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Diane Brewster (March 11, 1931 – November 12, 1991) was an American television actress most noted for playing three distinctively different roles in
television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...
of the 1950s and 1960s: confidence trickster Samantha Crawford in the
Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
'' Maverick'' with
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 ...
; pretty young second-grade teacher Miss Canfield in ''
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 ...
''; and doomed wife Helen Kimble in '' The Fugitive''. Brewster was a direct descendant of William Brewster, a
Pilgrim The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often vocalize it as ...
and Governor of the
Plymouth Colony Plymouth Colony (sometimes spelled Plimouth) was the first permanent English colony in New England from 1620 and the third permanent English colony in America, after Newfoundland and the Jamestown Colony. It was settled by the passengers on t ...
.


Early years

Brewster's father was Phillip Sloan Brewster, a trial lawyer in Missouri; her mother was Geraldine (née Craddock); she had an older brother, Paul. She was born in
Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...
and went to Shawnee Mission High School. Her 1949 senior class yearbook lists a nickname, "Dissy". She was a Pep Club member, Class Secretary, Cheerleader and Homecoming Queen Attendant. Later, Brewster studied liberal arts at the
University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...
. Following her sophomore year at the university, she took a job as a secretary at a radio station.


Career

Brewster moved to Los Angeles from the Kansas City area around 1955. Her first job in entertainment was as MC for a teenage radio program. Work in commercials, fashion commentary, and even weather programs soon followed. In 1956, Brewster was the announcer on '' The Ina Ray Hutton Show'', a variety program on
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
television. On ''Maverick'', Brewster's character is a gorgeous gambling con artist who often affects a southern accent to convince marks of her reliability, but is ultimately likable. Brewster first played the character in a 1956 episode of ''
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 ...
'' entitled "Dark Rider" before appearing opposite
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 ...
in the third episode of ''Maverick'', "According to Hoyle". Her other ''Maverick'' appearances include "The Savage Hills" with Jack Kelly, "The Seventh Hand" with Garner, and the famous " Shady Deal at Sunny Acres" featuring both Kelly and Garner. According to his detailed interview for the
Archive of American Television The Interviews: An Oral History of Television (formerly titled the Archive of American Television) is a project of the nonprofit Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation in North Hollywood, Los Angeles, that records interviews with notabl ...
, writer/producer and series creator Roy Huggins had given her character his mother's maiden name. She played Marilyn Hesselroth in the '' Bachelor Father'' episode, “Bentley and the Girl Scouts”, which aired September 29, 1957. Brewster played Miss Canfield on ''
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 ...
'' for the first season on
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
, 1957-1958, and for the 1980s television revivals. Brewster appeared in the show's pilot, "It's a Small World", as Miss Simms, a secretary with a dairy company, and in four regular season episodes as Miss Canfield. In Episode 1, she appears in the credits as "Diana Brewster", a mistake which was corrected in her next appearance in Episode 8. Brewster was replaced by Sue Randall as "Miss Landers" on the second season of ''Leave It to Beaver''. In 1957, she co-starred with George Montgomery in the Western film '' Black Patch'', playing his former and future love interest. On January 31, 1959, Brewster played Lisa Caldwell in the episode "Runaway Train" of
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
's '' Cimarron City'' Western television series starring George Montgomery. That same year, Brewster appeared in '' The Young Philadelphians'' playing the mother of
Paul Newman Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008) was an American actor, film director, race car driver, philanthropist, and activist. He was the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Paul Newman, numerous awards ...
's character. (Newman was six years her senior.) She made almost 50 appearances in various other television and film roles, including episodes of ''Crusader'' starring
Brian Keith Robert Alba Keith (November 14, 1921 – June 24, 1997), known professionally as Brian Keith, was an American film, television, and stage actor who in his six-decade career gained recognition for his work in films such as the Disney family ...
, '' Wanted: Dead or Alive'' with
Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of counterculture of the 1960s, 1960s counterculture, made him a top box office draw for his films of the late ...
, ''
Tombstone Territory ''Tombstone Territory'' is an American Western television series starring Pat Conway and Richard Eastham. The first two seasons aired on ABC from 1957 to 1959. The first season was sponsored by Bristol-Myers (consumer products) and the seco ...
'' (as "Julie Dixon" in season 1 episode 33), ''
Tales of Wells Fargo ''Tales of Wells Fargo'' is an American Westerns on television, Western television series starring Dale Robertson in 201 episodes that aired from 1957 to 1962 on NBC. Produced by Revue Productions, the series aired in a half-hour format until i ...
'' (as "Dr Alice" S2/E25) with Dale Robertson, and '' Harbor Command'' with Wendell Corey. In 1959, she played the girlfriend of
