Synopsis: Thrust Into Television

Many movie character actresses found steady work and arguably more exposure with the advent of television. 

ROSEMARY DECAMP (1910-2001) 

DeCamp was an American radio, film, and television actress. Her film career got traction by the 1940s, but it was probably television where she was most visible, though many could not place her name. Wholesomely attractive, the actress often blended into a film's cast in an uncredited or supporting role. In later years, she could play a much older character than her costar, though perhaps only a few years separated them. She became associated as the ubiquitous small-town mother with a calm and steady presence. She finished out her career on numerous popular comedy and drama series during the 1970s and 1980s. Seen above in her promo for Borax. Still known as "what's her name."

Discover more about DeCamp's career at IMDB.

Synopsis: Thrust Into Television

Many movie character actresses found steady work and arguably more exposure with the advent of television. 

RANDY STUART (1924-1996)

Ask any of your like-minded friends and they will readily confess they never heard of Randy Stuart (Elizabeth Shaubell). Blessed with a commanding alto voice and spunky, girl-next-door attractiveness, Stuart got her acting career started with a Twentieth Century Fox contract. Typically buried in the credits, her small roles in, Sitting Pretty (1948), I Was a Male War Bride (1949) and "the girl" in All About Eve (1950) gave her some exposure and provided significant training. In what may have been her breakout role, she played the on-screen sister to Susan Hayward in the forgettable drama, I Can Get It for You Wholesale (1951). No stranger to television, she made the rounds in such anthology series as Chevron Theatre and two long-running series, The Ford Television Theatre and the Schiltz Playhouse during the early Fifties. She played the wife opposite Alan Hale, Jr. in, Biff Baker, U.S.A. (1952-54). The likable, energetic couple got caught up in trouble on their international business travels during the Cold War. It was back to the big screen for her “larger” and most famous role as the wife of Grant Williams in the 1957 Universal International’s science-fiction classic, The Incredible Shrinking Man her next to last film.

Stuart appeared for several years in television westerns, most produced by Warner Bros. for the ABC network. She had a recurring role in eighteen episodes of, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, starring Hugh O'Brien, as his romantic interest. She guest-starred four times on Clint Walker's groundbreaking western, Cheyenne, in strong-willed characters during the show’s late years. Stuart was back into the spy business for a Cold War-themed episode of 77 Sunset Strip, followed by roles on Lawman, Bourbon Street Beat, The Roaring 20s, and two appearances on Hawaiian Eye before taking a five-year hiatus. Just as Stuart’s career was winding down, she returned in 1967-68 to play the wife of Harry Morgan's character, Officer Bill Gannon, on NBC's Dragnet. 1975 marked her final role in ABC's, Marcus Welby, M.D., starring a classic example of an actor transitioning from film to television, Robert Young.

Find out more about Stuart's career at IMBD.

Parallels

Depending on the angle or lighting, Virginia Gilmore (1919-1986), above left, and Jane Greer (1924-2001) possessed similar facial appearance. Yet both actresses are better known by only one of their films, Western Pacific and Out Of The Past, respectively. What separates them is their lifespan, perhaps accounting for Greer being the more famous.

Models First

These rather obscure actresses had similar career paths and appearances. If you are a fan of B-movies or the early days of television, you may confuse them. From left are Merry Anders (1934-2012) and Barbara Lawrence (1930-2013). As was the case for many actresses, both were noticed as models first. Lawrence had bit parts in movies but her televised work dominated. She only had a dozen years of acting before retiring. Anders, on the other hand, continued working for nearly fifty years, mostly in television. She was most visible in the television comedy, How To Marry A Millionaire for fifty-two episodes (1957-59).

Anonymous Versatility

Norma Crane (Norma Anna Bella Zuckerman 1928-1973) was an American actress on stage, in film, and a frequent performer on television. She had the ability to transform into multiple characters to the extent one might not readily recognize her. Her supporting roles in television never made her a household name, however. Throughout the 1950s, she appeared in a variety of live television dramas. One of her earliest appearances was a five-episode stint as a fellow teacher on the live Mr. Peepers comedy show starring Wally Cox in 1952. In 1956, she appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Gunsmoke, and four times in Have Gun - Will Travel. Crane found steady work on nearly every major television series in the 1950s into the 1970s such as The Untouchables, The Fugitive, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., and The Flying Nun, just to name a few. Most were single appearances. Though she did little on the big screen, she landed roles in the films, Penelope (1966), They Call Me Mr. Tibbs! (1970), and most famously as Golde in Fiddler on The Roof (1971).

