Kathleen Crowley

Betty Jane Kathleen Crowley (born December 26, 1929) is an American retired actress who starred in a number of TV shows and films throughout the 1950s and 1960s, ending her career in 1970.

Biography

Early life

Born on 26 December 1929 in Green Bank, New Jersey, Crowley graduated from Egg Harbor High School in 1946. On August 7, 1949, the 19-year-old Crowley won the title of "Miss New Jersey" at a contest held at Asbury Park. As the winner, she entered the "Miss America" pageant held in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on September 10, 1949, and came in sixth place.

Acting career

Crowley attended New York's American Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1950 and undertook some live TV work there. In February 1951 she appeared with Conrad Nagel in A Star is Born on Robert Montgomery Presents. Crowley made 81 television appearances and was cast in 20 movies between 1951-70. One of her last movie roles was in Downhill Racer with Robert Redford. She made three guest appearances on Perry Mason, including the role of defendant and title character Marylin Clark in the 1958 episode, "The Case of the Lonely Heiress." She was in the 1963 episode of Perry Mason's "The Case of the Drowsy Mosquito" as Mrs. Bradisson.

Many of her films were low-budget science fiction and horror movies, but she seemed to appear in practically every narrative television series produced in the late 1950s and 1960s, including Crossroads, Yancy Derringer, Bourbon Street Beat, Surfside 6, Hawaiian Eye, 77 Sunset Strip, Bat Masterson, The Americans. Bonanza, Colt .45, Bronco, Branded, Redigo, My Three Sons, The Donna Reed Show, Checkmate, Route 66, Thriller, Batman, Disneyland, Family Affair, Rawhide, The High Chaparral, The Restless Gun, and The Lone Ranger.

Maverick

Crowley is best remembered appearing in eight episodes (a series record for a leading lady) as a variety of sirens on the ABC/Warner Brothers series, Maverick (1957), opposite James Garner, Jack Kelly, and Roger Moore.

Private life

Crowley married John Rubsam in Los Angeles on 27 September 1969 and gave birth to a son, Matthew, in 1970.

Selected filmography