Beverly Garland

Beverly Garland (October 17, 1926 – December 5, 2008) 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 1960s sitcom My Three Sons (a role she played from 1969 until the series ended in 1972 and for which she is mostly identified). 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 as Ginger Jackson on The WB Television Network series 7th Heaven.

Biography

Early life and career

Garland was born Beverly Lucy Fessenden in Santa Cruz, California, the daughter of Amelia Rose, a businesswoman, 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: she played a female marshal in the Western Gunslinger with Chris Alcaide as her deputy; 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 riffed in the 1990s by Mystery Science Theater 3000. Garland then starred as undercover police officer "Casey Jones" in the syndicated television series Decoy.

Television success

In 1957, Garland made television history...
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