Laurel Goodwin (August 11, 1942 – February 25, 2022) was an American film and television actress who is known for her role as the love interest of

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

in the 1962 film ''

Girls! Girls! Girls! ''Girls! Girls! Girls!'' is a 1962 Golden Globe-nominated American musical comedy film starring Elvis Presley as a penniless Hawaii-based fisherman who loves his life on the sea and dreams of owning his own boat. " Return to Sender", which reach ...

'', as well as appearing as Yeoman J.M. Colt in the rejected ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vario ...

'' pilot episode.

Life and career

Goodwin was born in

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had a population of 647,610 in 2020. It is located in ...

, on August 11, 1942. She later moved with her family to

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

, and then

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. A child model, Goodwin made her screen debut as the love interest of

in the film, ''

'' (1962). She was a co-star in the Paramount comedy '' Papa's Delicate Condition'' (1963), playing Augusta Griffith, the daughter of Jack (

Jackie Gleason John Herbert Gleason (February 26, 1916June 24, 1987) was an American actor, comedian, writer, composer, and conductor known affectionately as "The Great One." Developing a style and characters from growing up in Brooklyn, New York, he was know ...

) and Amberlyn Griffith. She also appeared in the western films '' Stage to Thunder Rock'' (1964), '' Law of the Lawless'' (1964) and '' The Glory Guys'' (1965). Her work as a guest actor on several drama

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed ...

included a role as Yeoman

J. M. Colt ''J. The Jewish News of Northern California'', formerly known as ''Jweekly'', is a weekly print newspaper in Northern California, with its online edition updated daily. It is owned and operated by San Francisco Jewish Community Publications In ...

in the 1964 ''

'' pilot episode, " The Cage" (from which scenes featuring Goodwin were later incorporated into the first season two-part episode " The Menagerie"),, and ''

Mannix ''Mannix'' is an American detective television series that ran from 1967 to 1975 on CBS. It was created by Richard Levinson and William Link, and developed by executive producer Bruce Geller. The title character, Joe Mannix, is a private in ...

'' ("A Question Of Midnight"). She also played roles in some comedy series. These included the role of Phoebe, the Chief's niece, in the TV comedy ''

Get Smart ''Get Smart'' is an American comedy television series parodying the secret agent genre that had become widely popular in the first half of the 1960s, with the release of the '' James Bond'' films. It was created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, ...

'' and the role of Stella in two episodes of ''

The Beverly Hillbillies ''The Beverly Hillbillies'' is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from 1962 to 1971. It had an ensemble cast featuring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer Jr. as the Clampetts, a poor, backwoods family ...

'' ("Robin Hood and the Sheriff" and "Robin Hood of Griffith Park") (both 1967). She married Walter Wood, . After retiring from acting in 1971, Goodwin pursued a career in home nursing for over 35 years. When Wood became ill, she began taking care of him full-time until he died about a year and a half later, in 2010.StarTrek.com interview
"Catching Up Laurel Goodwin, Yeoman Colt from ''The Cage''"
''StarTrek.com'', September 1, 2016 Goodwin died in

Cathedral City, California Cathedral City, colloquially known as "Cat City", is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. Situated between Palm Springs and Rancho Mirage, the city has the second lar ...

, on February 25, 2022, at the age of 79.

References

External links

* 1942 births 2022 deaths 20th-century American actresses Actors from Wichita, Kansas Actresses from Kansas American film actresses American television actresses Nurses from California {{US-film-actor-1940s-stub