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Kathryn Janssen (July 9, 1923, Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA - April 23, 2018, Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California, USA)1 was an American actress whose career spanned several decades in Hollywood, primarily in background and atmosphere roles across more than 130 film and television credits.2 She is best known to Ghostbusters fans for her credited role as Mrs. Van Hoffman in Ghostbusters (1984).3
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Janssen was born on July 9, 1923, in Allentown, Pennsylvania. No further details about her upbringing or formal training are publicly documented.
Janssen built a long career as a Hollywood background performer and character player, appearing in dozens of major productions. Her screen career is traceable to at least 1966, when she appeared in Harper, a Paul Newman neo-noir crime thriller.1
She went on to appear in several commercially dominant disaster films of the early 1970s, including The Poseidon Adventure (1972, as a passenger)4 and The Towering Inferno (1974, as a party guest).5 Other high-profile productions during this period include Westworld (1973), The Godfather Part II (1974), The Parallax View (1974), Blazing Saddles (1974), and Annie Hall (1977).1 Most of these appearances were uncredited background roles, which characterized the bulk of her output across her career.
On television, Janssen had repeat appearances in several prominent long-running series: Barnaby Jones (1973), Hart to Hart (eleven episodes, 1979-1980), and Dynasty (six episodes, 1982-1987).1 She also appeared in Falcon Crest and Murder, She Wrote. A 1975 television credit for Ladies of the Corridor rounds out her mid-decade work. Later credits include American Gigolo (1980).1
Janssen appeared in Ghostbusters (1984) in the credited role of Mrs. Van Hoffman.3 The character was hosting a midnight buffet for the East Side Theater Guild at the Sedgewick Hotel on the night that Slimer broke loose from his usual dwelling on the 12th floor. When the Ghostbusters discharged their equipment in the ballroom she had reserved, a chandelier was knocked down, smashing a table. The Hotel Manager assured Mrs. Van Hoffman the room would be ready in time for her guests to arrive, while Peter Venkman produced his notepad after the team captured Slimer.
Mrs. Van Hoffman was added during filming and does not appear in any of the film's scripts.
Kathryn Janssen died on April 23, 2018, in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California. She was 94 years old.1
Some content on this page was researched using the Ghostbusters Wiki on Fandom.
"Kathryn Janssen," IMDb, accessed 2026-06-13, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0418174/ ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5 ↩6
"Kathryn Janssen," TV Guide, accessed 2026-06-13, https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/kathryn-janssen/credits/3030314844/ (136 acting credits listed). ↩
"Ghostbusters (1984): Kathryn Janssen as Mrs. Van Hoffman," IMDb, accessed 2026-06-13, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087332/characters/nm0418174 ↩ ↩2
"The Poseidon Adventure (1972): Kathryn Janssen as Passenger," IMDb, accessed 2026-06-13, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069113/characters/nm0418174 ↩
"The Towering Inferno (1974): Kathryn Janssen as Party Guest," IMDb, accessed 2026-06-13, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072308/characters/nm0418174 ↩
