Dee Hartford (born Donna Beatrice Higgins; April 21, 1928 – October 21, 2018) was an American television actress. She was married to

Howard Hawks Howard Winchester Hawks (May 30, 1896December 26, 1977) was an American film director, Film producer, producer, and screenwriter of the Classical Hollywood cinema, classic Hollywood era. Critic Leonard Maltin called him "the greatest American ...

from 1953 to 1959. Her younger sister was actress Eden Hartford; her former

brother-in-law A sibling-in-law is the spouse of one's sibling or the sibling of one’s spouse. More commonly, a sibling-in-law is referred to as a brother-in-law for a male sibling-in-law and a sister-in-law for a female sibling-in-law. Sibling-in-law al ...

was comedian

Groucho Marx Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx (; October 2, 1890 – August 19, 1977) was an American comedian, actor, writer, and singer who performed in films and vaudeville on television, radio, and the stage. He is considered one of America's greatest comed ...

Early years

Hartford was born in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

, Utah, the middle daughter of three daughters born to Edgar and Beatrice (née Thomas) Higgins. She attended East High School in Salt Lake City and LDS Business College, and then became a model.

Career

In the late 1940s, Hartford was a model for ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** '' Vogue Adria'', a fashion magazine for former Yugoslav countries ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ' ...

''. Her screen debut was in '' A Girl in Every Port'' (1952), directed by

Chester Erskine Chester Erskine (November 29, 1905 – April 7, 1986) was an American director, producer, and writer. Biography Chester Erskine was born in Hudson, New York and studied for a short time at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. His first dir ...

. In 1964-65, she made three guest appearances on ''

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 ...

''; as Leslie Ross in "The Case of the Accosted Accountant," as Lois Gray in "The Case of the Missing Button", and she played Rhonda Coleridge in "The Case of the Baffling Bug". In 1964, she appeared as the virago of a wife and mother in " The Bewitchin' Pool" (the last original episode of ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology series, anthology television series created by Rod Serling in which characters find themselves dealing with often disturbing or unusual events, an experience described ...

'' to be broadcast, but not the last one to be filmed). Hartford guest starred in episodes of ''

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 ...

'', '' Burke's Law'', ''

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 Alfred Hitchcock Hour ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, airing on CBS and NBC, alternately, between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. Between 1962 a ...

'', ''

The Cara Williams Show ''The Cara Williams Show'' is an American sitcom starring Cara Williams which centers on a married couple who try to conceal their marriage from their employer. Original episodes aired from September 23, 1964, until April 21, 1965 on CBS.McNeil, A ...

'', ''

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

'' (two episodes), '' Time Tunnel'', ''

Land of the Giants ''Land of the Giants'' is a one-hour American science fiction television series that aired on ABC for two seasons, beginning on September 22, 1968, and ending on March 22, 1970. The show was created and produced by Irwin Allen. ''Land of the G ...

'', and ''

Lost in Space ''Lost in Space'' is an American science fiction television series created and produced by Irwin Allen, which originally aired between 1965 and 1968 on CBS. Lightly dramatic, sometimes comedic in tone, the series was inspired by the 1812 J ...

'' (three episodes). She appeared as the android Verda in the 1966 ''Lost in Space'' episode "The Android Machine" and in a sequel, "Revolt of the Androids". She also appeared in a third episode of ''Lost in Space'' as Nancy Pi Squared in the “Space Beauty” episode about an intergalactic beauty pageant.

Personal life

Hartford married Howard Hawks on February 20, 1953, at his home in

Hollywood, California Hollywood, sometimes informally called Tinseltown, is a List of districts and neighborhoods in Los Angeles, neighborhood and district in the Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles County, California, within the city of Los Angeles. ...

. They divorced in 1959. In 1972, she married Stuart Cramer III. She was a member of the

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian restorationist Christian denomination and the largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. Founded durin ...

(the Mormons).

Selected Filmography

* ''

'' (1962) (Season 1, Episode 10: "Day of Reckoning") as Felicity Sampson * ''

'' (1963) (Season 8, Episode 10:E23 "Ash") as Tillie (a saloon girl). * ''

'' (1964) (Season 1, Episode 19: "The Invisibles") as Mrs. Clarke

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hartford, Dee 1928 births 2018 deaths American film actresses American television actresses Actresses from Salt Lake City 20th-century American actresses Latter Day Saints from Utah Latter Day Saints from California 21st-century American women