In Memoriam

**N.B.: The actors listed here are ones who have left us since the formation of this website in September 2002. Those who departed before have, due to lack of space, not been included here. Because this page will unfortunately be growing larger as time goes by, not all of the recently-passed TZ actors are included here. It has been largely limited to those only who had starring roles on TZ.**

Beverly Garland

Beverly Garland (1926-2008)

Ms. Beverly Garland passed away at home on 5 December after a long illness. Her passing marks the end of an era, most assuredly. As most of you know, Bill DeVoe and I chose her hotel in North Hollywood for our first two Twilight Zone Conventions in 2002 and 2004. It proved an ideal choice. She and her staff were most accommodating and supportive of what we were doing. Beverly herself told us that our 2002 convention was definitely one of the greatest events held at her hotel! Quite a compliment! Beverly went on to participate in a few various TZ activities after the events. She participated in the actor interviews we did for Image Entertainment's TZ DVDs (although hers hasn't been released yet), as well as a filmed TZ roundtable with Peter Mark Richman, George Clayton Johnson, and H.M. Wynant. I also helped get her cast with Richman in the TZ Radio Drama "Uncle Simon" produced by Falcon Picture Group. As for Beverly's showbiz career, it really needs no re-cap. Needless to say, she was a splendid actor. She did many B movies from the beginning of her career in 1950, but television was where she shined brightly. In 1959 she was cast in TZ "The Four of Us Are Dying" as Maggie, the torch singer. Her performance alongside Ross Martin was so convincing that Rod Serling (who adapted George Clayton Johnson's short story) took a few minutes to tell her that he had no idea he'd written the character so deeply. Some 10 years later, she became Fred MacMurray's wife on "My Three Sons", and later played Kate Jackson's mother on "Scarecrow and Mrs. King". In more recent years, she appeared on "7th Heaven", "Friends", "Port Charles", and "The Guardian." Beverly, a native Californian, had a brief marriage to actor Dick Garland in the early 1950s. In 1959 she married land developer Fillmore Crank, and in 1968 they built her hotel - Beverly Garland's Holiday Inn. In 1983, she got her star on Hollywood Blvd. Beverly coordinated much of the hotel's activities for many years with her son James and stepdaughter Cathleen. She is survived by them as well as daughter Carrington and stepson Fillmore, Jr., plus a combined 14 grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Beverly, wherever you are now, THANK YOU for everything. You were a class act and we won't be forgetting about you.

Irene Dailey

Irene Dailey (1920-2008)

Irene Dailey passed away on 24 September. Best known for her long-running role from 1974 to 1994 as Liz Matthews on "Another World", she appeared in a handful of television roles including "Dr. Kildare", "Ben Casey", and of course "Twilight Zone". She described her role as acerbic school teacher Miss Edna Frank in TZ's "Mute" as "a juicy part". Ms. Dailey did numerous New York theatrical productions throughout her career. She worked several times with director Stuart Rosenberg, who cast her in the TZ role as well as in an episode of "The Defenders", and a number of years later in the first "Amityville Horror" film. She won an Emmy in 1979 for "Another World", and also taught drama. Intensely devoted to her craft, she once made the comment that the theater was about all she really cared about - family life didn't interest her much. Ms. Dailey made her home in Guerneville, California in her later years. She was the sister of the late actor Dan Dailey.

House Peters Jr.

House Peters, Jr. (1916-2008)

Mr. Peters, who had a very brief part as second police officer in "Mr. Bevis", passed away on 1 October at the ripe old age of 92. A familiar face in both TV and film from the 1930s to the '60s, House wanted to act from an early age, but made a promise to himself that if he hadn't really hit it big by age 50 that he would retire from screen work. He did retire in 1966 and went on to a successful second career in real estate and business administration. His father, House Sr., was also a well-known actor and has a star on Hollywood Blvd. House, Jr. was an incredibly kind man and lived for many years in Escondido, California before moving in 2001 to the Motion Picture Retirement Community in Woodland Hills. In his later years, he wrote and self-published an impressive book about his days working in Hollywood. Like a number of actors who also did commercials, House will forever be known as TV's Original Mr. Clean. We were fortunate enough to have House and his lovely wife Lucie attend our Stars of the Zone Convention in 2002. Even then, at age 86, he had a remarkably firm handshake.

It is with substantial sadness that we report the demise of the great Lois Nettleton, two-time Emmy-award winner (in 1976 for American Women - Portraits of Courage and 1983 for the long-running dramatic anthology series Insight) and long-time fixture of the New York theatrical community. She died on 18 January. Of the many, many roles she had over a career which spanned nearly her whole life, like many other actors, she will always be known for her TZ role as Norma in "The Midnight Sun." Born in Oak Park, Illinois (the same city of birth as Bob Newhart and Betty White), she divided her time between residences in New York City and Los Angeles. Her career began in 1948 when she was Miss Chicago, and a finalist in the Miss America Pageant. And sixty years later, she hadn't lost her beauty. She was married to Jean Shepperd, writer/narrator of the ultra-classic 1983 A Christmas Story, for some years in the 1960s. She received three more Emmy nominations and a Tony nomination (1976, for "They Knew What They Wanted" on Broadway.) Her most recent TV role was a 2006 Christmas special for the Hallmark Channel with Ed Asner (Lois also played Ed's love interest on The Mary Tyler Moore Show over 30 years earlier!) We were fortunate enough to successfully recruit Lois for the recent Twilight Zone Conventions. She was unable to attend the 2002 and 2004 Conventions in Los Angeles, and both times expressed her regrets. Finally, in 2006, she made it, and appeared again in 2007. At the 2006 event, she was able to reunite with Tom Reese (who played the episode's thirst-crazed intruder; the two actors had not seen each other since they did the episode in 1961.) A true thespian, she admitted that the basis of her career was taking only the roles that were right for her - that she was intentionally "picky!" In the early 1990s, she did a reading of "The Midnight Sun" script for Harper Audio Books, playing not only Norma but all the other parts. But her TV appearance in the episode was one she always treasured, along with her fans. Lois was a warm and wonderful person and she will be missed.

