Beverly Garland

Beverly Garland
200px Garland in 1969.
Born	Beverly Lucy Fessenden (1926-10-17)October 17, 1926 Santa Cruz, California, U.S.
Died	Hollywood Hills, California, U.S.
Other names	Beverly Campbell
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1950–2005
Spouse(s)	Bob Campbell (1945 divorced) Richard Garland (1951–53; divorced) Filmore Crank (1960–99, his death); 2 children
Website	http://www.beverlygarland.com

Beverly Garland (October 17, 1926 – December 5, 2008) was an American film and television actress, businesswoman, and hotel owner. Her work in feature films was fairly minor, consisting of small parts in a few major productions and leads in low-budget action or science fiction movies. She may be best remembered as Barbara Harper Douglas, the woman who married widower Steve Douglas (Fred MacMurray) in the latter years of the beloved sitcom My Three Sons. She played that role from 1969 until the series ended in 1972. In the 1980s, she co-starred as Kate Jackson's widowed mother, "Dotty West", in the CBS television series Scarecrow and Mrs. King. She had a recurring role as Ginger Jackson on 7th Heaven.

Early life and career

Garland was born Beverly Lucy Fessenden in Santa Cruz, California, the daughter of Amelia Rose (née Scherer), a businesswoman, and James Atkins Fessenden, a singer and salesman. Garland grew up in Glendale, California. She was a drama student of Anita Arliss.

In the 1950s, many of her roles were of secure, tough women who could handle themselves in violent situations. One such role was as a secrets-keeping secretary in the classic film noir D.O.A. (she was credited as "Beverly Campbell"). 1956 was a busy year for Garland: she played a female marshal in the Western Gunslinger with Chris Alcaide as her deputy; a prison escapee in Swamp Diamonds; and a scientist's wife who battles an alien in It Conquered the World. All three films were directed by Roger Corman and riffed in the 1990s by Mystery Science Theater 3000.

Television success

Garland appeared from 1957-58 as undercover police officer "Casey Jones" in the syndicated television series Decoy, the first American television police series with a woman in the starring role. It lasted a single season of thirty-nine episodes.

Garland guest starred in 1956 as Nelli Austin, a rodeo sharpshooter, in the episode "Rodeo Rough House" of Rod Cameron's syndicated drama series, State Trooper. Claude Akins appeared in this episode as the murderous but unnamed rodeo clown. Garland and Akins appeared together again in the 1960 episode "Prison Trail", Wanted: Dead or Alive (TV series) and again in the 1963 episode "The Chooser of the Slain" of The Dakotas.

In 1955, Garland had been cast in the episode "Man Down, Woman Screaming" of Rod Cameron's first syndicated series, City Detective, the story of a tough New York City police lieutenant. She appeared that same year as Sarah Garvey in the episode "Cattle Drive to Casper" of Frontier. On September 5, 1955, she co-starred in an episode of Science Fiction Theatre, called "The Negative Man". Around the same time, she appeared in the first Brian Keith series Crusader. She appeared twice as "Doris Denny Bona" in the episodes "Remember the Alamo" and "The Widow of Kill Cove" in 1960 in Cameron's third syndicated series, COronado 9. In 1960, Garland was cast as Dr. Nora James in the episode "Three Graves" of Riverboat.

She guest starred in 1963 as Marya Stone in the episode "What Did She Mean By Good Luck?" on The Eleventh Hour. She appeared in a season one episode, "Smoke Screen", of The Fugitive. In the 1964-65 television season, she co-starred as Ellie Collins on The Bing Crosby Show. She appeared in the 1968 feature film Pretty Poison but is best known for playing suburban mothers on My Three Sons and Scarecrow and Mrs. King Garland was featured on Remington Steele as the mother of Laura Holt (played by series star Stephanie Zimbalist). Her decades of television guest appearances include appearances on episodes of Twilight Zone, Kung Fu, and The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

On 7th Heaven, she appeared in nine episodes as Ginger Jackson, stepmother of Annie Camden, opposite Peter Graves. In addition to working with Graves on 7th Heaven, Garland also starred opposite Graves' brother, James Arness, in four episodes of Gunsmoke. On radio, she was an original player of the California Actors Radio Theatre. C.A.R.T. often recorded its programs on the grounds of Garland's hotel in The Beverly Garland Little Theater, which was decorated with large movie posters from many of her feature films.

