K Callan

K Callan
Born	Katherine Elizabeth Borman Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Alma mater	North Texas State University
Occupation(s)	Actress, author
Years active	1956–present
Known for	Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
Spouse	James Ruskin Callan
Children	3
Website	www.kcallan.com

Katherine Elizabeth Callan (née Borman) is an American actress and writer using the variation K Callan, known for playing Clark Kent's mother Martha in the ABC television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. She has most recently appeared as Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, in the Christian historical drama The Chosen.^[1]

Early years

Callan was born in Dallas, Texas.^{[citation needed]} When she was 5 years old, she felt that she wanted to act. She did so in school, and as a student at North Texas State University at Denton, she studied drama. She went on to teach drama at a Catholic girls' school, and she began a children's theatre.^[2]

Career

Callan first appeared on television in an episode of Route 66 that happened to be shooting in Dallas. She resumed her on-camera career in 1970, guest-starring in roles on One Day at a Time, St. Elsewhere, Carnivàle, JAG, Coach and King of the Hill. She played a key role in the Emmy Award-winning episode "Cousin Liz" of All in the Family and portrayed the mother of April Stevens Ewing in several episodes of the penultimate season of Dallas. She played Daisy LaRue in the TV show Meet the Browns and appeared as Mrs. Monroe, Gabe Duncan's teacher, in Good Luck Charlie. She also appeared in the third-season finale of Desperate Housewives as Ilene Britt, the mother of Edie Britt (Nicollette Sheridan), and has portrayed Lily's maternal grandmother on several episodes of How I Met Your Mother. She played the part of Charlie (as an elderly woman) in Heroes for one episode.

She appeared in the films Joe (1970), A Touch of Class (1973), The Onion Field (1979), American Gigolo (1980), A Change of Seasons (1980), Fast-Walking (1982), and Knives Out (2019), as well as the 1972 television adaptation of the 1966 Lanford Wilson play The Rimers of Eldritch.

She has written several books, including The Los Angeles Agent, The Script Is Finished, Now What Do I Do?, Directing Your Directing Career,^[2] and How to Sell Yourself as an Actor. She received her acting training at HB Studio^[3] in New York City.

Callan made TV commercials for products, including Anacin, Endust, Geritol, and Sanka.^[4]

Personal life

Callan was married to and divorced from author James Ruskin Callan. The couple have three children, Jamie Callan, Kelly Callan, and Kristi Callan.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1970	Joe	Mary Lou Curran	as K. Callan
1971	Lady Liberty	Subway Lady	Uncredited
1972	Hail	Mrs. Burd
1973	A Touch of Class	Patty Menkes	as K. Callan
1979	Fast Break	Ms. Tidwell
1979	The Onion Field	Mrs. Powell
1980	American Gigolo	Lisa Williams
1980	A Change of Seasons	Alice Bingham
1982	Fast-Walking	Motel Manager
1991	The Unborn	Martha Wellington
1991	Frankie and Johnny	Frankie's Mother
1998	Border to Border	Mrs. Piston
1999	A Fare to Remember	Ginny
2002	Devious Beings	Lady Jane
2005	Nine Lives	Marisa
2005	Crazylove	Mrs. Hallstrom
2006	Midnight Clear	Eva
2007	Coyote County Loser	Maggie Hopps
2010	Why Did I Get Married Too?	Ms. Tannenbaum
2012	Not That Funny	Toogey Richmonde
2013	Samuel Bleak	Elaine
2019	Knives Out	Wanetta "Great Nana" Thrombey

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1962	Route 66	Western Union Operator	Episode: "Aren't You Surprised to See Me?"
1972	Great Performances	Evelyn Jackson	Episode: "The Rimers of Eldritch"
1976–1977	One Day at a Time	Alice Butterfield	4 episodes
1977	Barney Miller	Gwen Baxter	Episode: "Fire '77"
1977	The Four of Us	Marie	unsold pilot
1977	Fish	Mrs. Lester	2 episodes
1977	All in the Family	Veronica Cartwright	Episode: "Cousin Liz"
1977	James at 16	Mrs. Stevens	Episode: "Pilot"
1977	Rhoda	Dr. Sanders	Episode: "Who's Why"
1978	Family	Sophie Sullivan	Episode: "Starting Over"
1979	Ike: The War Years	Mrs. Westerfield	Two-part TV movie
1979	Blind Ambition	Mrs. Kleindienst	TV Miniseries
1979–1980	Joe's World	Katie Wabash	Regular role
1982	Police Squad!	Charlotte Burton	Episode: "The Butler Did It (A Bird in the Hand)"
1983	Cutter to Houston	Connie Buford	Regular role
1983	Knots Landing	Mrs. Dunne	Episode: "The Fatal Blow"
1983	Newhart	Janet Ebersol	Episode: The Visitors
1985	Hollywood Wives	Catherine	TV Miniseries
1985	St. Elsewhere	Patty Galecki	2 episodes
1986	Moonlighting	Carolyn Kandinsky	Episode: In God We Strongly Suspect
1986	It's a Living	Dot's Mom	Episode: Oddest Couple
1987	Highway to Heaven	Mrs. Lowell	Episode: Normal People
1989	Quantum Leap	Lenore Mackenzie	Episode: "The Americanization of Machiko - August 4, 1953"
1990	Dallas	Amy Stevens	4 episodes
1993–1997	Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman	Martha Kent	Regular role
1993	Star Trek: Deep Space Nine	Alsia	Episode:"Rivals"
2000	Diagnosis: Murder	Various roles	One episode
2000–2003	King of the Hill	Tilly Hill (voice)	3 episodes
2003–2005	Carnivale	Eleanor McGill	Recurring role, 8 episodes
2006	Cold Case	Helen Russell	Episode "The Hen House"
2007	Desperate Housewives	Ilene Britt	Episode "Getting Married Today"
2007–2012	How I Met Your Mother	Grandma Lois	3 episodes
2009–2010	Meet the Browns	Miss Daisy/Daisy LaRue	20 episodes
2011, 2020	NCIS	various roles	2 episodes
2013	Getting On	Susan Dayward	3 episodes
2016	Veep	Judy Sherman	Recurring role
2017	Grey's Anatomy	Janis	One episode
2021	Brooklyn Nine-Nine	Carol	1 episode
2023	Poker Face	Betty	Episode "Time of the Monkey"

References

1. "K Callan". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 2, 2013. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
2. Mendoza, N. F. (December 29, 1995). "Superman's Mom: It's a Natural". The Herald-News. New Jersey, Passaic. Los Angeles Times. p. 22. Retrieved October 16, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
3. HB Studio Alumni
4. Fallon, Beth (March 28, 1972). "The girl next door cleans up on commercials". Daily News. New York, New York City. p. 28. Retrieved October 16, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

Bibliography

• Callan, K. (1987). The New York Agent Book. ISBN 978-0-961733-61-2.
• The Los Angeles Agent Book. Sweden Press. 1992. ISBN 978-0-961733-68-1.
• How to Sell Yourself As an Actor: From New York to Los Angeles and Everywhere in Between. Sweden Press. 1992. ISBN 978-0-961733-67-4.
• Script Is Finished, Now What Do I Do?. Sweden Press. 1993. ISBN 978-1-878355-00-3.
• Callan, K. (1993). The Life of the Party. ISBN 1-878355-23-6.
• Callan, K. (1994). Directing your directing career. ISBN 978-1-878355-11-9.
• The Life of the Party 2. 1997. ISBN 978-1-878355-06-5.

External links

• Official website
• K Callan at IMDb 
• K Callan at the Internet Broadway Database