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Merry Anders

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Merry Anders
Anders on Bonanza (1960)
Born
Mary Helen Anderson

(1934-05-22)May 22, 1934
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
DiedOctober 28, 2012(2012-10-28) (aged 78)
Encino, California, U.S.
Other namesMerry A. Benedict
OccupationActress
Years active1951–1971
Spouses
John Stephens
​
​
(m. 1955; div. 1956)​
Richard Benedict
​
​
(m. 1986; died 1999)​
Children1

Merry Anders (born Mary Helen Anderson; May 22, 1934 – October 28, 2012) was an American actress who appeared in a number of television programs and films from the 1950s until her retirement from the screen in 1972.

Early life

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Anders was born in Chicago in 1934,[1] the only child of Charles, a contractor, and Helen Anderson. Anders was of German, Irish and Swedish descent. In 1949, Anders and her mother visited Los Angeles for two weeks. They decided to remain in Los Angeles permanently while Charles Anderson remained in Chicago.[2] While she was a student at John Burroughs Middle School, Anders met former actress Rita Leroy who encouraged her to begin a modeling career. While working as a junior model, Anders began studying acting at the Ben Bard Playhouse. It was there that a talent scout from 20th Century Fox spotted her and signed her to a film contract in 1951.[3]

Career

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Anders made her film debut in the 1951 musical Golden Girl. For the next two years, she appeared in small and supporting roles in several 20th Century Fox films. In 1954, Fox dropped her. Later that year, Anders joined the cast of The Stu Erwin Show. She remained with the series until its cancellation in 1955. Anders was then cast in the CBS sitcom It's Always Jan, starring Janis Paige.[4] That series was canceled after one season.

Shortly after the birth of her daughter in 1956, Anders took over the role of "Rita Marlowe" (popularized by Jayne Mansfield) in the West Coast touring production of the Broadway hit Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?. In 1957, Anders had a much-publicized leading role in Paramount Pictures film Hear Me Good, opposite Hal March.[4] She starred in four low-budget films that same year, The Dalton Girls, Calypso Heat Wave, The Night Runner and Escape from San Quentin.

Also in 1957, Anders landed the role of Mike McCall in the NTA Film Network and syndicated sitcom How to Marry a Millionaire. The series was based on the hit 1953 film of the same name (in which Anders appeared in a bit role)[5] starring Betty Grable, Marilyn Monroe, and Lauren Bacall. Anders co-starred in the series with Barbara Eden and Lori Nelson. The first season of How to Marry a Millionaire was fairly successful and it was renewed for a second, abbreviated season. It was cancelled in 1959.[6]

During the early to mid 1960s, Anders continued her career with mainly supporting film roles and guest spots on television. In 1960, she appeared in the horror film The Hypnotic Eye followed by a role in the Western Young Jesse James. Anders went on to land guest roles on Surfside 6, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Hawaiian Eye, Death Valley Days, 77 Sunset Strip, and Perry Mason. In 1962 Anders appeared as Ruth Graham/Fay Pierce on Cheyenne in the episode titled "The Long Rope." She also appeared on The Addams Family as a cosmetics salesperson ("Fester's Punctured Romance").

In 1962, Anders was cast in the first English-language live action film adaptation of the 18th century French fairy tale Beauty and the Beast.[7][8] In 1965, she appeared opposite Elvis Presley in the musical comedy Tickle Me.[9] The following year, she appeared in the recurring role of "Alice" in the teen soap opera Never Too Young. Later that year, Anders had a supporting role in the B movie Women of the Prehistoric Planet.

From 1967 to 1968, she appeared in seven episodes of Jack Webb's Dragnet series on NBC, in which she played policewoman Dorothy Miller. She appeared in a recurring role on Lassie.

By the late 1960s, Anders' acting career had begun to wane. In 1968, she appeared as uncredited "glorified extra" in the film Airport (1970). To supplement her income between acting jobs, Anders took a job as a receptionist at Litton Industries.[10] Her final acting role was a guest spot in the two-part Gunsmoke episode "Waste", which aired late September and early October 1971.