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
's character in an installment of the '' General Electric Theatre'' anthology series, "Nobody's Child", and portrayed Marian Dell in the episode "Law of the Badlands" of the syndicated series ''
Frontier Doctor ''Frontier Doctor'' is an American Western television series starring Rex Allen that aired in syndication from September 26, 1958, until June 20, 1959. The series was also known as ''Unarmed'' and ''Man of the West''.TV Guide Guide to TV. Bar ...
'' starring
Rex Allen Rex Elvie Allen Sr. (December 31, 1920 – December 17, 1999), known as "The Arizona Cowboy", was an American film and television actor, singer and songwriter; he was also the narrator of many Disney nature and Western productions. For his cont ...
. In 1960, Brewster had a starring role as Wilhelmina "Steamboat Willy" Vanderveer in '' The Islanders'', an hour-long adventure series set in the South Pacific, with William Reynolds and James Philbrook. That same year, she also portrayed the titular role in "The Lita Foladaire Story," an episode of ''
Wagon Train ''Wagon Train'' is an American Western television series that aired for eight seasons, first on the NBC television network (1957–1962) and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and reached the top of the ...
'' with
Ward Bond Wardell Edwin Bond (April 9, 1903 – November 5, 1960) was an American character actor who appeared in more than 200 films and starred in the NBC television series ''Wagon Train'' from 1957 to 1960. Among his best-remembered roles are Bert th ...
and
silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...
star
Evelyn Brent Evelyn Brent (born Mary Elizabeth Riggs; October 20, 1895 – June 4, 1975) was an American film and stage actress. Early life Brent was born in Tampa, Florida and known as "Betty." When she was 10 years old, her mother Eleanor ( Warner) die ...
, in which Brewster's character had been killed before the start of the show, with her sections of the story posthumously depicted in flashbacks. Brewster was also a guest star in 1965 on ''Wagon Train'', appearing in "The Echo Pass Story" along with Jack Lord and James Caan, which aired on January 3, 1964. Brewster subsequently guest starred on ''
Empire An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...
'' and in ''
The Rifleman ''The Rifleman'' is an American Western television series starring Chuck Connors as rancher Lucas McCain and Johnny Crawford as his son Mark McCain. It was set in the 1880s in the fictional town of North Fork, New Mexico Territory. The show ...
'' episode, "The Jealous Man" in 1962; on ''
The Dakotas The Dakotas, also known as simply Dakota, is a collective term for the U.S. states of North Dakota and South Dakota. It has been used historically to describe the Dakota Territory, and is still used for the collective heritage, culture, geo ...
'' with
Jack Elam William Scott "Jack" Elam (November 13, 1920 – October 20, 2003) was an American film and television actor best known for his numerous roles as villains in Western films and, later in his career, comedies (sometimes spoofing his villaino ...
in 1963; on the 1963 '' Perry Mason'' episode, "The Case of the Potted Planter" with
Raymond Burr Raymond William Stacy Burr (May 21, 1917September 12, 1993) was a Canadian actor who had a lengthy Hollywood film career and portrayed the title roles in the television dramas '' Perry Mason'' and '' Ironside''. Burr's early acting career inclu ...
, and in the premiere episode of ''
Kentucky Jones ''Kentucky Jones'' is an American comedy-drama television series starring Dennis Weaver which centers around a widowed Southern California veterinarian and rancher raising an adopted Chinese boy. Original episodes aired from September 19, 1964, u ...
'' (1964) with
Dennis Weaver Billy Dennis Weaver (June 4, 1924 – February 24, 2006) was an American actor and president of the Screen Actors Guild, best known for his work in television and films from the early 1950s until just before his death in 2006. Weaver's two most ...
and
Harry Morgan Harry Morgan (born Harry Bratsberg; April 10, 1915 – December 7, 2011) was an American actor whose television and film career spanned six decades. Morgan's major roles included Pete Porter in both '' December Bride'' (1954–1959) and '' Pet ...
. Brewster appeared several times in flashbacks as the murdered wife Helen Kimble in '' The Fugitive'', most prominently in Episode 14, The Fugitive (season 1), "The Girl from Little Egypt", broadcast December 24, 1963. She appeared in two episodes of ''
Death Valley Days ''Death Valley Days'' is an American Western (genre), Western anthology series featuring true accounts of the American Old West, particularly the Death Valley country of southeastern California. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program was ...
'', in a 1966 episode of ''
Family Affair ''Family Affair'' is an American sitcom starring Brian Keith and Sebastian Cabot that aired on CBS from September 12, 1966, to March 4, 1971. The series explored the trials of well-to-do engineer and bachelor Bill Davis (Keith) as he attempt ...
'', and in an installment of '' Ironside'' (1968) before retiring. She reappeared in four episodes of '' The New Leave It to Beaver''.


Personal life and death

In California, Brewster married Jabe Z. Walker, an oral surgeon from Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. They had a son, Dean C. Walker, and a daughter, Lynn D. Walker. Both children were born in
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, ...
. Jabe Walker died in February 2013. Brewster died from
heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...
in 1991, aged 60.


Filmography


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brewster, Diane 1931 births 1991 deaths American television actresses Actresses from Kansas City, Missouri University of Kansas alumni 20th-century American actresses