K. T. Stevens

K. T. Stevens
Stevens in Harriet Craig, 1950
Born
Gloria Wood

(1919-07-20)July 20, 1919
DiedJune 13, 1994(1994-06-13) (aged 74)
Occupation(s)Film and television actress
Years active1921–1994
Spouse
(m. 1946; div. 1968)
Children2, including Chris Marlowe
FatherSam Wood

K.T. Stevens (born Gloria Wood;[1] July 20, 1919 – June 13, 1994) was an American film and television actress.

Early years

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Born in Hollywood,[2] Stevens was the daughter of film producer and director Sam Wood.[3] She made her first film appearance when she was just two years old in her father's second silent film, Peck's Bad Boy (1921).

As an adult, she changed her name to K.T. Stevens to distance herself from her father's fame. She initially called herself Katherine Stevens, which people often shorted to Katie, leading to the final version with the initials K.T.[4]

Stage

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Stevens gained theatrical experience by doing summer stock theatre in Skowhegan, Maine.[4] Her Broadway credits include The Land Is Bright, Yankee Point, Nine Girls and Laura.[5]

Film

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K.T. Stevens in Port of New York

Stevens appeared in a number of films in the 1940s and 1950s, including Kitty Foyle (1940, directed by her father) with Ginger Rogers, The Great Man's Lady (1942) with Barbara Stanwyck, Address Unknown (1944), Port of New York (1949) with Yul Brynner, Harriet Craig (1950) with Joan Crawford and Vice Squad (1953) with Edward G. Robinson. She also appeared as Phyllis in the 1969 hit movie Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice. Her last film role before her death from lung cancer was in the 1994 Whoopi Goldberg film Corrina, Corrina.

Television

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Stevens acted on episodic television in such series as Crossroads, The Rebel, The Brothers Brannagan, and appeared on the daytime soap operas General Hospital as part of the original cast (1963–1965), portraying Peggy Mercer who was engaged to Dr. Steve Hardy, Julie Olson's mother-in-law Helen Martin (1966–1967, 1969) on Days of Our Lives and The Young and the Restless (1976–1981) as the veiled, facially burned Vanessa Prentiss. In the episode "New Neighbors" of the sitcom I Love Lucy, she played opposite Hayden Rorke as television actors who Lucy Ricardo mistakenly believes are foreign secret agents.

Pin-up photo of K.T. Stevens in the issue of Yank, the Army Weekly on June 25, 1944

Stevens appeared in 1957 and again in 1961 in different roles on The Real McCoys. In 1959, she made her first of three guest appearances on Perry Mason as murder victim Ethel Garvin in "The Case of the Dubious Bridegroom." In 1962, she played Margit Bruner in "The Case of the Ancient Romeo," and in 1965, she played Alice Munford in "The Case of the Hasty Honeymooner." In this episode, she was featured as the wife of murderer Guy Munford, played by her then husband Hugh Marlowe. In 1961, she played Ada Kihlgren in "The Broken Wing", one of the latter episodes of Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre. The same year, she appeared as Lorraine Miller in "A Great Day for a Scoundrel" on The DuPont Show with June Allyson. Between 1960 and 1963, she guest-starred five times on The Rifleman.[citation needed]

She portrayed Lieutenant Harriet Twain in the Buck Rogers in the 25th Century episode "Return of the Fighting 69th".

Personal life

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Stevens married actor Hugh Marlowe on May 7, 1946, in San Francisco.[6] They had two sons, Jeffrey and Christian.[1] The couple divorced in 1968.[citation needed]

Stevens and Marlowe acted in the Broadway production of Laura in which, credited as "A Girl" so as not to alert the audience, she played the title role (acted by Gene Tierney in the 1944 film Laura).

Stevens died at her home in Brentwood, Los Angeles, on June 13, 1994, aged 74, after battling lung cancer.[1]

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
1921 Peck's Bad Boy Henry's Sweetheart
Don't Tell Everything Cullen's niece Lost film
1940 Kitty Foyle Molly
1942 The Great Man's Lady Girl Biographer
1944 Address Unknown Griselle Eisenstein aka Griselle Stone
1949 Port of New York Toni Cardell
1950 Harriet Craig Clare Raymond
1953 Vice Squad Ginny
Tumbleweed Louella Buckley
1956 Alfred Hitchcock Presents Liza Season 2 Episode 5: "None Are So Blind"
Jungle Hell Dr. Pamela Ames
1958 Missile to the Moon The Lido
1959 Perry Mason Ethel Garvin Season 2 Episode 29: "The Case of the Dubious Bridegroom"
1962 Perry Mason Margit Bruner Season 5 Episode 28: "The Case of the Ancient Romeo"
1962 The Alfred Hitchcock Hour Alice Season 1 Episode 10: "Day of Reckoning"
1965 Perry Mason Alice Munford Season 9 Episode 7: "The Case of the Hasty Honeymooner"
1969 Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice Phyllis
1970 Adam at 6 A.M. Uncredited
1973 Pets Mrs. Daubrey
1984 They're Playing with Fire Lillian Stevens
1994 Corrina, Corrina Mrs. Morgan

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "K. T. Stevens, 74, Actress and Unionist". The New York Times. June 22, 1994. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
  2. ^ Willis, John (March 1, 2000). Theatre World 1994-1995. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 238. ISBN 978-1-55783-250-4. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  3. ^ "Son Born to K. T. Stevens". The New York Times. United Press. July 8, 1948. p. 19. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Little Rich Hollywood Princess". Albuquerque Journal. New Mexico, Albuquerque. King Features Syndicate, Inc. June 15, 1941. p. 18. Retrieved July 10, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  5. ^ "("K.T. Stevens" search)". Playbill Vault. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
  6. ^ "K.T. Stevens Wed on Coast". The New York Times. United Press. May 8, 1946. p. 42. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
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