Yes, Virginia, There Are Two

From left are Virginia Christine (1920-96) and Virginia Gregg (1916-86). Both enjoyed a lengthy careers in radio dramas, film, and television. Both were talented voice actresses as well. Both were Midwest-born yet both died in California. They started their film careers in the mid-1940s, often uncredited. Gregg was a busy radio actor and worked frequently with Jack Webb's Dragnet radio and television series among many other shows. Christine became widely known as the matronly Mrs. Olson, the Folgers coffee spokesperson on television commercials for twenty-one years. Her hometown of Stanton, Iowa, honored her by transforming the city water tower to resemble a giant coffee pot.

At First Glance

The Twilight Zone Matter

Depending on their roles, Patricia Barry (Patricia Allen White 1921-2016) and Elizabeth Allen (Elizabeth Ellen Gillease 1929-2006) shared similar facial features, height, and figure. But not voice nor persona. Both actresses had numerous stage credits, but each was more visible in film and television. Barry spent over fifty years on television and had a few lightweight films to her credit. Similarly, Allen was a cast member on five television series and starred in a few large-budget, notable films. Both appeared in The Twilight Zone series.

The Taylor-Medina Matter

Joan Taylor (1929-2012) at left, and Patricia Medina (1919-2012) had confusingly similar facial appearances depending on their roles. Born ten years apart but died the same year. Both actresses did some modeling, in between their film work and television transition on a few Westerns. Arguably, Medina's large-budget film projects overshadowed that of Taylor. Taylor was married to television producer, Leonard Freeman, from 1953 until his death in 1974. Similarly, Medina's second marriage to actor Joseph Cotton was from 1960 until his death in 1994.

Never Pigeonholed

Madlyn Rhue (Madeline Roche 1935-2003) was an American film and television actress. She created her stage name by adapting the title of the film 13 Rue Madeleine (1947). Though well known for her television work, from the 1950s to the 1980s, she appeared in some twenty films, including Operation Petticoat, The Ladies Man, A Majority of One, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, and Stand Up and Be Counted. She was never pigeonholed. On the contrary, she was somewhat of a chameleon in front of the camera depending on the role, costume, or studio wig.

Rhue guest-starred in dozens of television series, including the westerns Cheyenne, Bonanza, Have Gun–Will Travel, and The Rebel. Her modern-day appearances brought her notoriety in such classics as The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Route 66, The Untouchables, Perry Mason, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., and The Fugitive. Rhue had regular roles in Bracken's World (1969–70) and Executive Suite (1976–77). It was at this time she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, though she continued her role on Days of Our Lives. But by 1985, she was unable to move about without a wheelchair. She was offered intermittent roles that did not require her to walk or stand, sometimes incorporating the wheelchair as part of the character. Angela Lansbury created a recurring role for her on her hit show, Murder, She Wrote, considered her last television appearance.

Chameleon Actress

Virginia Gregg (1916-1986) was an American actress known for her many roles in radio dramas, television series, and as a voice artist. Gregg made more than forty-five films from 1947 to 1981 in supporting roles or bit parts. Not exactly Lana Turner in the looks department, with Gregg's great vocal work in radio she could illicit the same attractiveness and in turn, shame Turner's acting ability.

As a prolific radio actress, Gregg could handle a wide range of characters from a sultry temptress to a deranged business owner. Listeners would hear her regularly on such programs as Dragnet, Gunsmoke, The Jack Benny Program, CBS Radio Mystery Theatre, and Mutual Radio Theater, to name a few. A distinction was her role as Miss Wong, Hey Boy's girlfriend, in Have Gun–Will Travel, starring John Dehner as Paladin, and in Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, as the title character's girlfriend.

The chameleon actress whom many could not associate a name with, Gregg was certainly the most visible on television for over twenty years in supporting or bit roles from any vocation. She could be an angry old bitty, a revenge-filled wife, or not above committing murder. Among her notable series were 77 Sunset Strip, Bonanza, Perry Mason, Maverick, Wanted Dead or Alive, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Twilight Zone, Bewitched, The Waltons, and The Rockford Files. But she is probably best remembered for her many appearances in Dragnet, starting with the 1954 film. Jack Webb hired her many times to play any number of characters, but usually someone sarcastic or comedic. In the 1970s, she continued in Webb's creations, Adam-12 and Emergency!. 

