Elizabeth Harrower (actress)

Elizabeth Louise Harrower (May 28, 1918 – December 10, 2003) was an American actress and television writer.

Elizabeth Harrower
Harrower in 1965 on The Alfred Hitchcock Hour
Born
Elizabeth Louise Harrower

(1918-05-28)May 28, 1918
DiedDecember 10, 2003(2003-12-10) (aged 85)
Occupations
  • Actress
  • television writer
Years active1949–1991
Known forDennis the Menace
The Young and the Restless
SpouseHarry Seabold
ChildrenSusan Seaforth Hayes

Early years

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Harrower was born during World War I in Alameda, California, during the great flu epidemic.[citation needed]

Career

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Harrower went on to find success in television, including ten appearances on Dennis the Menace (mostly as Dennis' teacher, Miss Perkins), four appearances on Perry Mason (The Case of the Waylaid Wolf, The Case of the Lurid Letter), and two appearances on Gunsmoke as Mrs. O'Roarke, among many other shows up until 1974.

She made her film debut in Becky Sharp (1935). She also appeared in other movies, including 1969's True Grit and The Sterile Cuckoo.[1]

In the late 1970s, she served as head writer for the daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives, where her daughter Susan was a cast member. She also wrote for The Young and the Restless[2] in the 1980s and early 1990s. Her last writing stint was on the short-lived soap Generations in 1991. In 2003, Harrower received rave reviews for her performance as a drunken con artist on The Young and the Restless.

Personal life

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In 1942, Harrower married Harry Seabold, an Air Force cadet she had met in fifth grade. Their daughter, actress Susan Seaforth Hayes, was born in 1943. The marriage ended in divorce. For many years, she and her daughter lived in the Alvarado Terrace Historic District of Los Angeles, where she was active with the Pico-Union community redevelopment project advisory committee.[citation needed]

In 2003, in Studio City, California, Harrower died of cancer at age 85.[3]

Selected filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
1949 The Pilgrimage Play Woman of Samaria
1952 Plymouth Adventure Elizabeth Hopkins Uncredited
1954 Thunder Pass Mrs. Hemp
1958 Teacher's Pet Clara Dibney Uncredited
1958 Marjorie Morningstar Miss Kimble Uncredited
1959 Al Capone Proprietress Uncredited
1959 The FBI Story Clerk Uncredited
1960 I Passed for White Minor Role Uncredited
1962 Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse French Prisoner Uncredited
1962 House of Women Mrs. Potter Uncredited
1962 Don't Knock the Twist Ruth Emerson
1962 The Wild Westerners Martha Bernard
1964 The Alfred Hitchcock Hour Mrs. Masters Season 2 Episode 15: "Night Caller"
1965 The Alfred Hitchcock Hour Mrs. Jones Season 3 Episode 19: "Wally the Beard"
1965 Zebra in the Kitchen Town Gossip Uncredited
1965 Cat Ballou Minor Role Uncredited
1966 Batman Picnicking Woman Uncredited
1969 True Grit Mrs. Ross
1969 The Sterile Cuckoo Landlady Uncredited
1971 Escape from the Planet of the Apes Reporter at Hotel Uncredited
1971 Shoot Out Housekeeper Uncredited
1974 I Love You... Good-bye Mrs. Freeman

References

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  1. ^ Landesman, Fred (2004). The John Wayne Filmography. McFarland. p. 384. ISBN 9780786432523. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  2. ^ Grant, Matthew W. Sex On Soaps: Afternoon Love & Lust On Television Daytime Dramas. Granite Gate Media. Retrieved April 18, 2017.
  3. ^ Lentz, Harris M. III (2004). Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2003. McFarland. pp. 177–78. ISBN 9780786417568. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
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Preceded by Head Writer of Days of Our Lives
February 27, 1979 - March 14, 1980
Succeeded by