George Keymas

George Keymas (1925-2008)

Mr. Keymas, who played The Leader in "Eye of the Beholder", died on 17 January in Florida of a heart attack. Mr. Keymas was forced to retire from acting in 1977 due to degenerative eye disorder. He had an impressive resume of film and TV appearances that spanned 25 years. In recent years, he appeared at several autograph shows in Burbank, California, where he lived for many years.

Sydney Pollack (1934-2008)

The distinguished director and actor Sydney Pollack passed away on 26 May. Ironically, the young actor played a director - in "Twilight Zone", in the fine second season entry "The Trouble With Templeton." As an actor-turned-director, Pollack said on many an occasion that although being an actor was not a prerequisite to being a director, "it certainly doesn't hurt." His two greatest achievements were "Tootsie" (which he directed as well as played the character of CAA agent George Fields, who represents the cross-dressing Dorothy Michaels, played by Dustin Hoffman) and "Out of Africa" (1986), for which he took home one of the seven Oscars it won. He continued acting up until his death, both in feature films - most recently "Made of Honor" as Patrick Dempsey's frequently-wedding father, and a recurring role as Will's similarly unfaithful father on "Will & Grace." Pollack was married for over 40 years to Claire Griswold, whom TZ fans know for her portrayal of a beautiful doll whom Robert Duvall befriends in "Miniature" (shortly after which she retired from acting to raise a family.) Pollack started his career in New York, studying at the Actors Studio with legendary pedagogue Sandy Meissner, who trained many of the finest actors of our time. His departure marks a great loss, and the world of film and television is much the richer for Sydney Pollack's contributions to it.

Hazel Court (1926-2008)

Ms. Court, who co-starred in "The Fear" with Peter Mark Richman, passed away on 15 April at age 82. Born in England, her three-decade career began in 1944 as an uncredited extra. She did most of the staple shows of the day, including "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" (four episodes), "Twilight Zone", "Bonanza", "Twelve O'Clock High". She was also in Rod Serling's "Bomber's Moon" on "Playhouse 90." She is best known for her appearances in horror films alongside Vincent Price, including "The Raven" and "The Masque of the Red Death" and several Hammer films. She relocated to the US in the late 1950s and began work in television. Her first of two marriages was to actor Dermot Walsh, with whom she had a daughter. Her second was to prolific TV actor/director Don Taylor, who directed some of the best episodes of Serling's "Night Gallery", and with whom she had two other children. Hazel attended our 2004 "Twilight Zone" Convention, where she re-met Richman and occupied a table next to his and graciously signed items for many fans. After her acting career concluded, she turned to work as a sculptor and was commissioned for many projects; she studied sculpting in Europe and became one of the world's greatest. She appeared occasionally in documentaries about the old horror films. Her autobiography, "Hazel Court: Horror Queen" is available from Tomahawk Press.

Ivan Dixon (1931-2008)

Ivan Dixon, aka Bolie Jackson in "The Big Tall Wish" and the Reverend in "I Am the Night - Color Me Black," passed away on 16 March at the age of 76. Born in Harlem in 1931, he moved to North Carolina in his teens and graduated from North Carolina University in 1954. Mr. Dixon was mainly known for his role as Kinchloe on Hogan's Heroes from 1965-1970, after which he wisely moved behind the camera for more than 20 years as a frequent TV director. Although he was a splendid actor, he surprisingly never hit a high level of stardom. He directed episodes of The Bill Cosby Show (1969-71), The Waltons, The Rockford Files, and many others. After retiring from television and film, Dixon became owner-operator of radio station KONI in Maui. He returned to the US in 2001 and lived in Tehachapi, California, then moved to North Carolina to be closer to his children. He was married for 53 years and had four children, two of whom survived him. Mr. Dixon always thought highly of his two Twilight Zone episodes and appreciated Rod Serling's recognition of his talent.

Barry Morse (1918-2008)

Barry Morse passed away on 2 February, four months short of his 90th birthday. Best known as Lt. Philip Gerard of The Fugitive, he was also known for his Twilight Zone appearance in Earl Hamner's "A Piano in the House" in the third season, which was directed by his longtime friend David Greene. He is also well-known for Professor Victor Bergman in Space: 1999 opposite Martin Landau. He appeared in memorable episodes of The Outer Limits and also in an episode of The New Twilight Zone in 1988. But Barry's home was always the stage. In his later years, he performed a one-man show entitled "Merely Players" onstage throughout the USA and Canada. Although he appeared in numerous films and TV shows from 1942 to 2005, an estimate was recently made that Barry Morse played over 3,000 roles over the course of his career. His daughter Melanie Morse-McQuarrie passed away in 2005, and his wife of 60 years, Sydney Sturgess, passed away in 1999. He is survived by his sons Hayward and Barry Morse, Jr. We were fortunate enough to have Barry attend the first Stars of the Zone Convention in 2002. In February 2004, he and a small group of actors including Jacqueline Scott, Paul Carr, Arlene Martel, Edward Asner, and Antoinette Bower appeared as part of a small reunion of The Fugitive at the notorious Hollywood Collectors Show. They were joined by several others, including director Walter E. Grauman and the man who did David Janssen's stunts, for a panel discussion that was attended by around 200 people. His biography, "Remember With Advantages", written with his manager Anthony Wynn and Robert E. Wood, was released in 2006. Barry Morse was one of the kindest and most generous talents you could ever hope to meet, and his passing is indeed a great loss. For more information about Barry's life and career, we encourage you to visit BarryMorse.com.

