Beverly Garland

Beverly Garland (October 17, 1926 – December 5, 2008) was an American film and television actress, businesswoman, and hotel owner. Her work in feature films was fairly minor, consisting of small parts in a few major productions and leads in low-budget action or science fiction movies. She may be best remembered as Barbara Harper Douglas, the woman who married widower Steve Douglas (Fred MacMurray) in the latter years of the beloved sitcom My Three Sons. She played that role from 1969 until the series ended in 1972. In the 1980s, she co-starred as Kate Jackson's widowed mother, "Dotty West", in the CBS television series Scarecrow and Mrs. King. She had a recurring role as Ginger Jackson on 7th Heaven.

Early life and career

Garland was born Beverly Lucy Fessenden in Santa Cruz, California, the daughter of Amelia Rose (née Scherer), a businesswoman, and James Atkins Fessenden, a singer and salesman.^[1] Garland grew up in Glendale, California. She was a drama student of Anita Arliss.^[2]

In the 1950s, many of her roles were of secure, tough women who could handle themselves in violent situations. One such role was as a secrets-keeping secretary in the classic film noir D.O.A. (she was credited as "Beverly Campbell"). 1956 was a busy year for Garland: she played a female marshal in the Western Gunslinger with Chris Alcaide as her deputy; a prison escapee in Swamp Diamonds; and a scientist's wife who battles an alien in It Conquered the World. All three films were directed by Roger Corman, and all were riffed in the 1990s by Mystery Science Theater 3000.^[3] Garland was romantically linked to Corman briefly in the mid '50s but apparently broke up with him because he was too busy making movies to have a real relationship at the time.

Television success

Garland appeared from 1957 to 1958 as undercover police officer "Casey Jones" in the syndicated television series Decoy, the first American television police series with a woman in the starring role. It lasted a single season of thirty-nine episodes.^[3]

Garland guest-starred in 1956 as Nelli Austin, a rodeo sharpshooter, in the episode "Rodeo Rough House" of Rod Cameron's syndicated drama series State Trooper. Claude Akins appeared in this episode as the murderous rodeo clown.^[4] Garland and Akins appeared together again in the 1960 episode "Prison Trail" of the TV series Wanted: Dead or Alive and again in the 1963 episode "The Chooser of the Slain" of The Dakotas.^[5]

In 1955, Garland had been cast in the episode "Man Down, Woman Screaming" of Rod Cameron's first syndicated series, City Detective, the story of a tough New York City police lieutenant. She appeared that same year as Sarah Garvey in the episode "Cattle Drive to Casper" of Frontier. On September 5, 1955, she co-starred in an episode of Science Fiction Theatre called "The Negative Man". Around the same time, she appeared in the first Brian Keith series, Crusader. She appeared twice in 1960 as "Doris Denny Bona" in the episodes "Remember the Alamo" and "The Widow of Kill Cove" of Cameron's third syndicated series, COronado 9. In 1960, Garland was cast as Dr. Nora James in the episode "Three Graves" of Riverboat.^[3] Ms. Garland also appeared in 1960 in episode 28, 'Saddles and Spurs', of the first season of the western show Laramie.

She guest-starred in 1963 as Marya Stone in the episode "What Did She Mean By Good Luck?" on The Eleventh Hour. She appeared in a season-one episode, "Smoke Screen", of The Fugitive. In the 1964-65 television season, she co-starred as Ellie Collins on The Bing Crosby Show. She appeared in the 1968 feature film Pretty Poison but is best known for playing suburban mothers on My Three Sons and Scarecrow and Mrs. King Garland was featured on Remington Steele as the mother of Laura Holt (played by series star Stephanie Zimbalist).^[3] Her decades of television guest appearances include appearances on episodes of Twilight Zone, Kung Fu, and The Mary Tyler Moore Show.^[3]

On 7th Heaven, she appeared in nine episodes as Ginger Jackson, stepmother of Annie Camden, opposite Graham Jarvis. In addition to working with Graves on 7th Heaven, Garland also starred opposite Graves's brother, James Arness, in four episodes of Gunsmoke. On radio, she was an original player of the California Actors Radio Theatre (C.A.R.T.). C.A.R.T. often recorded its programs on the grounds of Garland's hotel in The Beverly Garland Little Theater, which was decorated with large movie posters from many of her feature films.^[3]

For her contribution to the television industry, Garland has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard.

Personal life

In 1999, her husband of 39 years, businessman Filmore Crank, died.^[6] She and Crank had a son and a daughter, in addition to his son and daughter from a previous marriage.^[7]

Subsequently, Garland combined her acting career with an increased devotion to the hotel that Crank built and named for her. Originally built as a Howard Johnson's Motor Lodge in the 1970s,^[8] a sprawling 255-room Spanish-Mission style resort called the Beverly Garland Holiday Inn (renamed The Garland in 2014)^[9] is located at 4222 Vineland Avenue, North Hollywood. The hotel continues to be owned by her family and managed by her son, James Fessenden Crank. Garland's daughter, actress Carrington Garland (born 1964), is best known for her portrayal of the third Kelly Capwell in the soap opera Santa Barbara.

Death

On December 5, 2008, Garland died from undisclosed causes after a lengthy illness in the mid-century contemporary house in the Hollywood Hills that was her home for over 40 years.^[10] A memorial service and reception were attended by several hundred people on December 13 at her namesake hotel property, Beverly Garland's Holiday Inn. Her body was cremated. She was survived by a son, a daughter, and two grandchildren.^[2]

TV and filmography

Notes

External links

• Beverly Garland at Find a Grave
• Beverly Garland at the Internet Movie Database
• Beverly Garland at AllMovie
• Beverly Garland's Universal Studios Hollywood Hotel
• Obituary in the Los Angeles Daily News