Terrayne Crawford (sometimes credited as Terry Crawford born February 13, 1945) is a retired American actress known for her role as Beth Chavez and Edith Collins on the ABC-TV

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

Dark Shadows ''Dark Shadows'' is an American Gothic fiction, Gothic soap opera that aired weekdays on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network from June 27, 1966, to April 2, 1971. The show depicted the lives, loves, trials, and tribulatio ...

'' from 1968 to 1971.

Biography

Terrayne Crawford was born on February 13, 1945, in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. After completing her secondary education, she enrolled at

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

, but never attended due to a severe car accident. While recovering, she changed her plans and moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

with plans to study psychology at

Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City, United States. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools ...

and pursue an acting career. Beginning her career on the stage, she debuted with ''To Broadway with Love'' and later played in ''

By Jupiter ''By Jupiter'' is a musical with a book by Lorenz Hart and Richard Rodgers, music by Rodgers, and lyrics by Hart. The musical is based on the play '' The Warrior's Husband'' by Julian F. Thompson, set in the land of the Amazons. ''By Jupiter'' pr ...

'' and ''

The Apple Tree ''The Apple Tree'' is a series of three musical playlets with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and a book by Bock and Harnick with contributions from Jerome Coopersmith. Each act has its own storyline, but all three are tied tog ...

'', which toured the US. In 1968, Crawford read for ''

'', but simultaneously was offered a part in '' Sam's Song'' (1969) with

Robert De Niro Robert Anthony De Niro ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor, director, and film producer. He is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of List of awards and ...

and took the movie job. When the movie ended, she was asked to play the part of Beth Chavez, the Collins family maid, in ''Dark Shadows''. She left the show after November 1969, but returned in 1970 to play Edith Collins. That role lasted until 1971, near the time that the show was cancelled. Having completed her education while working on the various projects, Crawford moved to

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

after her graduation and became a counselor. She also appeared in the films ''

House of Dark Shadows ''House of Dark Shadows'' is a 1970 American feature-length horror film produced and directed by Dan Curtis, based on his ''Dark Shadows'' television series. In this film expansion, vampire Barnabas Collins ( Jonathan Frid) searches for a cure ...

'' (1970) as a nurse and in a bit part in ''

Sharky's Machine ''Sharky's Machine'' is a 1981 American neo-noir action thriller film directed by Burt Reynolds, who stars in the title role. It is the film adaptation of William Diehl's 1978 novel of the same name, with a screenplay by Gerald Di Pego. It also ...

'' (1981). Crawford returned to television the following year in a made-for-television movie, ''Maid in America'' which starred

Susan Clark Susan Clark (born Nora Golding; March 8, 1943) is a Canadians, Canadian actress. She made her big screen debut in the 1967 drama film ''Banning (film), Banning'' and the following year played the female lead in the crime thriller ''Coogan's Bluf ...

and

Alex Karras Alexander George Karras (July 15, 1935October 10, 2012) was an American professional American football, football player, professional wrestler, sportscaster, and actor. He was a four-time Pro Bowl selection playing defensive tackle for the Detro ...

. Also beginning in 1982, she played in a recurring role in a soap-opera called ''

The Catlins The Catlins (sometimes referred to as The Catlins Coast) comprise an area in the southeastern corner of the South Island of New Zealand. The area lies between Balclutha, New Zealand, Balclutha and Invercargill, straddling the boundary between ...

'', which ran through 1984. In her career as a psychologist, Crawford works in the area of human rights, promoting education and peace initiatives. In 1996, she co-founded an organization called the "Young Media Partners" with Debra Grant. With the international organization, which has branch offices throughout the world, she travels frequently to promote youth participation through media development in improving their worlds. In 2003, Crawford played the role of Violet Collins in the

Big Finish Productions Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and radio drama, audio plays (released straight to compact disc and for download in MP3 and m4b format) based, primarily, on science fiction properties. These include ''Doctor Who'' ...

' audio drama '' Return to Collinwood''. In 2010, she reprised her ''Dark Shadows'' role of Beth in the

audio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatised, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...

'' The Doll House'', and in 2012 returned to the role of Edith Collins in ''Dress Me in Dark Dreams''.

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links

* 1945 births Living people Actresses from Boston 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses {{US-screen-actor-1940s-stub