She was Betty Rubble

Voice actors are usually never given a second thought. One of the most instantly recognizable voices is that of Bea Benaderet. Bea played not only the owner of The Shady Rest Hotel on "Petticoat Junction" and she also was Jethro's mother on "The Beverly Hillbillies". She is always going to be remembered as the voice of Betty Rubble the Millis Helper of the "The Flinstones".

Benaderet  had a long career on radio where she was able to develop her voice. On Radio she was a star during rodio's hey days. When television emerged Bea not being a fool knew this was the way to go, the wave of the future and jumped into it. Bea was originally supposed to be Ethel Mertz on "I Love Lucy" having done a very similar role on the radio version "My Favorite Wife".
Her work in cartoons wasn't only limited to to betty Rubble she was also the voice of Granny in the Warner Brother's cartoons with Tweety Bird. 
Bea Benaderet died in 1968 of lung cancer, she was 62 years old and in the height of her career.

Chatting With Cat Woman

I was able to meet one of Hollywood's great beauties this afternoon, Julie Newmar. Ms Newmar was giving a talk in a hair salon in the Fairfax neighborhood in Los Angeles. We arrived a little early for the talk and ran into Ms. Newmar in the stylist's chair. She welcomed us in and asked us to sit down. Her stylist worked on her hair and she just held court. She is absolutely charming and witty. We discussed her hair and how she was so happy with the color and how it is finally natural. 
Her talk was about beauty and being beautiful. Something she, in her 80's, clearly knows something about. When her talk was over she opened the floor to questions. many were of course about Batman and being Cat Woman. She also spoke about working on "To Wong Foo, Thank you Julie Newmar" and how when she heard of the movie she wanted to see the script and was eventually given a cameo in the film. I was able to ask her about one of my favorite of her roles, that of Rhoda the robot on the sitcom "My Living Doll". She was clearly pleased to be able to talk about playing Rhoda and how she got into character. She said it was one of her most difficult roles. 
Julie Newmar is a delightful woman and it was an honor to be able to have a private chat with her.

Reta Shaw

There are actresses who are always remembered for play certain types of roles. Reta Shaw is one of those actresses she was always a tough as nails housekeeper. Her career started in Boston n the stage and eventually she was in New York on Broadway playing in the "Pajama Game" as Mabel the bossy woman at the factory. She moved onto television and the movies. She played housekeepers and busy bodies and bossy wives. She is remembered at playing one of the singing domestics in "Mary Poppins" and Housekeeper Martha on "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir". Shaw worked all the time appearing on sitcoms and in small rolls in movies until her death in 1982. Reta Shaw was 69 years ols at the time of her death

The Forgotten Woman

Yvette Vickers was once for a minute or two a star. Her brief stardom was pretty amazing and fast in coming. It also left equally as fast. Yvette Vickers is now known more for the way she died than anything else in her life. Ms. Vickers mummified remains were found in her Benedict Canyon home over a year after her death. 
Born in Kansas City Missouri to a Jazz musician she traveled the country with her parents for work and eventually settled in Los Angeles. Vickers studied at UCLA starting as a journalism major but found she liked acting and changed majors. It was while attending UCLA She started making local television commercials. Upon graduation Yvette moved to New York to do some modeling work. She soon found herself back in Los Angeles where she made her first film appearance in an un-credited role in "Sunset Boulevard". This sadly was the most high brow film she was ever to be involved in. One of her next films was "Reform School Girls" but her masterpiece was "The Attack of the 50 Foot Woman". Vickers mad a few more films including "Attack of the Giant Leeches". "Beach Party" and "What's the Matter With Helen?". It was TV that was her bread and butter. She made guest appearances on TV through out the 1960's and 1970's. Her last film role was in the movie "Evil Spirits". During the 1990's Vickers released a jazz CD dedicated to her parents. In 1959 Vickers was Playmate of the Month in Playboy Magazine. Russ Myers shot her centerfold.
The five foot three inch Yvette Vickers was married three times and was a in long-time  relationship with Jim Hutton. She was also know as being the date of Lee Marvin and Cary Grant. Her life in later years was very quite although she would make appearances and do autograph events. Her neighbors described her as very nice and very quiet, keeping to her self. 
The quiet life is what makes her death so sad. no one had noticed she wasn't around. It was finally a mail man who figured out that something wasn't right. When her house was entered and her body discovered it was well over a year since anyone had last seen her. 

Famous for Saying Nothing

Sometimes you don't have to ever say a word to become a celebrity. This happened to an English actress named Emily Perry. It was at the age of 80 Emily Perry was cast in the role that brought her stardom after years of working as an actress. the role that brought her the fame was that of Madge Allsop the sad sack side kick/bride's maid of Dame Edna Everage. The character of Madge was for many years an unseen character but in the 1970's Barry Humphries decided to bring her on stage. Originally the role was played by Madeline Orr but she died and the role was re-cast. "I did nothing at the audition and I have done nothing since.", said Perry in an interview about The Dame Edna Experience. Madge was always silent save an occasional sigh when on stage except for one time when she appeared with Andrew Lloyd Webber in Comic Relief in 1997 where she sand and danced "I feel Happy".
Emily Perry worked exclusively as Madge until she was 96 other than an appearance on the long running sitcom "Last of the Summer Wine". Perry retired in 2004. She died in 2008 at the age of 100.

Emmaline Henry Always the Wife

The go to actress in the 1960's and 1970's when you needed a wife was Emmaline Henry. Her most notable role was Amanda Bellows in the sitcom "I Dream of Jeannie".

Born in Philadelphia Henry never planned on becoming and actress she started out as a singer on local radio and television. She moved to Hollywood to further her signing career but started getting acting roles. She appeared regularly in guest spots on sitcoms and dramas through out the 1960's. It was the role of nosy Mrs. Amanda bellows that got her noticed. She played the role until the series end. She also had a small role in "Rosemary's Baby" and Hitchcocks's "Marnie". After "I Dream of Jeanine" she continued to appear on TV with roles in "Three's Company" and "Eight is Enough".
Emmaline Henry died in 1979 from the complication of brain cancer. She was 50 years old.

Befuddled but Dignified

There are certain actresses you know by face but never by name. Ruth McDevitt is one of those actresses. her stock character was a befuddled and some what confused lady and she played them to the hilt. Her film career started after the death of her husband in the 1930's.

She was born in Michigan in 1895 with the name Ruth Thane Shoecraft and studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts fully intending a career as an actress. She met and married her widowed husband after graduating and decided to devote her time to being a wife. It was after he died she slowly got back into acting first in small theater and eventually taking a role in "Arsenic and Old Lace" on Broadway. She is in her late 40's and early 50's when her career really took off. She was cast as Wally Cox's mother on his TV sitcom "Mr. Peepers".
She appeared on television and in movies until her death in the 1970's. She moved to Los Angeles and found she was constantly cast in roles. She played the pet shop owner in Hitchcock's "The Birds" as well as several films with Don Knotts. She also appeared in "The Parent Trap" and "Mame".
Ruth McDevitt died at the age of 80 in Hollywood in 1976.