Merry Anders

Merry Anders
Anders on Bonanza (1960)
Born	Mary Helen Anderson (1932-05-22)May 22, 1932 Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died	Encino, California, U.S.
Other names	Merry A. Benedict
Education	John Burroughs Middle School
Occupation	Actress, model
Years active	1951–1971
Spouse(s)	John Stephens (m. 1955; div. 1956) Richard Benedict (m. 1986; wid. 1999)
Children	1

Merry Anders (May 22, 1932 – October 28, 2012) was an American stage, film and television actress and model who appeared in a number of television programs and films from the 1950s until her retirement from the screen in 1972.

Early life

Anders was born Mary Helen Anderson in Chicago, Illinois. She was the only child of Charles, a contractor, and Helen Anderson. Anders was of German, Irish and Swedish descent. In 1949, Anders and her mother visited Los Angeles for two weeks. They decided to remain in Los Angeles permanently while Charles Anderson remained in Chicago. While she was a student at John Burroughs Middle School, Anders met former actress Rita LeRoy who encouraged her to begin a modeling career. While working as a junior model, Anders began studying acting at the Ben Bard Playhouse. It was there that a talent scout from 20th Century Fox spotted her and signed her to a film contract in 1951.

Career

Anders made her film debut in the 1951 musical Golden Girl. For the next two years, she appeared in small and supporting roles in several 20th Century Fox films. In 1954, Fox dropped her. Later that year, Anders joined the cast of The Stu Erwin Show. She remained with the series until its cancellation in 1955. Anders was then cast in the CBS sitcom It's Always Jan, starring Janis Paige. That series canceled after one season.

Shortly after the birth of her daughter in 1956, Anders took over the role of "Rita Malone" (popularized by Jayne Mansfield) in the West Coast touring production of the Broadway hit Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?. In 1957, Anders had a much publicized leading role in Paramount Pictures film Hear Me Good, opposite Hal March. In 1957, Anders landed the role of "Mike McCall" in the syndicated sitcom How to Marry a Millionaire. The series was based on the hit 1953 film of the same name (in which Anders appeared in a bit role) starring Betty Grable, Marilyn Monroe, and Lauren Bacall. Anders co-starred in the series with Barbara Eden and Lori Nelson. The first season of How to Marry a Millionaire was fairly successful and it was renewed for a second, abbreviated season. It was cancelled in 1959.

During the early to mid 1960s, Anders continued her career with mainly supporting film roles and guest spots on television. In 1960, she appeared in the horror film The Hypnotic Eye followed by a role in the Western Young Jesse James. Anders went on to land guest roles on Surfside 6, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Hawaiian Eye, Death Valley Days, 77 Sunset Strip, and Perry Mason. In 1962, Anders was cast in the first live action film adaptation of the 18th century French fairy tale Beauty and the Beast. In 1965, she appeared opposite Elvis Presley in the musical comedy Tickle Me. The following year, she appeared in the recurring role of "Alice" in the teen soap opera Never Too Young. Later that year, Anders had a supporting role in the B movie Women of the Prehistoric Planet. From 1967-68, she appeared in seven episodes of Jack Webb's Dragnet series on NBC, in which she played policewoman Dorothy Miller. She appeared in a recurring role on Lassie.

Retirement and later years

By the late 1960s, Anders' acting career had begun to wane. In 1968, she appeared as uncredited "glorified extra" in the film Airport (1970). To supplement her income between acting jobs, Anders took a job as a receptionist at Litton Industries. Her final acting role was a guest spot in the two part Gunsmoke episode "Waste", which aired late September and early October 1971.

Anders retired from acting in 1972 in order to "live a normal life." She eventually became a customer relations coordinator at Litton Industries, where she remained until her retirement in 1994.

Personal life

On March 25, 1955, Anders married producer John Stephens. Anders left Stephens after three months and seventeen days due to his physical abuse. Two weeks later, she discovered she was pregnant with the couple's first child. Their daughter, Tina Beth Paige Anders, was born in March 1956. Anders and Stephens were divorced in June 1956. In 1986, Anders married engineer Richard Benedict; the couple remained married until his death in 1999.