Lois Nettleton (1927-2008)

George Keymas (1925-2008)

William Idelson (1920-2007)

William "Bill" Idelson passed away on 31 December. He has the distinction of being the only individual to have written for and acted in The Twilight Zone. He wrote "Long Distance Call" in the second season, and played a Production Assistant in "A World of Difference" in the first season. Idelson began his career as an actor, starring in the popular radio show "Vic & Sade" in the 1940s. After serving in the Navy in WWII. "Long Distance Call" (originally titled "Direct Line") was his first script. He says, "Almost accidentally, I broke through...and thus began a twenty-year period as a working writer." Indeed, he was one of the finest comedy writers of the 1960s, writing scores of episodes for "The Dick Van Dyke Show" (where he also played Rose Marie's occasional date, Herman Glimsher), "The Andy Griffith Show", and "The Odd Couple", to name only a few. He often acted in the shows he wrote for. In his later years, he ran a writers workshop in Southern California which has been acclaimed by many current writers of comedy, and about which he wrote a the book "Bill Idelson's Writing Class". He also authored a book on "Vic & Sade" (both titles are available from BearManor Media, Inc.). His script for "Long Distance Call" was first published in 2004 as part of Andrew Ramage's "Forgotten Gems from The Twilight Zone" (also available from BearManor.) Idelson and his wife of 56 years, Seemah Wilder, were the parents of award winning comedy writer Ellen Idelson (1961-2003), best known for her writing work for the legendary "Will & Grace."

Dick Wilson (1916-2007)

Dick Wilson, who in his time was one of the most frequently seen faces on television, passed away on 19 November. He briefly appeared twice on TZ, as one of the insurance adjusters in "Escape Clause", and as a mover in "Ninety Years Without Slumbering." Audiences will forever know him not for his work in TV and movies, but as supermarket manager Mr. Whipple, who was guilty of 'squeezing the Charmin' on the Charmin' tissue commercials of the 1970s. Born in Ricardo DiGuglielmo in England, he first lived in Ontario and graduated from college, and served in the Canadian Airforce in WWII. He then left for New York, where he was trained in Vaudeville, then made his permanent home in the Southern California in 1954. His daughter, Melanie Wilson, was an actress and appeared in many episodes of "Perfect Strangers". Mr. Wilson retired from acting in the mid 80s. The Charmin' company supposedly gave him a lifetime supply of tissue products in appreciation of his memorable work.

George Grizzard (1928-2007)

George Grizzard, star of "The Chaser" and "In His Image", passed away in New York City after a five-decade career on stage and screen. Grizzard's home was in the theater, although he appeared in many episodes of television. He and TZ alum Natalie Trundy co-starred in the pilot episode of "Thriller" in 1960. To say that he was talented would be a great understatement. He never became a household name but won both an Emmy award (for "The Oldest Living Graduate", an acclaimed TV play done live in 1980 starring Henry Fonda) and a Tony award (after many nominations, in 1996). He was a key player - on and offstage, in the New York theatrical community. He won great acclaim for his roles onstage in the 1950s, which propelled his career in television. He appeared on "Law and Order" several times in the 1990s. Of her colleague, Gail Kobe relates, "I'd seen him in a play with Hume Cronyn and he was fantastic in it...and then we did [the episode "In His Image"] together. The chemistry between us was wonderful. We had a sympatico and could practically answer each other's lines. He is a very special actor." Grizzard recalled Kobe with fondness as well, and also Rod Serling...and the honor of doing the first hour-long episode of the show. He was a kind and generous soul, and will be missed.

William Tuttle, 1912-2007

William J. "Bill" Tuttle, who was responsible for some of the more horrific moments in "Twilight Zone" history, including the famous porcine doctors and nurses in Serling's "Eye of the Beholder", passed away after a long 95 years on 2 August. Kevin McCarthy remembers fondly Tuttle's masterful makeup work on "Long Live Walter Jameson", where Tuttle skilfully made him age two-thousand years over the course of 30 seconds. The photo above shows Tuttle holding two of his mask masterworks, worn by Chuck Hicks and Tipp McClure, who played the robots Maynard Flash and Battling Maxo in Richard Matheson's "Steel" (1963).

Tuttle was a a pioneering makeup artist whose ground-breaking work in "7 Faces of Dr. Lao" prompted the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to officially recognize his craft for the first time by giving him an honorary Academy Award in 1965. He worked on hundreds of films, creating the monstrous Morlocks in "The Time Machine" (1960) and turning Peter Boyle into the monster in the Mel Brooks' comedy "Young Frankenstein" (1974). Tuttle's final credit, in 1981, was for "Zorro, the Gay Blade."

At 18, Tuttle moved to Los Angeles and took art classes at USC with Charles Schram, who became his longtime makeup-effects collaborator. They were recruited to apprentice with Jack Dawn, a makeup artist who was then head of makeup at Twentieth Century Pictures. He donated the more than 100 masks � featuring such famous faces as Paul Newman, Charlton Heston and Laurence Olivier � to USC, where he taught from 1970 to 1995. Tuttle had a brief marriage to Donna Reed in the 1940s; his third wife of over 40 years survives him.

Laura Devon, 1931-2007

Ms. Devon, who played Ellwyn "Elly" Glover in Jess-Belle opposite James Best and Anne Francis, died on 19 July in Beverly Hills. She had a brief acting career that ended after marriage in 1967 to composer Maurice Jarre. Their son, Kevin Jarre, was the screenwriter for "Tombstone" and other fine films. Ms. Devon had leads in several films from the mid- to late '60s, including "Red Line 7000" opposite James Caan in 1965, and "Gunn" with Craig Stevens and "A Covenant of Death" with George Maharis, both in 1967. A native of Detroit who started her career singing in nightclubs there, she moved to Southern California in the early '60s and made her film debut in director Vincente Minnelli's "Goodbye Charlie" (1964). She was a regular on "The Richard Boone Show," a dramatic anthology series that aired in the 1963-64 season.

