Dixie Wanda Hendrix (November 3, 1928 – February 1, 1981) was an American film and television actress.

Early life

Hendrix's father was a logging foreman, and she was born in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

. She was performing in a school play in Jacksonville when she was seen by a talent agent who took her to Warner Bros. Her parents moved with her to California, buying a ranch there. She graduated from University High School.

Career and marriages

She made her first film, ''

Confidential Agent ''Confidential Agent'' is a 1945 American spy film starring Charles Boyer and Lauren Bacall which was a Warner Brothers production. The movie was directed by Herman Shumlin and produced by Robert Buckner with Jack L. Warner as executive producer. ...

'', in 1945 at the age of 16, and for the first few years of her career was consistently cast in "B" pictures. By the late 1940s, she was being included in more prestigious films, such as ''

Ride the Pink Horse ''Ride the Pink Horse'' is a 1947 film noir crime film produced by Universal Studios. It was directed by Robert Montgomery, who also stars in it, from a screenplay by Ben Hecht and Charles Lederer, which was based on the 1946 novel of the same ...

'' (1947) and ''

Miss Tatlock's Millions ''Miss Tatlock's Millions'' is an American screwball comedy film directed by Richard Haydn in 1948. Plot Movie stuntman Tim Burke is offered $1000 for a couple of days of work by Denno Noonan. Noonan was the "social secretary" for the mentally in ...

'' (1948). She starred with

Tyrone Power Tyrone Edmund Power III (May 5, 1914 – November 15, 1958) was an American actor. From the 1930s to the 1950s, Power appeared in dozens of films, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads. His better-known films include ''Jesse James (193 ...

in ''

Prince of Foxes ''Prince of Foxes'' is a 1947 historical novel by Samuel Shellabarger, following the adventures of the fictional Andrea Orsini, a captain in the service of Cesare Borgia during his conquest of the Romagna. Plot introduction Andrea Zoppo, an Ita ...

'' (1949). In 1946,

Audie Murphy Audie Leon Murphy (20 June 1925 – 28 May 1971) was an American soldier, actor and songwriter. He was one of the most decorated American combat soldiers of World War II. He received every military combat award for valor available from t ...

saw Hendrix on the cover of ''Coronet'' magazine and arranged to meet her. They were married on February 8, 1949, and made the film ''Sierra'' (1950) together, but the marriage was short-lived; they divorced on April 14, 1950. Hendrix later said that Murphy wanted her to give up her career; but more significantly, he was suffering from

post traumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on ...

from his service in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, and during "flashback" episodes would turn on her, once holding her at gunpoint. In her later years, Hendrix spoke sympathetically of Murphy's condition. Hendrix resumed her career but found it difficult to obtain good roles. On June 26, 1954, she married wealthy sportsman James Langford Stack, Jr., the brother of actor

Robert Stack Robert Stack (born Charles Langford Modini Stack; January 13, 1919 – May 14, 2003) was an American actor. Known for his deep voice and commanding presence, he appeared in over forty feature films. He starred in the highly successful ABC tele ...

, and essentially retired from films, though she worked in live television dramatic anthology shows such as ''

Pulitzer Prize Playhouse ''Pulitzer Prize Playhouse'' is an American television anthology drama series which offered adaptations of Pulitzer Prize-winning plays, novels, and stories. The distinguished journalist Elmer Davis was the host and narrator of this 1950-1952 ...

'', ''

Robert Montgomery Presents ''Robert Montgomery Presents'' is an American dramatic television series which was produced by NBC from January 30, 1950, until June 24, 1957. The live show had several sponsors during its eight-year run, and the title was altered to feature the ...

'', ''The Plymouth Playhouse'', ''The Ford Television Theatre'', ''The Revlon Mirror Theater'', and ''

Schlitz Playhouse ''Schlitz Playhouse of Stars'' is an anthology series that was telecast from 1951 until 1959 on CBS. Offering both comedies and drama, the series was sponsored by the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company. The title was shortened to ''Schlitz Playhous ...

'', and occasionally appeared in later series such as ''

Bat Masterson Bartholemew William Barclay "Bat" Masterson (November 26, 1853 – October 25, 1921) was a U.S. Army scout, lawman, professional gambler, and journalist known for his exploits in the 19th and early 20th-century American Old West. He was born to ...

'', ''

My Three Sons ''My Three Sons'' is an American television sitcom that aired from September 29, 1960, to April 13, 1972. The series was broadcast on ABC during its first five seasons, before moving to CBS for the remaining seasons. ''My Three Sons'' chroni ...

'', ''

Wagon Train ''Wagon Train'' is an American Western series that aired 8 seasons: first on the NBC television network (1957–1962), and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and became number one in the Nielsen ratings ...

'' and ''

Bewitched ''Bewitched'' is an American fantasy sitcom television series that originally aired for eight seasons on ABC from September 17, 1964, to March 25, 1972. It is about a witch who marries an ordinary mortal man and vows to lead the life of a typi ...

''. She and Stack divorced on November 3, 1958. She married Italian financier and oil company executive Steven LaMonte (born 14 August 1942) on June 7, 1969; they divorced on November 17, 1980.

Death

Hendrix died on February 11, 1981, in

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, wh ...

from double pneumonia, aged 52, and was interred at Forest Lawn Cemetery.

Partial filmography

*''

'' (1945) as Else *'' Nora Prentiss'' (1947) as Bonita Talbot *''

Welcome Stranger The Welcome Stranger is the biggest alluvial gold nugget that has ever been found, which had a calculated refined weight of .Potter, Terry F. (1999) ''The Welcome Stranger: a definitive account of the worlds largest alluvial gold nugget''. I ...

