Elen Willard
Born
United States
OccupationCharacter actress
Years active1960–1966

Elen Willard is an American retired character actress who worked in American network dramatic television series from 1960-66. Her first aired performance was a supporting role in a 1960 episode of the short-lived CBS detective series, Markham.

Background

Collectively, over a six-year period, Willard portrayed twenty-four characters in twenty different dramatic television series consisting of various featured guest star and supporting performances, including most notably Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond, Perry Mason, Ben Casey, Dr. Kildare, Combat!, Gunsmoke, Whispering Smith, and Have Gun - Will Travel.

Willard may be best-known for her standout portrayal of the character Ione Sykes in the gothic-themed western episode of the science fiction/fantasy/horror anthology series The Twilight Zone entitled "The Grave", with a cast that included Lee Marvin, Lee Van Cleef, Strother Martin, James Best, and Stafford Repp.

Career

Early years

She had a guest starring role in the "The Bleymeir Story" episode of the Western series Wagon Train in the role of Belle Bleymier in 1960.[1] It was aired on 16 November 1960.[2] She appeared in "The Contenders" episode of the drama series, Alcoa Premiere which was aired on December 6, 1962. The episode also featured Fred Astaire, Edward Asner, Robert Christopher and Suzanne Pleshette.[3]

Final years

During the final two years of her career, she guest starred in four episodes of the ABC/Quinn Martin World War II based series Twelve O'Clock High.[4]

Her last aired appearance was in a December 1966 Christmas-themed episode of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. entitled "The Jingle Bells Affair".[4]

Post career (later years)

Actor Earl Holliman, who guest starred opposite Willard in the second of her four appearances in Twelve O'Clock High, said in an interview for a book on that series published in 2005 that he had "... heard she had quit acting because it was such an emotionally painful experience for her."[5]

References

  1. ↑ Rotten Tomatoes - Elen Willard, Filmography
  2. ↑ Dan Dureyea: A Career Appreciation by Joseph Fusco (2017) - ISBN 978-1-62933-195-9 - Wagon Train: The Bleymeir Story
  3. ↑ Chester Morris HIS LIFE AND CAREER by Scott Allen Nollen with Yuyun Yuningsih Nollen - 2020 - ISBN 978-1-4766-3839-3 - Page 292 Alcoa Premiere: "The Contenders"
  4. 1 2 "Elen Willard". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
  5. ↑ Allen T. Duffin and Paul Matheis, The 12 O'Clock High Logbook (Boalsburg, Pennsylvania: BearManor Media, 2005), p. 222.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.