James Callahan, 1930-2007

James T. "Jimmy" Callahan, who played the son-in-law of Ed Wynn and wife of Carolyn Kearney on "Ninety Years Without Slumbering", died on 7 August 2007. After serving in the Army in West Germany from 1951 to 1953, Callahan returned home to work at the post office. He discovered acting while attending school in the Midwest. On the advice of a teacher, he enrolled in the University of Washington to study drama and graduated in the late 1950s. Between 1959 and 2007, Callahan appeared in more than 120 films and television shows. More recently, Callahan had appeared on several episodes of the medical drama "Body & Soul" on the Pax TV network. In 1994, at age 63, he married for the first time. His wife survives him.

Charles Lane

1905-2007

Charles "Charlie" Lane was one of the several most-recognized character actors in American television, film, and theater. The wiry, bespectacled Lane had well over 500 credits to his name, he worked for over six decades starting in 1931! He usually played the short-tempered boss or high-level official, as he did as Mr. Peckinpaugh on the TZ episode "Mr. Bevis." Most know him for his appearances on "I Love Lucy", on the episode featuring the birth of Little Ricky. He played a father who already had six girls, whose wife gave birth to triplets on the same day that Lucy gave birth to her son. He also logged a number of appearances on "Bewitched." Mr. Lane was honored at the 2005 TV Land Awards, around the time of his 100th birthday. At the ceremony, he said, "I'm still available if anyone wants me!"

Phillip Pine

1920-2006

We belatedly report the passing of Phillip Pine, who died at his home on 22 December. Mr. Pine was a fine actor, who demonstrated his competency twice on "The Twilight Zone." I remember him mentioning that he was glad he got to play a nice guy in "The Incredible World of Horace Ford," contrary to the vile man he played in "The Four of Us Are Dying." Mr. Pine attended both of our Hollywood "Twilight Zone" Conventions, the second with his wife Madelyn Keen, who was ten years older than he. They lived for many years in the San Fernando Valley, and moved to Las Vegas to be closer to family for the last two years of their lives. Madelyn passed away just four days after Phillip. A kind and generous soul, Mr. Pine (and Madelyn) will be missed.

Dabbs Greer

1917-2007

Dabbs Greer, one of the most familiar faces in all of television and silver screen films, died of natural causes on April 28. On April 2, he celebrated his 90th birthday. He had a mammoth number of credits to his name (over 250 TV episodes, plus over 50 films) and continued working up until 2003 with more recent shows such as Lizzie McGuire and Spin City.

Some 10 years prior to his death, Hollywood gave Greer another big break—he played a 108-year-old man at the beginning and end of "The Green Mile" (the younger version of him was portrayed by Tom Hanks). On Twilight Zone, he appeared opposite Andy Devine in "Hocus Pocus and Frisby", and as one of the town officials in "Valley of the Shadow" who has the distinction of being stabbed with a knife, moments later to have the whole process reversed, blood and all. This was an experience he remembered fondly—the suit he wore was his own, and the cleaners were never able to get the Hershey's syrup out.

Barry Nelson

1917-2007

Barry Nelson, an actor who had a long career in film and television, starred in some of the more durable Broadway comedies of the 1950s and �60s, and achieved a permanent place in the minds of trivia buffs as the first actor to portray James Bond, died on 7 April, 2007. Mr. Nelson became familiar to many moviegoers in his middle years, appearing in films like �Airport� and �The Shining.� Born Robert Haakon Nielsen in San Francisco on April 16, 1917, he graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1941. Spotted by a talent scout, he was soon signed to an MGM contract and appeared in studio films like �Shadow of the Thin Man� (1941) and �Johnny Eager� and �Dr. Kildare�s Victory,� both in 1942. Joining the Army and assigned to an entertainment unit, he made his Broadway debut in 1943. It was in an unremarkable one-hour television production in 1954 that he left a lasting mark, or asterisk. That was when he played Jimmy Bond. Sean Connery�s Bond followed Mr. Nelson�s eight years later, in �Dr. No.� In 1964 he starred in one of the most memorable episodes of The Twilight Zone, �Stopover in a Quiet Town,� in which a stranded couple wake up in a typical small town to find that it is completely deserted and deathly quiet except for the sound of a child�s laughter.

Adam Williams

1922-2006

Adam Williams, who played two roles in Twilight Zone died on 4 December. In the first season, he played the sailor who Nan Adams picks up in the middle of the night. It was his second season appearance as the inimitable Woodward of "A Most Unusual Camera" (opposite Jean Carson and Fred Clark) that gave him a chance to shine brightly. Hitchcock fans will also remember him as one of two henchmen employed by Martin Landau in "North by Northwest." With over 100 screen credits to his name, Williams ceased acting after 30 years in 1981 to enjoy retirement in Southern California. He was born and raised, and trained in acting in New York.

Milton Selzer

1918-2006

Milton Selzer, who played Wilfred Harper, Sr. in "The Masks," and the lead alien in "Hocus Pocus and Frisby" died on 21 October at age 88. Born and raised on the east coast, he served in World War II and began his career after graduating from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. He moved to Los Angeles in 1960 and continued his acting career. He appeared on countless TV shows and films up through the 1980s. His distinctive appearance made him one of many familiar-faced character actors. He also worked extensively in the theater.

Phyllis Kirk

1930-2006

Phyllis Kirk, co-star of "A World of His Own" opposite Keenan Wynn and Mary LaRoche, passed away on 19 October at age 76. She appeared in Broadway plays before moving to Hollywood, where she co-starred with Frank Sinatra in "Johnny Concho" and Jerry Lewis "The Sad Sack". She also had a memorable role opposite Vincent Price in "House of Wax." After retiring from acting in the 1960s, she became a philanthropist and was responsible for various programs which included starting preschool programs for poor families in Los Angeles. She also had a career in public relations.

