Amanda Blake (born Beverly Louise Neill; February 20, 1929 – August 16, 1989) was an American actress best known for the role of the red-haired saloon proprietress "Miss Kitty Russell" on the Western television series ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centered on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central charact ...

''. Along with her fourth husband, Frank Gilbert, she ran one of the first successful programs for breeding

cheetah The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large Felidae, cat and the Fastest animals, fastest land animal. It has a tawny to creamy white or pale buff fur that is marked with evenly spaced, solid black spots. The head is small and rounded, wit ...

s in captivity.

Early life

Amanda Blake was born Beverly Louise Neill in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

, the only child of Jesse and Louise (née Puckett) Neill. Her father was a banker. Blake was a telephone operator and briefly attended

Pomona College Pomona College ( ) is a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Claremont, California. It was established in 1887 by a group of Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalists ...

before took up acting. Blake attended Brenau Academy from 1944 to 1945. She then served on the board of advisors and became a trustee.

Career

Amanda Blake in Stars in My Crown trailer

In the late 1940s, Blake was signed to

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

as the studio saw her as its next

Greer Garson Eileen Evelyn Greer Garson (29 September 1904 – 6 April 1996) was a British-American actress and singer. She was a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer who became popular during the Second World War for her portrayal of strong women on the homef ...

. She appeared in a few Hollywood films, such as the 1952 western '' Cattle Town'' and in the starring role of '' Miss Robin Crusoe'', a 1954 adaptation of the

Robinson Crusoe ''Robinson Crusoe'' ( ) is an English adventure novel by Daniel Defoe, first published on 25 April 1719. Written with a combination of Epistolary novel, epistolary, Confessional writing, confessional, and Didacticism, didactic forms, the ...

adventure. In 1954, she appeared in '' A Star Is Born''. Blake became best known for her 19-year stint as the saloon-keeper Miss Kitty on the television series ''

'' from 1955 to 1974. On February 27, 1974, Blake brought a lion named Kemo on to the ''Gunsmoke'' set. Because of her continuing role on television, Blake rarely had time for films. She did appear on a number of television shows, including a recurring comedy routine on ''

The Red Skelton Show ''The Red Skelton Show'' is an American television comedy/variety show that aired from 1951 to 1971. In the decade prior to hosting the show, Richard "Red" Skelton had a successful career as a radio and motion pictures star. Although his tele ...

''; as a celebrity on ''

Hollywood Squares ''Hollywood Squares'' (originally ''The Hollywood Squares'', later stylized as ''H2: Hollywood Squares'') is an American game show in which two contestants compete in a game of tic-tac-toe to win cash and prizes. The show originally aired as a ...

'', ''

Tattletales ''Tattletales'' is an American game show produced by Mark Goodson, Goodson-Bill Todman, Todman Productions in association with Fremantle (company), Fremantle. The program had two runs on the CBS daytime schedule between February 1974 and June ...

'', and the 1970s revival of ''

Match Game ''Match Game'' is an American television panel game show that premiered on NBC in 1962 and has been revived several times over the course of the last six decades. The game features contestants trying to match answers given by celebrity paneli ...

''; and comedy appearances on the '' Dean Martin Celebrity Roast''. In 1957, Blake guest-starred as Betty Lavon-Coate in the episode titled "Coate of Many Colors" on Rod Cameron's crime drama, '' State Trooper''. Later, after a ''Gunsmoke'' reunion film, she made two feature-film appearances: in '' The Boost'', a drug-addiction drama starring James Woods and

Sean Young Mary Sean Young (born November 20, 1959) is an American actress. She is particularly known for working in science fiction films, although she has performed roles in a variety of genres. Young's early roles include the Independent film, indepe ...

, and ''B.O.R.N'', both in 1988. In 1968, Blake was inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers at the

National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is a museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, with more than 28,000 American West, Western and Native American art works and Artifact (archaeology), artifacts. The facility also has the worl ...

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

. She was the third performer inducted, after

Tom Mix Thomas Edwin Mix (born Thomas Hezikiah Mix; January 6, 1880 – October 12, 1940) was an American film actor and the star of many early Western (genre), Western films between 1909 and 1935. He appeared in 291 films, all but nine of which were s ...

and

Gary Cooper Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, silent screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, ...

