Valora Noland (born Valor Baum; December 8, 1941 – March 27, 2022) was an American actress, notable for her 1960s movie and television work, and, in her later years, photographer and author.

Biography

Noland was born in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...

, as Valor Baum, on December 8, 1941, the day after Pearl Harbor. Her mother named her "Valor", inspired by a speech by

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

. Her family moved from Seattle to the countryside near

Santa Cruz, California Santa Cruz ( Spanish for "Holy Cross") is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, in Northern California. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 62,956. Situated on the northern edge of Monterey Bay, Santa Cruz is a po ...

in 1943. Sometime around 1959 she decided to become an actress. After graduating from Santa Cruz High School, she was accepted by the

Pasadena Playhouse The Pasadena Playhouse is a historic performing arts venue located 39 S. El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California, United States. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engage ...

and, while studying there for a year and a half, settled on "Valora Noland" for her stage name and moved to Hollywood. Valora's first job was an improvised scene with three other actors for the film '' Five Finger Exercise'', later cut before distribution. Still, it enabled her to buy her SAG card, and somewhat larger parts in TV shows followed. She had a small role in a 1961 episode of the TV western ''

The Rifleman ''The Rifleman'' is an American Western television program starring Chuck Connors as rancher Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son Mark McCain. It was set in the 1880s in the fictional town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory. The show ...

'' entitled "High Country". She played Vinnie in ''

The Donna Reed Show ''The Donna Reed Show'' is an American sitcom starring Donna Reed as the middle-class housewife Donna Stone. Carl Betz co-stars as her pediatrician husband Dr. Alex Stone, and Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen as their teenage children, Mary ...

'' episode entitled "Everywhere That Mary Goes." Her first movie role was in ''

Beach Party ''Beach Party'' is a 1963 American film and the first of seven beach party films from American International Pictures (AIP) aimed at a teen audience.Smith, Gary A. Smith (2009) ''The American International Pictures Video Guide'', McFarland p.2 ...

'' (1963), and the next year, 1964, she played a part in an independent production, ''Summer Children'', made on Catalina Island. It was never officially released. This was followed by '' Muscle Beach Party'' and after that a film titled '' Sex and the College Girl'', which took place on

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

. A third "island" film came in 1965 when she was chosen to play the unfaithful wife in '' The Passionate Strangers,'' a Philippine production. Back in Hollywood, Valora joined the cast of '' The War Wagon'' for a minimal role and appeared in guest roles in television shows including ''

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' is an American spy fiction television series produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television and first broadcast on NBC. The series follows secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who work for a secret ...

'', '' The Virginian'', '' Star Trek'', and '' Mannix'' as Cindy Gier in "Live Blueberries". Season 1 episode 7. Noland was also active as a photographer and, as Valora Tree, authored the books ''"Horse Stories"'', and ''Water Lily Ponds'', a volume of poetry. Noland died on March 27, 2022, at the age of 80 in Sebastopol, California.

Characters

*Clare in ''The Rifleman'' episode, "The High Country" (1961) *Vinnie in ''The Donna Reed Show'' episode, "Everywhere That Mary Goes" (1963) *Vickie in ''Sex and the College Girl'' (1964) *Duchess Vicky in ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E'' episode, "The Round Table Affair" (1966) *Amanda Harley in ''The Virginian'' episode, "Girl on the Pinto" (1967) *Daras in ''Star Trek'' episode, " Patterns of Force" (1968)

Filmography

*''

'' (1963) - Rhonda *'' Muscle Beach Party'' (1964) - Animal *'' Sex and the College Girl'' (1964) - Vickie *'' Summer Children'' (1965) - Diana *'' The Passionate Strangers'' (1966) - Margaret Courtney *'' The War Wagon'' (1967) - Kate

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Noland, Valora 1941 births 2022 deaths 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American women American film actresses American television actresses Actresses from Seattle Photographers from Washington (state)