Note: Before Gregg's radio career launched, she played the double bass in the late 1930s with the Pasadena Symphony and Pops. She was a member of the Singing Strings group heard initially on KHJ in Los Angeles and later on CBS and Mutual. 

Summers Like No Other

Hope Summers (1902-1979) was an American character actress known for her countless television roles, none more visible than on CBS's The Andy Griffith Show. But the central Illinois native gained certain local fame well before becoming a television regular. In 1926 she became the head of the Speech Department at Bradley University, Peoria, Illinois. While there, Summers started giving private acting lessons and became involved as a volunteer, and soon a director, in local theatre. As a regional actress, she often performed in one-woman shows starting in the 1930s.

It was nearly a two-decade wait until Summers made her first Hollywood film in 1957, with a small credited role in Zero Hour!. She continued with uncredited roles in many other films. That drew some attention, thrusting her into character roles in nearly every popular series from the 1950s through the 1970s, from The Rifleman to Alfred Hitchcock Presents, to Adam-12. Most will remember her thirty-six appearances on The Andy Griffith Show, playing Aunt Bee's best friend, Clara Edwards, during the 1960s, and making five appearances on the Griffith spinoff, Mayberry R.F.D. 

Note: For nearly twenty years, from 1961 until her death, Summers was the voice of Mrs. Butterworth in Mrs. Butterworth's syrup commercials.

Sensitive and Quirky

Sian Barbara Allen (1946-) is a former American actress whose television work was her claim to fame. She was nominated for a Golden Globe Award as New Star of the Year for her performance in the film, You'll Like My Mother. Still, it was in television where she was a readily available guest star throughout the 1970s, including roles in made-for-television movies, including Scream, and Pretty Peggy, opposite Bette Davis. She was perhaps best known for her sometimes quirky or emotionally sensitive roles with sad, downturned eyebrows.

Allen appeared in two episodes of the popular TV series The Waltons, 1973 as Jenny Pendleton, an early love interest of John-Boy Walton. A short list of her television appearances was The Incredible Hulk, Ironside, a particularly humorous role on The Rockford Files (above), Alias Smith and Jones, Bonanza, Kojak, Columbo: Lovely but Lethal, Adam-12, and Hawaii Five-O. After her appearance on L.A. Law in 1990, she retired from acting.

Television Transition

 

Christine White (1926-2013) was an American actress almost exclusively known for her television work in more than 50 television series. She retired from acting in 1976. Prior, White was active in summer stock theatre, being named Most Outstanding Actress at Cape Cod Playhouse for her portrayal of Millie in Picnic. A native of Washington, D.C., she attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she earned an undergraduate degree in English and then began acting in stage productions. She also earned a master's degree in speech and drama at Catholic University. She also studied at the Actors Studio in New York City where she became friends with James Dean. She eventually moved to New York to further her theatrical career.

Though White appeared in a few feature films, her 24-year career was spent in television for such series as Bonanza, Have Gun–Will Travel, The Rifleman, The Loretta Young Show, The Untouchables, Father Knows Best, The Fugitive, and in three episodes of Perry Mason. But White is probably best known for her second appearance on The Twilight Zone in the episode, Nightmare at 20,000 Feet (1963) as the wife of a terrified William Shatner who seems to be the only witness of a furry creature tampering with the airliner's wing. No one believes him until the plane is inspected after landing. 

Note: In 2011, she was the honored guest speaker at the annual James Dean Memorial Service in Fairmount, Indiana.

Casting Call Regular

 

Pippa Scott (Philippa Scott 1935-) is an American actress of stage, film and television who studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in England before returning to the United States and winning a Theatre World Award for her 1956 Broadway debut in Child of Fortune. Scott signed a contract with Warner Bros. that same year and made her movie debut in John Wayne's epic, The Searchers, as his niece. Her television career was already in play when she was cast as Maggie in the single season series, Mr. Lucky (1959-60). Television was still heavily into westerns and she frequented most of them. She appeared as Molly Wood in six episodes of The Virginian in 1962. As the Sixties progressed she moved into modern dramas for, The Felony Squad, Ben Casey, and Perry Mason and others. She had a pivitol role in a 1960 The Twilight Zone episode, The Trouble wth Templeton, playing the late wife of a renowned stage actor who returns to 1927 to join her again. In a particularly nasty role, she cleverly plots to murder her sister in one episode of, The Fugitive. By the Seventies, she could be seen in the popular police or detective series of the day plus a recurring role on the short-lived, Jigsaw John, in 1976. 

