Irene Vernon (born Irene Vergauwen, January 16, 1922 – April 21, 1998) was an American actress.
Background
Vernon was born Irene Vergauwen in
Mishawaka, Indiana
Mishawaka is a city on the St. Joseph River, in Penn Township, St. Joseph County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 51,063 as of the 2020 census. Its nickname is "the Princess City". Mishawaka is a principal city of the South ...
, and graduated from
Mishawaka High School
Mishawaka High School is a public high school located in Mishawaka, Indiana. The school educates students in grades 9–12 and is part of the School City of Mishawaka.
History
The first Mishawaka High School was proposed by the Mishawaka Town Bo ...
. Following graduation, she moved to New York to become an actress. Her career began with small uncredited roles in 1940s movies. Vernon ended her movie career in 1952, but during the 1950s, she began performing television roles.
Career
Throughout the early 1950s, Vernon guest starred in shows such as ''
Fireside Theater'', ''
The Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked former Texas Ranger who fought outlaws in the American Old West with his Native American friend Tonto. The character has been called an enduring icon of American culture.
He first appeared in 1933 in ...
'', ''Danger'', ''Flight'', Dennis the Menace Christmas Show and ''
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 ...
''. In 1964, Vernon began portraying
Louise Tate on the hit television series ''
Bewitched
''Bewitched'' is an American fantasy sitcom television series that originally aired for eight seasons on ABC from September 17, 1964, to March 25, 1972. It is about a witch who marries an ordinary mortal man and vows to lead the life of a typ ...
''. Vernon held the role until 1966.
After writer
Danny Arnold
Danny Arnold (born Arnold Rothmann; January 23, 1925 – August 19, 1995) was an American producer, writer, comedian, actor and director known for producing ''Barney Miller'', ''That Girl'', and '' Bewitched''.
Early life
Born in New York Ci ...
left the series, the producers, actress
Elizabeth Montgomery
Elizabeth Victoria Montgomery (April 15, 1932 – May 18, 1995) was an American actress whose career spanned five decades in film, stage, and television. She is best remembered for her leading role as the witch Samantha Stephens on the televisi ...
and Montgomery's husband, director
William Asher
William Milton Asher (August 8, 1921 – July 16, 2012) was an American television and film producer, film director, and screenwriter. He was one of the most prolific early television directors, producing or directing over two dozen series.
Wit ...
, reportedly pressured Vernon to also leave the show due to her friendship with Arnold (although the official reason given was that Vernon's husband was ill). The role of Louise Tate was later taken over by
Kasey Rogers.
On Broadway, Vernon performed in ''The Lady in Ermine'' (1922).
Personal life
On July 29, 1944, Vernon married U. S. Army Major Edward Duryea Dowling in Englewood, New Jersey. Before his military service, Dowling had been a director of musical shows.
Death
Irene Rosenberg (as she was known at the time of her death) died on April 21, 1998, in
South Bend, Indiana
South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total of 103,453 residents and is the fourt ...
, aged 76, death certificate indicates from congestive heart failure and coronary artery disease.
Filmography
References
External links
Irene Rosenberg on FindAGrave.com*
*
1922 births
1998 deaths
Actresses from Indiana
American film actresses
American television actresses
People from Mishawaka, Indiana
20th-century American actresses
American stage actresses
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