June Dayton (born Mary June Wetzel; August 24, 1923 – June 13, 1994) was an American television actress who appeared in a variety of shows from the 1950s into the 1980s.

Early life

Dayton was born in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

. She used her hometown of Dayton to create a professional name. Her introduction to acting came via a dramatic arts course in college.

Stage

Dayton's Broadway credits include ''The Ivy Green'' (1949), ''Tenting Tonight'' (1947) and ''Lovely Me'' (1946). She worked in summer stock theater for several years, and in 1951, she toured in Australia with a production of '' The Moon Is Blue''.

Television

Dayton played Mary Aldrich in ''

The Aldrich Family ''The Aldrich Family'', a popular radio teenage situation comedy (July 2, 1939 – April 19, 1953), was also presented in films, television and comic books. In the radio series' opening exchange, awkward teen Henry's mother called, "Hen-''ry-y-y ...

'', Patsy Hamilton in ''

The Brighter Day ''The Brighter Day'' is an American daytime soap opera which aired on CBS from January 4, 1954, to September 28, 1962. Originally created for NBC Radio by Irna Phillips in 1948, the radio and television versions ran simultaneously from 1954&ndas ...

'', Jennifer in ''A Date with Life'', Grace Baden in '' Lucas Tanner'', and Lucy Spaulding in '' Paradise Bay''. Dayton appeared as a guest star in episodes of '' Studio One'', ''

Robert Montgomery Presents ''Robert Montgomery Presents'' is an American drama (film and television), drama television series which was produced by NBC from January 30, 1950, until June 24, 1957. The Live television, live show had several sponsors during its eight-year run ...

'', '' Kraft Theatre'', ''

The Untouchables (1959 TV series) ''The Untouchables'' is an American crime drama produced by Desilu Productions that ran from 1959 to 1963 on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network. Based on the The Untouchables (1957 book), memoir of the same name by Eliot Ne ...

'', ''

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 ...

'' (“Laughing Gas” - 1958 - S3E29 & “Bently” - 1964 - S9E28), '' The Investigators'', '' The Fugitive'', '' The F.B.I.'', ''

Barnaby Jones ''Barnaby Jones'' is an American detective fiction, detective television series starring Buddy Ebsen as a formerly retired investigator and Lee Meriwether as his widowed daughter-in-law. They run a private detective firm in Los Angeles, Califor ...

'', and '' Quincy, M.E.''. She made five guest appearances on '' Perry Mason'': in 1957 she played defendant Myrna Davenport in "The Case of the Runaway Corpse", in 1958 as defendant Sue Hardisty in "The Case of the Buried Clock", and in 1960 as wife Alice Gorman in "The Case of the Ill-Fated Faker". Dayton played Catherine Driscoll in the episode "The Party Line" on CBS's '' Dennis the Menace''. She had a memorable role as Helen Turner in ''

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 ...

'' episode " A Penny for Your Thoughts", which featured Dick York. She appeared in an episode of ''

Armstrong Circle Theatre ''Armstrong Circle Theatre'' is an American anthology drama television series which ran from June 6, 1950, to June 25, 1957, on NBC, and from October 2, 1957, to August 28, 1963, on CBS. It alternated weekly with '' The United States Steel Ho ...

'' titled " Divorcees Anonymous".McMahon, Mike (8 January 1957)
Entertainment Highlights
''Plattsburgh Press-Republican'' In 1965, Dayton was cast as Virginia Farragut in "The Battle of San Francisco Bay" in the syndicated

anthology series An anthology series is a written series, radio, television, film, or video game series that presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a different ca ...

, ''

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 ...

''. She also starred in a 1969 episode of ''Land of the Giants'' titled "Home Sweet Home". Dayton guest-starred in two episodes of ''Cannon'': the September 1971 episode of "Death Chain" as Susan Kendrix and the February 1974 episode "Blood Money" as Nurse Laura Meader. She made three appearances on ''

'': the January 1974 episode "The Platinum Connection" as Mrs. Andrews, the October 1974 episode "Odd Man Loses" as Pam Hogan and the March 1979 episode "Child of Love Child of Vengeance: Part 1" as Marie Adams." Her film appearances included roles in '' Twilight of Honor'' (1963), ''

One Man's Way ''One Man's Way'' is a 1963 American drama film directed by Denis Sanders and written by John W. Bloch and Eleanore Griffin. The film stars Don Murray as the preacher and author Norman Vincent Peale. The cast also includes Diana Hyland, Willi ...

'' (1963), ''

Tora! Tora! Tora! ''Tora! Tora! Tora!'' () is a 1970 epic war film that dramatizes the events leading up to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, from both American and Japanese positions. The film was produced by Elmo Williams and directed by Richard F ...

'' (1970), '' Something for Joey'' (1977), '' Deadman's Curve'' (1978) and '' The Other Side of the Mountain Part 2'' (1978). Dayton was in an episode of ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' about an ex army buddy who Rob thought is a jewel thief.

Personal life

Dayton married actor

Dean Harens Dean Arthur Harens (June 30, 1920 – May 20, 1996) was an American actor. He appeared in movies, plays and many TV programs over four decades. Early years Harens was a protege of actress Alison Skipworth, who discovered him when he wa ...

in 1947. The marriage lasted until her death in 1994.

Death

Dayton died of cancer in

Sherman Oaks Sherman Oaks (founded in 1927) is a neighborhood of the city of Los Angeles, California within the San Fernando Valley region. The neighborhood includes a portion of the Santa Monica Mountains, which gives Sherman Oaks a lower population densit ...

, California. She was 70.

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dayton, June 1923 births 1994 deaths Actresses from Ohio 20th-century American actresses American film actresses American stage actresses American television actresses