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Rita Morley (born Rita Imogene Gann; October 10, 1927 – June 28, 1997) was an American actor in television, on radio, and on
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...
.


Early life

Rita Imogene Gann was born in
West Hartford, Connecticut West Hartford is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, west of downtown Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, Capitol Planning Region. The population was 64,083 at the 20 ...
, to Harry Gann and Minnie Minerva Sybil Gann (born Horowitz) of 116 Foxcroft Road."West Hartford Actress To Make Broadway Debut," ''Hartford Courant'', October 9, 1954, p. 1A. She attended the Julius Hartt College of Music and later taught there."Rita Imogene Gann Becomes Bride Of Kenneth Harvey," ''The Hartford Courant'', November 25, 1957, p. 16 She took the
stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...
Rita Morley because Rita Gann was too similar to
Rita Gam Rita Gam (born Rita Eleanore MacKay, April 2, 1927 – March 22, 2016) was an American film and television actress and documentary filmmaker. She won the Silver Bear for Best Actress. Background Gam was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the da ...
. Morley was her brother's name.


Career

She started on a children's radio program on WDRC at the age of six.Jack Fitzgerald, "Young Television Stars Got Start in Hartford," ''Hartford Courant'', July 26, 1953, p. SM11. At the age of nine, she had her own regular radio variety show on WTIC."Young Hartford Actress Has Busy Career In TV," ''Hartford Courant'', May 25, 1952, p. SM9. During high school, she served as a pianist for the Bridgeport Symphony Orchestra. In the 1950s, she frequently appeared in commercials for Coty Inc., a beauty and cosmetics company. As a result, she was referred to as America's Most Televised Girl. In the early 1950s, she appeared on ''Fairmeadows USA'' and other television shows. In the 1950s and 1960s, she appeared in ''
As the World Turns ''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other so ...
,'' ''
The Edge of Night ''The Edge of Night'' is an American mystery crime drama soap opera, created by Irving Vendig and produced by Procter & Gamble Productions. It debuted on CBS on April 2, 1956, and ran as a live broadcast on that network for most of its ...
,'' and ''
The Secret Storm ''The Secret Storm'' is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS from February 1, 1954, to February 8, 1974. It was created by Roy Winsor, who also created the long-running soap operas '' Search for Tomorrow'' and '' Love of Life''. ...
'', all soap operas, as well as guest panelist on ‘’ Texas (TV series) ''Texas'' is an American daytime soap opera that aired on NBC from August 4, 1980, until December 31, 1982, sponsored and produced by Procter and Gamble Productions at NBC Studios in Brooklyn, New York City. It is a spin-off of '' Another World'' ...
. She debuted on Broadway in ''
The Seven Year Itch ''The Seven Year Itch'' is a 1955 American romantic comedy film directed by Billy Wilder, who co-wrote the screenplay with George Axelrod. Based on Axelrod's 1952 The Seven Year Itch (play), play of the same name, the film stars Marilyn Monroe ...
'' as the wife, replacing
Neva Patterson Neva Louise Patterson (February 10, 1920 – December 14, 2010) was an American actress. Early years Born on a farm near Nevada, Iowa, Patterson was the daughter of mailman George Patterson and seamstress Marjorie Byers Patterson. After gradu ...
. She also appeared in '' The Impossible Years''. In movies, she appeared in ''
The Flesh Eaters The Flesh Eaters are an American punk rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California, United States, in 1977. They are the most prominent of the bands which have showcased the compositions and singing of their founder, punk poet Chris Desjardins ...
'' (1964). Morley was a board member of both the
American Federation of Television and Radio Artists The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) was a performers' union that represented a wide variety of talent, including actors in radio and television, radio and television announcers and newspersons, singers and recording ...
and the
Screen Actors Guild The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...
. Under the name Rita Morley Harvey, she wrote a book, ''Those Wonderful, Terrible Years: George Heller and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists'' (Southern Illinois University Press, 1996), which was “a history of the union’s struggle with blacklisting of suspected Communists in the 1950s.”


Personal life

Morley married Kenneth Harvey, an actor, at Temple Beth Israel in West Hartford on November 24, 1957.


References

{{Reflist 1927 births 1997 deaths American television actors Jewish American actresses 20th-century American Jews American stage actresses Actresses from Connecticut>What’s My Line’’. Later, she was cast in
Texas (TV series) ''Texas'' is an American daytime soap opera that aired on NBC from August 4, 1980, until December 31, 1982, sponsored and produced by Procter and Gamble Productions at NBC Studios in Brooklyn, New York City. It is a spin-off of '' Another World'' ...
. She debuted on Broadway in ''
The Seven Year Itch ''The Seven Year Itch'' is a 1955 American romantic comedy film directed by Billy Wilder, who co-wrote the screenplay with George Axelrod. Based on Axelrod's 1952 The Seven Year Itch (play), play of the same name, the film stars Marilyn Monroe ...
'' as the wife, replacing
Neva Patterson Neva Louise Patterson (February 10, 1920 – December 14, 2010) was an American actress. Early years Born on a farm near Nevada, Iowa, Patterson was the daughter of mailman George Patterson and seamstress Marjorie Byers Patterson. After gradu ...
. She also appeared in '' The Impossible Years''. In movies, she appeared in ''
The Flesh Eaters The Flesh Eaters are an American punk rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California, United States, in 1977. They are the most prominent of the bands which have showcased the compositions and singing of their founder, punk poet Chris Desjardins ...
'' (1964). Morley was a board member of both the
American Federation of Television and Radio Artists The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) was a performers' union that represented a wide variety of talent, including actors in radio and television, radio and television announcers and newspersons, singers and recording ...
and the
Screen Actors Guild The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) was an American labor union which represented over 100,000 film and television principal and background performers worldwide. On March 30, 2012, the union leadership announced that the SAG membership voted to m ...
. Under the name Rita Morley Harvey, she wrote a book, ''Those Wonderful, Terrible Years: George Heller and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists'' (Southern Illinois University Press, 1996), which was “a history of the union’s struggle with blacklisting of suspected Communists in the 1950s.”


Personal life

Morley married Kenneth Harvey, an actor, at Temple Beth Israel in West Hartford on November 24, 1957.


References

{{Reflist 1927 births 1997 deaths American television actors Jewish American actresses 20th-century American Jews American stage actresses Actresses from Connecticut