Elizabeth Allen

1929-2006
Elizabeth Allen, who co-starred in the ultra-classic TZ episode "The After Hours" in the first season, passed away on 19 September. She was 77. Her most noteworthy role was opposite John Wayne in the 1963 film classic "Donovan's Reef," playing Boston socialite Amelia Dedham. Her second-best role was, of course, the no-nonsense department store clerk in "The After Hours," opposite Anne Francis. Ms. Allen appeared in TV, film, and theater regularly from the early 1950s through the 1980s, including "Kojak," "Columbo," and "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century." She also originated the daytime soap opera role of Victoria Bellman on both NBC's "Another World," and its subsequent spinoff, "Texas," from 1979-1982. In 1983, she took over the starring role of fading singer Dorothy Brock in the Broadway musical production of "42nd Street" and continued in this role for nearly 15 years, retiring in 1996. She held the Broadway role for approximately 5 years, then took that same role on the road in numerous touring productions of "42nd Street" all around the world until that version of the show closed in 1996. She spent the remaining years between residences in New York and California, devoting time to charitable organizations and philanthropic groups.

Jack Palance

1919-2006
The late Jack Palance did not appear on "The Twilight Zone." Instead, he was the star of Rod Serling's Requiem for a Heavyweight which aired on "Playhouse 90". Palance portrayed Mountain McClintock, a declining prizefighter, in what was perhaps Serling's best, and most original script. It can be said that the performance by Palance in 1956 (alongside Kim Hunter, Ed Wynn and Keenan Wynn) helped to establish Rod Serling as a major Hollywood writer. Throughout his long career, Palance was always somewhat self-effacing and he is said to never have watched any of his work on the big or small screen. He also commented that nearly every part he got was 'garbage.' However, he spoke with great remembrance, on more than one occasion, about "Requiem", which was perhaps his best role.

Lennie Weinrib

1935-2006
Born in The Bronx, Lennie Weinrib had a prolific 30-year career in television that including writing all of the episodes of the beloved "H.R. Pufnstuf" series and voicethrowing hundreds of characters on animated series'. He logged three episodes as guest on "The Dick Van Dyke Show". On "Twilight Zone", he played Charley Parkes' well-meaning, wisecracking brother in law in "Miniature." In 1990, he left the USA and made a new home in Santiago, Chile, where he suffered an unexpected stroke on 28 June, 2006.

Robert Cornthwaite

1917-2006

Robert Cornthwaite passed away on 20 July, 2006. One of the most familiar faces in all of classic TV, he appeared on scores of television shows, and in some fifty feature films. On "Twilight Zone", he appeared in two episodes - the long-suffering house director of Rance McGrew's sitcom on "Showdown With Rance McGrew" (starring Larry Blyden), and as the pontificating banker, Mr. Hanford, in "No Time Like the Past" (starring Dana Andrews.) Mr. Cornthwaite was very receptive and appreciative of his fans, of which there were many. Born in Portland, Oregon (my hometown, too) in 1917, he began his acting career in 1935 at Reed College. I remember he told me that the play closed at the college the night before he embarked on what became a long career in Hollywood. He spent his last years at the Motion Picture Retirement Home in Calabasas, California. He will be missed.

Jack Warden

1920-2006

Jack Warden, veteran character actor of stage, screen, and theater, died in New York on 21 July, 2006 at the age of 85 after a long illness. We here at The Twilight Zone Museum acknowledge his contribution to the series, as star of the second episode produced, "The Lonely" by Rod Serling (shot in Death Valley), and as Paul Douglas' replacement later that season in "The Mighty Casey." Mr. Warden worked steadily until retiring in 2001.

Don Knotts

1924-2006

If there were ever a “greatest comedian of all time,” Don Knotts would arguably have that title. A quiet man off camera, on camera he was a force to be reckoned with. Although Don never appeared in an episode of The Twilight Zone, we humbly acknowledge his contribution to TV and film. The world is always a bit brighter when Don’s reruns are on the tube. If it's true that lack of laughter shortens the human lifespan, perhaps Don Knotts' greatest achievement is that he made, and will continue to make, millions of lives longer - or at least happier.

Robert Sterling

1918-2006

Robert Sterling, co-star of "Printer's Devil" alongside Burgess Meredith and Patricia Crowley, died of natural causes on May 30. His wife and other close relatives were at his bedside. Although he appeared in dozens of movies, Sterling was best known for the 1953-1956 TV series "Topper," based on the Thorne Smith novel, and the 1937 film starring Cary Grant and Constance Bennett. Sterling and wife, the eminent actress Anne Jeffreys played George and Marion Kirby, a fun-loving couple who were killed in an accident but returned as ghosts to haunt the new occupant of their home, a banker named Cosmo Topper. Sterling was born William Hart in 1917 in New Castle, Pa., the son of Chicago Cubs catcher William S. Hart. He attended college in Pennsylvania and worked as a clothing salesman before breaking into movies. He proved a versatile player, especially in romantic roles, and appeared in five films in 1941, including the romantic comedy "Two-Faced Woman" with Greta Garbo and "The Penalty" with Lionel Barrymore. After "Topper," Sterling retired from acting to become a businessman. Sterling was married to actress Ann Sothern from 1943 to 1949 and they had a daughter, actress Tisha Sterling. He married Jeffreys in 1951 and they had three sons: Jeffrey, Dana and Tyler.

Dennis Weaver

1924-2006

Dennis Weaver, who will forever be known for his role on Gunsmoke, passed away after a short battle with cancer. Unfortunately, Dennis was one TZ actor we never met—he did appear at one of the fiendish Hollywood Collector Shows here in town a few years before he died.

