Elizabeth Allen (actress)
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| Elizabeth Allen | |
| Birth name | Elizabeth Ellen Gillease |
| Born | January 25, 1929 (age 78) Jersey City, New Jersey, USA |
| Died | September 19, 2006 (aged 77) Fishkill, New York, USA |
| Spouse(s) | Baron Karl von Vietinghoff-Scheel (divorced) |
- Not to be confused with the British actress Elizabeth Allan
Elizabeth Allen (born Elizabeth Ellen Gillease) (January 25, 1929 – September 19, 2006) was an American actress.
Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, she got her start as the “Away we go!” girl on The Jackie Gleason Show in the 1950s. The darkly, coolly attractive actress is perhaps best known on TV for her role as the creepy saleslady in the episode of The Twilight Zone where actress Anne Francis (playing 'Miss Marsha White') finally realizes that she is a mannequin and that her month of freedom and living amongst the humans is over. Allen's saleslady (seen by no one but Marsha) character is the mannequin whose turn is up next and has already been delayed by one full day, explaining her slightly peeved attitude.
In 1963 Elizabeth starred with John Wayne, Dorothy Lamour and Lee Marvin as Ameilia Sarah Dedham in the film Donovan's Reef shot on location in Hawaii on the island of Kauai, and in Hollywood. Donovan's Reef was directed by John Ford.
She also starred in Diamond Head as Laura Beckett with Charlton Heston and Yvette Mimieux, also filmed in Hawaii.
Elizabeth made numerous television appearances in guest starring roles and as a regular cast member. Her television career spanned three decades.
She was married once to Baron Karl von Vietinghoff-Scheel, but the marriage ended in divorce and she never remarried. She was twice nominated for Tony Awards for her performances on Broadway.
Allen quietly retired from show business in 1982, after appearing in the TV series Texas for two seasons, probably from her recollections of dealing with Paul Lynde's meltdown behind the scenes on The Paul Lynde Show, in which she unfortunately found herself cast from 1972-1973.
She died from kidney disease, aged 77, in Fishkill, New York; she was survived only by a sister-in-law, Marion Gillease.
In 2006, Procter & Gamble began making several of its soaps available through America Online's AOL Video service, downloadable free of charge. Reruns of Texas episodes featuring Allen began with the show's first episode in August 1980.
[edit] Broadway Credits
- 1957 Romanoff and Juliet as Juliet
- 1962 The Gay Life as Magda
- 1965 Do I Hear a Waltz? as Leona Samish
- 1967 Sherry! as Maggie Cutler
- 1983 42nd Street as Dorothy Brock (replacement for Tammy Grimes)
[edit] Film Credits
- 1955 Born for Trouble
- 1960 From the Terrace as Sage Remmington
- 1963 Donovan's Reef as Ameilia Sarah Dedham
- 1963 Diamond Head as Laura Beckett
- 1964 Cheyenne Autumn as Guinevere Plantagenet
- 1971 Starr Spangled Girl as The Landlady
- 1972 The Crazy Treatment as Evelyn Randall
- 1979 No Other Love
[edit] External links
- [1] L.A. Times obituary
- [2] NY Times obituary
- AOL Video episodes of Texas
