Gloria Maude Talbott (February 7, 1931 – September 19, 2000) was an American film and television actress.

Early life and career

Gloria Talbott was born in

Glendale, California Glendale is a city located primarily in the Verdugo Mountains region, with a small portion in the San Fernando Valley, of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is located about north of downtown Los Angeles. As of 2024, Glendale ha ...

. Her great-grandfather Benjamin F. Patterson arrived from Ohio in 1882 and bought some acreage in the area. He later assisted with the

plat In the United States, a plat ( or ) (plan) is a cadastral map, drawn to scale, showing the divisions of a piece of land. United States General Land Office surveyors drafted township plats of Public Lands Survey System, Public Lands Surveys to ...

ting of the city. She began her career as a

child actress The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage, television, or in movies. An adult who began their acting career as a child may also be called a child actor, or a "former child actor". Closely associated te ...

in such films as '' Maytime'' (1937), '' Sweet and Low-Down'' (1944), and '' A Tree Grows In Brooklyn'' (1945). She attended Glendale High School. In 1947, she was chosen as the winner of the "Miss Glendale" beauty pageant. In November 1948, Talbott was in the cast of ''One Fine Day'', a comedy presented on stage at the Biltmore Theater in Los Angeles. Her sister, Lori Talbott, also became an actress.

Film roles

Joel McCrea-Gloria Talbott in The Oklahoman

Talbott worked in film regularly during the 1950s. In 1952, she had the role of Rose Rodriguez in ''The Rodriguez Story'' featurette. She appeared in '' Crashout'' (1955), the

Humphrey Bogart Humphrey DeForest Bogart ( ; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American actor. His performances in classic Hollywood cinema made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film Institute selected Bogart ...

comedy '' We're No Angels'' (1955), '' Lucy Gallant'' (1955), and ''

All That Heaven Allows ''All That Heaven Allows'' is a 1955 American melodrama film directed by Douglas Sirk, produced by Ross Hunter, and adapted by Peg Fenwick from a novel by Edna L. Lee and Harry Lee. It stars Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson in a tale about the social ...

'' (1955). In 1959, she appeared as an Indian, first in ''The Oregon Trail'' with

Fred MacMurray Frederick Martin MacMurray (August 30, 1908 – November 5, 1991) was an American actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films and a successful television series in a career that spanned nearly a half-century. His career as a major film le ...

as Shona and then in '' Alias Jesse James'' with

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was an American comedian, actor, entertainer and producer with a career that spanned nearly 80 years and achievements in vaudeville, network radio, television, and USO Tours. He appeared ...

as Princess Irawanee. She later became known as a "

scream queen A scream queen (a wordplay on ''screen queen'') is an actress who is prominent and influential in horror films, either through a notable appearance or recurring roles. Scream king is the equivalent for men. Notable scream queen examples include ...

", after appearing in a number of horror films, including '' The Daughter of Dr. Jekyll'' (1957), '' The Cyclops'' (1957), '' I Married a Monster from Outer Space'' (1958), and '' The Leech Woman'' (1960). Her final film role was as Bri Quince, the love interest in the 1966 Western film '' An Eye for an Eye''.

Television roles

In 1953, Talbott appeared in "The Crime of Sylvester Bonnard" and "High Seas" on '' Favorite Story'', starred in "The Dear Departed" on '' Chevron Theatre'' and played Herelda in "Gypsy Wagon," an episode of ''

The Gene Autry Show ''The Gene Autry Show'' is an American western/cowboy television series which aired for 91 episodes on CBS from July 23, 1950 until August 7, 1956, originally sponsored by Wrigley's Doublemint chewing gum. Overview Series star Gene Autry h ...

.'' In 1955, she appeared in ''

TV Reader's Digest ''TV Reader's Digest '' is a 30-minute American television anthology drama series, which aired on ABC from January 17, 1955, to July 9, 1956. Its theme music was "Polonaise" from Act III of ''Eugene Onegin''. Format Based on articles that ap ...

'' episode "America's First Great Lady" as

Pocahontas Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, also known as Matoaka and Rebecca Rolfe; 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. S ...

and was the first guest star with roles in both of the 1955 season's new adult Westerns, ''

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 ...

'', episode "Home Surgery" and ''

The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp ''The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp'' is the first Western television series written for adults.science-fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, sp ...

episode of the television anthology series '' Conflict'' entitled " Man From 1997" featuring

Charlie Ruggles Charles Sherman Ruggles (February 8, 1886 – December 23, 1970) was an American comic character actor. In a career spanning six decades, Ruggles appeared in close to 100 feature films, often in mild-mannered and comic roles. He was also the e ...

and

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 ...

. She guest-starred in the premiere episode of '' Mr. Adams and Eve'', "The Young Actress", which was broadcast on January 4, 1957. On October 1, 1957, she appeared as Linda Brazwell in the episode "Reluctant Hero" of the

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 Bros. 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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Sugarfoot ''Sugarfoot'' is an American Western television series that aired for 69 episodes on ABC from 1957-1961 on Tuesday nights on a "shared" slot basis – rotating with ''Cheyenne'' (first season); ''Cheyenne'' and '' Bronco'' (both second and fo ...

