Beverly Garland Died she was 81

Beverly Garland died she was 81. Garland was an American film and television actress, businesswoman and hotel owner. Garland gained prominence for her role as Fred MacMurray's second wife, "Barbara Harper Douglas," in the long-running 1960s sitcom, My Three Sons (a role she played from 1969 until the series ended in 1972). In the 1980s, she co-starred as Kate Jackson's widowed mother, "Dotty West," in the television series Scarecrow and Mrs. King, on CBS. She also had a recurring role on the WB series, 7th Heaven. (October 17, 1926 - December 5, 2008)

Garland was born Beverly Lucy Fessenden, in Santa Cruz, California, the daughter of Amelia Rose, who worked in business, and James Atkins Fessenden, a singer and salesman. Garland grew up in Glendale, California. Her 1950s acting roles tended to be tough women who could handle themselves in violent situations. 1956 was a busy year for Garland as she played a female sheriff in the Western Gunslinger, a prison escapee in Swamp Women and a scientist's wife who battles an alien in It Conquered the World (All three movies were directed by Roger Corman and were spoofed in the 1990s by Mystery Science Theater 3000.). Garland then starred as undercover police officer, "Casey Jones," in the syndicated TV series Decoy.

In 1957, Beverly made television history as the star of the syndicated TV series Decoy, the first American television police series with a woman in the starring role. It, however only lasted a single season, with 39 episodes made. This groundbreaking series,despite its relatively short run, paved the way for many future police/detective shows starring women, such as NBC's Police Woman starring Angie Dickinson , ABC's Honey West starring Anne Francis,CBS's Cagney and Lacey, starring Tyne Daly and Sharon Gless , and ABC'S Charlie's Angels starring Kate Jackson .

Although Garland co-starred with Anthony Perkins and Tuesday Weld in the 1968 feature film Pretty Poison, she is best known for playing suburban moms on several TV series. Garland appeared as "Barbara Harper Douglas," second wife of "Steve Douglas" (Fred MacMurray), for the final three seasons of My Three Sons (1969-72) and as "Dotty West," mother of "Mrs. King" (Kate Jackson) on all four seasons of the lighthearted espionage drama, Scarecrow and Mrs. King (1983-87). Garland was also featured in the successful series Remington Steele as the mother of Stephanie Zimbalist's character, detective Laura Holt.

Her decades of TV guest appearances range from the first-season Twilight Zone episode "The Four of Us Are Dying," about a con artist with a thousand faces (1960). Garland also guest starred in an episode in the final season of Kung Fu. She reprised her earlier Western personae as a tough gun-slinging widow. She appeared on the Mary Tyler Moore Show as a long-ago girlfriend of Lou Grant. Garland also had a recurring role as "Lois Lane's" mother on the 1990s TV series Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, starring Teri Hatcher. On 7th Heaven, she appeared opposite Peter Graves, the brother of James Arness who played "Marshal Matt Dillon" on Gunsmoke. Garland was a frequent guest star during "Gunsmoke's" long run, which ended in 1975.

On radio, Garland is an original player of the California Actors Radio Theatre. C.A.R.T. often records its programs on the grounds of Garland's hotel in The Beverly Garland Little Theater which is decorated with large movie posters from many of Garland's feature films.

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



In 1999 her husband of 39 years, businessman Filmore Crank, died. Subsequently, Garland combined her acting career with an increased devotion to the hotel Crank built and named for her. Situated on the former Gene Autry property, the sprawling 255-room Spanish-Mission style resort Beverly Garland Holiday Inn and Conference Center is located in North Hollywood.

Garland's daughter, actress Carrington Garland is perhaps best known for her portrayal of the third Kelly Capwell on the soap opera Santa Barbara.



On December 5, 2008, Garland died in her Hollywood Hills, California home. A memorial service and lavish reception was attended by several hundred people on December 13th at her namesake hotel property, Beverly Garland's Holiday Inn in North Hollywood. more