Nina Foch

Nina Foch, born Nina Consuelo Maud Fock on April 20, 1924 in Leiden, Netherlands, was an accomplished American actress and later became an instructor. Her career spanned six decades, during which she appeared in over 50 feature films and accumulated more than 100 television credits.

Columbo fans know her best as Carol Fleming, the wife at the end of her rope who gets strangled by her husband Dr. Ray Fleming (played by Gene Barry) in the Columbo movie Prescription Murder.

Let’s delve into her remarkable journey:

Early Life and Career:

• She signed a contract with Columbia Pictures at the age of 19, becoming a regular in the studio’s horror films and film noirs.
• Notable early films include “The Return of the Vampire” (1943), “Escape in the Fog”, and “My Name Is Julia Ross” (both in 1945).
• Foch also starred in several Broadway productions of William Shakespeare plays, including “Twelfth Night” (1949), “King Lear” (1950), and “Measure for Measure” (1955).

 

Film:

• “An American in Paris” (1951): Foch gained widespread notice for her role as Milo Roberts in this musical film.
• “Executive Suite” (1954): Her performance in this drama earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
• “The Ten Commandments” (1956): She appeared in Cecil B. DeMille’s epic.
• “Spartacus” (1960): Foch worked with Stanley Kubrick in this historical drama.

Television:

Other notable TV roles include appearances in “Checkmate” (1961), “Naked City” (1962), “The Wild Wild West” (1969), “The F.B.I.” (1970), and “Hawaii Five-O” (1973)².

Educator and Legacy:

Beginning in the 1960s, Foch began teaching courses in drama and film directing at the American Film Institute and the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts for over 40 years.

She passed away on December 5, 2008, at the age of 84, in Los Angeles, California.