Anne Langham Whitfield (August 27, 1938 – February 15, 2024) was an American actress on

old-time radio The Golden Age of Radio, also known as the old-time radio (OTR) era, was an era of radio in the United States where it was the dominant electronic home entertainment medium. It began with the birth of commercial radio broadcasting in the earl ...

, television, stage, and film. Her first name is sometimes seen spelled Ann.

Personal life

Whitfield was born in

Oxford, Mississippi Oxford is the List of municipalities in Mississippi, 14th most populous city in Mississippi, United States, and the county seat of Lafayette County, Mississippi, Lafayette County, southeast of Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis. A college town, Oxford ...

, in 1938, and was the daughter of Richard N. Whitfield, Jr. and Frances Turner Whitfield. Her father was director of bands at the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (Epithet, byname Ole Miss) is a Public university, public research university in University, near Oxford, Mississippi, United States, with a University of Mississippi Medical Center, medical center in Jackson, Miss ...

and her mother was a speech teacher. After moving to California, she attended Rosewood Avenue Public School. By the time she was 17, she was studying at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

, scheduling her classes around her work on radio programs. During the 1970s, Whitfield lived in

Olympia, Washington Olympia is the capital city of the U.S. state of Washington. It had a population of 55,605 at the 2020 census, making it the state of Washington's 23rd-most populous city. Olympia is the county seat of Thurston County, and the central city ...

, working at the Washington State Department of Ecology at

Evergreen State College The Evergreen State College is a public liberal arts college in Olympia, Washington. Founded in 1967, it offers a non-traditional undergraduate curriculum in which students have the option to design their own study towards a degree or follow a ...

with an interest in clean water. She later undertook pursuits in women's rights, environmental issues, and

homelessness Homelessness, also known as houselessness or being unhoused or unsheltered, is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and functional housing. It includes living on the streets, moving between temporary accommodation with family or friends, liv ...

. Whitfield died after an incident while walking in her neighborhood near Burien, Washington, on February 15, 2024. She was 85.

Radio

As a youngster, Whitfield "played child roles on practically every comedy and dramatic series originating in Hollywood". Her radio debut came in September 1945, when she "stepped up on a box before an already lowered microphone in an NBC studio and said, 'I want another slice of bread'" for a commercial. She became a member of the cast of '' One Man's Family'' when she was seven years old. Whitfield's roles on radio programs include: She was also heard on '' Lux Radio Theatre'', '' The Screen Guild Theater'', '' Family Theater'', ''

Cavalcade of America ''Cavalcade of America'' is an anthology drama series that was sponsored by the DuPont Company, although it occasionally presented musicals, such as an adaptation of ''Show Boat'', and condensed biographies of popular Composer, composers. It was ...

'', '' The Cisco Kid'', ''His Honor, the Barber'', ''Phone Again'', ''Dr. Paul'', '' The Harold Peary Show'',Sies, Luther F. (2014). ''Encyclopedia of American Radio, 1920–1960'', 2nd ed.. McFarland & Co., Inc. . p. 322. '' NBC University Theatre'', and ''The Woman in My House''.

Stage, film, and television

In 1949, Whitfield appeared in theatrical productions of '' Annie Get Your Gun'' and ''

Show Boat ''Show Boat'' is a musical theatre, musical with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on Edna Ferber's best-selling 1926 Show Boat (novel), novel of the same name. The musical follows the lives of the per ...

'', both in Los Angeles, California. On film, she played Susan Waverly in '' White Christmas'' (1954) and appeared in '' Juvenile Jungle'' (1958) and '' Tick, Tick, Tick'' (1970). In 1960, she played the role of Trudy (working bar girl in the Long Branch) in the season-six episode "Don Matteo" in the TV Western ''

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 ...

'', then again in one of its 1966 episodes “Stage Stop” as Lori Coombs, an abused wife who later falls in love with a blind man after her husband is killed. Whitfield played Claudia Barbour in the TV version of ''One Man's Family''.Terrace, Vincent (2011). ''Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . p. 791. The casting was a change from Whitfield's role in the radio version of the program; in the story, Claudia was the mother of Penny, whom Whitfield played on radio. She played the two roles concurrently during the TV series' single season on the air. Whitfield also was featured in "The Case of the Ugly Duckling", "The Case of the Crafty Kidnapper", and "The Case of the Nautical Knot", episodes of '' Perry Mason'' (1964); "The Storm Riders" on ''

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. The Cheyenne comprise two Native American tribes, the Só'taeo'o or Só'taétaneo'o (more commonly spelled as Suhtai or Sutaio) and the (also spelled Tsitsistas, The term for th ...

'' (June 24, 1956), and then subsequently in another episode, "The Young Fugitives" (October 23, 1961); "Judgment at Hondo Seco" on '' Rawhide'' (October 20, 1961); and "Harry, the Good Neighbor' on '' The New Phil Silvers Show'' (February 22, 1964). In the '60s, she was also active in series such as ''Adam-12, Emergency!, The New Interns, 77 Sunset Strip, Laramie, Hawaiian Eye, the Untouchables, Ben Casey, The Dakotas, 12 O'clock High, Peter Gunn, Manhunt,'' and the ''Johnny Carson Show''. She played Jack Nicholson's girlfriend in ''Wells Fargo'' and Robert Redford's estranged wife in ''Tate'' – both superstars' first TV shows. Whitfield's all-time favorite role was as Sally Ellis, an Arkansas farm girl, in ''One Step Beyond'' (1960).Tuckey, Tammy (December 21, 2020)
"Interview with Anne Whitfield, Susan Waverly in "White Christmas" – Rattling the Stars"
''YouTube''. Retrieved September 28, 2023.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Whitfield, Anne 1938 births 2024 deaths 20th-century American actresses American child actresses American film actresses American radio actresses American stage actresses American television actresses Actresses from Mississippi