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Anne Whitfield

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Anne Whitfield
Whitfield as guest star with Clint Walker in Cheyenne
Born(1938-08-27)August 27, 1938
Oxford, Mississippi, U.S.
DiedFebruary 15, 2024(2024-02-15) (aged 85)
Washington, U.S.
Occupation(s)Actress, environmental and political activist
Years active1945–1985
Known forWhite Christmas
Spouse(s)Frederick Roy Schiller (1958–1969) (divorced) (2 children)
John F. Phillips (1976–2008) (divorced) (1 child)

Anne Langham Whitfield (August 27, 1938 – February 15, 2024) was an American actress on old-time radio, television, stage, and film. Her first name is sometimes seen spelled Ann.

Personal life

Whitfield was born in Oxford, Mississippi in 1938 and was the daughter of Richard N. Whitfield Jr. and Frances Turner Whitfield. Her father was director of bands at the University of Mississippi, and her mother was a speech teacher.[1] After moving to California, she attended Rosewood Avenue Public School.[2] By the time she was 17, she was studying at the University of California, Los Angeles, scheduling her classes around her work on radio programs.[3]

During the 1970s, Whitfield lived in Olympia, Washington, working at the Washington State Department of Ecology at Evergreen State College with an interest in clean water. She later undertook pursuits in women's rights, climate change, and homelessness.[4] Whitfield died after an incident while walking in her neighborhood near Burien, Washington on February 15, 2024. She was 85.[5]

Radio

As a youngster, Whitfield "played child roles on practically every comedy and dramatic series originating in Hollywood".[3] Her radio debut came in September 1945, when she "stepped up on a box before an already lowered microphone in an NBC studio and said, 'I want another slice of bread'" for a commercial.[2] She became a member of the cast of One Man's Family when she was 7 years old.[3]

Whitfield's roles on radio programs include:

Program Role
The Baby Snooks Show Pamela Richardson[2]
Dr. Paul Christopher Martin[2]
Mr. and Mrs. Blandings Susan Blandings[6]
One Man's Family Penny Lacey[6]
Our Miss Brooks Harriet Conklin[3]
The Phil Harris-Alice Faye Show Phyllis[7]

She was also heard on Lux Radio Theatre, The Screen Guild Theater, Family Theater, Cavalcade of America,[2] The Cisco Kid, His Honor, the Barber, Phone Again, Dr. Paul,[7] The Harold Peary Show,[8] NBC University Theatre,[9] and The Woman in My House.[8]: 763 

Stage, film, and television

In 1949, Whitfield appeared in theatrical productions of Annie Get Your Gun[10] and Show Boat, both in Los Angeles, California.[11] On film, she played Susan Waverly in White Christmas (1954)[12] and appeared in Juvenile Jungle (1958)[13] and Tick, Tick, Tick (1970).

In 1960, she played the role of Trudy (working bar girl in the Long Branch) in the season-six episode "Don Matteo" in the TV Western Gunsmoke; then again in one of its 1966 episodes “Stage Stop” (S12E10) as “Lori Coombs”, an abused wife who later falls in love with a blind man after her husband is killed.

Whitfield played Claudia Barbour in the TV version of One Man's Family.[14] The casting was a change from Whitfield's role in the radio version of the program; in the story, Claudia was the mother of Penny, whom Whitfield played on radio.[15] She played the two roles concurrently during the TV series' single season on the air.[16] Whitfield also was featured in "The Case of the Ugly Duckling", "The Case of the Crafty Kidnapper", and "The Case of the Nautical Knot", episodes of Perry Mason (1964),[17] "The Storm Riders" on Cheyenne (June 24, 1956), and then subsequently in another episode: "The Young Fugitives" (October 23, 1961) [18] "Judgment at Hondo Seco" on Rawhide (October 20, 1961),[19] and "Harry, the Good Neighbor' on The New Phil Silvers Show (February 22, 1964). In the '60s, she was also active in series such as Adam-12, Emergency!, The New Interns, 77 Sunset Strip, Laramie, Hawaiian Eye, the Untouchables, Ben Casey, The Dakotas, 12 O'clock High, Peter Gunn, Manhunt, and the Johnny Carson Show. She played Jack Nicholson's girlfriend in Wells Fargo and Robert Redford's estranged wife in Tate – both superstars' first TV shows. Whitfield's all-time favorite role was as Sally Ellis, an Arkansas farm girl, in One Step Beyond (1960).[20]