Anders retired from acting in 1972 in order to "live a normal life." She eventually became a customer relations coordinator at Litton Industries, where she remained until her retirement in 1994.[10]

Personal life and death

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On March 25, 1955, Anders married producer John Stephens. They separated on July 12, 1955.[11] Two weeks later, she discovered she was pregnant with the couple's first child.[12] Their daughter, Tina Beth Paige Anders, was born in March 1956.[2][13] Anders and Stephens were divorced in June 1956.[14] In 1986, Anders married engineer Richard Benedict; the couple remained married until his death in 1999.[2]

On October 28, 2012, Anders died in Encino, California, aged 78, from undisclosed causes.[2]

Filmography

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Film
Year Title Role Notes
1951 Golden Girl Chorine Uncredited
1952 Belles on Their Toes Student / Graduate Uncredited
1952 Wait till the Sun Shines, Nellie Adeline Halper / Adeline Burdge Uncredited
1952 Les Misérables Cicely Uncredited
1953 Titanic College Girl Uncredited
1953 The Farmer Takes a Wife Hannah
1953 How to Marry a Millionaire Model Uncredited
1954 Three Coins in the Fountain Girl Uncredited
1954 Princess of the Nile Handmaiden
1954 Phffft! Marsha Uncredited
1955 All That Heaven Allows Mary Ann
1957 The Night Runner Amy Hansen
1957 Desk Set Cathy
1957 Calypso Heat Wave Marti Collins
1957 No Time to Be Young Gloria Stuben
1957 Escape from San Quentin Robbie
1957 Death in Small Doses Amy "Miss Diesel of 1958" Phillips
1957 Hear Me Good Ruth Collins
1957 The Dalton Girls Holly Dalton
1958 Violent Road Carrie, The Girl in the Convertible
1960 The Hypnotic Eye Dodie Wilson
1960 Five Bold Women Missouri Lady Ellen Downs
1960 Young Jesse James Belle Starr
1960 The Walking Target Susan Mallory
1960 Spring Affair Dorothy
1961 The Police Dog Story Terry Dayton
1961 The Gambler Wore a Gun Sharon Donovan
1961 When the Clock Strikes Ellie
1961 20,000 Eyes Karen Walker
1961 Secret of Deep Harbor Janey Fowler
1962 Patty Mary Alternative titles: The Shame of Patty Smith
Doctor Please Help Me
Gang Rape
1962 Beauty and the Beast Sybil
1962 Air Patrol Mona Whitney
1963 FBI Code 98 Grace McLean
1963 House of the Damned Nancy Campbell
1963 Police Nurse Joan Olson
1964 A Tiger Walks Betty Collins
1964 The Quick Gun Helen Reed
1964 The Time Travelers Carol White
1964 Young Fury Alice
1964 Raiders from Beneath the Sea Dottie Harper
1965 Tickle Me Estelle Penfield
1966 Women of the Prehistoric Planet Lieutenant Karen Lamont
1970 Airport Mrs. Burt Ball, Passenger Uncredited
1971 Will to Die Laura Dean Alternative titles: Legacy of Blood
Blood Legacy
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1954 The Public Defender Agnes Fay Season 1 Episode 26: "The Last Appeal"
1954 The Ford Television Theatre Phoebe Dinsmore Season 2 Episode 37: "The Mason-Dixon Line"
1954 The Ford Television Theatre Marlene Season 3 Episode 12: "Slide, Darling, Slide"
1954–1955 The Stu Erwin Show Joyce Erwin 26 episodes
1955 TV Reader's Digest Sally Season 1 Episode 14: "Honeymoon in Mexico"
1955 The Loretta Young Show Angela Season 2 Episode 32: "He Always Comes Home"
1955 It's Always Jan Val Marlowe Season 1 Episode 1: "The Four of Us"
1955 It's Always Jan Val Marlowe Season 1 Episode 2: "Child Actress"
1955 It's Always Jan Val Marlowe Season 1 Episode 6: "Playboy"
1955 It's Always Jan Val Marlowe Season 1 Episode 7: "Stanley's Trip"
1955 It's Always Jan Val Marlowe Season 1 Episode 8: "Special Material"
1956 It's Always Jan Val Marlowe Season 1 Episode 15: "Housekeeper"
1956 The Millionaire Helen Forrester Season 3 Episode 11: "The Jay Powers Story"
1957 Broken Arrow Amy Breece Season 2 Episode 11: "Smoke Signal"
1957 Sugarfoot Katie Brannigan Season 1 Episode 1: "Brannigan's Boots"
1957 Cheyenne Sherry Raven Season 2 Episode 14: "Big Ghost Basin"
1957–1959 How to Marry a Millionaire Mike McCall 52 episodes
1958 Decision Lucy Hamilton Season 1 Episode 13: "Man on a Raft"
1958 77 Sunset Strip Marcia Frome Season 1 Episode 7: "All Our Yesterdays"
1959 Sugarfoot Sally Ormand Season 3 Episode 6: "Outlaw Island"
1959 State Trooper Mrs. Wallace Season 3 Episode 7: "The Case of the Barefoot Girl"
