for help. In 1978, Volz appeared as a protester Mrs. Burstyn on the TV series WKRP in Cincinnati. In 1980, she appeared in several Jack in the Box TV spots as they blew up Jack. In 1989, she did two roles in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show, Mrs. Perwinkle and Angelica.
Volz continued to act well into her 80s. In Moving Violations, director Neil Israel allowed her to do many stunts herself, including being lifted into a window and falling head-first onto the floor. Volz's last acting role was in The Great White Hype in 1996.
Read more about this topic: Nedra Volz
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