Amanda Blake
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Amanda Blake
Biography
Following her training in regional theatre and radio, red-headed actress Amanda Blake was signed by MGM in 1949, where she was briefly groomed for stardom. Among her MGM assignments was 1950's Stars in My Crown, in which she was cast for the first time opposite James Arness. Film fame eluded Amanda, especially after her sizeable role in the 1954 version of A Star is Born was almost completely excised from the release print. By 1955, she had to make do with appearances in such epics as the Bowery Boys' High Society. Amanda's fortunes took a turn for the better later in 1955, when she won the role of Miss Kitty, the euphemistically yclept "hostess" of the Long Branch Saloon on the TV western Gunsmoke, which starred James Arness as Marshal Matt Dillon. She remained with Gunsmoke until its next-to-last season in 1974. After Gunsmoke, Amanda went into semi-retirement save for a handful of film projects like the made-for-TV Betrayal (1974), the theatrical releases The Boost (1988) and B.O.R.N (1989), and the 1987 reunion project Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge. Amanda Blake died in 1989 at the age of sixty. ~ Hal Erickson, RoviFilmography:
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Amanda Blake
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Amanda Blake
| Amanda Blake | |
|---|---|
 in Stars in My Crown (1950) |
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| Born | Beverly Louise Neill February 20, 1929 Buffalo, New York, U.S. |
| Died | August 16, 1989 (aged 60) Sacramento, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1950–1989 |
| Spouse |
Don Whitman (m. 1954–1955) |
Amanda Blake (February 20, 1929 – August 16, 1989) was an American actress best known for the role of the red-haired saloon proprietress "Miss Kitty Russell" on the television western Gunsmoke.
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Early life and career
Born Beverly Louise Neill in Buffalo, New York, she was a telephone operator before taking up acting.
Nicknamed "the Young Greer Garson,"[1] she became best known for her 19-year stint as the saloon-keeper Miss Kitty on the television series Gunsmoke from 1955 until 1974. In 1968, Blake was inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City.[2] She was the third performer inducted, after Tom Mix and Gary Cooper, who were selected in 1958 and 1966 respectively.
Because of her continuing role on television, Blake rarely had time for films. She appeared in a TV comedy routine with Red Skelton and was a panelist on the long-running Hollywood Squares and Match Game 74. In 1957, she guest-starred as Betty Lavon-Coate in the episode of "Coate of Many Colors" on Rod Cameron's syndicated series western-themed crime drama, State Trooper.
She made one final film appearance in 1988's The Boost, a drug-addiction drama starring James Woods and Sean Young.
Animal welfare
After Gunsmoke, Blake went into semi-retirement at her home in Phoenix, taking on only a few film and TV projects. A lover of animals, she joined with others to form the Arizona Animal Welfare League in 1971, today the oldest and largest "no-kill" animal shelter in the state. In 1985, she helped finance the start-up of the Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) and devoted a great deal of time and money in support of its efforts, including travels to Africa.
Blake reportedly was a one-time board member of the, Humane Society of the United States. In 1997, the Amanda Blake Memorial Wildlife Refuge opened at Rancho Seco Park in Herald, California. The refuge provides sanctuary for free-ranging African hoofed wildlife, most of whom were originally destined for exotic animal auctions or hunting ranches.[3]
Declining Health and Death
Blake, a one-time two-pack-a-day cigarette smoker, had surgery for oral cancer in 1977, and afterward made appearances throughout the country for the American Cancer Society. In 1984, she was the recipient of the society's annual Courage Award."
According to the New York Times, Amanda Blake died on August 16, 1989, from complications of AIDS.[4] There was some confusion over the exact cause of her death. When she died at Mercy General Hospital in Sacramento, California, a statement by the hospital and some of her friends reported the cause of death as cancer. Blake's death certificate, however, listed the immediate cause as cardiopulmonary arrest due to liver failure and CMV hepatitis. CMV, or cytomegalo virus, hepatitis is AIDS-related. These facts of her death from AIDS related complications were also reported in People Magazine the same year she died, being detailed by other friends and her main doctor. [5]
Selected filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Stars In My Crown | Faith Radmore Samuels | |
| 1950 | Duchess of Idaho | Linda Kinston | |
| 1951 | China Corsair | Jane Richards | |
| 1951 | The Family Secret | Telephone Girl | Uncredited |
| 1952 | Cattle Town | Townsperson | |
| 1953 | Lili | Peach Lips (red-haired dame) | |
| 1954 | Miss Robin Crusoe | Robin Crusoe | |
| 1954 | About Mrs. Leslie | Gilly | |
| 1954 | A Star Is Born | Susan Ettinger | |
| 1954 | The Adventures of Hajji Baba | Banah | |
| 1955 | The Glass Slipper | Birdena | |
| 1988 | The Boost | Barbara |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | Schlitz Playhouse of Stars | 2 episodes | |
| 1953 | Cavalcade of America | Nancy Hart | Episode: "Breakfast at Nancy's" |
| 1954 | Four Star Playhouse | Susan Pierce | Episode: "Vote of Confidence" |
| 1955– 1974 |
Gunsmoke | Kitty Russell | 425 episodes |
| 1956 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Carol Arlington | Episode: "Whodunit" |
| 1957 | State Trooper | Betty Lavon-Coate | Episode: "Coate of Many Colors" |
| 1957– 1963 |
The Red Skelton Show | Ruby | 7 episodes |
| 1958 | Studio One | Joan Roberts | Episode: "Tide of Corruption" |
| 1959 | Steve Canyon | Molly McIntyre | Episode: "Room 313" |
| 1976 | The Quest | Miss Sally | Episode: "Day of Outrage" |
| 1974 | Betrayal | Helen Mercer | ABC Movie of the Week |
| 1979 | The Love Boat | Nora Knox | Episode: "The Oldies But Goodies..." |
| 1983 | Hart to Hart | Big Sam | Episode: "The Wayward Hart" |
| 1986 | Brothers | Carlotta | Episode: "A Penny a Dance" |
| 1987 | Gunsmoke: Return to Dodge (TV movie) | Kitty Russell | including flashbacks to Gunsmoke episodes |
| 1989 | The New Dragnet | Mrs. Sylvia Wilson | Episode: "Nouveau Gypsies" |
References
- ^ "Gunsmoke". GunsmokeNet.com. http://www.gunsmokenet.com/GunsmokeTGAW/Marks-Stuff/Gunsmoke/shots/96-Greer.htm. Retrieved 2010-08-15.
- ^ "Great Western Performers". Nationalcowboymuseum.org. http://www.nationalcowboymuseum.org/info/awards-hof/Western-Performers.aspx. Retrieved 2010-08-15.
- ^ The Amanda Blake Memorial Wildlife Refuge
- ^ http://www.nytimes.com/1989/11/08/us/amanda-blake-died-of-aids-doctor-says.html
- ^ http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20115981,00.html
External links
- Amanda Blake Gunsmoke.net
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Mentioned in
Season 09, Episode 24: The Red Skelton Show (TV Episode)
(1960 Comedy TV Episode)
The Glass Slipper
(1955 Musical Film)
Season 12, Episode 25: The Red Skelton Hour (TV Episode)
(1963 Comedy TV Episode)
Season 10, Episode 28: The Red Skelton Show (TV Episode)
(1961 Comedy TV Episode)
Season 11, Episode 12: The Red Skelton Show (TV Episode)
(1961 Comedy TV Episode)
» More