Kathleen Hughes (born Elizabeth Margaret von Gerkan; November 14, 1928) is an American actress.
Early life
Hughes' uncle,
F. Hugh Herbert, was a playwright who authored ''Kiss and Tell'' and ''
The Moon Is Blue
''The Moon Is Blue'' is a play by F. Hugh Herbert. A comedy in three acts, the play consists of one female and three male characters.
Performance history
''The Moon Is Blue'' premiered at The Playhouse in Wilmington, Delaware on February 16, 1 ...
''.
[ Her desire to act was inspired by a film she saw featuring ]Donald O'Connor
Donald David Dixon Ronald O'Connor (August 28, 1925 – September 27, 2003) was an American dancer, singer and actor. He came to fame in a series of films in which he co-starred with Gloria Jean, Peggy Ryan, and Francis the Talking Mule.
His b ...
, which gave her the idea that "acting looked like fun."[ ] After graduating from Fairfax High School, Hughes attended Los Angeles City College
Los Angeles City College (LACC) is a public community college in East Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. A part of the Los Angeles Community College District, it is located on Vermont Avenue south of Santa Monica Boulevard on the former campu ...
and UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...
.
Motion pictures
Hughes was discovered in a Little Theater production in 1948. Signed to a seven-year contract with 20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
, she made 14 films for the studio. She appeared in five motion pictures for Universal Studios
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...
, including the cult film ''It Came From Outer Space
''It Came from Outer Space'' is a 1953 American science fiction horror film, the first in the 3D process from Universal-International. It was produced by William Alland and directed by Jack Arnold. The film stars Richard Carlson and Barbara ...
''. Released on May 27, 1953, the sci-fi feature was adapted from the writing of Ray Bradbury
Ray Douglas Bradbury (; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of modes, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery fictio ...
. It was Universal's first entry into the 3D-film medium. Hughes co-starred with Edward G. Robinson in a 1953 crime drama, ''The Glass Web
''The Glass Web'' is a 1953 American 3-D film noir crime film directed by Jack Arnold and starring Edward G. Robinson, John Forsythe, Marcia Henderson and Kathleen Hughes. It is based on Max Simon Ehrlich's 1952 novel ''Spin the Glass Web''.
...
'', and opposite Rock Hudson
Rock Hudson (born Roy Harold Scherer Jr.; November 17, 1925 – October 2, 1985) was an American actor. One of the most popular movie stars of his time, he had a screen career spanning more than three decades. A prominent heartthrob in the Golde ...
in an adventure film that year, ''The Golden Blade
''The Golden Blade'' is a 1953 American adventure film directed by Nathan Juran and starring Rock Hudson as Harun Al-Rashid and Piper Laurie as Princess Khairuzan. It is set in ancient Bagdad and borrows from the Arabic fairy tales of ''One Thousa ...
''.
Television
By 1956, Hughes was appearing in television series. She played in episodes of '' Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' (1956–1957), ''Telephone Time'' (1956), ''The Bob Cummings Show
''The Bob Cummings Show'' (also known in reruns as ''Love That Bob'') is an American sitcom starring Bob Cummings, which was broadcast from January 2, 1955, to September 15, 1959.
The program began with a half-season run on NBC, then ran for tw ...
'' (1958), ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet'' is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from October 3, 1952, to April 23, 1966, and starred the real-life Nelson family. After a long run on radio, the show was brought to television, where it ...
'', ''77 Sunset Strip
''77 Sunset Strip'' is an American television private detective drama series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Roger Smith, Richard Long (from 1960 to 1961) and Edd Byrnes (billed as Edward Byrnes). Each episode was o ...
'' (1959), ''Hotel de Paree'' (1959), ''Tightrope!
''Tightrope!'' is an American crime drama series that aired on CBS from September 1959 to September 1960, under the alternating sponsorship of the J.B. Williams Company (Aqua Velva, Lectric Shave, etc.), and American Tobacco ( Pall Mall). Produc ...
'' (1959), ''General Electric Theater
''General Electric Theater'' was an American anthology series hosted by Ronald Reagan that was broadcast on CBS radio and television. The series was sponsored by General Electric's Department of Public Relations.
Radio
After an audition show ...
'' (1960–1962), '' The Tall Man'' (1961), '' Bachelor Father'' (1962), '' Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.'' (1965), and '' I Dream of Jeannie'' (1967).
In 1962, Hughes played the role of murder victim Lita Krail in the sixth-season 1962 episode of ''Perry Mason
Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and 4 short stories, all of which involve a c ...
'', entitled "The Case of the Double-Entry Mind". She played the recurring role of Mrs. Coburn on the television series '' The Ghost & Mrs. Muir''. She appeared on ''M*A*S*H
''M*A*S*H'' (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richard Hooker.
Th ...
'' as Lorraine Blake, wife of unit commander Henry Blake, in a home movie she sent to him. Hughes portrayed Mitch, a secretary, on the NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
drama '' Bracken's World'' (1969–1971).[Terrace, Vincent (2011). ''Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010''. McFarland & Company, Inc.; . P. 129.]
Stage
Hughes' favorite stage role was in the play ''The Seven Year Itch
''The Seven Year Itch'' is a 1955 American romantic comedy film directed by Billy Wilder, from a screenplay he co-wrote with George Axelrod from the 1952 three-act play. The film stars Marilyn Monroe and Tom Ewell, who reprised his stage role. ...
''.[
]
Personal life
On July 25, 1954, Hughes married Stanley Rubin
Stanley Creamer Rubin (October 8, 1917 – March 2, 2014) was an American screenwriter and film and television producer born in New York City. He was the recipient of the Television Academy's first Emmy in 1949 for writing and producing (in colla ...
, the producer of '' Bracken's World'', at the home of her uncle. The couple had one daughter and three sons. The marriage lasted 59 years, until Rubin died on March 2, 2014 from natural causes at the age of 96.
Filmography
References
Sources
*
*
External links
*
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Kathleen
1928 births
Living people
American stage actresses
American film actresses
American television actresses
Actresses from Los Angeles
20th Century Studios contract players