Scott's expressive performances and dramatic facial structure played large on the small screen, often playing uncompromising characters. Despite some powerful roles, and a memorable first name, she generally got lost in a long line of female guest stars hired to fill a role. Scott and her husband at the time, producer Lee Rich, were founding partners of Lorimar Productions, an Emmy-award winning television company. The single largest provider of programming to the networks for two and a half decades. Lorimar produced the Emmy-winning The Waltons, Dallas, Falcon Crest, Knots Landing, Eight is Enough, and The Blue Knight.

On The Precipice of Stardom

Marsha Hunt (Marcia Virginia Hunt 1917-) is an American actress with a career spanning over seventy-five years. As of this writing, she is the oldest living and one of the last surviving actors from the Golden Age of Hollywood. She is also the oldest living member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. Unable to find a suitable college for her drama training, the Chicago-born native found work modeling for the John Powers Agency and began taking stage acting classes at the Theodora Irvine Studio. She was one of the highest-earning models by 1935. She appeared in popular films including Pride and Prejudice (1940), in which she was quite amusing, Cry 'Havoc' (1943), The Human Comedy (1943), and one of her last noted films before the advent of television was, Raw Deal (1948). Hunt's 1941 contract with MGM kept her busy for six years, providing strong supporting characters.

Television offered mostly dramatic guest-starring roles from the Fifties through the Eighties. She played everything from grandmas to judges. Notable early performances were for Alfred Hitchcock Presents, two anthology series, Climax! and Zane Grey Theater, and numerous, well-hidden roles on detective or drama series during the Sixties and Seventies. She was a cast member for the fourteen-episode, Peck's Bad Girl (1959). The versatile actress never found superstardom yet her longevity proved valuable to many casting directors. Semi-retiring in the early Sixties, television and the stage remained her focal points.

Earning Celebrity Status

 

Ruta Lee (Ruta Mary Kilmonis 1935-) has been a staple of television since the early Fifties with appearances in The Roy Rogers Show and the Adventures of Superman. The attractive and ageless actress was never typecast, whether roles in westerns, melodramas, or police dramas which carried her through television's first decade. In the Sixties, she often tapped into her Lithuanian heritage with a convincing German or Russian accent in comedies or dramas. There was no slow down as she plowed through the Twentieth Century. Her frequent appearances on the game show circuit, often with a panelist name placard, went a long way to place a name with the face. 

The 5' 1" Canadian-born actress was no stranger to the occasional film, her big break coming as one of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers in 1954. Her supporting roles continued in Witness for the Prosecution, and the musical comedy Funny Face. 1972's low-funded Doomsday Machine is a campy science fiction adventure with the cast doing their best in spite of the screenplay. Her most recent role was in the 2021 film, Senior Moment starring William Shatner.

Transition to Television

Karen Kay Sharpe (1934-) is a former actress of film and television, appearing on screen consistently from 1952 through 1966. The attractive Texas-born actress studied ballet and dancing as a child and was a model for magazine covers in her teens. By eighteen, she was cast in a small role for The Sniper, produced by her future husband, Stanley Kramer. Director William Wellman then cast Sharpe in the airline disaster classic, The High and the Mighty, for which she garnered a Golden Globe Award as "New Star of the Year—Actress." She appeared in two "man-titled" films back-to-back, The Man With a Gun (1955) with Robert Mitchum and a B-movie the following year opposite William Campbell, in The Man In The Vault. Before these films, she had already established herself on television by appearing on Racket Squad, Lux Video Theatre, Playhouse 90, General Electric Theater, and The Millionaire, and more. Her only recurring role was in the television western, Johnny Ringo, for eighteen episodes (1959-60). She got noticed on such popular shows as 77 Sunset Strip, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., I Dream of Jeannie, and The Wild Wild West. In between, she also was cast in the Jerry Lewis comedy, The Disorderly Orderly.

She is the third wife of producer/director Stanley Kramer. The two were married in 1966 with Sharpe soon leaving acting to devote full time to her family and serve as assistant to her husband in the film industry. After his death in 2001, she took her married name, Karen Kramer, as an executive producer for a number of video shorts and documentaries from 2005-2008.