1959 Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer Harriet Britton Season 2 Episode 16: "Swing Low, Sweet Harriet"
1959 Tales of Wells Fargo Laurie Hammer Season 3 Episode 33: "The Tall Texan"
1959 The Ann Sothern Show Myrna Season 2 Episode 2: "Katy and the Cowboy"
1959 Richard Diamond, Private Detective Claudia Reed Season 3 Episode 21: "Bookie"
1959 The Real McCoys Miss McLean Season 3 Episode 20: "The Lawsuit"
1960 Cheyenne Ruth Graham / Fay Pierce Season 5 Episode 1: "The Long Rope"
1960 Bonanza Virginia Keith Season 1 Episode 29: "Bitter Water"
1960 Bronco Francy Owens Season 2 Episode 19: "Winter Kill"
1960 The Case of the Dangerous Robin Annette Du Blanc Season 1 Episode 3: "On Consignment"
1960 Maverick Penelope Greeley Season 3 Episode 21: "The People's Friend"
1960 Maverick Maggie Bradford Season 4 Episode 3: "The Town That Wasn't There"
1960 Maverick Marybelle McCall Season 4 Episode 15: "Destination Devil's Flat"
1960 Hawaiian Eye Lisa Barton Season 1 Episode 19: "Hong Kong Passage"
1961 Hawaiian Eye Kitty Todd Season 2 Episode 29: "Don't Kiss Me Goodbye"
1961 Hawaiian Eye Maxine Wheaton Season 3 Episode 6: "Pill in the Box"
1961 77 Sunset Strip Lorrie Lambers Season 3 Episode 24: "Face in the Window"
1961 77 Sunset Strip Season 3 Episode 25: "Tiger by the Tail"
1961 77 Sunset Strip Lally Embry Season 4 Episode 5: "The Lady Has the Answers"
1961 Maverick Cissie Anderson Season 5 Episode 4: "Three Queens Full"
1961 The Loretta Young Show Lenore Cooper Season 8 Episode 14: "Enter at Your Own Risk"
1961 Bronco Lucy Follett Season 3 Episode 4: "Ordeal at Dead Tree"
1961 Surfside 6 Chris Karns Season 1 Episode 17: "Yesterday's Hero"
1961 The Case of the Dangerous Robin Season 1 Episode 24: "The Deadly Impersonation"
1961 Bringing Up Buddy Diane Mitchell Season 1 Episode 25: "Buddy and the Amazon"
1961 Michael Shayne Ginger Dennis Season 1 Episode 32: "Dead Air"
1961 Alfred Hitchcock Presents Lena Season 7 Episode 3: "Maria"
1961 The New Bob Cummings Show Season 1 Episode 4: "The Ox-Tail Incident"
1961 Ichabod and Me Leona 'Red' Smith Season 1 Episode 12: "Benjie's Spots"
1961 Ichabod and Me Leona Season 1 Episode 14: "Bob's Redhead"
1961 Perry Mason Adele Bentley Season 4 Episode 19: "The Case of the Blind Man's Bluff"
1962 Perry Mason Sadie Hepner Season 5 Episode 19: "The Case of the Glamorous Ghost"
1962 77 Sunset Strip Mary O'Neil Season 5 Episode 11: "The Odds on Odette"
1962 Hawaiian Eye Gloria Burns Season 3 Episode 38: "Koko Kate"
1962 Straightaway Barbara Season 1 Episode 20: "Tiger by the Tail"
1963 The Jack Benny Program Kidnapper aka Florence Nightingale Season 13 Episode 24: "Jack Is Kidnapped"
1963 The Joey Bishop Show Leslie Medford Wallingford Season 2 Episode 19: "Freddie Goes Highbrow"
1964 The Joey Bishop Show Barbara Season 3 Episode 13: "Jack Carter Helps Joey Propose"
1964 Perry Mason Joyce Carlton Season 7 Episode 22: "The Case of the Garrulous Go-Between"
1964 Arrest and Trial Joyce Season 1 Episode 15: "Funny Man with a Monkey"
1964 Arrest and Trial Joyce Season 1 Episode 21: "The Best There Is"
1964 The Virginian Donna Durrell Season 2 Episode 30: "A Man Called Kane"
1964 The Addams Family Miss Carver Season 1 Episode 3: "Fester's Punctured Romance"
1966 Get Smart Joanna Sloan Season 1 Episode 20: "All in the Mind"
1966 Never Too Young Alice 93 episodes
1967 Lassie Carol Dawson Season 14 Episode 3: "Cry of the Wild"
1967 Lassie Carol Dawson Season 14 Episode 4: "The Guardian"
1967 Lassie Carol Dawson Season 14 Episode 4: "Starfire"
1967 Dragnet Policewoman Dorothy Miller Season 1 Episode 7: "The Hammer"
1967 Dragnet Policewoman Dorothy Miller Season 1 Episode 8: "The Candy Store Robberies"
1967 Dragnet Policewoman Dorothy Miller Season 1 Episode 9: "The Fur Job"
1967 Dragnet Policewoman Dorothy Miller Season 2 Episode 8: "The Big High"
1967 Dragnet Policewoman Dorothy Miller Season 2 Episode 11: "The Big Dog"
1968 Dragnet Policewoman Dorothy Miller Season 2 Episode 21: "The Big Clan"
1968 Dragnet Policewoman Dorothy Miller Season 3 Episode 2: "Juvenile: DR-05"
1968 Lassie Ann Season 15 Episode 2: "Burst of Freedom"
1971 Gunsmoke Shirley Season 17 Episode 3: "Waste: Part 1"
1971 Gunsmoke Shirley Season 17 Episode 4: "Waste: Part 2" (final appearance)

