The Emmy-winning character actor Kathryn Joosten passed away on Saturday at her Los Angeles home. She was best known for playing the grouchy but endearing Karen McCluskey on “Desperate Housewives” and the president’s secretary on “The West Wing.”
Jonathan and Timothy are the two boys that Joosten left behind.
Kathryn Joosten children: Meet Jonathan and Timothy
“Desperate Housewives” finished its eight-year run on ABC last month with a series finale in which Ms. Joosten’s character passed away. For her depiction of Mrs.
McCluskey, who kept a watchful check on her Wisteria Lane neighbors, Ms. Joosten earned two Emmy awards. One of the plot lines in the show involved her character’s own fight with cancer.
As Dolores Landingham, President Jed Bartlet’s dependable secretary, she debuted on NBC’s “The West Wing,” where she quickly became a household name.
When Ms. Joosten started her acting career at age 42, she was a single mother and mental nurse in a suburb of Chicago.
She stated on her website that after being associated with her neighborhood theater in Lake Forest, Illinois, she decided to pursue her childhood goal of acting.
