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Jeanne Bates

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Jeanne Bates
Bates in an episode ofOne Step Beyond(1960)
Born(1918-05-21)May 21, 1918
Berkeley, California,U.S.
DiedNovember 28, 2007(2007-11-28)(aged 89)
Los Angeles,California, U.S.
Resting placeForest Lawn Memorial Park,Hollywood Hills,California
Alma materSan Mateo Junior College
OccupationActress
Years active1943–2002
Known for
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Lew X. Lansworth
​
​
(m.1943; died 1981)​

Jeanne Bates(May 21, 1918 – November 28, 2007) was an Americanradio,filmandtelevisionactress. After performing inradio serials,she signed a contract withColumbia Picturesin 1942 which began her career in films both in small parts and larger roles in a series ofhorror filmsandnoirs,includingThe Return of the Vampire(1943) andShadows in the Night(1946).

In her later career, Bates would collaborate withDavid Lynchon his filmsEraserhead(1977) andMulholland Drive(2001), the latter of which was her last film credit before her death in 2007.

Career

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Bates was born inBerkeley, Californiain 1918.[1][2]She began her acting career while attendingSan Mateo Junior College,with roles on radiosoap operasproduced inSan Francisco.Bates had the lead role, and supplied the signature scream, on the radio mystery seriesWhodunit.Following the war, the show was revived under the name "Murder Will Out."[3]In 1943, she married the writer ofWhodunit,Lew X. Lansworth (1904–1981). Bates also appeared in radio's "Gunsmoke", including the 12/13/1952 episode "Post Martin" and the 10/23/1960 episode "Newsma'am".

Tom Tylerand Jeanne Bates inThe Phantom(1943)

She also had her film debut in 1943, in aBoston Blackiemystery,The Chance of a Lifetime.She played Bela Lugosi's first victim inThe Return of the Vampire(1943), Anne Winson inThe Soul of a Monster(1944), Victoria inThe Mask of Diijon(1946),[2]Diana Palmer inThe Phantomserial (1943),[2]Agnes inBack from the Dead (film)(1957), and she also had a minor role inDeath of a Salesman(1951).

Bates worked steadily in television beginning in the 1950s, including an appearance on thesyndicatedwesternseriesThe Range Rider,and thereafter on episodes ofNBC'sBuckskin,Riverboat,andPeter Gunn,as well as the crime dramaSheriff of Cochise,and the aviation adventure seriesSky KingandWhirlybirds.She also appeared in a 1956 episode ofThe Lone Rangerentitled "The Cross of Santo Domingo".

In the series premiere, "The Ferris Wheel" (September 23, 1958), of the syndicated television series,Rescue 8,starringJim DavisandLang Jeffries,Bates played a woman recently released from a mental institution who is trapped at the top of aFerris wheelwith her young daughter, portrayed by Gina Gillespie.Rand Brooksguest stars in the episode as Tom Hickey. That year she made three appearances onPerry Mason,most notably as Jean Strague in "The Case of the Buried Clock".

In 1960, she was cast as Mrs. Grandsoir in the episode "Mrs. Viner Vanishes" of theABC/Warner Brotherscrime dramaBourbon Street Beat,starringAndrew Duggan.She is more remembered for having portrayed Nurse Wills on the ABC medical dramaBen Casey,from 1961 to 1966. She appeared withJohn Paynein various roles in five episodes of hisNBCwestern seriesThe Restless Gun,and also guest starred as Mrs. Wayne in theRawhideepisode "Incident of the Tinkers Dam".

Bates, who also taught acting, also appeared in films such asThe Strangler(1964),Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came(1970), andDavid Lynch'sEraserhead(1977) as Mrs. X.[4]In July 1982, she appeared onBroadwayas Mrs. Bixby in a production ofSeven Brides for Seven Brothers.[5]Her last roles were small parts inDie Hard 2(1990),Grand Canyon(1991),Dream Lover(1994) andMulholland Drive(2001).

Personal life

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Bates married Lew X. Lansworth in 1943[2]and was married to him until his death in 1981.

