Meredith MacRae
| Meredith Lynn MacRae | |
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| Born | May 30, 1944 Houston, Texas, U.S. |
| Died | July 14, 2000 (aged 56) Manhattan Beach, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Film and television actress |
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Meredith Lynn MacRae (May 30, 1944 – July 14, 2000) was an American actress and singer.
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[edit] Life and career
MacRae is known for her television roles as Billie Jo on Petticoat Junction and as Sally Ann in My Three Sons. She also took over the role of "Animal" from Valora Noland in Bikini Beach (1964), the third Beach Party film produced by American International Pictures.
She made guest appearances on such shows as The Donald O'Connor Show (1968 version), The F.B.I., The Rockford Files, Fantasy Island, Webster, CHiPS, Love American Style, and Magnum, P.I.. Her game show appearances included: Funny You Should Ask, Match Game, What's My Line?, I've Got a Secret, Tattletales (with then-husband Greg Mullavey), Hollywood Squares, To Tell the Truth, Password (ABC version), $10,000 Pyramid, Mantrap, Break the Bank, Celebrity Whew!, Beat the Clock, Card Sharks, and Family Feud.
Feature films included Norwood (with Glen Campbell and Joe Namath) and The Census Taker with her second husband, Greg Mullavey.
In the 1980s, she hosted Mid-Morning Los Angeles and was awarded a local Emmy for her interviewing skills. Later, she created and hosted Born Famous, a PBS series on which she interviewed other children of celebrities (she was the daughter of actor/singers Sheila MacRae and Gordon MacRae).
In summer stock, in her teens, she appeared with Dan Dailey in Take Me Along, with Andy Williams in Bye Bye Birdie and also in Annie Get Your Gun.[citation needed]
MacRae worked to raise funds for such causes as the Children's Burn Foundation, the American Cancer Society and United Cerebral Palsy. She was also honorary chairperson for the National Council on Alcoholism and spoke to groups all across the country.[citation needed]
[edit] Family
She was the daughter of show business parents Gordon and Sheila MacRae, the sister of Gar and Heather MacRae. Her only child is daughter Allison Mullavey by her second marriage to actor Greg Mullavey. Her first marriage was to MGM executive Richard Berger. Her third and final marriage was to Fortune 500 CEO Philip Neal.
[edit] Childhood
She credited her parents with instilling a proper work ethic in her and for keeping her feet on the ground. She said, “We lived in a modest home in the San Fernando Valley instead of the fashionable Beverly Hills which the family could have afforded. Mom and Dad didn’t want us to feel superior to the other kids. I had to earn the things I wanted all the way from dolls to party gowns by doing chores around the house and taking care of my younger sister and brothers. “Lots of kids in my circle automatically got a car when they were 16. Not me. Dad said he would get me a car when I got straight A's two years in a row in school. I slaved away and finally made it. I got the car with the warning that if I didn’t continue with straight A's, it would be taken away.”[citation needed]
[edit] Death
In the late 1990s after experiencing vertigo and headaches, she was diagnosed with a brain tumor. She endured surgery and chemotherapy, even volunteering to test a new cancer drug.
On July 14, 2000, she died from complications of brain cancer. As per her wishes, her body was cremated and her ashes were scattered in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. At the time of her death MacRae was married to Philip Neal, CEO of the Avery Dennison Corporation.
[edit] Discography
- Solo
- "Image of a Boy"/"Time Stands Still" — Canjo 103 (1964)
- "Who Needs Memories of Him"/"Goodbye Love" — Capitol 2000 (1967)
- The Girls from Petticoat Junction (Meredith MacRae, Linda Kaye Henning and Lori Saunders)
- "I'm So Glad That You Found Me"/"If You Could Only Be Me" — Imperial 66329 (1968)
- "Wheeling, West Virginia"/"Thirty Days Hath September" — Imperial 66346 (1968)