His performance in the episode "Shadow Play" was tremendous. His old friend Wright King remembers doing both Gunsmoke and Twilight Zone with him. "Dennis was simply a great guy, and his wife Gerry was also a good friend of ours. His kids and my kids shot a mini-western on the backlot of MGM. We had a lot of fun together." Dennis' daughter in law was one of the victims of the 2003 disaster in Santa Monica, California, where an elderly man drove his car through the 3rd Street Promenade Farmers Market. Dennis was a staunch advocate of environmental protection and ending hunger in third world countries. He hand-built his home in Ridgeway, Colorado, from all-natural products.

Kevin Hagen

1928-2005

Kevin Hagen, one of TV's most recognizable faces for his role as Dr. Hiram Baker on "Little House on the Prairie" for 116 episodes, passed away after a brief struggle with cancer in 2005. Born in Chicago in 1928, his mother and an aunt moved to Portland, Oregon when he was a teenager. He attended Jefferson High School and Oregon State University (my alma mater, too!) before joining the US Navy. He started acting at the age of 27, after earning a degree in International Relations from UCLA. Acting was his second career choice; he had planned to be an attorney. By the late 1950s, he was landing roles on TV series such as "Twilight Zone." "Doc Baker" - which came after having done over 100 roles in TV and film - was his signature role, of course. He admitted to having problems with "Prairie" producer/lead actor Michael Landon, who made sure he was undercompensated for his fine work. Mr. Hagen returned to Oregon for a quieter existence after retiring from acting in the early 1990s. He had a son with his third wife, and was single for a 25-year period before marrying his fourth. He was always very appreciative of his fan base and had a website at www.docbaker.com from the late 1990s until his death in 2005.

Carolyn Kearney

1935-2005

Carolyn, co-star of the Desilu Playhouse production of Serling's "The Time Element" and also TZ's "Ninety Years Without Slumbering," passed away on 18 November. She was one of the nicest people you could ever hope to know. I was connected to her last year by a close friend of hers who found this website, only a couple months before the second TZ convention. She attended, and was amazed that she had so many fans! Several months later, we interviewed her for the DVDs and she got a great thrill out of this as well.

Born in Detroit, Carolyn started acting at the young age of 5. She trained at the Pasadena Playhouse in California. She appeared in four B films, including "The Thing That Wouldn't Die" (1958) with TZ alum William Reynolds, whom she enjoyed meeting again at the convention last year. In addition to The Twilight Zone, she did about 30 roles on various episodic TV shows, including Bonanza, Ben Casey and Dr. Kildare. She also co-starred in the Thriller episode "The Incredible Dr. Markesan" alongside Dick York and cherished the on-set breakfasts she had with Boris Karloff during the shoot. Opting to raise a family, she left showbiz in the mid 1960s. She lived in the LA area and is survived by two sons and husband.

Jean Carson

1923-2005

Jean Carson, best remembered for Paula Diedrich, the basso-voiced crook on "A Most Unusual Camera", passed away on 2 November in Palm Springs after a long illness and recent stroke. Jean was a very dear lady who thrived on the devotion of her fan base from The Twilight Zone and The Andy Griffith Show (guest spots on three episodes). She always loved her fan mail, often sending free pictures and sometimes long letters out to her devotees! Jean graciously attended both of our Stars of the Zone Conventions, as well as many of the "Mayberry" events throughout the country, over the years. "Oh, palpitations!" and "Hello, Doll!" were her two signature lines.

In 2002, she appeared alongside the late Jonathan Harris on the convention actor panel discussion. Born in West Virginia, she came out to California in the late 1950s after appearing on many on-Broadway and off-Broadway plays. Rod Serling wrote the TZ episode with her talents specifically in mind, after approaching her backstage after a play she was doing in Los Angeles around 1959. She retired from acting in the early 1980s but continued to act occasionally in community theater and she was actively involved in many organizations. She lived in Palm Desert, California for many years and is survived by two sons. We will indeed miss her.

Lloyd Bochner

1924-2005

Lloyd, co-star of "To Serve Man", passed away at his home in Santa Monica, California on 29 October, at age 81. We will be forever grateful for his brilliant characterization of one Michael Chambers, the U.N. cryptographer who finds out the cruel intentions of the Kanamits too late. He is also well-known for a regular role on Dynasty, and for numerous roles as the sophisticated, evil male lead. He worked in television for more than 50 years and was working regularly until very recently. Lloyd attended both of our Stars of the Zone Conventions. Last year, he participated in the panel discussion, where he reminisced about the sadly-long-past days of early television. He was a very gentle person, and a true professional with a strong sense of himself.

Born and raised in Canada, he lived a few doors down from Rod Serling when Rod first came to Los Angeles. Lloyd is survived by his wife and three children. He will, of course, be missed.

John Larch

1914-2005

John Larch was a talented actor who appeared in three episodes of The Twilight Zone�the sophisticated psychiatrist Dr. Elliot Rathmann in "Perchance to Dream" (opposite Richard Conte); the energy-deprived Sheriff Koch in "Dust"; and most memorably, Mr. Fremont, father of irascible son Anthony in "It's a Good Life" (opposite Cloris Leachman and Bill Mumy). At the 2002 “Stars of the Zone Convention” in Hollywood, Suzanne Lloyd remarked that she very much enjoyed working with Larch and missed his presence very much. Larch appeared on hundreds of episodes of television from the early 1950s until the late 1980s, when he retired.

Harold J. Stone

1913-2005

Mr. Stone, who starred as Grant Sheckly in "The Arrival" and played a lot of heavies in various TV shows (The FBI) and movies, died on 18 November at the age of 92 at the Motion Picture Retirement Home in Woodland Hills, CA. Fans of Three’s Company know him for his role as Bustamente, the caustic loan shark who charges Jack Tripper interest for a loan which was paid back within two hours. Stone had been retired from acting for over 20 years. Some sources give his birthdate as 1910.

Howard Morris

1919-2005

The world of comedy saw a great loss with the passing of the inimitable Howard Morris. A master voiceover artist and actor, he later turned to directing. He was very much respected by the artistic community in Hollywood and enjoyed a very long and fruitful career. In his later years, he participated in many events related to The Andy Griffith Show, for which he will forever be known as the zany mountain man Ernest T. Bass.