, selected in 1958 and in 1966.

Personal life

Blake was married five times, first to Jack Shea (1952–53), then Don Whitman in 1954, divorced from him in 1956. After the divorce from Whitman, she would go to the 'saloon set' of ''Gunsmoke''. Blake felt like it was home to her on the days when she was not needed. She married Austin, Texas, city councilman Mark Edward Spaeth in 1984. Spaeth died of AIDS-related pneumonia in 1985.

Animal welfare

After ''Gunsmoke'', Blake went into semi-retirement at her home in Phoenix and took on few film or television projects. She instead devoted more time to her animals. She had been known for bringing her pet

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...

, Kemo, onto the ''Gunsmoke'' set. Kemo lived in an animal compound at her home, at which she and husband Frank Gilbert ran an experimental breeding program for cheetahs. They were some of the first to breed cheetahs successfully in captivity; they raised seven generations of cheetahs. Blake joined with others in 1971 to form the Arizona Animal Welfare League, today the oldest and largest "no-kill"

animal shelter An animal shelter or pound is a place where stray, lost, abandoned or surrendered animals – mostly dogs and cats – are housed. The word "pound" has its origins in the animal pounds of the agricultural communities, where stray livestock w ...

in the state. In 1985, she helped finance the start-up of the Performing Animal Welfare Society. Blake reportedly was a one-time board member of the

Humane Society of the United States Humane World for Animals, formerly the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and Humane Society International (HSI), is a global nonprofit organization that focuses on animal welfare and opposes animal-related cruelties of national scop ...

. In 1997, the Amanda Blake Memorial Wildlife Refuge opened at Rancho Seco Park in

Herald A herald, or a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is commonly applied more broadly to all officers of arms. Heralds were originally messengers sent by monarchs or noblemen ...

, California. The refuge provides sanctuary for free-ranging African hoofed wildlife, most of which were originally destined for exotic animal

auction An auction is usually a process of Trade, buying and selling Good (economics), goods or Service (economics), services by offering them up for Bidding, bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from th ...

s or hunting ranches.

Declining health and death

In 1977 Blake, who was a heavy cigarette smoker, developed

oral cancer Oral cancer, also known as oral cavity cancer, tongue cancer or mouth cancer, is a cancer of the lining of the lips, mouth, or upper throat. In the mouth, it most commonly starts as a painless red or white patch, that thickens, gets ulcerated ...

that was successfully treated with surgery. She became a supporter of the

American Cancer Society The American Cancer Society (ACS) is a nationwide non-profit organization dedicated to eliminating cancer. The ACS publishes the journals ''Cancer'', '' CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians'' and '' Cancer Cytopathology''. History The society w ...

and made fundraising appearances throughout the country. In 1984, she was the recipient of the society's annual Courage Award, which was presented to her by then

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

. On August 16, 1989, Blake died of

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

-related

hepatitis Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver parenchyma, liver tissue. Some people or animals with hepatitis have no symptoms, whereas others develop yellow discoloration of the skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice), Anorexia (symptom), poor appetite ...

at Mercy General Hospital in

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

, at the age of 60. Her death was initially attributed to

throat cancer Head and neck cancer is a general term encompassing multiple cancers that can develop in the head and neck region. These include cancers of the mouth, tongue, gums and lips ( oral cancer), voice box ( laryngeal), throat ( nasopharyngeal, orophar ...

but, after her death, her doctor publicly announced her death was due to complications from AIDS. It is not known how Blake contracted the disease. Blake's close friends insisted that she was not a drug user or sexually promiscuous, and that she may have acquired AIDS from her fifth husband who also died of AIDS-related pneumonia in 1985.

Filmography

References

Citations

Sources

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External links

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Amanda Blake
Gunsmoke.net {{DEFAULTSORT:Blake, Amanda 1929 births 1989 deaths Actresses from Buffalo, New York AIDS-related deaths in California American film actresses American television actresses Western (genre) film actresses Keepers of animal sanctuaries 20th-century American actresses Western (genre) television actors Actresses from Los Angeles Actresses from Phoenix, Arizona Actresses from Austin, Texas Pomona College alumni Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players