Biography
This page uses content from the Amanda Blake biography page on the English version of Wikipedia and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. This list of authors can be seen in the page history. Rotten Tomatoes disclaims any and all warranties as to the accuracy or reliability of the content.
Amanda Blake (February 20 1929 - August 16 1989), was an American actress.
Born Beverly Louise Neill in Buffalo, New York, she was a telephone operator before taking up acting. Nicknamed "The Young Greer Garson," she became best known for her 19-year stint as Kitty Russell on the longest-running television drama, Gunsmoke. Miss Kitty was owner-operator of the Long Branch Saloon, from which she dispensed wisdom and whiskey while she carried on a mystery relationship with Dodge City's U.S. Marshal, Matt Dillon (played by James Arness). Blake's saloon-keeper character departed Dodge City in the series' 19th season after Matt experienced a final-straw brush with death that led Miss Kitty to leave a life of worrying about her lawman for unknown adventures outside of Kansas. Gunsmoke continued for one more year before CBS cancelled it after its 20th season, much to the surprise of the entire cast, including Arness.
In 1968 Blake was inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. This was six years before the legendary John Wayne was inducted in 1974 and more than a decade before co-stars Arness, Ken Curtis, Dennis Weaver and Milburn Stone were inducted in 1981. Blake was the third performer welcomed into the Hall, after Tom Mix and Gary Cooper, who were inducted in 1958 and 1966 respectively.
After Gunsmoke, Blake went into semi-retirement at her home in Phoenix, Arizona, taking on only a few film and TV projects. A lover of animals, she joined with others to form the Arizona Animal Welfare League in 1971, today the oldest and largest "no-kill" animal shelter in the state. In 1985, she helped finance the start-up of the Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) and devoted a great deal of time and money in support of its efforts, including travels to Africa.
In the early 1980s, Amanda was diagnosed with AIDS. It is unclear how she contracted it, but reportedly she believed she was infected by her fifth husband, who was reportedly bisexual. He died of the disease shortly after their marriage. Blake died in Sacramento, California at the age of 60 from a type of viral hepatitis brought on by AIDS. She had previously battled cancer and was in remission. The media was originally told her cause of death was cancer, but shortly after her passing it was revealed to have been AIDS.
In 1997, the Amanda Blake Memorial Wildlife Refuge opened at Rancho Seco Park in Herald, California. The refuge is a PAWS sanctuary for free-ranging African hoofed wildlife, most of whom were originally destined for exotic animal auctions or hunting ranches.
Due to her continuing role on Gunsmoke, Blake did not appear in many films.
Acting credits:
- Lili (1953)
- Sabre Jet (1953)
- A Star Is Born (1954)
- The Glass Slipper (1955)
- High Society (1956)
- Betrayal (1974)
- B.O.R.N. (1988)
- The Boost (1988)
Television Appearances:
- Schlitz Playhouse of Stars (1952)
- Lux Video Theatre (1953)
- Cavalcade of America (1953)
- Four Star Playhouse (1954)
- Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1956)
- State Trooper (1957)
- Studio One (1958)
- General Electric Theater (1959)
- The Quest (1976)
- The Love Boat (1979)
- Hart to Hart (1983)
- The Edge of Night (1984)
See also
- Other notable figures in Western films
External links
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