Although in poor health, he attended both of the Hollywood "Stars of the Zone" conventions. On The Twilight Zone, he was George P. Hanley in the episode "I Dream of Genie." The Los Angeles Times mentioned his appearance in this largely forgotten episode in his obituary.

Don Durant

1932-2005

Don Durant passed away after a long battle with lymphoma. We were lucky to have Don at the second “Stars of the Zone” convention in 2004; he was an avid fisherman and usually went fishing in August (hence he was unable to attend BOTH of the shows.)

Don and Ben Cooper were neighbors in Dana Point, California. They came to the show together and signed autographs at the same table. They arrived Friday night, before any of the other celebrities, and had a very good time. Don enjoyed only a brief career in showbiz. He had his own show, Johnny Ringo, for just one season (1959-60), which was cancelled due to sponsorship problems. He left the biz in 1964 and became a financial planner and real estate agent.

Janice Rule

1931-2003

Janice Rule, who played schoolteacher Helen Foley in the Twilight Zone episode "Nightmare as a Child", died on October 17, at age 72. She was always at her most convincing playing embittered, neurotic socialites; in later life she turned to psychoanalysing the sort of characters she played. A former showgirl and nightclub singer, Janice Rule played the slatternly "rich bitch" wife of Robert Duvall who drunkenly swallows a string of pearls in The Chase (1966), and was Burt Lancaster's violently vengeful former mistress in The Swimmer (1968).

In Robert Altman's psychological drama Three Women (1977), she was the mute, pregnant artist wife of Robert Fortier, who translates her fears of men into bizarre murals of Aztec-like men and women. Janice Rule was born in Norwood, Ohio on August 15, 1931. She studied ballet and began dancing at Chicago's Chez Paree nightclub when she was 15, and in 1949 was a chorus girl in a Broadway production of "Miss Liberty". Contracted by Warner brothers in 1951, she made her film debut in Goodbye My Fancy (1951), in which she played the 47-year-old Joan Crawford's young rival for the affections of Frank Lovejoy. Joan Crawford's on-screen histrionics continued off-screen with snide comments about her co-star's lack of acting experience. As a result, the young actress botched take after take. "Miss Rule," Joan Crawford told her as her parting shot, "you'd better enjoy making films while you can. I doubt you'll be with us for long."

Janice Rule's other films in the 1950s included Starlift (1951), in which she played a starlet who falls for an air force corporal, and Holiday for Sinners (1952). In A Woman’s Devotion, she was the young wife of a psychologically disturbed, and possibly murderous, war veteran (Ralph Meeker) and in Bell, Book and Candle (1958) she was the frigid beauty who loses James Stewart to the seductive Kim Novak. In 1953, she made her Broadway acting debut as Madge Owens, the ingenue beauty queen in William Inge's Picnic, and went on to appear in several other Broadway productions. Her performance in Michael V. Gazzo's Night Circus (1959), in which she played the neurotic beauty who destroys the lives of others before destroying her own, led to her being cast in similar roles in films. She played a man-hating beatnik seduced by George Peppard in The Subterraneans (1960) and appeared in several Westerns, including Invitation to a Gunfighter (1964) and Alvarez Kelly (1966), in which she was the frustrated sweetheart of a Confederate officer (Richard Widmark), but is charmed by a cattleman (William Holden).

In the 1960s, Janice Rule became interested in psychology and began studying to become a psychoanalyst, eventually gaining a doctorate in the subject from the Southern California Psychoanalytic Institute in Los Angeles. She practised in New York, although she continued to make occasional appearances as an actress. One of her last film credits was as the mysterious and dysfunctional mother of bicycle-racing brothers (David Grant and Kevin Costner) in American Flyers (1985). In her youth, Janice Rule was romantically linked to various Hollywood personalities, including Arthur Loew, Jr. and the actors Richard Anderson and Farley Granger. She and Granger entered into what was said to be the briefest engagement in show business. She was married and divorced three times: first to the writer-director Robert Thom, with whom she had a daughter; secondly to the playwright Robert Nash, and thirdly to the actor Ben Gazzara, with whom she had another daughter. Her daughters survive her.

Jack Elam

1919-2003

Character actor and favorite Western villain Jack Elam, who menaced good-guy cowboys with his crazy grin, wild eyes and remorseless gunslinging in films such as "Rawhide" and "Wichita," died at his home in Ashland, Oregon on October 20th. Although he was not a sci-fi actor, he played a Martian-decoy on the Twilight Zone episode "Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?" in 1961.

Most biographies list the actor as 86 years old, but Hassan said he was actually 84, having lied about his age as a youngster to get work.

"He was cantankerous in a great way, in a funny way," Hassan said. "He smoked, drank, all that stuff. He lived one of the best lives I've ever seen."

Elam worked as a Hollywood accountant in the 1940s and had bit parts, usually uncredited, in the films Trailin' West (1949), Quicksand (1950) and One Way Street (1950).

He helped arrange financing for the Robert Preston film The Sundowners in exchange for a larger role, as the husband of actress Cathy Downs. Then came a tough-guy part in 1951's Rawhide, starring Tyrone Power, which helped make him a star.

Elam, born in Miami, Ariz., didn't always play the mean old hombre � he also found himself cast as dirty old men and harmless drunks, sometimes with a humorous bent in comedies like Support Your Local Sheriff and The Cockeyed Cowboys of Calico County.

The actor's own cockeye was the result of a childhood fight in Phoenix. The way he told it, a fellow Boy Scout stabbed him in the left eye with a pencil during a scrape at a troop meeting. He remained blind in that eye, which wandered lazily around its socket.

Elam continued working into his later years in such films as Suburban Commando (1991) and the TV reunion shows Bonanza: The Return (1993) and Bonanza: Under Fire (1995), his last screen credit.