References

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  1. ^ "Ancestry Library Edition". Search.ancestrylibrary.com. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d Woodbine, Paul. "Merry Anders". glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com. Retrieved March 5, 2015.
  3. ^ Weaver, Tom (2003). Double Feature Creature Attack: A Monster Merger of Two More Volumes of Classic Interviews. McFarland. p. 2. ISBN 0-786-48215-X.
  4. ^ a b Koper, Richard (2010). Fifties Blondes: Sexbombs, Sirens, Bad Girls and Teen Queens. BearManor Media. p. 27. ISBN 978-1-593-93521-4.
  5. ^ Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle F. (2009). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present. Random House Publishing Group. p. 643. ISBN 978-0-307-48320-1.
  6. ^ Tucker, David C. (2010). Lost Laughs of '50S and '60S Television: Thirty Sitcoms That Faded Off Screen. McFarland. pp. 64–66. ISBN 978-0-786-45582-9.
  7. ^ Scheuer, Philip K. (May 1, 1961). "Andrew Stone Will Produce War Tale: Civic to Stage 'The Balcony'; 'Beauty and Beast' Refilmed". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. p. C11.
  8. ^ Blum, Daniel, ed. (1963). Daniel Blum's Screen World 1963. Biblo & Tannen Publishers. p. 129. ISBN 0-819-60304-X.
  9. ^ Lisanti, Tom (2001). Fantasy Femmes of Sixties Cinema: Interviews with 20 Actresses from Biker, Beach, and Elvis Movies. McFarland. p. 96. ISBN 0-786-40868-5.
  10. ^ a b (Koper 2010, p. 29)
  11. ^ "Actress Expecting Baby Disputes Property Pact". The Los Angeles Times. December 23, 1955. p. 2. Retrieved May 28, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Anders Explains Her Divorce". The Tuscaloosa News. Tuscaloosa, Alabama. July 19, 1957. p. 12. Retrieved March 5, 2015.
  13. ^ "Merry Anders - the Private Life and Times of Merry Anders. Merry Anders Pictures".
  14. ^ "Actress Divorced". The Dispatch. Lexington, North Carolina. June 18, 1956. p. 3. Retrieved March 5, 2015.
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