For her contribution to the television industry, Garland has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard.

Personal life

In 1999, her husband of 39 years, businessman Filmore Crank, died. She and Crank had a son and a daughter, in addition to his son and daughter from a previous marriage.

Subsequently, Garland combined her acting career with an increased devotion to the hotel that Crank built and named for her. Originally built as a Howard Johnson's Motor Lodge in the 1970s, a sprawling 255-room Spanish-Mission style resort called the Beverly Garland Holiday Inn is located at 4222 Vineland Avenue, North Hollywood. The hotel continues to be owned by her family and managed by her son, James Fessenden Crank. Garland's daughter, actress Carrington Garland (born 1964), is best known for her portrayal of the third Kelly Capwell in the soap opera Santa Barbara.

Death

On December 5, 2008, Garland died from undisclosed causes after a lengthy illness in the mid-century contemporary house in the Hollywood Hills that was her home of over 40 years. A memorial service and reception was attended by several hundred people on December 13 at her namesake hotel property, Beverly Garland's Holiday Inn. Her body was cremated. She was survived by a son, a daughter, and two grandchildren.

TV and filmography

1954	Killer Leopard	Linsa Winters	Other notes
1950	D.O.A.	Miss Foster	Credited as Beverly Campbel
	The Lone Ranger	Laura Lawson	TV, 1 episode
1951	Strictly Dishonorable	Armorclad Mentoring Isabelle in opera Caesar	Uncredited
1953	The Neanderthal Man	Nola Mason, waitress
1954	The Miami Story The Desperado	Holly Abbott Lauren Bannerman
	Medic	Estelle Collins	TV, 1 episode, nominated for Best Actress in a Single Performance Emmy Award
1954–1956	Four Star Playhouse	Various roles	TV, 4 episodes
1955	Swamp Women	Vera
	Navy Log	Sally	TV, 1 episode
	Science Fiction Theater	Sally	TV, 1 episode, "Negative Man"
	New Orleans Uncensored	Mary Reilly
	Sudden Danger	Phyllis Baxter
1955–1959	The Millionaire	Louise Benson/Clara	TV, 2 episodes
1956	Gunslinger	Marshal Rose Hood
	It Conquered the World	Claire Anderson
	Curucu, Beast of the Amazon	Dr. Andrea Romar
	The Ford Television Theatre	Maria Perrin	TV, 1 episode
1956–1957	Wire Service	Ellen Gale	TV, 2 episodes
1956–1959	Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater	Various roles	TV, 4 episodes
1957	Not of This Earth	Nurse Nadine Storey
	Playhouse 90	Gay Sherman	TV, 1 episode
	The Joker Is Wild	Cassie Mack
	Naked Paradise	Max MacKenzie
1957–1959	Decoy	Casey Jones	TV, 37 episodes
1958	The Saga of Hemp Brown	Mona Langley
1959	Yancy Derringer	Coco LaSalle	TV, 2 episodes
	The Alligator People	Joyce Webster, aka Jane Marvin
	Hawaiian Eye	Rena Harrison	TV, 1 episode
	The Man from Blackhawk	Sarah Marshall	1 episode, "Logan's Policy", series premiere
1959–1963	Rawhide	Jennie Colby Marcie	TV, 3 episodes
1960	The Twilight Zone	Maggie	TV, 1 episode "The Four of Us Are Dying"
1959–1967	The Wonderful World of Disney	Mrs. Barko	TV, 6 episodes
1960	Tales of Wells Fargo	Pearl Hart	TV, 1 episode
	Wanted: Dead or Alive	Sally Lind	TV, 1 episode
	Hong Kong	Irene Vance	TV, 1 episode
	Thriller	Ruth Kenton	TV, 1 episode
	Perry Mason	Mauvis Meade	TV, 1 episode
1961	Checkmate	Jean	TV, 1 episode
	The Asphalt Jungle	Caroline	TV, 1 episode