But he complained about the modern villains that evolved in the 1970s, who had shades of psychological problems behind their bad behavior. "The heavy today is usually not my kind of guy," he said in the Los Angeles Times in 1977.

"In the old days, Rory Calhoun was the hero because he was the hero and I was the heavy because I was the heavy � and nobody cared what my problem was. And I didn't either," he added. "I robbed the bank because I wanted the money ... I've played all kinds of weirdos but I've never done the quiet, sick type. I never had a problem � other than the fact I was just bad." He is survived by a wife and three children.

Suzy Parker

1932-2003

Suzy Parker was once said to be the highest-paid model in the world, earning more than $60,000 a year in the 1950s; she later embarked on a brief career as an actress in Hollywood.

Blessed with excellent bone structure, copper-coloured hair and seaweed-green eyes, Suzy Parker enchanted the great names of fashion in the 1950s. Christian Dior called her the most beautiful model in the world; she became the signature face for Coco Chanel and was photographed by Richard Avedon and Milton H. Greene. She was born Cecilia Anne Renee Parker on October 28, 1933. Her elder sister was the model Dorian Leigh, who had been a magazine "cover girl" since the 1940s; and it was she who introduced the future Suzy Parker to modeling when she was only 14, taking her to see the modelling agent Eileen Ford. The agent's initial impression was not favorable: she insisted that the teenager was, at 5' 9", too tall to be a successful model.

But Diana Vreeland, the fashion editor at Harpers Bazaar for 25 years and editor-in-chief of Vogue , disagreed; the influential arbiter of style and elegance immediately offered to use the 14 year old in fashion shoots. Suzy Parker soon became one of the most recognizable faces of the 1950s, and a forerunner of today's "supermodels".

It was perhaps inevitable that she should turn to Hollywood, and in 1957 Suzy Parker made her film debut in the musical Funny Face, which starred Fred Astaire and Audrey Hepburn—Hepburn was to become a good friend. Suzy Parker danced in a number called Think Pink, a send-up of editors such as Diana Vreeland. Further films followed. Also in 1957, Suzy Parker appeared opposite Cary Grant in Kiss Them for Me; the next year she was seen in Ten North Frederick, starring Gary Cooper. She appeared in The Best of Everything (1959); Circle of Deception (1961); The Interns (1962); and Chamber of Horrors (1966). There were also roles on the television screen, including parts in Tarzan and The Twilight Zone — in one episode of The Twilight Zone in 1963, entitled "Number Twelve Looks Just Like You", she played six different characters.

In the film Circle of Deception, a spy thriller, she found herself playing opposite Bradford Dillman. They fell in love, and in 1963 they were married on board an ocean liner by the ship's master. In the late Sixties, she and Dillman abandoned the glamour of Hollywood for a more down-to-earth existence in Montecito, California although Dillman continued to act. For the remainder of her life, the woman who had been one of the world's most famous models shunned the limelight, preferring to be known as Suzy Parker Dillman.

Suzy Parker's marital status, before her union with Dillman, had been somewhat mysterious. In 1958 she had broken both her arms, and her father had been killed, when the car in which they were travelling collided with a train at Saint Augustine, Florida. It then emerged that Suzy Parker had been secretly married, since 1955, to a French journalist and novelist called Pierre La Salle. It did not last, however, telling one interviewer: "Being married to a Frenchman is interesting - you hardly ever see your husband." They divorced in 1961. It also emerged that, at 17, she had eloped from high school to marry a childhood sweetheart, Charles Staton, apparently to escape going to college.

Said a close friend of hers, "She lived the glamorous life and was ready to draw in her horns." She is survived by Dillman, four children and two stepchildren.

Helen Foley

1912-2002

Helen Foley (to the left of Rod Serling), was one of Serling's dearest friends. In fact, the Twilight Zone character of episode "Nightmare as a Child" (played by Janice Rule), was named after her. She was also an interviewee on the PBS special "Submitted for Your Approval" in 1995. Ms. Foley's permanent home was in Binghamton, New York, where she taught high school for over 40 years before retiring in 1979.

Jonathan Harris

1914-2002

Those who saw Jonathan Harris at the Stars of the Zone Convention in August 2002 saw the indefatigable guy actively signing autographs from 10 to 5 on Saturday and Sunday. No one was quite sure how many of the "over age 80" actors were able to survive the high temperature roomful of fans at the Beverly Garland Holiday Inn, but Jonathan was among the survivors! Our Show was the last autograph show he did, and the hour-long panel discussion he did on Saturday was one of his last public appearances. Upon being asked to participate in the panel by Tony Albarella (who hosted), he willingly agreed and along with a select group of other actors, generously took an hour away from his photo sales to participate. He was scheduled to attend another show in New Jersey in October but reportedly cancelled for personal reasons. Jonathan was a true class act in every sense of the word. Instantly funny, infinitely talented, and proud posessor of that rare thing called mental agelessness. Undoubtedly due to good genes, he was very active right up until only a few weeks before he passed away. Co-star of "The Silence" (with Franchot Tone) and "Twenty-Two" (with Barbara Nichols), in which he played rather acerbic roles, fans of The Twilight Zone know Jonathan well. On the panel, he sat next to Arlene Martel who also had a part in "Twenty-Two," who wasn't sure if he remembered her … he assured her that he certainly did, because of her famous line, "Room for one more, honey!" That got some laughs from the audience. He talked a bit about the plans to do a two-hour movie version of Lost in Space and how he re-wrote the script to include Dr. Smith (who had originally been written out). He also mentioned his friendship with the great Rod Serling, and recalled how Rod struggled so much to get the networks to understand what he was doing for television. Mr. Harris lived in Encino, California, his home of many years, with his wife of over 60 years, Gertrude. We'll always remember "the man" for his wit and wisdom — he was one of the great ones. Salute, Jonathan.