Death

On October 28, 2012, Anders died in Encino, California, aged 80, from undisclosed causes.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1951	Golden Girl	Chorine	Uncredited
1952	Belles on Their Toes	Student/Graduate	Uncredited
1952	Wait till the Sun Shines, Nellie	Adeline Halper/Adeline Burdge	Uncredited
1952	Les Misérables	Cicely	Uncredited
1953	Titanic	College Girl	Uncredited
1953	The Farmer Takes a Wife	Hannah
1953	How to Marry a Millionaire	Model	Uncredited
1954	Three Coins in the Fountain	Girl	Uncredited
1954	Princess of the Nile	Handmaiden
1954	Phffft!	Marsha	Uncredited
1955	All That Heaven Allows	Mary Ann
1957	The Night Runner	Amy Hansen
1957	Desk Set	Cathy
1957	Calypso Heat Wave	Marti Collins
1957	No Time to Be Young	Gloria Stuben
1957	Death in Small Doses	Amy "Miss Diesel of 1958" Phillips
1957	Escape from San Quentin	Robbie
1957	Hear Me Good	Ruth Collins
1957	The Dalton Girls	Holly Dalton
1958	Violent Road	Carrie - The Girl in the Convertible
1960	Five Bold Women	Missouri Lady Ellen Downs
1960	Young Jesse James	Belle Starr
1960	The Walking Target	Susan Mallory
1960	Spring Affair	Dorothy
1961	The Police Dog Story	Terry Dayton
1961	The Gambler Wore a Gun	Sharon Donovan
1961	When the Clock Strikes	Ellie
1961	20,000 Eyes	Karen Walker
1961	Secret of Deep Harbor	Janey Fowler
1962	Patty	Mary	Alternative titles: The Shame of Patty Smith Doctor Please Help Me Gang Rape
1962	Beauty and the Beast	Sybil
1962	Air Patrol	Mona Whitney
1963	FBI Code 98	Grace McLean
1963	House of the Damned	Nancy Campbell
1963	Police Nurse	Joan Olson
1964	A Tiger Walks	Betty Collins
1964	The Quick Gun	Helen Reed
1964	The Time Travelers	Carol White
1964	Raiders From Beneath The Sea	Dottie Harper
1965	Tickle Me	Estelle Penfield
1966	Women of the Prehistoric Planet	Lt. Karen Lamont
1970	Airport	Mrs. Burt Ball - Passenger	Uncredited
1971	Will to Die	Laura Dean	Alternative titles: Legacy of Blood Blood Legacy

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1954	The Public Defender	Agnes Fay	Episode: "The Last Appeal"
1954	The Ford Television Theatre	Various	2 episodes
1954-1955	The Stu Erwin Show	Joyce Erwin	26 episodes
1955	TV Reader's Digest	Sally	Episode: "Honeymoon in Mexico"
1955-1956	It's Always Jan	Val Marlowe	5 episodes
1955-1961	The Loretta Young Show	Various	2 episodes
1956	The Millionaire	Helen Forrester	Episode: "The Jay Powers Story"
1957	Broken Arrow	Amy Breece	Episode: "Smoke Signal"
1957-1959	How to Marry a Millionaire	Mike McCall	52 episodes
1957-1959	Sugarfoot	Various	2 episodes
1957-1960	Cheyenne	Various	2 episodes
1958	Decision	Lucy Hamilton	Episode: "Man on a Raft"
1958-1962	77 Sunset Strip	Various	5 episodes
1959	State Trooper	Mrs. Wallace	Episode: "The Case of the Barefoot Girl"
1959	Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer	Harriet Britton	Episode: "Swing Low, Sweet Harriet"
1959	Tales of Wells Fargo	Laurie Hammer	Episode: "The Tall Texan"
1959	The Ann Sothern Show	Myrna	Episode: "Katy and the Cowby"
1959	Richard Diamond, Private Detective	Claudia Reed	Episode: "Bookie"
1959	The Real McCoys	Miss McLean	Episode: "The Lawsuit"
1960	Bonanza	Virginia Keith	Episode: "Bitter Water"
1960-1961	Bronco	Various	2 episodes
1960-1961	The Case of the Dangerous Robin		2 episodes
1960-1961	Maverick	Various	4 episodes
1960-1962	Hawaiian Eye	Various	4 episodes
1961	Surfside 6	Chris Karns	Episode: "Yesterday's Hero"
1961	Bringing Up Buddy	Diane Mitchell	Episode: "Buddy and the Amazon"
1961	Michael Shayne	Ginger Dennis	Episode: "Dead Air"
1961	Alfred Hitchcock Presents	Lena	Episode: "Maria"
1961	The Bob Cummings Show		Episode: "The Ox-Tail Incident"
1961	Ichabod and Me	Leona	Episode: "Bob's Redhead"
1961-1964	Perry Mason	Various	3 episodes
1963	The Jack Benny Program	Kidnapper aka Florence Nightengale	Episode: "Jack Is Kidnapped"
1962	Straightaway	Barbara	Episode: "Tiger By the Tail"
1963-1964	The Joey Bishop Show	Various	2 episodes
1964	Arrest and Trial	Various	2 episodes
1964	The Virginian	Donna Durrell	Episode: "A Man Called Kane"
1964	The Addams Family	Miss Carver	Episode: "Fester's Punctured Romance"
1966	Get Smart	Joanna Sloan	Episode: "All in the Mind"
1966	Never Too Young	Alice	11 episodes
1967-1968	Dragnet	Policewoman Dorothy Miller	7 episodes
1967-1968	Lassie	Carol Dawson	4 episodes
1971	Gunsmoke	Shirley	2 episodes

External links

• Merry Anders at the Internet Movie Database
• Merry Anders at Find a Grave