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1959 Bonanza Rosemary Lawson S1:E5, "Enter Mark Twain"
1961 Rawhide Carol North S3:E29, "Incident of the Night on the Town"
1961 Rawhide Joanna Quince S4:E4, "Judgement at Hondo Seco"
1964 Perry Mason Alice Trilling S7:E30 "The Case of the Ugly Duckling"
1964 Perry Mason Joanna Monford S8:E6 "The Case of the Nautical Knot"
1966 Perry Mason Patricia Tanner S9:E29 "The Case of the Crafty Kidnapper"

References

  1. ^ Amburgey, Kay (October 17, 1954). "Jackson's Anne Whitfield Zooming To Stardom After Bright Child-Actress Role". The Clarion-Ledger. Mississippi, Jackson. p. 6. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Girl Going Places". Radio and Television Mirror. 31 (2): 68. January 1949. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d "Jill Corey's Rise A Success Story; Out-Of-Town Hubber Games On KFYO". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Texas, Lubbock. March 11, 1956. p. 70. Retrieved April 17, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  4. ^ Stenzel, Wesley (February 29, 2024). "Anne Whitfield, White Christmas actress, dies at 85". Entertainment Weekly.
  5. ^ "Anne Whitfield Phillips". Dignity Memorial. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
  6. ^ a b Terrace, Vincent (1999). Radio Programs, 1924–1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-4513-4. pp. 231–232.
  7. ^ a b "Petite Star Grows Up Radio Veteran". Long Beach Independent. California. October 16, 1949. p. 80. Retrieved April 17, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  8. ^ a b Sies, Luther F. (2014). Encyclopedia of American Radio, 1920–1960, 2nd ed.. McFarland & Co., Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-5149-4. p. 322.
  9. ^ "Radio Reviews: NBC University Theatre". Variety. October 5, 1949. p. 31. ProQuest 1285933060. With John McGovern, Jeffrey Silver, Anne Whitfield, Gale Borney, Ted Von Eltz, GeBe Pearson, Florence Ravenal, Marjorie Liszt, announcer, Don Stanley
  10. ^ "Out-of-Town Openings: Annie, Get Your Gun" (PDF). Billboard. August 6, 1949. p. 41. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
  11. ^ "Out-of-Town Review: Show Boat" (PDF). Billboard. July 16, 1949. p. 48. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
  12. ^ Crowther, Bosley (October 15, 1954). "The Screen in Review; 'White Christmas' Bows at the Music Hall". The New York Times. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  13. ^ "Capitol Theater advertisement". Shamokin News-Dispatch. Pennsylvania, Shamokin. June 10, 1958. p. 12. Retrieved April 17, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  14. ^ Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7. p. 791.
  15. ^ Johnson, Erskine (March 7, 1954). "Hollywood Today". The Sunday Herald. Utah, Provo. p. 24. Retrieved April 17, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  16. ^ Sterling, Christopher H.; O'Dell, Cary (2010). The Concise Encyclopedia of American Radio. Routledge. p. 544. ISBN 978-1-135-17684-6. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
  17. ^ "(TV listing)". The Indiana Gazette. Pennsylvania, Indiana. May 21, 1964. p. 20. Retrieved April 17, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  18. ^ "(TV listing)". St. Louis Globe-Democrat. Missouri, St. Louis. June 24, 1956. p. 60. Retrieved February 21, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "Ralph Bellamy Cast as Jurist". The NewsLeader. Virginia, Staunton. October 13, 1961. p. 17. Retrieved February 21, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ Tuckey, Tammy (December 21, 2020). "Interview with Anne Whitfield, Susan Waverly in "White Christmas" – Rattling the Stars". YouTube. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
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