Kathleen Hughes

Kathleen Hughes (born November 14, 1928) is an American film, stage, and television actress.

Hughes was born Elizabeth Margaret von Gerkan. Her ambition as an actress came from two sources. She saw a film with actor Donald O'Connor which gave her the idea that "acting looked like fun." Also, her uncle, F. Hugh Herbert, was a playwright who authored Kiss and Tell and The Moon is Blue.

She was discovered in a Little Theater production in 1948. Signed to a seven-year contract with 20th Century Fox, she made fourteen films for the studio. She appeared in five motion pictures for Universal Studios, including the cult film It Came From Outer Space. Released on May 27, 1953, the sci-fi feature was adapted from the writing of Ray Bradbury. It was Universal's first entry into the 3D-film medium.

By 1956, she was appearing in television series. She played in episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1956–1957), Telephone Time (1956), The Bob Cummings Show (1958), The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, 77 Sunset Strip (1959), Hotel de Paree (1959), Tightrope (1959), General Electric Theater (1960–1962), The Tall Man (1961), Bachelor Father (1962), Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. (1965), and I Dream of Jeannie (1967).

In 1962, Hughes played the role of murder victim Lita Krail in the 6th season, 1962 episode of Perry Mason, entitled "The Case of the Double-Entry Mind". She played the recurring role of Mrs. Coburn on the television series The Ghost & Mrs. Muir. She appeared on M*A*S*H as Lorraine Blake, wife of unit commander Henry Blake, in a home movie she sent to him. Hughes portrayed Mitch, a secretary, on the NBC drama Bracken's World (1969-1971).

Hughes' favorite stage role was in the play Seven Year Itch.

On July 25, 1954, Hughes married Stanley Rubin, the producer of Bracken's World, at the home of her uncle. The couple has one daughter and three sons. The marriage lasted 59 years, until Rubin died on March 2, 2014 from natural causes at the age of 96.