Anne Whitfield

Anne Whitfield (born August 27, 1938) is an American former actress on old-time radio, television, stage, and film. Her first name is sometimes seen spelled Ann.

Early years

Born in Oxford, Mississippi, Whitfield was the daughter of Richard N. Whitfield, Jr. and Frances Turner Whitfield. Her father was director of bands at the University of Mississippi, 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, scheduling her classes around her work on radio programs.

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 7 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'', ''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 Edition''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 322. 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'', 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''; then again in one of its 1966 episodes “Stage Stop” (S12E10) 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'' (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 ''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).

In the 1970s, she mostly did commercials for household products such as Cheer detergent, Pledge furniture wax, and Duncan Hines Brownie Mix. Her agent called her "warm and wonderful Wendy Wasp".

References

External links

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