This article needs additional citations for verification. (September 2014) |
K.T. Stevens (born Gloria Wood;[1] July 20, 1919 – June 13, 1994) was an American film and television actress.
K. T. Stevens | |
|---|---|
 Stevens in Harriet Craig, 1950 | |
| Born | Gloria Wood July 20, 1919 Hollywood, California, U.S. |
| Died | June 13, 1994 (aged 74) |
| Occupation(s) | Film and television actress |
| Years active | 1921–1994 |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2, including Chris Marlowe |
| Father | Sam Wood |
Early years
editBorn in Hollywood,[2] Stevens was the daughter of film producer and director Sam Wood.[3] She made her first film appearance when she was just two years old in her father's second silent film, Peck's Bad Boy (1921).
As an adult, she changed her name to K.T. Stevens to distance herself from her father's fame. She initially called herself Katherine Stevens, which people often shorted to Katie, leading to the final version with the initials K.T.[4]
Stage
editStevens gained theatrical experience by doing summer stock theatre in Skowhegan, Maine.[4] Her Broadway credits include The Land Is Bright, Yankee Point, Nine Girls and Laura.[5]
Film
edit
Stevens appeared in a number of films in the 1940s and 1950s, including Kitty Foyle (1940, directed by her father) with Ginger Rogers, The Great Man's Lady (1942) with Barbara Stanwyck, Address Unknown (1944), Port of New York (1949) with Yul Brynner, Harriet Craig (1950) with Joan Crawford and Vice Squad (1953) with Edward G. Robinson. She also appeared as Phyllis in the 1969 hit movie Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice. Her last film role before her death from lung cancer was in the 1994 Whoopi Goldberg film Corrina, Corrina.
Television
editStevens acted on episodic television in such series as Crossroads, The Rebel, The Brothers Brannagan, and appeared on the daytime soap operas General Hospital as part of the original cast (1963–1965), portraying Peggy Mercer who was engaged to Dr. Steve Hardy, Julie Olson's mother-in-law Helen Martin (1966–1967, 1969) on Days of Our Lives and The Young and the Restless (1976–1981) as the veiled, facially burned Vanessa Prentiss. In the episode "New Neighbors" of the sitcom I Love Lucy, she played opposite Hayden Rorke as television actors who Lucy Ricardo mistakenly believes are foreign secret agents.
Stevens appeared in 1957 and again in 1961 in different roles on The Real McCoys. In 1959, she made her first of three guest appearances on Perry Mason as murder victim Ethel Garvin in "The Case of the Dubious Bridegroom." In 1962, she played Margit Bruner in "The Case of the Ancient Romeo," and in 1965, she played Alice Munford in "The Case of the Hasty Honeymooner." In this episode, she was featured as the wife of murderer Guy Munford, played by her then husband Hugh Marlowe. In 1961, she played Ada Kihlgren in "The Broken Wing", one of the latter episodes of Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre. The same year, she appeared as Lorraine Miller in "A Great Day for a Scoundrel" on The DuPont Show with June Allyson. Between 1960 and 1963, she guest-starred five times on The Rifleman.[citation needed]
She portrayed Lieutenant Harriet Twain in the Buck Rogers in the 25th Century episode "Return of the Fighting 69th".
Personal life
editStevens married actor Hugh Marlowe on May 7, 1946, in San Francisco.[6] They had two sons, Jeffrey and Christian.[1] The couple divorced in 1968.[citation needed]
Stevens and Marlowe acted in the Broadway production of Laura in which, credited as "A Girl" so as not to alert the audience, she played the title role (acted by Gene Tierney in the 1944 film Laura).
Stevens died at her home in Brentwood, Los Angeles, on June 13, 1994, aged 74, after battling lung cancer.[1]
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1921 | Peck's Bad Boy | Henry's Sweetheart | |
| Don't Tell Everything | Cullen's niece | Lost film | |
| 1940 | Kitty Foyle | Molly | |
| 1942 | The Great Man's Lady | Girl Biographer | |
| 1944 | Address Unknown | Griselle Eisenstein aka Griselle Stone | |
| 1949 | Port of New York | Toni Cardell | |
| 1950 | Harriet Craig | Clare Raymond | |
| 1953 | Vice Squad | Ginny | |
| Tumbleweed | Louella Buckley | ||
| 1956 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Liza | Season 2 Episode 5: "None Are So Blind" |
| Jungle Hell | Dr. Pamela Ames | ||
| 1958 | Missile to the Moon | The Lido | |
| 1959 | Perry Mason | Ethel Garvin | Season 2 Episode 29: "The Case of the Dubious Bridegroom" |
| 1962 | Perry Mason | Margit Bruner | Season 5 Episode 28: "The Case of the Ancient Romeo" |
| 1962 | The Alfred Hitchcock Hour | Alice | Season 1 Episode 10: "Day of Reckoning" |
| 1965 | Perry Mason | Alice Munford | Season 9 Episode 7: "The Case of the Hasty Honeymooner" |
| 1969 | Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice | Phyllis | |
| 1970 | Adam at 6 A.M. | Uncredited | |
| 1973 | Pets | Mrs. Daubrey | |
| 1984 | They're Playing with Fire | Lillian Stevens | |
| 1994 | Corrina, Corrina | Mrs. Morgan |
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ a b c "K. T. Stevens, 74, Actress and Unionist". The New York Times. June 22, 1994. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
- ^ Willis, John (March 1, 2000). Theatre World 1994-1995. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 238. ISBN 978-1-55783-250-4. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
- ^ "Son Born to K. T. Stevens". The New York Times. United Press. July 8, 1948. p. 19. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
- ^ a b "Little Rich Hollywood Princess". Albuquerque Journal. New Mexico, Albuquerque. King Features Syndicate, Inc. June 15, 1941. p. 18. Retrieved July 10, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "("K.T. Stevens" search)". Playbill Vault. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
- ^ "K.T. Stevens Wed on Coast". The New York Times. United Press. May 8, 1946. p. 42. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
External links
edit