Catherine McLeod (July 2, 1921 – May 11, 1997) was an American actress who made over 60 television and movie appearances between 1944 and 1976. She memorably portrayed the one woman whom

James Garner James Scott Garner (né Bumgarner; April 7, 1928 – July 19, 2014) was an American actor. He played leading roles in more than 50 theatrical films, which included ''The Great Escape (film), The Great Escape'' (1963) with Steve McQueen; Paddy Ch ...

's character Bret Maverick wanted to marry on the 1957

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

television series ''

Maverick Maverick or Maveric may refer to: History * Maverick (animal), an unbranded range animal, derived from U.S. cattleman Samuel Maverick Aviation * AEA Maverick, an Australian single-seat sportsplane design * General Aviation Design Bureau T-32 M ...

'' in the episode " Rage for Vengeance".

Early years

McLeod was born in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

. Her schooling came in an Alhambra convent. She acted in a

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

little theater and studied in the Bliss-Hayden drama workshop. She worked in a movie theater in

Reno Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...

and later became a chorus girl in musicals.

Career

Film

McLeod's films included the leading role as a concert pianist in

Frank Borzage Frank Borzage ( né Borzaga; April 23, 1894 – June 19, 1962) was an American film director and actor. He was the first person to win the Academy Awards, Academy Award for Academy Award for Best Director, Best Director for his film ''7th Heaven ...

's '' I've Always Loved You'' (1946), ''

Courage of Lassie ''Courage of Lassie'' is a 1946 American Technicolor MGM feature film featuring Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Morgan, and dog actor Pal. Plot A young adult collie who is a descendant of Lassie is taken in by Kathie Merrick (Elizabeth Taylor) after bei ...

'' (1946), '' The Fabulous Texan'' (1947), Borzage's ''

That's My Man ''That's My Man'' is a 1947 American drama film directed by Frank Borzage, written by Steve Fisher and Bradley King, and starring Don Ameche, Catherine McLeod, Roscoe Karns, John Ridgely, Kitty Irish and Joe Frisco. It was released on June 1, ...

'' (1947), '' Old Los Angeles'' (1948), '' My Wife's Best Friend'' (1952), ''

A Blueprint for Murder ''A Blueprint for Murder'' is a 1953 American film noir thriller directed and written by Andrew L. Stone and starring Joseph Cotten, Jean Peters and Gary Merrill. Plot Whitney "Cam" Cameron arrives at a hospital and learns that Polly, the ...

'' (1953),

William Witney William Nuelsen Witney (May 15, 1915 – March 17, 2002) was an American film director, film and television director. He is best remembered for the action films he made for Republic Pictures, particularly serial film, serials: ''Dick Tracy Return ...

's ''

The Outcast Outcast or Outcasts may refer to: *Outcast (person), a person with social stigma or untouchability Literature *''The Outcast'', an 1875 novel by William Winwood Reade * ''The Outcast: A Rhyme for the Time'', an 1891 poem by Robert Williams Buch ...

'' (1954), '' Ride the Wild Surf'' (1964), and ''

Lipstick Lipstick is a cosmetics, cosmetic product used to apply coloration and texture to lips, often made of wax and oil. Different pigments are used to produce color, and minerals such as silica may be used to provide texture. The use of lipstick ...

'' (1976).

Television

On October 10, 1950, McLeod starred in "Criminal's Mark" on the TV version of ''

Suspense Suspense is a state of anxiety or excitement caused by mysteriousness, uncertainty, doubt, or undecidedness. In a narrative work, suspense is the audience's excited anticipation about the plot or conflict (which may be heightened by a viol ...

''. She made two guest appearances on the television series ''

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 four short stories, all of which involve a ...

'': Lorraine Ferrell in "The Case of the Vagabond Vixen" (1957) and Nora Huxley in "The Case of the Glittering Goldfish" (1959). In both roles, she played the wife of the murder victim, but was neither the defendant nor actual murderer. McLeod appeared in dozens of other series, including '' The Millionaire'', ''

Meet McGraw ''Meet McGraw'' is an American television detective drama that was broadcast on NBC from July 2, 1957, to June 24, 1958. Several months after it debuted, the title was changed to ''Adventures of McGraw''. It was also shown in Canada on CBC Televis ...