1961	Danger Man	Jo Harris	TV
1961–1962	Dr. Kildare	Ann/Cynthia	TV, 2 episodes
1962	Bus Stop	Janie	"Summer Lightning"
	Cain's Hundred	Jeanette	"The Left Side of Canada"
	Going My Way	Marsha	"A Saint for Momma"
	The Nurses	Ginny Nemets	TV, 1 episode
1963	The Dakotas	Katherine Channing	TV, 1 episode
	Sam Benedict	Jan Fielding	"Image of a Toad"
	Twice-Told Tales	Alice Pyncheon
	The Fugitive	Nurse Doris Stillwell	TV, 1 episode
	The Farmer's Daughter		TV, 1 episode
1963–1970	Gunsmoke	Various roles	TV, 4 episodes
1964	Kraft Suspense Theatre	JoAnne Kling	TV, 1 episode
1965	A Man Called Shenandoah	Kate	TV, 1 episode
	Laredo	Aggie	TV, 1 episode
1966	Pistols 'n' Petticoats	Ross Guttley	TV, 1 episode
1967	Judd, for the Defense	Dorothy Shaw	TV, 1 episode
1967–1969	The Wild Wild West	Celia Rydell/Sally Yarnell	TV, 2 episodes
1968	The Mothers-in-Law	Audrey Fleming	TV, 1 episode
	Pretty Poison	Mrs. Stepanek
1968–1973	Mannix	Edna Restin	TV, 3 episodes
1969	Here's Lucy	Secretary	TV, 1 episode (uncredited)
1969–1972	My Three Sons	Barbara Harper Douglas	TV, 74 episodes
1970	Then Came Bronson	Beth Morse	TV, 1 episode
1972	The Mod Squad		TV, 1 episode
	Temperatures Rising	Claudia	TV, 1 episode
1972–1975	Marcus Welby, M.D.	Nancy Zimmer	TV, 2 episodes
1973	Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law	Mrs. Varni	TV, 1 episode
	The Rookies	Pat Whitfield	TV, 1 episode
	Cannon	Cecilia Thatcher	TV, 1 episode
	The New Adventures of Perry Mason	Laura Lee	TV, 1 episode
	Love, American Style	Maria Lombardi	TV, 1 episode
1974	Where the Red Fern Grows	Mother
	Airport 1975	Mrs. Scott Freeman
	Ironside	Andrea Reynolds	TV, 1 episode
1974–1975	Medical Center	Kay/Madeline Stockwood	TV, 2 episodes
1975	The Mary Tyler Moore Show	Veronica Ludlow	TV, 1 episode
1976–1977	Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman	Cookie LaRue	TV, 16 episodes
1977	The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries	Thelma	TV, 1 episode
	Lanigan's Rabbi		TV, 1 episode
	The Tony Randall Show	Sylvia Needleman	TV, 1 episode
1979	How the West Was Won	Hanna	TV, 1 episode
	Charlie's Angels	Pat Justice	TV, 1 episode
	Roller Boogie	Lillian Barkley
1980	Trapper John, M.D.	Mrs. Kaufman	TV, 2 episodes
	It's My Turn	Emma
1981	Hart to Hart	Real Grandma	TV, 1 episode
	Flamingo Road		TV, 1 episode
	Magnum, P.I.	Florence Russell	TV, 1 episode
	Matt Houston	Mrs. Chapman	TV, 1 episode
1982–1983	Remington Steele	Abigail Holt	TV, 2 episodes
1983–1987	Scarecrow and Mrs. King	Dorothea "Dotty" West	TV, 88 episodes
1985	Hotel	Alice Korman	TV, 1 episode
	Finder of Lost Loves	Lucy Rowens	TV, 1 episode
1991	P.S. I Luv U	Emma	TV, 1 episode
1995	Friends	Aunt Iris	TV, 1 episodes
	Ellen	Eva	TV, 1 episodes
1995–1997	Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman	Ellen Lane	TV, 6 episodes
1997	Diagnosis: Murder	Stella	TV, 1 episode
1997–2004	7th Heaven	Ginger	TV, 9 episodes
1998	Teen Angel	Grandma	TV, 2 episodes
1998-1999	The Angry Beavers	High Priestess	The Mighty Knot Head/Practical jerks
2002	The Weakest Link	Herself (contestant)	TV Moms Edition (1st one voted off)

External links

• Beverly Garland at Find a Grave
• Beverly Garland at the Internet Movie Database
• Beverly Garland at AllMovie
• Beverly Garland's Universal Studios Hollywood Hotel
• Obituary in the Los Angeles Daily News