'' (1947) as Emily Walters *''Hollywood Wonderland'' (1947 short) as Tour Guide (uncredited) *''

Variety Girl ''Variety Girl'' is a 1947 American musical comedy film directed by George Marshall and starring Mary Hatcher, Olga San Juan, DeForest Kelley, Frank Ferguson, Glenn Tryon, Nella Walker, Torben Meyer, Jack Norton, and William Demarest. It was ...

'' (1947) (uncredited) *''

'' (1947) as Pila *''

My Own True Love ''My Own True Love'' is a 1949 American drama film directed by Compton Bennett and written by Arthur Kober, Josef Mischel and Theodore Strauss. The film stars Phyllis Calvert, Melvyn Douglas, Wanda Hendrix, Philip Friend, Binnie Barnes and Al ...

'' (1948) as Sheila Heath *''

'' (1948) as Nan Tatlock *''

Song of Surrender ''Song of Surrender'' is a 1949 drama film directed by Mitchell Leisen and starring Wanda Hendrix and Claude Rains. Plot Cast *Wanda Hendrix as Abigail Hunt *Claude Rains as Elisha Hunt *Macdonald Carey as Bruce Eldridge *Andrea King as Phylli ...

'' (1949) as Abigail Hunt *''

'' (1949) as Camilla *''

Captain Carey, U.S.A. ''Captain Carey, U.S.A.'' is a 1949 American crime film, crime film noir directed by Mitchell Leisen and starring Alan Ladd and Wanda Hendrix. An American returns to post–World War II Italy to bring a traitor to justice. The film was based on ...

'' (1950) as Giulia

e Cresci E, or e, is the fifth letter and the second vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''e'' (pronounced ); plura ...

de Greffi *'' Sierra'' (1950) as Riley Martin *''

The Admiral Was a Lady ''The Admiral Was a Lady'' is a 1950 American comedy film directed by Albert S. Rogell and starring Edmond O'Brien and Wanda Hendrix. The working title of the film was ''Once Over Lightly'', taken from one of the film's songs. Plot After t ...

'' (1950) as Jean Madison *''

Saddle Tramp Saddle tramp or Saddle Tramp may refer to: * Saddle tramp (person), a person who wanders from place to place on horseback. * ''Saddle Tramp'' (album), a Charlie Daniels album and song *"Saddle Tramp", a song by Molly Hatchet from the album ''S ...

'' (1950) as Della *'' The Highwayman'' (1951) as Bess Forsythe *'' My Outlaw Brother'' (1951) as Señorita Carmelita Alvarado *''

Montana Territory The Territory of Montana was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 26, 1864, until November 8, 1889, when it was admitted as the 41st state in the Union as the state of Montana. Original boundaries ...

'' (1952) as Clair Enoch *''

South of Algiers ''South of Algiers'' (U.S. ''The Golden Mask'') is a 1953 British travel adventure film, directed by Jack Lee and starring Van Heflin, Wanda Hendrix and Eric Portman. It is based on an original screenplay by Robert Westerby, and was partly fi ...

'' (1953) as Anne Burnet *''

The Last Posse ''The Last Posse'' is a 1953 American Western (genre), Western film directed by Alfred L. Werker and starring Broderick Crawford, John Derek, Charles Bickford and Wanda Hendrix.Sea of Lost Ships ''Sea of Lost Ships'' is a 1953 American adventure film directed by Joseph Kane and starring John Derek, Wanda Hendrix and Walter Brennan. It is a tribute to the US Coast Guard. Plot The son of a deceased Coast Guard hero is raised by a Coast Gu ...

'' (1953) as Pat Kirby *''

Highway Dragnet ''Highway Dragnet'' is a 1954 American film noir B film crime film directed by Nathan Juran from a story by U.S. Andersen and Roger Corman. The film stars Richard Conte, Joan Bennett and Wanda Hendrix. It was the first feature film on which Rog ...

'' (1954) as Susan *''

The Black Dakotas ''The Black Dakotas'' is a 1954 American Technicolor Western spy film directed by Ray Nazarro and produced by Columbia Pictures. Set during the American Civil War and filmed at the Iverson Movie Ranch, the film stars Gary Merrill as a cold-bloode ...

'' (1954) as Ruth Lawrence *'' The Boy Who Caught a Crook'' (1961) as Laura *''

Johnny Cool ''Johnny Cool'' is a 1963 American neo-noir crime film directed by William Asher based on the novel ''The Kingdom of Johnny Cool'' by John McPartland which stars Henry Silva and Elizabeth Montgomery. Produced in part by Peter Lawford, ''Johnny C ...

'' (1963) as Miss Connolly *''

Stage to Thunder Rock ''Stage to Thunder Rock'' is a 1964 American Western film directed by William F. Claxton, written by Charles A. Wallace, and featuring Barry Sullivan, Marilyn Maxwell, Scott Brady, Lon Chaney Jr., Keenan Wynn, Anne Seymour, John Agar, Wanda ...

'' (1964) as Mrs. Swope * ''The Oval Portrait'' (1972) as Lisa Buckingham

References

External links

* *
Wanda Hendrix at Glamour Girls of the Silver Screen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hendrix, Wanda American film actresses American television actresses Actresses from Jacksonville, Florida Deaths from pneumonia in California 1928 births 1981 deaths Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) 20th-century American actresses