Beverly Lunsford (January 5, 1945 – May 22, 2019) was an American actress best known for playing Shirley Fletcher on the television sitcom ''

Leave It to Beaver ''Leave It to Beaver'' is an American television sitcom that follows the misadventures of a suburban boy, his family and his friends. It starred Barbara Billingsley, Hugh Beaumont, Tony Dow and Jerry Mathers. CBS first broadcast the show ...

.''

Early life

Lunsford was born in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

Career

Lunsford's early career encompassed several stage performances as well as television and movies. She first appeared at the age of 12 in the 1957 Broadway production of '' The Rope Dancers'', starring Siobhán McKenna and

Art Carney Arthur William Matthew Carney (November 4, 1918 – November 9, 2003) was an American actor and comedian. A recipient of an Academy Awards, Academy Award, a Golden Globe Awards, Golden Globe Award, and six Primetime Emmy Awards, he was best kn ...

. Lunsford's big-screen work started soon after. She appeared in several anthology dramas, then progressed to guest-starring roles on television series such as '' National Velvet'', ''

My Three Sons ''My Three Sons'' is an American television sitcom that aired from September 29, 1960, to April 13, 1972. The series was filmed in black-and-white and broadcast on ABC during its first five seasons, before moving to CBS for the remaining seve ...

'', and ''

''. She temporarily played the part of Amy Ames Britton Kincaid on the

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'', during which she filled in for the main star,

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. She had previously appeared on ''

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''. Lunsford's starring role came in 1961 when she played in

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (April 5, 1926 – May 9, 2024) was an American film director, producer, and actor. Known under various monikers such as "The Pope of Pop Cinema", "The Spiritual Godfather of the New Hollywood", and "The King of Cult", he w ...

's topical drama '' The Intruder.'' The film dealt with race relations in the

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in the wake of the '' Brown vs. Board of Education'' Supreme Court ruling in 1954. In 1963, Lunsford was cast in Herbert L. Strock's

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

'' The Crawling Hand''. Lunsford made her last screen appearance in 1969, although she still attended various public celebrity-oriented events until her death in 2019.

Filmography

Television

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lunsford, Beverly 1945 births 2019 deaths American film actresses American stage actresses American television actresses Actresses from Atlanta Actresses from Los Angeles 21st-century American women