''. Talbott's multiple television credits also include the syndicated '' Adventures of Superman'', ''

The Range Rider ''The Range Rider'' is an American Western television series that was first broadcast in syndication from 1951 to 1952. A single lost episode surfaced and was broadcast in 1959. In 1954, the BBC purchased rights to show the program in the UK . ...

'', ''

The Cisco Kid The Cisco Kid is a fictional character found in numerous film, radio, television and comic book series based on the fictional Western character created by O. Henry in his 1907 short story "The Caballero's Way", published in ''Everybody's Maga ...

'', the

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 ...

Western anthology series ''Frontier'' (1955), and the syndicated Western-themed

crime drama Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...

, ''Sheriff of Cochise'' with

John Bromfield John Bromfield (born Farron Bromfield; June 11, 1922 – September 19, 2005) was an American actor and commercial fisherman. Early years Farron Bromfield was born in South Bend, Indiana. He played football and was a boxing champion at Saint Mar ...

. She appeared in the 1956 episode "The Singing Preacher" of the religious anthology series, '' Crossroads''. In a broadcast on NBC on January 27, 1958, Talbott played Valya in star/producer John Payne's ''

The Restless Gun ''The Restless Gun'' is an American Westerns on television, Western television series that appeared on NBC between 1957 and 1959, with John Payne (actor), John Payne in the role of Vint Bonner, a wandering cowboy in the era after the American Ci ...

'', season one, episode 19, "Hang and Be Damned". She was cast in the syndicated

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

drama '' Gray Ghost'', the 1958 episode "Fatal Memory" 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 ...

's '' Wanted: Dead or Alive'' (returning for the 1960 episode "Tolliver Bender"), the 1959 episode "Have Sword, Will Duel" of the NBC Western '' Cimarron City'', and in the 1961 NBC Western '' Whispering Smith'' in the role of Cora Gates. She guest-starred as Jenny in the 1958 episode "A Cup of Black Coffee" of the CBS crime drama ''

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' ...

'', reprising the pairing

David Janssen David Janssen (born David Harold Meyer; March 27, 1931 – February 13, 1980) was an American film and television actor who is best known for his starring role as Richard Kimble in the television series '' The Fugitive'' (1963–1967). Janssen a ...

and she played in the 1955 film ''

''. She also guest-starred in several episodes of ABC's ''

Zorro Zorro ( or , Spanish for "fox") is a fictional character created in 1919 by American Pulp magazine, pulp writer Johnston McCulley, appearing in works set in the Pueblo de Los Ángeles in Alta California. He is typically portrayed as a dashin ...

''.

In 1960, Talbott made guest-starring appearances as Nora Lanyard and Lucinda Jennings in the episodes "Landlubbers" and "Devil in Skirts" of the NBC Western series, ''

Riverboat A riverboat is a watercraft designed for inland navigation on lakes, rivers, and artificial waterways. They are generally equipped and outfitted as work boats in one of the carrying trades, for freight or people transport, including luxury ...

''. She was cast as Sandy in "The Velvet Frame" of the ABC/WB drama, '' The Roaring 20s''. She also appeared in the ABC Western series, '' The Rebel'' and in ''

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 ...

'' as Nedda in the episode "Escape to Ponderosa". In 1961, she portrayed Maria Mosner in the episode "The Twenty-Six Paper" of the ABC adventure series, '' The Islanders''. That same year, she guest-starred in the episode "Buddy's Wife" of the CBS sitcom '' Bringing Up Buddy''. She appeared twice on CBS's TV Western series ''

Bat Masterson Bartholemew William Barclay "Bat" Masterson (November 26, 1853 – October 25, 1921) was a U.S. Army scout, lawman, professional gambler, and journalist known for his exploits in the late 19th and early 20th-century American Old West. He was bo ...

'', once in the 1958 episode "Trail Pirate" playing Ellen Parrish, a widowed yet brave wagon train owner, then again in the 1960 episode "Barbary Castle" playing Scottish-accented Mary MacLeod. She also appeared on CBS's ''

Rawhide Rawhide may refer to: *Rawhide (material), a hide or animal skin that has not been tanned * Whip made from rawhide Entertainment * ''Rawhide'' (1926 film), a Western directed by Richard Thorpe * ''Rawhide'' (1938 film), a Western starring baseball ...

'' in the episodes "The Incident of the Calico Gun" (1959), "Incident of the Broken Word" (1960), and "Prairie Elephant" (1961). She appeared in the 1961 episode "Terror in the Afternoon" of the syndicated crime drama '' The Brothers Brannagan''. Talbott made four guest appearances on the CBS courtroom drama 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 ...