Bates was a practicingEpiscopalianand she was a registeredRepublicanwho supported the administrations ofDwight Eisenhower,Richard Nixon,andRonald Reagan.[6]

Death

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In 2007, Bates died ofbreast cancerat theMotion Picture & Television Country House and HospitalinWoodland Hills, Los Angeles,California at age 89.[7]Her remains are interred atForest Lawn Memorial Park,Hollywood Hills,California.[8]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
1943 The Chance of a Lifetime Mary Watson
1943 The Return of the Vampire Miss Norcutt Uncredited
1943 There's Something About a Soldier Phyllis Uncredited
1943 The Phantom Diana Palmer Film serial
1944 The Racket Man Phyllis Lake
1944 Sundown Valley Sidney Hawkins
1944 Hey, Rookie Chief W.A.C. Uncredited
1944 The Black Parachute Olga
1944 She's a Soldier Too "Red" Burns Uncredited
1944 Shadows in the Night Adele Carter
1944 The Soul of a Monster Anne Winson Also known asDeath Walks Alone[9]
1944 It's Murder Mrs. Tom Blair Short film
1944 Sergeant Mike Terry Arno
1945 Tonight and Every Night W.A.C. Woman Uncredited
1946 The Mask of Diijon Victoria
1951 The Living Christ Series Mary, Sister of Lazarus Miniseries
1951 Dangerous Assignment Eva Schaeffer Season 1 Episode 4 The memory Chain
1951 Trouble In-Laws Mrs. Herbert Short film
1951 Death of a Salesman Mother Uncredited
1952 Paula Attending Nurse Uncredited
1954 Sabaka Durga
1955 Gunsmoke Mrs. Nolan Smoking Out The Nolan's
1955 Gunsmoke Mrs. Wyatt Night Incident
1956 Tension at Table Rock Mrs. Brice Uncredited
1957 Trooper Hook Ann Weaver
1957 Back from the Dead Agnes
1958 The Restless Gun Mrs. Hoffman Episode "Strange Family in Town"
1958 The Restless Gun Episode "Gratitude"
1958 The Restless Gun Episode "No Way to Kill"
1958 Blood Arrow Almee
1959 The Restless Gun Episode "Better Than a Cannon"
1959 Hi, Grandma! Television film
1959 Have Gun Will Travel Harriet Morrow Episode "The Taffeta Mayor"
1960 Vice Raid Marilyn Uncredited
1961 The Twilight Zone Ethel Hollis It's a Good Life- Season 3 Episode 8
1964 The Strangler Clara Thomas
1969 Mayberry RFD Jennie Mae S2 Episode 13 Palm Springs Cowboy
1969 Mannix Melinda Webber S2-Episode 10 "Night Out Of Time"
1970 Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came Mrs. Flanders
1976 Gus Nurse
1977 Eraserhead Mrs. X
1977 Poco... Little Dog Lost Mrs. John Ashmore
1986 Touch and Go Woman at the Morgue
1989 From the Dead of Night Nurse Television film
1990 Die Hard 2 Older Woman (Northeast Plane)
1990 Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation Katherine
1991 Mom Emily Dwyer
1991 Wild Orchid II: Two Shades of Blue Mrs. Felt
1991 Grand Canyon Mrs. Menken
1994 Dream Lover Jeanne
2001 Mulholland Drive Irene

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1959 Rawhide Mrs Wayne S2:E16, "Incident of the Tinker's Dam"

References

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Notes

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  1. ^"California Birth Index, 1905-1995," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VLBG-LTZ:27 November 2014), Jeanne Bates, 21 May 1918; citing Alameda, California, United States, Department of Health Services, Vital Statistics Department, Sacramento.
  2. ^abcdWeaver 2003,p. 52.
  3. ^"Lew Lansworth papers, 1924-1969 1940-1969".
  4. ^Paszylk 2009,p. 146.
  5. ^Dietz 2016,p. 143.
  6. ^An Interview With Jeanne Bates,Skip E. Lowe, 1992
  7. ^Variety Staff (February 1, 2008)."Actress Jeanne Bates dies at 89".Variety.RetrievedJanuary 9,2017.
  8. ^Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14000 Famous Persons by Scott Wilson
  9. ^Blottner 2015,p. 210.

Sources

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  • Blottner, Gene (2015).Columbia Noir: A Complete Filmography, 1940-1962.McFarland.ISBN978-0-78647-014-3.
  • Dietz, Dan (2016).The Complete Book of 1980s Broadway Musicals.Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.ISBN978-1-44226-091-7.
  • Paszylk, Bartlomiej (2009).The Pleasure and Pain of Cult Horror Films: An Historical Survey.McFarland.ISBN978-0-78643-695-8.
  • Weaver, Tom (2003).Double Feature Creature Attack: A Monster Merger of Two More Volumes of Classic Interviews.McFarland Classics. McFarland.ISBN978-0-78641-366-9.
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