Bennye Gatteys (born November 20, 1940) is an American singer and actress who appeared in many

anthology television series An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a differ ...

and soap operas.

Early life

Gatteys grew up in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

. The unusual spelling of her first name is because her parents originally wanted a boy. At the age of two she sang in her church's choir. By the age of eight she began studying piano and sought to become a concert pianist. At age 15, visiting a friend in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, she appeared on a game show, ''

Name That Tune ''Name That Tune'' is an American television music game show. Originally created and produced by orchestra conductor Harry Salter and his wife Roberta Semple Salter, the series features contestants competing to correctly identify songs being p ...

'', during which she won $19,000 after a series of appearances.

Career

Gatteys' career in musical theater was jump-started when she was discovered at the age of 15 by

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

producer

Kermit Bloomgarden Kermit Bloomgarden (December 15, 1904 – September 20, 1976) was an American theatrical producer. He was an accountant before he began producing plays on Broadway including ''Death of a Salesman'' (1949), ''The Diary of Anne Frank'' (1955), ' ...

, who cast her in a production of ''

The Diary of Anne Frank ''The Diary of a Young Girl'', also known as ''The Diary of Anne Frank'', is a book of the writings from the Dutch-language diary kept by Anne Frank while she was in hiding for two years with her family during the Nazi occupation of the Netherl ...

'' as the understudy of

Susan Strasberg Susan Elizabeth Strasberg (May 22, 1938 – January 21, 1999) was an American stage, film, and television actress. Imagined to be the next Hepburn-type ingenue, she was nominated for a Tony Award at age 18, playing the title role in ''The Diary ...

, who played

Anne Frank Annelies Marie "Anne" Frank (, ; 12 June 1929 – )Research by The Anne Frank House in 2015 revealed that Frank may have died in February 1945 rather than in March, as Dutch authorities had long assumed"New research sheds new light on Anne Fra ...

. Her first big break in television came at the age of 16, during her appearance in the television anthology series ''

Look Up and Live ''Look Up and Live'' was a 30-minute television anthology series. The series was produced in cooperation with the National Council of Churches and aired on CBS from January 3, 1954 to January 21, 1979. It was a non-denominational Sunday morning r ...

'', in which she co-starred opposite a then-teenaged

Warren Beatty Henry Warren Beatty (né Beaty; born March 30, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker, whose career spans over six decades. He was nominated for 15 Academy Awards, including four for Best Actor, four for Best Picture, two for Best Director, ...

. During the short-lived series, Beatty and Gatteys formed a strong connection; Gatteys recalled Beatty walking her home from rehearsals and shoots and described him as her "big brother, friend, ndcompanion". She helped him read for a starring role in the Broadway musical ''Ohio''. She eventually married a banker from Texas and returned to Dallas for seven years, during which time her career remained dormant. After her divorce, she moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

to restart her acting career in soap operas, including a starring role in ''

Days of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock. The soap, which aired on the American television net ...

'' as

Susan Martin Susan Work Martin (born October 24, 1950) is an American academic administrator who was most recently the interim president of San José State University. Previously, Martin served as president of Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Michig ...

. Her career continued largely in the field of theater, soap operas, and occasional variety and game shows, until she retired from show business in 1977. In 1980 she began a real estate career and was her office's top producer in 1983 and 1985.

Partial filmography

*''

The United States Steel Hour ''The United States Steel Hour'' is an anthology series which brought hour long dramas to television from 1953 to 1963. The television series and the radio program that preceded it were both sponsored by the U.S. Steel, United States Steel Corpor ...

'' (''Tom Sawyer'', 1956) *''

Kraft Television Theatre ''Kraft Television Theatre'' is an American anthology drama television series running from 1947 to 1958. It began May 7, 1947 on NBC, airing at 7:30pm on Wednesday evenings until December of that year. It first promoted MacLaren's Imperial Chees ...

'' (''I Am Fifteen and Don't Want to Die'', 1956) *''

Captain Kangaroo ''Captain Kangaroo'' is an American children's television series that aired weekday mornings on the American television network CBS for 29 years, from 1955 to 1984, making it the longest-running nationally broadcast children's television program ...

'' (1959) *'' Stoney Burke'' *'' Straightaway'' (1962) — episode "Escape to Darkness" as Jill *''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centers on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central character ...

'' (1963) *'' The Outer Limits'' (1963) *''

'' (1973–76) *''

Match Game '76 ''Match Game'' is an American television panel game show that premiered on NBC in 1962 and has been revived several times over the course of the last six decades. The game features contestants trying to match answers given by celebrity panelis ...

'' (1976)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gatteys, Bennye 1940 births Actresses from Dallas Living people 20th-century American actresses American television actresses American soap opera actresses American stage actresses 21st-century American women