Susan Stewart Harrison (August 26, 1938 – March 5, 2019) was an American actress. She is most famous for her appearance in the 1957 film noir classic ''
Sweet Smell of Success
''Sweet Smell of Success'' is a 1957 American film noir Satire (film and television), satirical drama (film and television), drama film directed by Alexander Mackendrick, starring Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Susan Harrison, and Martin Milner, ...
'' as the sister for whom
Burt Lancaster
Burton Stephen Lancaster (November 2, 1913 – October 20, 1994) was an American actor. Initially known for playing tough characters with tender hearts, he went on to achieve success with more complex and challenging roles over a 45-year caree ...
has an unhealthy affection, and in ''
The Twilight Zone
''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described ...
'' episode "
Five Characters in Search of an Exit".
Early life
Harrison was a graduate of the
High School of Performing Arts
The High School of Performing Arts (informally known as "PA") was a public alternative high school established in 1947 and located at 120 West 46th Street in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, from 1948 to 1984.
In 1961, the school was ...
in New York City.
She attended
Boston University
Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...
, studying under
Peter Kass,
who directed her in the role of Abigail in
Arthur Miller
Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are '' All My Sons'' (1947), '' Death of a Salesman'' (1 ...
's ''
The Crucible
''The Crucible'' is a 1953 play by the American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Province of Massachusetts Bay from 1692 to 1693. Miller wrote ...
''.
Career
Her professional debut was in the live television drama ''Can You Coffeepot on Skates?'', presented in 1956. This was followed by television appearances on ''
Matinee Theatre
''Matinee Theater'' is an American anthology series that aired on NBC during the Golden Age of Television, from October 31, 1955, to June 27, 1958. Its name is often seen as ''Matinee Theatre''.
The series, which ran daily from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. ...
'' and ''
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, airing on CBS and NBC, alternately, between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. Between 1962 ...
'' and her cinematic debut in ''Sweet Smell of Success''. On October 19, 1957, she opened on Broadway at the
Bijou Theater, playing "the Girl" in
William Saroyan
William Saroyan (; August 31, 1908 – May 18, 1981) was an Armenian-American novelist, playwright, and short story writer. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1940, and in 1943 won the Academy Award for Best Story for the film ''The ...
's new play ''
The Cave Dwellers'' to uniformly good reviews.
[Watts, Richard, Jr "William Saroyan Returns To Us" New York ''Post'', Monday, October 21, 1957] The following year she was in the ''
Playhouse 90
''Playhouse 90'' is an American television anthology drama series that aired on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 134 episodes. The show was produced at CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California. Since live anthology drama series of t ...
'' production of ''In Lonely Expectation'', which brought her to the attention of
Rod Serling
Rodman Edward Serling (December 25, 1924 – June 28, 1975) was an American screenwriter and television producer best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his Anthology series, anthology television series ''The Twilight Zone (1 ...
and led to her role as the ballerina in the iconic ''Twilight Zone'' episode. She had several later television and stage roles, most notably in an episode of the television show ''
Bonanza
''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 12, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 431 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running Western, the second-longest-running Western series on ...
'', "Dark Star" in the first season, episode 31 (1960). In 1960 she played Ruby, the female lead, in the little-seen film ''
Key Witness'' with
Jeffrey Hunter
Jeffrey Hunter (born Henry Herman McKinnies Jr.; November 25, 1926 – May 27, 1969) was an American film and television actor and producer known for his roles in films such as ''The Searchers'' and ''King of Kings (1961 film), King of Ki ...
and
Dennis Hopper
Dennis Lee Hopper (May 17, 1936 – May 29, 2010) was an American actor, filmmaker, photographer and visual artist. He was considered one of the key figures of New Hollywood. He earned prizes from the Cannes Film Festival and Venice Internatio ...
.
Personal life
She was the mother of
Darva Conger, who starred in the reality television show ''
Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?
''Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire?'' is an American reality television special in which 50 women competed in a beauty pageant–style contest to marry a wealthy man whom they had never met, with the wedding being performed at the end of ...
'' Harrison had two other children, D. H. Colin and Daniel Colin.
Filmography
Film
Television
References
External links
*
*
1938 births
2019 deaths
Boston University alumni
American stage actresses
American television actresses
Actresses from Florida
20th-century American actresses
21st-century American women
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