'': as defendant Eve Nesbitt in "The Case of the Angry Dead Man", Ann Gilrain in "The Case of the Crying Comedian" (both in 1961), co-defendant Bonnie Lloyd in the 1963 episode, "The Case of the Elusive Element", and Minna Rohan in the 1966 episode, "The Case of the Unwelcomed Well". In 1962, she appeared again in an episode of ''Gunsmoke'' called "Cody's Code" and in 1963 in an episode entitled "The Cousin". In 1965, Talbott was cast in the lead in an episode of the syndicated series, ''

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 ...

'', "Kate Melville and the Law". In 1965 Talbott appeared as Lola Wynatt in season 5 Episode !0 of My Three Sons.

Personal life

Talbott was married four times and had two children.

Death

On September 19, 2000, Talbott died of

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as renal failure or end-stage renal disease (ESRD), is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney fa ...

while hospitalized in

Filmography

* '' Maytime'' (1937) - Little Girl (uncredited) * '' Sweet and Low-Down'' (1944) - Teen-Ager on Dance Floor (uncredited) * '' A Tree Grows in Brooklyn'' (1945) - Teen-Age Girl in Classroom (uncredited) * ''

Desert Pursuit ''Desert Pursuit'' is a 1952 American Western film directed by George Blair and starring Wayne Morris, Virginia Grey and George Tobias. The film is based on the story "Horse Thieves' Hosanna" by Kenneth Perkins, originally published in the D ...

'' (1952) - Indian Girl (uncredited) * '' We're Not Married!'' (1952) - Girl in Hector's Daydream (uncredited) * ''

Northern Patrol The Northern Patrol, also known as Cruiser Force B and the Northern Patrol Force, was a naval force of the Royal Navy during the world wars. The Northern Patrol was part of the British "distant" Blockade of Germany (1914–1919). Its main task wa ...

'' (1953) - Meg Stevens * '' Crashout'' (1955) - Girl on Train * '' We're No Angels'' (1955) - Isabelle Ducotel * ''

'' (1955) - Kay Scott * '' Lucy Gallant'' (1955) - Laura Wilson * '' Strange Intruder'' (1956) - Meg Carmichael * '' The Young Guns'' (1956) - Nora Bawdre * ''

Sneak Preview A film screening is the displaying of a motion picture or film, generally referring to a special showing as part of a film's production and release cycle. To show the film to best advantage, special screenings may take place in plush, low seat-cou ...

'' (1956) - Episode "One Minute from Broadway" * '' Mr. Adams and Eve'' (1957) - The Actress - Episode "The Young Actress" * '' The Kettles on Old MacDonald's Farm'' (1957) - Sally Flemming * ''

The Oklahoman ''The Oklahoman'' is the largest daily newspaper in Oklahoma, United States, and is the only regional daily that covers the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, Greater Oklahoma City area. The Alliance for Audited Media (formerly Audit Bureau Circul ...

'' (1957) - Maria Smith * '' The Cyclops'' (1957) - Susan Winter * '' The Daughter of Dr. Jekyll'' (1957) - Janet Smith * '' Taming Sutton's Gal'' (1957) - Lou Sutton * ''

'' (1958) - as Valya in Episode "Hang and be Damned" * ''

'' (1958) as Sophie Wilmer in Episode "The Outlander" * '' Wanted: Dead or Alive'' (1958) as Jody Sykes in Episode "Fatal Memory" * ''

'' (1958) as Mercyday in Episode "Mercyday" * '' Cattle Empire'' (1958) - Sandy Jeffrey * '' I Married a Monster from Outer Space'' (1958) - Marge Bradley Farrell * '' Alias Jesse James'' (1959) - Princess Irawanie * '' The Oregon Trail'' (1959) - Shona Hastings * '' Girls Town'' (1959) - Vida * ''

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 ...

'' (1959-1961, TV Series) - Narcissa / Fay Dooley * ''

Oklahoma Territory The Territory of Oklahoma was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 2, 1890, until November 16, 1907, when it was joined with the Indian Territory under a new constitution and admitted to the Union as ...

'' (1960) - Ruth Red Hawk * '' The Leech Woman'' (1960) - Sally * '' Laramie'' - Maud Pardee in S1:E26 (1960), “Hour After Dawn” *''

'' **''

'' (1959) – Jenny Watson in S1:E15, "Incident of the Calico Gun" **''

'' (1961) – Lucille Foley in S3:E11, "Incident of the Broken Word" **''

'' (1961) – Jenny in S4:E8, "The Prairie Elephant" * '' Whispering Smith'' (1961) - Cora Gates * ''

'' (1955-1963, TV Series) - Hallie / Rose Loring / Holly Hawtree * '' Arizona Raiders'' (1965) - Martina * '' An Eye for an Eye'' (1966) - Bri Quince (final film role)

References

External links

* *
Literature on Gloria Talbott
{{DEFAULTSORT:Talbott, Gloria 1931 births 2000 deaths 20th-century American actresses American film actresses American television actresses Deaths from kidney failure in California Actresses from Glendale, California Actresses from California American child actresses American stage actresses