'', ''

Richard Diamond, Private Detective ''Richard Diamond, Private Detective'' is an American detective drama, created by Blake Edwards, which aired on radio from 1949 to 1953, and on television from 1957 to 1960. Radio Dick Powell starred in the ''Richard Diamond, Private Detective' ...

'', ''

'' with

in the episode "A Rage for Vengeance," ''

77 Sunset Strip ''77 Sunset Strip'' is an American private detective crime drama television 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 epis ...

'', '' Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer'', ''

Bronco A bucking horse is any breed of horse, male or female, with a propensity to buck. They have been, and still are, referred to by various names, including bronco, broncho, and roughstock. The harder they buck, the more desirable they are for ro ...

'', '' Colt .45'', '' Lawman'' (in the 1961 episode "The Prodigal Mother," with child actor Billy Booth), ''

Bonanza ''Bonanza'' is an American Western television series that ran on NBC from September 12, 1959, to January 16, 1973. Lasting 14 seasons and 431 episodes, ''Bonanza'' is NBC's longest-running Western, the second-longest-running Western series on ...

'', ''

Hazel Hazels are plants of the genus ''Corylus'' of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate Northern Hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family, Betulaceae,Germplasmgobills Information Network''Corylus''Rushforth, K ...

'', ''

Hawaiian Eye ''Hawaiian Eye'' is an American detective television series that ran from October 1959 to April 1963 on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network. Premise Private investigator Tracy Steele (Anthony Eisley) and his half-Hawaiian ...

'', ''

Have Gun – Will Travel ''Have Gun – Will Travel'' is an American Westerns on television, Western television series that was produced and originally broadcast by CBS on both television and radio from 1957 through 1963. The television version of the series starring Ri ...

'', ''

The Outer Limits ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

'', '' The Virginian'', ''

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 ...

'' (as "Letty Rickers", an abused wife of a homesteader turned cowardly killer in S2E29's "Wrong Man" – played by her real-life husband Don Keefer), and the "Ten Thousand Horses Singing" episode of '' Studio One'' opposite

James Dean James Byron Dean (February 8, 1931September 30, 1955) was an American actor. He became one of the most influential figures in Hollywood in the 1950s, despite a career that lasted only five years. His impact on cinema and popular culture was p ...

and

John Forsythe John Lincoln Forsythe ( Freund; January 29, 1918 – April 1, 2010) was an American stage, film/television actor, producer, narrator, drama teacher and philanthropist whose career spanned six decades. He also appeared as a guest on several t ...

. McLeod's greatest impact upon American consciousness by far, however, was as purveyor of one of the most ubiquitous catchphrases of its era when she portrayed the woman in the 1963 headache remedy

Anacin Anacin is an American brand of analgesic that is manufactured by Prestige Consumer Healthcare. Anacin's active ingredients are aspirin and caffeine. History Anacin was invented by William Milton Knight and was first to be used as stated in the ...

television commercial, who plaintively but irritably said, "Mother, please! I'd rather do it myself!" The announcer's

voiceover Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique used in radio, television, filmmaking, theatre, and other media in which a descriptive or expository voice that is not part of the narrative (i.e., non- ...

would then intone, "Sure you have a headache... tense, irritable.... but don't take it out on her."

Personal life

McLeod married San Francisco dental student Bill Gerds in 1947. They divorced in 1949. McLeod's second husband was actor

Don Keefer Donald Hood Keefer (August 18, 1916 – September 7, 2014) was an American actor known for his versatility in performing comedic, as well as highly dramatic, roles. In an acting career that spanned more than 50 years, he appeared in hundreds of ...

. They were married from May 7, 1950, until her death in 1997. They had three children.

Radio appearances

Filmography

References

Sources

''Ten Thousand Horses Singing''
at

Internet Movie Database IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

''Rage for Vengeance''
at

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McLeod, Catherine 1921 births 1997 deaths American film actresses American television actresses 20th-century American actresses Actresses from Los Angeles Actresses from Santa Monica, California