Television's Patricia Breslin

 

Patricia Breslin (1931-2011) had a prominent career in television. The New York City-born actress made the rounds in the early days of television before garnering a recurring role as Amanda Miller for 104 episodes of, The People's Choice (1955–58), starring Jackie Cooper. She guest-starred on many popular shows such as The Millionaire, Maverick, The Rifleman, The Donna Reed Show, and Alfred Hitchcock Presents, to name only a few. The Twilight Zone provided her two appearances, her most famous being, Nick of Time, as the wife of William Shatner. The couple visits a diner that has a fortune-telling machine/napkin holder at their booth. Shatner's obsession with the bouncing devils' head atop it nearly controls their future. Her final recurring roles were on Peyton Place for thirty episodes before ending her acting career with twenty-five appearances on the daytime soap opera, General Hospital.

Breslin left acting in 1969 after marrying her second husband, NFL mogul Art Modell, and became a well-known philanthropist while living in both Cleveland, Ohio, and Baltimore, Maryland. In Cleveland, she helped start the Hospice of the Western Reserve at the Cleveland Clinic and supported the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. She was also active in the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the Cleveland Musical Arts Association, the Cleveland Ballet, the Playhouse Square Foundation, and the Cerebral Palsy Association.

Beyond an Ingénue

 

Jacqueline Sue Browne (1930-2003) known professionally as either Kathie or Cathy Browne, began her career with an appearance in one episode of the film series Big Town, 1955. Her films were few but noticeable in her brief role in the movie, Murder by Contract, 1958, as a secretary and a for-hire party girl. The following year she did City of Fear. Both films starred Vince Edwards. The blonde-haired, blue-eyed actress was nearly typecast in ingénue parts, which kept her a very busy television actress in the Sixties and Seventies in numerous westerns, dramas, and comedies. Her first marriage was to actor, Sherwood Price, from 1953 to 1961. She appeared in four episodes of Perry Mason, 77 Sunset Strip, and Bonanza as the prospective bride of Pernell Roberts character. Star Trek fans will know her as Deela (above) in the episode, Wink of An Eye, 1966. She guest-starred with her second husband, Darren McGavin on his series, Kolchak: The Night Stalker, and in The Rockford Files for Pastoria Prime Pick, 1975, as a blackmailing mayor of a crooked town. Her last professional appearance before retiring was for a two-part episode of The Love Boat, 1980. Browne and McGavin's thirty-four-year marriage lasted until her death.

The Actress Who Adopted Superman

 

Phyllis Thaxter (1919-2012) got a strong leading role opposite Van Johnson  for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo," then the lead character with a dual personality in "Bewitched" followed by a support role in the western, "Blood on The Moon." There were many other notable films for her in the Forties and early Fifties, but the new medium of television provided a new system to portray a variety of characters.

Though never achieving superstar status, the talented stage actress moved to television during its infancy and Thaxter was in high demand, initially in popular anthology series of the day in the likes of, The Ford Television Theatre, Lux Video Theatre, or Kraft Theatre and more. She appeared in six episodes of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents," two of which tapped into her dual personality talents again. The versatile actress appeared on many popular series in the Sixties and Seventies. Westerns were a staple for her but it was in dramatic roles where she is probably best remembered. Her last role, in 1992, was on, "Murder She Wrote."

Except for 1964's, "The World of Henry Orient," her movie projects took a long hiatus after television intervened until she was cast opposite Glenn Ford as Jonathan and Martha Kent in the blockbuster film "Superman." I can imagine teens in the audience wondering "Where'd they find her?" This might have solved their dilemma: the film was produced by her daughter's then-husband Ilya Salkind, son of Alexander Salkind. 

Making Early Television More Significant

There were a few significant films, Butterfield 8 (1960), A Rage to Live (1965), and Sounder (1972), but Carmen Matthews (1911–1995) spent the majority of her career in front of television cameras. Mattews began her acting studies in the States before studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. Her professional acting appearance began with the Stratford-on-Avon Shakespearean Company before moving back to the United States. Her alto voice quickly became a fixture on American television, appearing in six episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Depending on its screenplay, she displayed her full range, handling dramatic or comedic roles with aplomb. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, she appeared on many of the era's popular series as diverse as The Fugitive to M.A.S.H. The next decade found her in a significant role as Mamie Eisenhower for five appearances in the mini-series, Kennedy (1983).