Sonya Wilde (born November 2, 1937) is an American former actress, best known for her starring role in the 1960 film ''

I Passed for White ''I Passed for White'' is a 1960 American drama film directed and adapted for the screen by Fred M. Wilcox from a novel of the same title by Reba Lee "as told to" Mary Hastings Bradley. The film stars Sonya Wilde and James Franciscus and feat ...

''. She started her career as Maria on Broadway with the original cast of ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a Musical theatre, musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a Book (musical theatre), book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo an ...

''.

Career

On Broadway, Wilde was an understudy and replacement in the role of Maria in ''

'' (1957).

Selected filmography

*''

'' (1960)

Selected television

*''

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 ...

'' (1960) *''

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 ...

'' (1960) *''

The Americans ''The Americans'' is an American historical drama, period spy fiction, spy drama television series created by Joe Weisberg for FX (TV channel), FX. It aired for six seasons from 2013 to 2018. Weisberg and Joel Fields also served as showrunners ...

'' (1961) *''

Gunslinger Gunfighters, also called gunslingers () or in the late 19th and early 20th century gunmen, were individuals in the American Old West who gained a reputation of being dangerous with a gun and participated in shootouts. Today, the term "gunslin ...

'' (1961) *''

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 ...

'' (1961) *''

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 ...

'' (1961) – White Deer in S4:E5, "The Lost Tribe" *Death Valley Days (1960)

Private life

In 1962, Wilde married the banker

Jake Butcher Jacob Franklin Butcher (May 8, 1936 – July 19, 2017) was an American banker and politician. He built a financial empire in East Tennessee and was the Democratic Party nominee for governor of Tennessee in 1978. He was also the primary promo ...

, having met him on New Year's Eve 1961 on a blind date. He later became a politician, before spending seven years in prison for fraud. They had four children. Following her husband's 1985 20-year jail term for bank fraud (he served seven years), Wilde went to court in 1986 to try to keep the family's $675,000 home in the exclusive Sweetwater Club subdivision just outside

Orlando Orlando commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...

References

External links

*
Trailer for ''I Passed for White'', featuring Sonya Wilde
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilde, Sonya Living people 1939 births 20th-century American actresses American film actresses American stage actresses American television actresses 21st-century American women